Govt policy led to hike in fuel prices
The prices of petrol and diesel are increasing since the last month and half. Rupee value has hit the rock bottom. As a result of these two incidences, prices of essential items have been skyrocketing. Congress and left parties staged a nationwide bandh against this. Finance minister Arun Jaitley does not have a straight answer for this uncontrolled hike in fuel prices. He speaks about economy, GDP and fiscal health of the country as a response to questions on this issue. He says the country is in a good space as far as economy is concerned and gives out data on that topic.
But these numbers can never satiate the hunger of general public. Rupee has collapsed to unseen depths in the history of the country to less than Rs 70 against the dollar.In the past, RBI and Finance ministry would take steps to ensure rupee does not have a free fall against the dollar at regular intervals. But ever since liberal economic policy came into being, controlling measures cannot be initiated. Further collapse of rupee would turn the foreign exchange costlier. This would render a serious blow to the foreign exchange. And that in turn, would leave a very heavy burden on the economy of the country.
The hike and reckless run of fuel prices has a reason. They have been made control free and the rates of petrol and diesel hence are beyond anybody’s supervision. Modi govt’s policies regarding this issue are filled with massive loopholes. The govt raised excise duty on petrol and diesel when the rates of crude oil fell in 2014 global market. Between 2014 November and 2018 January, the excise duty has been hiked about 9 times. Petrol carries an excise duty of Rs 11.15 and diesel has Rs 13.47 excise duty component on that. Hence, even if the crude oil rates come down, the benefit of that will not be passed on to the general public.
The taxing system in India is a very complicated and unsavoury one. Value added tax would be applied in states above excise duties from the central government. Hence half the price of fuel goes as taxes. Though Rs 2 has been reduced from taxes in 2018 budget, it has not made much of a difference to the people. On one hand, Rs 2 tax has been reduced and a cess of Rs 8 has been added. About six years ago, crude oil had reached USD 140 per barrel, now it is $ 70 per barrel. With this, ideally, petrol and diesel rates should have been reduced. But why did it increase? The whole reason for this is the unfriendly policies of Narendra Modi govt. It is not an appropriate step for the government to have opened everything for liberalization, in the name of economy. Petrol, diesel and LPG rates must be controlled by the government. Along with this, the rupee value has to be controlled and checked. Else, the government will have to face the ire of the people.
Inflation and increase in prices of essential commodities, are the result of constantly increasing fuel prices. Around July 2018 and the corresponding time last year, index stood at 6.9% apart. Petrol and diesel rates have increased manifold after that. This has led to transportation and increased expenses in tractors and pumpsets. Farmers are in deep trouble. If the increase in excise duty is not withdrawn, situation may turn even worse. But the Modi govt is refusing to reduce the rates on the pretext of maintaining economic balance. This government gave tax rebates to the rich and affluent. And now it is snatching away savings from the poor and the helpless.
Excise duty is very high on the most essential needs of most people, the fuel. And this rate keeps changing everyday. Petrol and diesel come from foreign countries. Hence, we end up paying more say the union ministers. How come India was still charging high rates on this product even when international crude oil rates were high? The government needs to bring down excise duty on petrol, diesel and LPG. Frustration is piling up among people against these issues. Soon, the BJP party would be approaching people for its votes to win elections again. The government has to somehow find ways to reduce the excise duty and bring down prices.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Indigo fiasco: B'luru airport suffers disruptions; over 102 services cancelled, KIAL issues advisory
Bengaluru: IndiGo’s service disruption at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport continued for the fourth consecutive day, leading to the cancellation of over 102 flights on Friday. Many passengers were stranded for more than 12 hours.
According to reports, 52 arrivals and 50 departures were cancelled.
Passengers expressed widespread anger over IndiGo’s lack of proper communication and shared videos and updates on social media highlighting the chaotic situation.
Some users alleged that the airline intentionally cancelled flights to indirectly pressure the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) into rolling back the newly introduced ‘weekly rest’ clause under the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
A user wrote, “An airline that had two years to meet global standards managed to blackmail the government and force a rollback. What about passenger safety and pilot health? The problem is we will keep flying IndiGo because there is no option.”
