# The Catch Up: DGCA mandates drug test for pilots across airlines (10 September)

An episode of [3 Things](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1406730235), 10 Sep 2026, 4:41.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/75052888/catch_up_2026_10th_september_v1.mp3

The headlines of the day by The Indian Express

## Transcript

[0:03] Speaker 1: This is The Catch-Up on Three Things by The Indian
[0:06] Speaker 1: Express and I'm Ichha Sharma. Today is the 10th of
[0:13] Speaker 1: September and here are today's headlines. Starting with major news,
[0:18] Speaker 1: Solicitor General Tushar Mehta today informed the Supreme Court that
[0:22] Speaker 1: the Executive Magistrate who issued notice to student and SFIA
[0:27] Speaker 1: leader Akshatrapathi in violation of the top court's orders, had
[0:31] Speaker 1: been suspended from office. The notice served on Tripathi last
[0:35] Speaker 1: week for participating in the 20th of July Cockroach Janta
[0:39] Speaker 1: Party protest at Jantar Mantar was later withdrawn. On Wednesday,
[0:43] Speaker 1: the matter was raised before the bench, also comprising Justice
[0:46] Speaker 1: Joymala Bakshi and V. Mohan, prompting the CJI to ask
[0:51] Speaker 1: how did the magistrate dare to issue a notice when
[0:54] Speaker 1: we have already annulled by September 1st order and we
[0:58] Speaker 1: have directed that on the already registered FIRs, no action
[1:02] Speaker 1: will be taken. In other major news, in the wake
[1:08] Speaker 1: of an Air India pilot testing positive for drugs after
[1:11] Speaker 1: the aircraft, he was commanding lost altitude all of a
[1:14] Speaker 1: sudden while flying from Phuket to Delhi. The Director General
[1:18] Speaker 1: of Civil Aviation has ordered all Indian airlines to conduct
[1:22] Speaker 1: a one-time test for psychoactive substances on all pilots by
[1:27] Speaker 1: July next year. The Indian Express has learned that the
[1:30] Speaker 1: direction to airlines was issued in August and testing has
[1:33] Speaker 1: already begun. Indian airlines are estimated to have close to 14,000
[1:39] Speaker 1: pilots following the 4th of August incident involving the Phuket-Delhi
[1:43] Speaker 1: flight and before the DGCA direction. The Air India Group
[1:47] Speaker 1: had voluntarily initiated one-time random drug tests on an estimated 5,000
[1:52] Speaker 1: pilots employed by Air India and Air India Express. In
[2:00] Speaker 1: other major news, international crude oil benchmark Brent has breached
[2:05] Speaker 1: the $ 100 per barrel mark again after one and a
[2:08] Speaker 1: half months triggered by the recent sharp escalation in the
[2:12] Speaker 1: West Asia conflict, including attacks on oil tankers and petroleum
[2:16] Speaker 1: infrastructure in the region. The $ 100 threshold was breached on
[2:20] Speaker 1: Wednesday and Brent futures continue to trade above that level today. Now,
[2:25] Speaker 1: high oil prices are of particular concern for India, which
[2:29] Speaker 1: depends on imports to meet the lion's share of its
[2:32] Speaker 1: petroleum requirement. More than any momentary elevation of oil prices
[2:37] Speaker 1: beyond the psychologically important $ 100 per barrel mark, the worry
[2:42] Speaker 1: for India is how long prices are expected to remain high.
[2:45] Speaker 1: Oil prices have gained over 25% since early August. And
[2:55] Speaker 1: now in some news-making global headlines, Bangladesh today ruled out
[2:59] Speaker 1: Prime Minister Tarkir Rahman travelling to India this week for
[3:02] Speaker 1: the BRICS summit. saying he was not invited in his
[3:04] Speaker 1: capacity as Bangladesh's prime minister. India, however, has said it
[3:08] Speaker 1: invited Rahman to the summit's outreach session as the current
[3:11] Speaker 1: chair of BIMSTEC. India, which currently holds the BRICS chair,
[3:16] Speaker 1: is scheduled to host the 18th BRICS summit in New
[3:18] Speaker 1: Delhi on 12th September and 13th September. The summit will
[3:23] Speaker 1: bring together leaders from BRICS member and partner countries as
[3:27] Speaker 1: well as outreach invitees. Bangladesh's state minister for foreign affairs,
[3:32] Speaker 1: Humayun Kabir, said Tariq Rehman was not properly invited to
[3:36] Speaker 1: the BRICS summit, the PTI reported. And in the end,
[3:43] Speaker 1: we take a look at yet another neighbour. As Chinese
[3:47] Speaker 1: President Xi Jinping will visit India on Saturday for the
[3:50] Speaker 1: BRICS summit, the country's foreign ministry announced today, this will
[3:54] Speaker 1: be the Chinese president's first trip to the country in
[3:57] Speaker 1: seven years. Xi is also expected to hold talks with
[4:00] Speaker 1: Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Security has been stepped up at
[4:03] Speaker 1: hotels in Delhi's Chanakya Puri ahead of the summit, with
[4:06] Speaker 1: the presidents of China and Russia scheduled to arrive in
[4:09] Speaker 1: the capital later this week. The Indian Express reported previously
[4:14] Speaker 1: that Russian President Vladimir Putin will reportedly arrive in India
[4:17] Speaker 1: on 11 September. Both leaders are expected to land at
[4:21] Speaker 1: the Air Force Station in Palam before proceeding to hotels
[4:25] Speaker 1: in the Chanakya Puri area. And with that, this was
[4:31] Speaker 1: all for today. This was the catch up on three
[4:33] Speaker 1: things by the Indian Express.

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