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New Delhi, Sep 17: The Congress on Friday wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 71st birthday but said the country is paying the price for his "failures" on several fronts and so the day is being observed as "unemployment day", "anti-farmer day" and "high prices day".

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi extended his wishes to the prime minister on Twitter.

"Happy Birthday, Modi ji," he said.

For the Indian Youth Congress and the NSUI, it was "national unemployment day".

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said birthdays of former prime ministers are celebrated as different days, with Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday as "Children's Day", Indira Gandhi's as "National Integration Day", Rajiv Gandhi's as "Sadbhavna Day" and Atal Bihari Vajpayee's as "Good Governance Day". But Modi's birthday is being observed as "unemployment day", she added.

She said she prays that God gives the prime minister the wisdom to realise what he has led the country to.

"It is the prime minister's birthday and from this platform, we wish him a happy birthday. We pray for his well being, but we do believe that this day is being celebrated in many parts of the country as unemployment day, anti-farmer day, high prices day, crippled economy day, as winning over your crony capitalists friends day, as ED, IT, CBI raid day, and the corona mismanagement day," Shrinate told reporters.

"We do believe that in the last seven years, you have failed on several fronts and we hope and pray that God gives you the wisdom to realise that this is what you have led the country to. This is where, you have failed and today as a result, India is paying a heavy price for it," she also said.

She claimed India has the maximum number of unemployed people despite Modi's tall promises.

She alleged that every month, jobs are being lost and asked, "where are those two crore annual jobs, one would want to ask? Why are 61 lakh government jobs lying vacant?"

Noting that farmers are protesting for nine long months without a solution in sight, Shrinate said high prices in gas, diesel, petrol, edible oil, pulses, daily essential items are making lives of people difficult.

She claimed demonetisation and GST have crippled the economy and there has been shutdown of MSMEs and small businesses as a result, as investment in the consumption chain is completely broken.

"Still, you have put India on sale for a few friends of yours and which is why, it is important that we are calling it the 'punjipati poojan divas' (crony capitalist friends day)," she said.

Shrinate also alleged that during Covid crisis, the country faced shortage of vaccines, oxygen, essential drugs as the prime minister was too busy electioneering and the "red flags were being manipulated to suit his image".

She accused the prime minister for misuse of ED, IT, CBI, as frontal organisations.

"The PM has broken the very framework of our Constitution and they have hurt the very foundation of our democracy and which is why, the 'ED, IT, CBI raid divas' is perhaps an apt coinage here," she alleged.

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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.

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