Tomatoes fuel fresh fears of food inflation spike in October
New Delhi: Tomato prices are once again raising concerns about a potential spike in food inflation this month, as vegetable inflation surged to a 14-month high of 36% in September, driving food inflation for consumers up to 9.2%. With fewer tomatoes arriving at mandis and festive season demand rising, households are feeling the pinch of soaring prices.
Last Tuesday, Umakant, a vegetable vendor in South Delhi’s Prakash Mohalla, who buys his stock from the Okhla Mandi, noticed several customers walking away due to the sharp increase in vegetable prices. Tomatoes, in particular, were being sold at ₹120 per kg. Retail tomato prices had jumped by 233% in July compared to June, but saw a 23% drop in August, providing some respite. However, excessive rainfall in September has presented a new challenge, as mandi arrivals have more than halved since August.
Year-on-year vegetable inflation reached 36% in September, the highest in 14 months. The situation for tomatoes has worsened since early October, with prices exceeding ₹100 per kg in many cities across the country. Meanwhile, prices of onions and potatoes continue to remain high, further straining household budgets.
On October 7, the Centre stepped in to address the issue, launching tomato sales at ₹65 per kg in Delhi NCR. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs termed the price hike “unwarranted,” pointing to the “possible role of market intermediaries” amidst the high-demand festive season.
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Vistara in-flight experience will continue post-merger, says Air India
New Delhi (PTI): Air India on Friday said Vistara routes and schedule as well as the in-flight experience will continue and the flights operated with Vistara planes will have the code 'AI2' post-merger.
The merger of the two full service carriers is scheduled to be completed on November 12, following which Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India.
Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.
Post the merger, the vintage 'Maharaja' will be retained through the frequent flyer programme of the integrated entity.
"The existing members of Club Vistara will be seamlessly transferred to Air India's Flying Returns program. With this merger, Flying Returns will also evolve into an all-new avatar 'Maharaja Club'," Air India said in the statement.
Reiterating that the experience offered by Vistara will continue for customers post-merger, Air India said Vistara will be identified by a special four-digit Air India code beginning with the digit '2'.
"For instance, UK 955 will become AI 2955 helping customers identify them while booking... after November 12," the statement said.
Further, it said the routes and schedule operated by Vistara aircraft will continue to be the same, alongside the airline's in-flight experience that includes the product and service such as menu and cutlery on the Vistara aircraft.
There are concerns in certain quarters on whether Vistara passengers will continue to get the same services like now, post-merger as Air India, which is in the transformation phase, has been facing certain service issues in recent times.
Air India, on October 2, also said that Vistara experience will remain post-merger.
On Wednesday, Vistara Chairman Bhaskar Bhat said the integrated entity will share the best practices of the two airlines and the livery of Vistara will stay for sometime.
The Air India-Vistara merger, announced in November 2022, will also see Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1 per cent stake in the merged entity.
