Finance ministry says the proposed revamp will focus on structural reforms, rate rationalisation & ease of living, & will be deliberated upon in the coming weeks.
The project is meant to be a ‘protective shield that will keep expanding’, the PM said. It is on the lines of the ‘Golden Dome’ announced by Trump, it is learnt.
Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.
Giving ATF on credit or cutting some slack by AAI is a very temporary, partial relief. That is also how KFA started slithering to the bottom. Most costs – barring staff salaries and airport charges – are in USD, the revenues almost all in INR, so currency depreciation is a savage blow. 2. Perhaps Minister for Civil Aviation – who also “ owns “ Air India in a sense – could convene emergency meetings with major domestic airlines and try to work out how best the government can support and aid the industry at a time of distress. First on the agenda should be a gentlemen’s agreement – with the full knowledge of the CCI – that airlines will stop playing games with pricing of tickets. Never mind what it does to one player’s market share or the rate of growth of the industry, passengers must pay the true cost of air travel. That includes a recent initiative by the government to boost regional air connectivity by capping fares and creating another maze of cross subsidies. Let the industry grow at a pace where profitability and affordability can be harmonised. 3. There are similar problems in other industries, telecom for example. Agreed it is not the government’s job to tell businessmen how to run their companies profitably, but if an entire industry is tottering, placing at risk jobs, taxes and amounts borrowed from banks, the government can and should play the role of a mentor.
Giving ATF on credit or cutting some slack by AAI is a very temporary, partial relief. That is also how KFA started slithering to the bottom. Most costs – barring staff salaries and airport charges – are in USD, the revenues almost all in INR, so currency depreciation is a savage blow. 2. Perhaps Minister for Civil Aviation – who also “ owns “ Air India in a sense – could convene emergency meetings with major domestic airlines and try to work out how best the government can support and aid the industry at a time of distress. First on the agenda should be a gentlemen’s agreement – with the full knowledge of the CCI – that airlines will stop playing games with pricing of tickets. Never mind what it does to one player’s market share or the rate of growth of the industry, passengers must pay the true cost of air travel. That includes a recent initiative by the government to boost regional air connectivity by capping fares and creating another maze of cross subsidies. Let the industry grow at a pace where profitability and affordability can be harmonised. 3. There are similar problems in other industries, telecom for example. Agreed it is not the government’s job to tell businessmen how to run their companies profitably, but if an entire industry is tottering, placing at risk jobs, taxes and amounts borrowed from banks, the government can and should play the role of a mentor.