101 designed elephants at first Elephant Parade India
Mumbai: Politicians, celebrities, artists and designers came together on Monday at Gateway of India in Mumbai, where 101 artistic elephants have been assembled to celebrate the launch of the first Elephant Parade India.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the parade along with Minister of Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi, and Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and Parade Ambassador Poonam Mahajan.
"By showcasing these beautifully painted 101 elephants by renowned artists and designers all across the city of Mumbai we are bringing everyone together to increase that awareness. Through this initiative we'd like to raise significant funds to help India's 101 corridors for elephants, and build the crucial rescue centres around the forests that are so needed. This wonderful art exhibition we have launched is the first step and the exhibition is open to all Mumbaikars," Mahajan said in a statement.
The elephants will be paraded across the city in a series of public art exhibitions and simultaneously be sold at an online auction on Paddle8, going live on Wednesday.
The sales generated through the online auction will raise funds to secure 101 crucial Indian elephant corridors, the pathways that elephants depend upon to get from one forest feeding ground to the next.
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Air India, Air India Express to levy fuel surcharge on tickets; airfares to rise
New Delhi (PTI): Airfares are set to rise with Air India and Air India Express deciding to levy a fuel surcharge of Rs 399 on each domestic flight ticket from March 12 and also hike the charge for international bookings due to a steep rise in jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.
The new fuel surcharges will be implemented in a phased manner.
Regretting the need for fuel surcharges, Air India on Tuesday said that without such surcharges, "it is likely that some flights would be unable to cover operating costs and would have to be cancelled".
In the first phase, a fuel surcharge of Rs 399 per domestic flight ticket would be imposed from March 12, and the same will also be applicable for SAARC flights, a statement said on Tuesday.
For West Asia flights, the fuel surcharge will be USD 10 and hiked by USD 30 to USD 90 for Africa flights and by USD 20 to USD 60 for Southeast Asia services.
All these changes will be effective from March 12, including for flights to and from Singapore. Currently, there is no fuel surcharge for Singapore services.
In the second phase, Air India will increase the fuel surcharge by USD 25 to USD 50 for flights to Europe, North America and Australia starting from March 18.
Fuel surcharge for Europe flights will rise to USD 125 from USD 100, and for North America flights, the same will increase from USD 150 to USD 200.
As per the statement, the fuel surcharge for Australia flights will increase from USD 150 to USD 200.
Currently, Air India Express does not levy fuel surcharges on any of its flights.
"Air India group today announced a phased expansion of a fuel surcharge on its domestic and international routes, necessitated by the steep rise in jet fuel prices arising from the geopolitical situation in the Gulf region," the statement said.
Since early March 2026, the statement that Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which accounts for nearly 40 per cent of an airline's operating costs, has seen significant price escalation due to supply interruptions.
"In India, this pressure is amplified by high Excise Duty and VAT on ATF in major metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, magnifying the cost impact and placing substantial strain on airline operating economics," it said.
For the avoidance of doubt, the statement said that tickets that have already been issued prior to the above times will not attract the new surcharge unless customers seek date or itinerary changes that require a recalculation of the fare.
There was no announcement regarding fuel surcharges from IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa Air.
