Became finance minister first time at Deve Gowda's insistence: Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who recently presented his record 17th Budget as the state's finance minister, recalled on Tuesday that he first took on the responsibility in 1994 at the insistence of then CM H D Deve Gowda.
Speaking in the Legislative Assembly, he said that if he had not accepted the responsibility then, he wouldn't have presented the record number of budgets.
"Deve Gowda was the chief minister. I asked for the Revenue Department during the meeting at senior leader R L Jalappa's office at his medical college.... But Jalappa said he wanted the Revenue portfolio, so that department went to him. When I asked what would be given to me, Gowda said to take the Finance Department. I told him I didn't want Finance, but Gowda insisted, saying that they wanted a trusted person," Siddaramaiah said.
He said, "I did not know economics, nor had I studied it, so I said I didn't want that department. But Gowda forcefully gave that portfolio to me."
At this point, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, quipped that Gowda might have had farsightedness. "Since you (Siddaramaiah) became finance minister then, today you have presented 17 budgets. If not, I'm not sure what would have happened....you should thank him (Gowda) for it."
Siddaramaiah replied to Ashoka, saying, "If not then, he would never have become (the finance minister)."
The issue arose as Ashoka, while comparing the first Budget presented by Siddaramaiah for 1995-96 to the one presented by him last week said, "it (the first budget) had weight....there is nothing in this budget compared to it."
Noting that Siddaramaiah himself previously stated that he faced criticism when he first became the finance minister with comments like, "How can a person who cannot count a hundred sheep present a state budget?", Ashoka said, "It was Gowda who made such a person the finance minister."
Siddaramaiah hails from the Kuruba (shepherd) community.
Siddaramaiah's relationship with JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister Deve Gowda is now considered as "friends-turned-foes" in Karnataka's political circles, after the former was thrown out of the JD(S) in 2005 for anti-party activities.
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Air India, Air India Express to levy fuel surcharge on tickets; airfares to rise
New Delhi (PTI): Airfares are set to rise with Air India and Air India Express deciding to levy a fuel surcharge of Rs 399 on each domestic flight ticket from March 12 and also hike the charge for international bookings due to a steep rise in jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.
The new fuel surcharges will be implemented in a phased manner.
Regretting the need for fuel surcharges, Air India on Tuesday said that without such surcharges, "it is likely that some flights would be unable to cover operating costs and would have to be cancelled".
In the first phase, a fuel surcharge of Rs 399 per domestic flight ticket would be imposed from March 12, and the same will also be applicable for SAARC flights, a statement said on Tuesday.
For West Asia flights, the fuel surcharge will be USD 10 and hiked by USD 30 to USD 90 for Africa flights and by USD 20 to USD 60 for Southeast Asia services.
All these changes will be effective from March 12, including for flights to and from Singapore. Currently, there is no fuel surcharge for Singapore services.
In the second phase, Air India will increase the fuel surcharge by USD 25 to USD 50 for flights to Europe, North America and Australia starting from March 18.
Fuel surcharge for Europe flights will rise to USD 125 from USD 100, and for North America flights, the same will increase from USD 150 to USD 200.
As per the statement, the fuel surcharge for Australia flights will increase from USD 150 to USD 200.
Currently, Air India Express does not levy fuel surcharges on any of its flights.
"Air India group today announced a phased expansion of a fuel surcharge on its domestic and international routes, necessitated by the steep rise in jet fuel prices arising from the geopolitical situation in the Gulf region," the statement said.
Since early March 2026, the statement that Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), which accounts for nearly 40 per cent of an airline's operating costs, has seen significant price escalation due to supply interruptions.
"In India, this pressure is amplified by high Excise Duty and VAT on ATF in major metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, magnifying the cost impact and placing substantial strain on airline operating economics," it said.
For the avoidance of doubt, the statement said that tickets that have already been issued prior to the above times will not attract the new surcharge unless customers seek date or itinerary changes that require a recalculation of the fare.
There was no announcement regarding fuel surcharges from IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa Air.
