Indian Air Force fighter pilot Abhinandan Varthaman has taken premature retirement from the force after 22 years of service and has reportedly moved to commercial aviation.

The former Group Captain and Vir Chakra awardee has joined Goa-based regional airline FLY91 as a pilot, according to a report citing sources. The report said Varthaman joined the airline in August.

Varthaman has not made any public statement about the reported move. A spokesperson for FLY91 also declined to provide personal information about its employees, describing it as a private matter.

What is FLY91?

FLY91 is a regional airline based in Goa that began flight operations in March 2024. According to the report, the airline currently operates six ATR 72-600 aircraft and has bases in Goa and Hyderabad.

Abhinandan Varthaman’s 2019 aerial combat

Varthaman became widely known following the India-Pakistan aerial confrontation in February 2019.

After a suicide bombing in Pulwama killed 40 CRPF personnel, India carried out air strikes against a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in Balakot, according to the Indian government’s account.

The following day, the Pakistan Air Force launched a response, leading to an aerial engagement between the two sides. Varthaman, who was a Wing Commander at the time, was flying a MiG-21 when his aircraft was hit. He ejected and was subsequently captured by Pakistani forces.

According to the Indian government’s account and his Vir Chakra citation, Varthaman shot down a Pakistani F-16 during the aerial engagement before his own aircraft was hit. He was held in Pakistan for three days and was released on the night of March 1, 2019. He sustained injuries while ejecting from his MiG-21 Bison.

He was awarded the Vir Chakra, India’s third-highest wartime gallantry award, for his actions during the dogfight. The award was conferred in 2021. The award citation described him as displaying an “exceptional sense of duty”.

His reported transition to FLY91 marks a new phase in his aviation career, taking him from military fighter operations to commercial flying.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has raised questions after his name was marked as “shifted” in Punjab’s draft electoral rolls prepared during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

Chadha, who remains a Rajya Sabha member from Punjab and has his voter registration in Mohali, alleged that the classification was not a routine clerical error and accused the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government of political vendetta.

The electoral rolls currently under discussion are draft lists, with the final rolls scheduled to be published in October 2026.

Raghav Chadha questions voter list classification

Chadha said he was surprised to find his name classified as “shifted” despite being a sitting MP from Punjab.

He questioned how such a classification was made and pointed to the involvement of officials at different stages of the electoral roll revision process. According to Chadha, Booth Level Officers, Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, Electoral Registration Officers and District Election Officers are part of the process.

He alleged that these officials could potentially face political pressure because their transfers and postings are controlled by the state government.

Chadha also referred to Paragraph 4(d) of the Election Commission of India’s SIR guidelines. He said the provision requires public representatives, including MPs and MLAs, whose names are flagged in the electoral database to be included in the draft rolls so that they can participate in the claims and objections process.

He alleged that this provision was not followed in his case.

Punjab CEO seeks report on Chadha’s voter status

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer Anindita Mitra told that she was not aware of any deletion of Chadha’s name from the electoral rolls.

She said a detailed report would be sought from the district election authorities to determine whether his name had actually been deleted and, if so, the reason for the action.

Mitra also pointed out that the claims and objections process is currently underway. September 13 is the deadline for filing appeals over changes or discrepancies in the electoral rolls.

AAP rejects political vendetta allegation

The controversy has also drawn a response from the Aam Aadmi Party.

AAP leader Neel Garg rejected Chadha’s allegation, saying the party had no interest in deleting the vote of any individual. He instead alleged that the issue was being raised by the BJP and referred to the SIR exercises in Bihar and West Bengal.

Chadha joined the BJP in April 2026 along with six other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs.

The dispute comes as Punjab’s electoral rolls undergo revision ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Since the claims and objections process is still open, the status of Chadha’s name is subject to the ongoing electoral process.

State Bank of India researchers have pushed back against questions surrounding India’s latest GDP growth figures, arguing that comparisons based on figures from the old GDP series have created an incorrect picture of economic growth.

India recorded 7.8% GDP growth in the April-June quarter of 2026-27, according to the latest data released on August 31. The figure has prompted debate over the impact of the change in the GDP base year and the subsequent revision of earlier figures.

SBI explains the GDP data revision

Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser at SBI and a member of the 16th Finance Commission, said the latest figures need to be assessed using the revised GDP series.

According to Ghosh, the National Statistical Office had used 2011-12 as the GDP base year when it released figures for the April-June quarter of 2025-26 last year. At that time, nominal GDP for the quarter was reported at around Rs 86.1 lakh crore.

Following the introduction of the new GDP series with 2022-23 as the base year, the corresponding figure for the previous year was revised to around Rs 80.4 lakh crore.

The latest nominal GDP for the April-June quarter of 2026-27 stands at Rs 88.3 lakh crore, which forms the basis for the reported 7.8% growth rate.

SBI economist rejects 2.6% growth interpretation

Ghosh said some estimates had arrived at a growth rate of around 2.6% by comparing the latest nominal GDP figure of Rs 88.3 lakh crore with the earlier, unrevised figure of Rs 86.1 lakh crore.

He described this comparison as inappropriate and said the latest figure should instead be compared with the revised figure for the corresponding quarter under the new GDP series.

SBI’s research also argued that GDP revisions are a normal part of the statistical process and are made to incorporate newer information and factors into the estimates.

GDP revisions can move in both directions

Ghosh said revisions to GDP data are not necessarily downward. According to him, historical quarterly data show that revisions can occur in both upward and downward directions, although they have mostly been upward.

He also cited an earlier revision in which GDP growth under the old series was initially estimated at 9.2% before being revised to 7.2%.

Ghosh said GDP figures should be examined carefully and rigorously rather than being rejected simply because the revised numbers differ from earlier estimates.

The SBI research comes amid questions raised by former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and some Congress leaders over the latest GDP numbers.