Online food delivery firm on Wednesday launched the ‘Swiggy Seal’ initiative to improve hygiene and food quality standards among their restaurant partners.

The program is currently active in Pune and will expand to cover over 650 cities in India by November.

Participating restaurants will display a ‘Swiggy Seal’ badge on their menu pages to showcase their commitment to providing hygienic, high-quality meals in quality packaging.

“Since the program’s launch two weeks ago, restaurant partners have shown high interest, with hundreds of requests for hygiene audits already received. Should any concerns arise about a restaurant holding the Seal, Swiggy will thoroughly review the feedback and may revoke the badge if the restaurant fails to maintain the established standards,” Swiggy stated.

The initiative includes hygiene audits, feedback reviews, and support for restaurant partners to maintain established standards. Swiggy aims to enhance restaurant hygiene practices by offering insights from customer reviews and professional hygiene audits through FSSAI-accredited agencies. 

“Leveraging insights from over 7 million verified customer reviews in the past six months, the Swiggy Seal program aims to elevate restaurant hygiene practices. It offers restaurant partners comprehensive insights and actionable support to ensure the delivery of hygienic, well-cooked food in high-quality packaging,” Swiggy said.

Earlier in July this year, the food delivery majors, Zomato and Swiggy, both increased their platform fees by 6 per cent for food orders.

The food giants were initially charging in the national capital and IT hub, Bengaluru, the platform fee, distinct from delivery fee, goods and services GST, handling charge and restaurant charges.

After the hike, the platform fee went up to Rs 6 per order from an earlier Rs 5 per order. Gradually, the higher platform fee was roll out to other cities as well.

Notably, this fee applies universally to all food orders, irrespective of customer enrollment in loyalty programs offered by both food giants. The charges directly contribute to the companies’ revenue streams and cost management efforts. The platform fee goes to the food aggregators to apparently control costs and increase revenues.

In April, they charged Rs 5 per order, but now it’s been increased by Rs 6 per order. That’s a 20% increase in fees for food delivery. This change in their strategy to adjust the price in a market as they expand their services.

The Union Ministry of Electronics and IT slammed social media platform X through which many of the hoax bomb threats targeted at several airlines were circulated. Over 120 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats in the past few days.

Joint Secretary Sanket S Bhondve held a virtual meeting with representatives of airlines and social media platforms such as X and Meta. Reportedly, the official said that the situation amounts to X abetting crime and questioned its representatives on the steps taken to stop such alarming rumours from spreading.

Notably, the Centre pulled up the microblogging site after the Delhi Police failed to get the details of the user’s ID or domain of a few X accounts that were found to be involved in posting threat messages to flights.

So far, the Delhi Police has filed eight cases in connection with bomb threats. Reports quoted a senior police official as saying that the threats messages were received through anonymous posts on X which were later suspended by the authorities.

The officer also said that three accounts on social media platform ‘X’ namely, @adamlanza111, @psychotichuman and @schizobomer777 have been found involved in posting threat messages to flights.

A Delhi Police official said that they have registered eight separate cases in response to threats to over 90 domestic or international flights operating from Delhi.

Reportedly, the first case was registered on October 16 following a bomb threat received through X, targeting a Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight. The officer stated that it was suspected that the handler used VPN (Virtual private network) or dark web browser to set up the accounts on X and then posted the messages from more than one account.

On Tuesday, 30 flights operated by IndiGo, Vistara and Air India received such threats. Following the threats, the airlines said they followed standard operating procedures, and that authorities were alerted and security protocols were followed.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu while addressing the press on Monday, said that the government is trying to tackle the situation without compromising passengers safety. He further added that those circulating such hoax threats will face tough action, including being put on a no-fly list.

The Minister also asserted that the government plans to amend the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act so that action could be initiated for offences when an aircraft is on the ground. At present, the aviation security norms largely cover in-flight offences.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday that his former constituency Wayanad will have two members in Parliament after his sister Priyanka Gandhi filed her nomination for the Lok Sabha bypolls from the seat.

Addressing a public meeting at Kalpetta, the former Congress chief requested people of the hill region to take care of his sister just as they had protected and looked after him when he needed it most.

The former Wayanad MP said the Rakhi he was wearing was made by his sister and it was a symbol of a brother’s protection to her.

“Made by my sister, the Rakhi I wear is a testament to a brother’s protection for his sister. I wear it until it breaks. As I represented Wayanad in the Lok Sabha from 2019 to 2024, I urge the people of Wayanad to care for and safeguard my sister. Her focus will be on addressing the issues of Wayanad and protecting its people with all her vigor,” said Rahul, the former Member of Parliament for Wayanad.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that Priyanka would serve as the official MP from Wayanad while he would operate as the unofficial MP.

“One holds the official position in Parliament while the other is the unofficial representative, and both will collaborate to safeguard the people of Wayanad,” he stated during a public meeting in Kalpetta, following his sister’s extensive roadshow before filing her candidacy for the byelection.

Describing himself as the “unofficial MP” for Wayanad, Rahul promised to be involved in addressing the challenges faced by the people.

In the presence of prominent leaders such as his mother, Sonia Gandhi, and AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul further emphasised his sister’s dedication to their family and the people of Wayanad.

After the public address, Priyanka proceeded to the collectorate to file her nomination papers, accompanied by Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, Kharge, and AICC general secretary K C Venugopal.

Expressing emotions after filing her nomination for the Wayanad byelection, Priyanka said: “The love you’ve shown to Rahul Ji, and now to me, is something I carry with me every step of the way.”

“Wayanad’s strength lies in its people’s kindness, resilience, and belief in a better future. I will listen to your voices, raise the issues that matter to you, and work tirelessly for the progress of Wayanad. To every supporter, every UDF worker, and every family that stood by us – thank you from the depths of my heart,” she said in a post on X.

During the by-election, Priyanka will contest against LDF’s Sathyan Mokeri and BJP’s Navya Haridas, with voting scheduled for November 13th.