Babudom

Air India and Indian Airlines – sucking in public funds without any end

The Indian airline industry is going through a period of losses, where the competition between the various airline companies has led to severe losses for many of those involved. So, for example, Kingfisher is facing huge problems in running a full service network, and was unable to run the low cost converted Air Deccan. However, a lot of this is also due to the management and decision making within an organization, and if you consider the performance of the others such as Jet, Indigo and GoAir, you would start to think that the power of good management is key. Both Indigo and GoAir are seen as great performers and even in this loss making industry, they have turned in profits in the past.
The airline industry is a very strange industry, where there are huge capital investments in terms of buying new planes, the pilots to fly these planes are also typically very well paid compared to other industries, the portion of fuel in terms of expenses is very high, and you need to keep on flying planes in a tight turnaround to ensure that you are making more money than you are spending. Further, you need to keep your costs down without compromising on the many regulations necessary to ensure the safety of passengers.
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The confrontation between the Army Chief VK Singh and the Government ..

One really does not know what is the truth behind the age of the Army Chief, whether the year of birth is 1950 or 1951. It is also important to see that the army chiefs in the 2 neighboring nations of India and Pakistan are having a skirmish with their civilian superior agencies. However, as of now, the comparison between the 2 countries is not much of a comparison, since in Pakistan, the army chief is having a skirmish with the civilian authorities over their attempt to challenge the hegemony of the army in Pakistani affairs; in India, the army is much more controlled, with no visible action by the army to resent the control of civilians as part of the defence establishment setup.
One is pretty sure that the relationship between the army (or the other defense services) and the Government will not change, with overall civilian control remaining high. The Indian Army continues to be a disciplined force, serving under the control of the Indian Government, and no one envisages a position like what happens in Pakistan. However, there is something seriously wrong here. It has been known for some time that there has been disagreement in terms of the age of the Army Chief, and that the Army Chief remains dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.
I am no legal expert, but that does not stop people in this country from airing their opinion on an issue, so here goes. In the absence of birth certificates in the year of birth, the standard proof of age of birth is the School certificate (typically the 10th standard one). That certificate mentions the year of birth as 1951, and then there is a lot of confusion about the year of birth marked in later records. Apparently, the Government has sought legal advice from the Attorney General of India, and the AG agrees that the year of birth can be treated as 1950.
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Economic condition of India going downhill, with the Government sitting by and letting it happen ..

Major economies such as countries in Europe and the United States are going through a major upheaval, with a strange combination of low rates of economic growth, low interest rates, as well as high deficits. These high deficits have prompted pushes for austerity measures and other means of reducing the debts; which is contrary to the conventional wisdom whereby Governments pump in huge sums of money for schemes so that they can try to force employment, and thus try to kick-start growth. However, with huge debts, Governments are not able to do such measures, and consequently, global economic growth is slow, with few exceptions – China and India are the notable exceptions, with China having the larger growth rate, but India also having a decent 8%+ growth rate. Well, make that 7%+ now.
And this is the main problem. The current Government has, over the past couple of decades, inherited an economy that just needs more decontrol and it will keep on growing. However, for all those who say that India is fast ahead on the path to a high degree of liberalization, a review of the past 2 years shows the extent of the impact that Government policies have on the market.
Inflation is a terrifying word, having a huge impact on politicians as well as the citizenry of the country. For normal citizens, or the ‘aam admi’ in Congress speak, a high rate of inflation means that items they have taken for granted suddenly become more difficult to get. This could mean that driving a car gets difficult for those who have to travel long distances because of higher fuel prices, or families have to suddenly start thinking whether they can afford to take the holiday (either domestic or international), or families have to start wondering whether they can still afford to enjoy fruit or meat to the same extent that they used to, and so on. Inflation, when you consider the high levels of inflation that have been ongoing for the past several years, wreak a tremendous impact on families, sending those on the edge right into the poverty line.
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