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Government threatens to shut Air India international flights if pilots go on strike

May 8, 2012

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New Delhi, May 8: Erstwhile Air India pilots are threatening to strike work but the government may not be ready to play ball this time. The pilots threatened to go on strike from Monday night, minutes after their talks with the airline management and aviation ministry failed on the issue of training for the Boeing-787 Dreamliner.

The ministry, toughening its stand, has warned that it will shut international flights of the airline if the strike snowballs and will take strict action against the agitating pilots.

Sources in the 500-strong AI pilots' union, Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG), said about 100 pilots had reported sick by 9pm on Monday and the number may swell to 250 by Tuesday. Flights had already started getting affected.

This stir could cripple AI's international operations just ahead of the peak summer holiday season that begins this weekend.

AI cancelled Monday night-Tuesday morning's Mumbai-Newark, Delhi-Toronto and Delhi-Chicago flights. Among longhauls, only Delhi-New York is expected to operate early on Tuesday morning.

"Instead of delaying flights by 2-2 hours which is very irksome, we decided to cancel flights as 45 erstwhile AI pilots already reported sick by 11pm on Monday," said sources.

Dreamliner training put on hold

The latest strike threat comes from the heartburn caused among the erstwhile AI pilots after the Supreme Court backed the management's decision of sending pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines for training on the Dreamliner. IPG had been laying exclusive claim to this aircraft, saying the same was ordered by erstwhile AI - a claim rejected by the apex court.

The aviation ministry, which just weeks ago secured a mammoth Rs 42,000 crore bailout for debt-ridden AI, is fuming at this "completely unjustified" strike. "Following the SC order, erstwhile AI pilots have no right to agitate on the issue of erstwhile IA pilots being sent for training on the Dreamliner in equal numbers. About 22 pilots of AI (international) reported sick minutes after the meeting ended. We will not subject passengers to uncertainty this time and close the international operations of AI. This is not how anyone should behave after tonnes of taxpayers' money is being used to save the airline," a senior official said.

An IPG member said they were looking to secure their future as the B-787 was ordered for their career progression. "If half of those planes go to IA pilots, then our career progression gets stuck. We had prepared a draft that secured our interests but neither the management nor the ministry accepted it," the source said.

Sources said the 'enmity' between AI and IA pilots has reached such levels that the AI flights supposed to fly to Singapore last week with IA pilots (who were going there for training on the Dreamliner) was cancelled to ensure that the latter don't reach there!

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News Network
March 28,2020

Mumbai, Mar 28: Industrialist Ratan Tata on Saturday announced that Tata Trusts has committed Rs 500 crore for the medical supplies and equipments which will help combat the coronavirus outbreak.

"The COVID-19 crisis is one of the toughest challenges we will face as a race. The Tata Trusts and the Tata group companies have in the past risen to the needs of the nation. At this moment, the need of the hour is greater than any other time," said Ratan Tata, in an official release.

"Tata is committing Rs 500 crore for: personal protective equipment for the medical personnel on the frontlines; respiratory systems for treating increasing cases; testing kits to increase per capita testing; setting up modular treatment facilities for infected patients and knowledge management and training of health workers and the general public," Tata added.
Tata Chairman also expressed his deep gratitude for the members of all the organizations who are fighting coronavirus at the frontline, puting their life at risk.

"The Tata Trusts, Tata Sons and the Tata group companies are joined by committed local and global partners as well as the government to fight this crisis on a united public health collaboration platform which will strive to reach out to sections that are underprivileged and deprived," he added.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), there are 873 confirmed cases of coronavirus cases in the country and 19 fatalities have been reported.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Srinagar, May 21: Two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed and their weapons snatched by militants in the Pandach area on the outskirts of Srinagar yesterday.

According to IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar, the two BSF jawans, who were on road surveillance deployment, were fired upon by two of the three terrorists on a motorcycle around 5:15 pm on the 90-Ft Road at Pandach, near Soura. 

They were critically injured and later succumbed to injuries. The terrorists escaped after taking away one AK rifle and one INSAS. Efforts were underway to trace the terrorists.

He said that two jawans, Constable Rana Mandol and Constable Ziaul Haque of ‘C’ company of 37th battalion, were injured and they later succumbed.

“The terrorists managed to take away the weapons of the martyrs. Area has been cordoned off and the search for the terrorists is on”, he said.

Residents around the spot said that the two soldiers were buying chicken for Iftar from a mutton dealer, around 300 meters away from their deployment location when three militants on a motorcycle stopped and opened fire on them.

Medical Superintendent SKIMS Dr Farooq Jan said that both the jawans were brought dead to the tertiary care hospital.

Senior Police officials said it was a “clear case of security lapse” as the two jawans had left their spot of deployment on Srinagar-Kargil-Leh road and gone to a shop 500 metres away on a different road.

They said that possibility of terror attacks and subsequently claims by the new outfit TRF had been flashed to all forces earlier this week.

The terror strike in the capital city has occurred a day after an encounter in downtown Srinagar, where two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including the top wanted Junaid Sehrai, had been killed on Tuesday.

In the last one month, five Army and Police personnel and two militants had got killed in an encounter in Handwara area of Kupwara, a day before three CRPF men were killed in another attack.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

New Delhi, Jul 30: India's gold demand in 2020 is expected to fall to the lowest level in 26 years with domestic bullion prices hitting a record high and as falling disposable incomes could curtail retail purchases, the World Gold Council (WGC) said on Thursday.

Lower demand by the world's second-biggest bullion consumer could limit a rally in global prices, which hit a record high earlier this month, although it could also reduce India's trade deficit and support the ailing rupee.

"Fast rising gold prices could act as headwinds," said Somasundaram PR, the managing director of WGC's Indian operations.

Local gold futures have jumped 35% so far this year after rising a quarter in 2019.

India's gold consumption in the first half of 2020 plunged 56% on-year to 165.6 tonnes. Meanwhile, the coronavirus-triggered lockdown also slashed demand by 70% in the June quarter to 63.7 tonnes, the lowest in more than a decade, the WGC said in a report published on Thursday.

Millions of Indians have lost their jobs or taken a pay cut after the country imposed a lockdown on its 1.3 billion people to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 1.5 million Indians.

Consumption is generally high during the June quarter due to weddings and key festivals such as Akshaya Tritiya, but lockdown restrictions kept shoppers indoors this year.

The weak demand in the first half could drag down India's gold consumption in 2020 to the lowest since 1994, when demand stood at 415 tonnes, Somasundaram said, adding that it is still difficult to provide an estimate for full-year demand as the coronavirus crisis is still unfolding.

"Indian demand has previously jumped as much as 300 tonnes in a quarter. Latent demand could come out in the second half," Somasundaram said.

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