Not making any false ad, ready for even death sentence if found guilty: Patanjali Ayurved
New Delhi/Haridwar, Nov 22: Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved on Wednesday said it was not making any "false advertisements or propaganda" regarding its products, and said it would not object if the Supreme Court were to impose a fine or "even give us a death sentence" if found making misleading claims.
A day after the apex court cautioned the company against making "false" and "misleading" claims in advertisements about its medicines as cure of several diseases, Patanjali Ayurved said it has "database with more than one crore people, with real world evidence, preclinical and clinical evidence".
Further, the company said it humbly respects the court and "if we make false advertisements or propaganda, we would not have any objections if honourable court imposes a fine of crores or even give us a death sentence."
Addressing a press conference in Haridwar, Ramdev said the apex court should have listened to their side also.
Ramdev said if he was given an opportunity, he was himself ready to present all facts, clinical evidence and scientific research papers before the court in support of his claims.
Ramdev also said that he sticks to his claims of curing serious diseases through Yoga and Ayurveda.
On Tuesday, a bench comprising Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra orally observed while hearing a plea of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), "All such false and misleading advertisements of Patanjali Ayurved have to stop immediately. The court will take any such infraction very seriously..."
The top court, on August 23, 2022, had issued notices to the Union health ministry and Ministry of Ayush and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, on the plea of the IMA alleging a smear campaign by Ramdev against the vaccination drive and modern medicines.
In its statement, Patanjali said, "We would like emphasise that we are not spreading any false propaganda. Hundreds of therapies of Yoga, Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Panchakarma, Shatkarma, fasting and with the integrated treatment of system, we have made thousands of people free from several diseases like BP, sugar, thyroid, asthma, arthritis, obesity, liver and kidney failure, and cancer."
It further claimed, "We have the world's best research centre on ayurveda, Patanjali Research Foundation, for research on traditional treatment and sanatan knowledge tradition. Where hundreds of world renowned scientists are conducting research, and by following more than 3,000 research protocols, close to 500 research papers have been published in the world's highly reputed research journals."
The company accused "some stubborn and so-called frustrated doctors of the medical sector, who oppose Yoga, Ayurveda and Naturopathy" of have a problem.
While acknowledging that diseases can be controlled with synthetic medicines, it said "but cannot be cured", this problem of allopathy is not a problem for Yoga-Ayurveda.
"In the medical field, we have seen many modern practitioners those who are committing medical crimes by installing fake pacemakers, stealing kidneys, taking unnecessary medicines and conducting tests indiscriminately as medical mafia/drug mafia, we have fought against them," the statement added.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
