Centre should not go against federal structure of Constitution: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi, Aug 7: The Centre should not go against the federal structure of the Constitution and legislation on subjects listed in its concurrent list should be carried out in consultation with the States, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday.
Vijayan said the Central government should refrain from making laws on matters in the State list of the Constitution.
He was speaking at the 7th Governing Council meeting of the NITI Aayog which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre in Delhi.
Besides telling the Centre not to "challenge" federalism, Vijayan said steps should be taken to raise Kerala's credit-limit as it has not yet recovered from the economic problems caused by COVID-19.
He further said the southern State has entrusted matters related to panchayats and municipalities, mentioned in the 11th and 12th schedules of the Constitution, with the local self-governing bodies as part of decentralisation of power.
Therefore, the Centre should consider this aspect also when distributing the consolidated funds.
He spoke also on the need for a legal solution to the Supreme Court's direction to maintain a one-km wide eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).
The apex court's direction in June this year has created a lot of rumblings among those living in the hilly and forest regions of Kerala, leading to the State Assembly unanimously passing a resolution requesting the Centre to exempt inhabited places and agricultural lands in the State while implementing the one-km wide ESZ.
The apex court had, on June 3, directed that each protected forest, including national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, must have an ESZ of one km and banning of mining activities within such parks across the nation.
The apex court had said no permanent structure would be allowed within such zones and said if the local law or other rules provide for an ESZ of more than one km then the earlier provision would continue to apply.
The other issues he touched upon in his speech was the increase in allocation of funds under PMAY for urban and rural projects, timely completion of national highway development, approve Kerala's air-rail projects, provide technical and financial support to improve coastal protection and review the cut in kerosene quota as the same was adversely affecting fishermen.
Vijayan sought technical support and financial assistance also from the Centre for manufacturing value-added products from coconut, setting up new processing plants for palmoil production and groundnut production.
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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.
