Spanish woman returns to India in search of her biological mother
Bhubaneswar, Jan 5: Sneha, a Spanish citizen, has returned to India in search of her biological mother, who had abandoned her and her brother 20 years ago.
However, 21-year-old Sneha is running out of time as she has to return to Spain on Monday for her educational commitments.
The researcher in children's education wanted to trace her roots and reached India with scant information about her past.
Her Spanish parents Gema Vidal and Juan Josh supported her in her quest and Gema accompanied Sneha to her home state Odisha. They had adopted Sneha and her brother Somu in 2010 from an orphanage in Bhubaneswar, where they were sheltered after their mother Banalata Das abandoned them in 2005.
"The purpose of my journey from Spain to Bhubaneswar is to find my biological parents, especially my mother. I want to find her and meet her. I am fully prepared for the journey even if it is difficult," Sneha told PTI.
Asked if she would chide her biological mother for abandoning her, Sneha remained mum. She was only over a year old, and her brother was just a few months old at that time.
Sneha said her Spanish parents have given the siblings everything in life and never made them feel like they were adopted, ensuring the best education and freedom to make their own choices.
"They have given us unconditional love," she said.
Accompanied by Gema, a yoga teacher in Zaragoza city of Spain, Sneha arrived in Bhubaneswar on December 19 last year and they have been staying in a hotel. Somu, however, could not come as he was busy with some work in Spain.
If they do not find Sneha's biological mother by Monday, they will come back in March for a longer stay.
"We have to return to Spain as Sneha has joined a training programme which should not be discontinued. If we do not get Banalata in the next 24 hours, we will come back to Bhubaneswar in March," Gema said.
Banalata had abandoned Sneha and Somu at their rented house in Nayapally area in Bhubaneswar in 2005. Banalata's husband Santosh, who worked as a cook in a private firm, had earlier abandoned his family, which comprised his wife, and four children, including Sneha and Somu.
Later, Banalata also left the rented house with another son and daughter, leaving behind Sneha and Somu. The house owner later informed the police and they were shifted to an orphanage.
In 2010, Sneha, then around five years and nine months old, and Somu, over four years old, were legally adopted by the Spanish couple.
"Sneha is very responsible and educated. She is the joy of our house. She is our life," Gema said.
Gema had earlier revealed to Sneha and Somu about their roots in Odisha and that they were adopted.
"She is well educated and conducting research, so she decided to locate her biological mother and I accompanied her to this place," Gema said.
"I told Sneha that her Indian mother and father are surely nice people because you are good," she said.
Recalling her experience during the legal adoption of Sneha and her brother, Gema said that they had to wait for three months to adopt the siblings.
"When we reached the orphanage to adopt Sneha and Somu, she was waiting for us with a flower in her hand. From that very moment, the siblings became a part of our life," she said.
During their frantic search in Bhubaneswar, Gema and Sneha came across a retired teacher of Rama Devi Women's University, Sneha Sudha Mishra, who helped them find out the names of her parents.
"We found out about her parents' names from the house owner in Nayapally and later the names were verified with the police and the orphanage," Mishra said.
Gema and Sneha were monetarily exploited by some people during their initial days in India.
"In fact, Sneha's mother cried in front of me, seeking help to locate Banalata. Together, we searched for her parents before approaching the police for help. Gema is a noble and affectionate woman having an in-depth understanding of Indian culture and philosophy," Mishra said.
Mishra said language was a major problem for Gema to communicate with locals but she has been helping the mother-daughter duo.
With the help of Mishra, Sneha and Gema met city Commissioner of Police Dev Datta Singh, who assigned the job of locating Banalata Das and Santosh Das to two police personnel Anjali Chhotray and Gangadhar Pradhan.
"We have found out that Banalata Das and Santosh are from Badamba-Narsinghpur area in Cuttack district. We have engaged police and panchayat functionaries to locate them," Inspector Anjali Chhotray said.
"People here, especially the media and police, have helped us a lot," Sneha said.
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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.