An airline company that had two years to meet global standards has managed to blackmail the government and forced it to toll back.
What about passenger safety? Pilot health? Problem is we will keep flying indigo because there is no option pic.twitter.com/cpbwf4SM5D
— Snehesh Alex Philip (@sneheshphilip) December 5, 2025
Another commented, “So the blackmail by @IndiGo6E worked. What about the problems faced by passengers? No accountability?”
So the blackmail by @IndiGo6E worked. What about the problems faced by the passengers. No accountability?? pic.twitter.com/9DNxmH8b0I
— CA Brindavan Giri (@BrindavanG) December 5, 2025
The widespread cancellation came owing to pilot and crew crunch after the DGCA introduced crew shortages triggered by the rollout of the new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
A social media user, Nitin Malpani shared a video about this and said, "What are you IndiGo staff doing? We have been at Bangalore airport since 8 pm last night till now. Are you playing with children, elderly and sick people just to change the work schedule of the staff?"
A video of exhausted passengers singing bhajans while waiting at the airport has also gone viral.
Meanwhile, at a time when Indigo cancelled flights to major cities, ticket prices of other airlines sharply surged.
As per reports, the New Delhi–Chennai one-way fare touched nearly ₹66,000, while fares on the Mumbai and Kolkata routes also crossed ₹38,000.
A passenger reported that an Air India ticket from Bengaluru to New Delhi for Saturday evening had risen to nearly ₹34,000, leaving many with no choice but to pay increased prices.
Bengaluru airport issues advisory
In a statement issued on Friday, Bengaluru airport authorities said that IndiGo flights to Mumbai and Delhi had been cancelled and advised passengers to check their flight status directly with the airline before arriving at the airport.
They added that their teams were working with IndiGo and other stakeholders to decrease inconvenience and assist passengers affected by the disruption.
ಇಂಡಿಗೋ ಮೂಲಕ ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಿಂದ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರು ದಯವಿಟ್ಟು ಈ ಸೂಚನೆಯನ್ನು ಪರಿಶೀಲಿಸಿ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಸಹಕಾರಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಧನ್ಯವಾದಗಳು.#ಪ್ರಯಾಣಸಲಹೆ #ಇಂಡಿಗೋ #ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯವಿಮಾನನಿಲ್ದಾಣಬೆಂಗಳೂರು #ಬೆಂಗಳೂರುವಿಮಾನನಿಲ್ದಾಣ #ವಿಮಾನ pic.twitter.com/SLV6Nl69B9
— ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು (@blrairport_kn) December 5, 2025
Need a sanitary pad for my daughter !
A video of a distressed father pleading for a sanitary pad for his daughter amid the chaos has gone viral across social media platforms, sparking outrage on social media.
In the video, the man can be heard saying, “My daughter needs a pad. Blood is coming out.” He is also seen repeatedly requesting a female staffer for a sanitary pad, but she allegedly refuses.
The video has gone viral, with strong reactions from netizens.
"Need sanitary pad for my daughter," a visibly angry man could be heard venting at the Indigo crew amid hundreds of flight cancellations leaving passengers, in dire need of basic amenities, stranded for hours. pic.twitter.com/TRlMA27DVS
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) December 5, 2025
One user wrote, “What kind of airports do we have where even basic emergency services are unavailable?”
What kind of airports we have where we didn't even have basic emergency services.
— Himanshu (@himanshukr2841) December 5, 2025
Another commented, “Welcome to the world’s fourth-largest economy, where one airline brings the aviation ministry to its knees, and ministers get away with zero accountability.”
Welcome to the worlds fourth economy where one airlines brings the aviation ministry to it’s knees @PMOIndia And the ministers get away with zero accountability
— Pintoo Ganguly (@pintooganguly) December 5, 2025
What caused the IndiGo fiasco?
The disruption at India’s largest carrier, which has a control of over 60% of the domestic market comes after crew shortages, which were triggered by the rollout of DGCA’s new Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms.
According to a NDTV report, the airline has said that it expects to completely restore its normal services within three to four days.
However, following chaos at major airports, DGCA rolled back the newly implemented FDTL norms on Friday.
