Karnataka govt calls high-level meeting over H3N2 and covid spike

Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

Bengaluru, Nov 21: The Karnataka government is facing pressure to overhaul its employment system after a high-level Cabinet sub-committee recommended the complete phase-out of job outsourcing in government offices, boards, and corporations by March 2028. The move is aimed at tackling a systemic issue that has led to the potential violation of constitutional reservation policies and the exploitation of workers.

The Call for Systemic Change

With over three lakh vacant posts currently being filled through private agencies on an outsource, insource, or daily wage basis, the sub-committee highlighted a significant lapse. "As a result, reservations are not being followed as per the Constitution and state laws. It’s an urgent need to take serious steps to change the system. It has been recommended to completely stop the system of outsourcing by March 2028," the panel stated in a document.

The practice of outsourcing involves private companies hiring workers to perform duties for a government agency. Critics argue this model results in lesser salaries, a lack of social security benefits (otherwise available to permanent government employees), and a failure to adhere to the provisions of Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and prohibit discrimination.

The 'Bidar Model' as a Stop-Gap Solution

To regulate the current mode of employment and reduce worker exploitation until the 2028 deadline, the government plans to establish workers’ services multi-purpose cooperative societies across all districts, following the successful "Bidar Model."

The Bidar District Services of Labour Multi-purpose Cooperative Society Ltd., which operates under the District Commissioner, is cited as a successful example of providing a measure of social security to outsourced staff. Labour Department officials argue this society ensures workers receive their due wages and statutory facilities like ESI (Employees' State Insurance) and PF (Provident Fund), in exchange for a 1% service fee collected from the employees.

legislative push and Priority Insourcing

The recommendations, led by the sub-committee headed by Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil, are set to be discussed at the next Cabinet meeting. The committee has proposed the introduction of the Karnataka Outsourced Employees (Regulation, Placement and Welfare) Bill 2025.

In a move addressing immediate concerns, Labour Minister Santosh Lad, a member of the sub-committee, has reportedly assured that steps will be taken over the next 2-3 years to insource workers in "life-threatening services" on a priority basis. This includes essential personnel like pourakarmikas (sanitation workers), drivers, electrical staff in the Energy Department, and Health Department staff handling contagious diseases. The transition aims to grant these workers the long-term security and benefits they currently lack under the outsourcing system.