Aneesh Phadnis And Dev Chatterjee

Stories by Aneesh Phadnis And Dev Chatterjee

Jio's cashback offer to escalate competition

Jio's cashback offer to escalate competition

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2021

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio has introduced a 20-per cent cashback offer on select prepaid plans, intensifying competition in the Indian telecommunications (telecom) market. Jio is the largest telecom service provider in India, with 443 million subscribers as of July. Jio's cashback offer will drive cross-selling across Reliance's various retail businesses, but the move is also being seen by some analysts as a signal that tariff hikes may not be around the corner just yet.

Vodafone Idea reworking business plans

Vodafone Idea reworking business plans

Rediff.com   30 Sep 2021

Vodafone Idea (Vi) is working on a fresh business plan that could alter its funding requirements. Addressing shareholder queries at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, Vi chairman Himanshu Kapania said the exact amount will be worked out upon submission of a new business plan. "The management is working on a new business plan and will come to the board with the funding requirements," Kapania told shareholders in his first AGM as chairman.

SBI ready to support Tata group's bid for Air India

SBI ready to support Tata group's bid for Air India

Rediff.com   28 Sep 2021

India's largest public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI) will support Tata group's bid for soon-to-be-privatised Air India by subscribing to Tata Sons debentures or funding the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by Tata Sons for the acquisition. Bankers said the credit rating of Tata group's holding company is "AAA" signifying high safety and a combination of Air India with its existing airline businesses would make it a formidable player - leading to a duopoly market with IndiGo. It would also open many business opportunities, including in the retail segment, an official said.

Shareholders vote down Birla nominees to board of directors

Shareholders vote down Birla nominees to board of directors

Rediff.com   25 Sep 2021

Vindhya Telelinks, Universal Cables and Birla Cable shareholders go against family's wishes.

2nd year running, brands take a backseat for Ganeshotsav amid curbs

2nd year running, brands take a backseat for Ganeshotsav amid curbs

Rediff.com   14 Sep 2021

It is Mumbai's favourite festival and is celebrated each year with fervour and frenzy. But when the city welcomes "Ganpati Bappa" this Friday, the celebrations will be low key. With a cap on the size of idols, ban on processions and restrictions on devotees visiting pandals, celebrations are toned down for the second year in a row. Festival budgets have shrunk and as a result, corporate sponsorships have dried out.

'Jet Airways' revival plan is discriminatory'

'Jet Airways' revival plan is discriminatory'

Rediff.com   3 Sep 2021

Challenging the "illegal" reduction in its claim by the erstwhile resolution professional (RP) in the Jet Airways revival plan, the Punjab National Bank (PNB) has moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) citing discrimination. The NCLAT on Thursday issued notices to RP Ashish Chhawchharia and the committee of creditors on PNB's plea to set aside the insolvency court's approval of the airline's revival plan. It has posted the matter for further hearing on September 21.

Why Piyush Goyal is peeved at some in India Inc

Why Piyush Goyal is peeved at some in India Inc

Rediff.com   23 Aug 2021

Union Minister of Commerce and Textiles Piyush Goyal has stirred up a hornet's nest by taking on India Inc, specifically the Tata group, which is among the companies that lobbied against the Modi government's pro-consumer draft e-commerce policies. While Goyal's comments, made at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event, were streamed live on YouTube, the industry lobbying body later edited the video and subsequently withdrew the entire speech. Goyal had said the Tata group and other Indian companies often lobbied for their interest, while ignoring national interest.

Why Air India is leaving passenger luggage behind at Delhi airport

Why Air India is leaving passenger luggage behind at Delhi airport

Rediff.com   23 Aug 2021

Air India is leaving behind some 50 bags at the Delhi airport as it flies to the US, reducing what it carries after the closure of Afghanistan's airspace increased flight time by at least 30 minutes. Air India flies the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft to New York, Newark, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco.

How top realtors plan to transform Central Mumbai

How top realtors plan to transform Central Mumbai

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2021

One of Mumbai's biggest real estate redevelopment projects of Bombay Development Directorate's (BDD's) chawls (large buildings divided into many separate tenements, offering cheap, basic accommodation) has taken off in Central Mumbai, opening up a Rs 20,000-crore opportunity for real estate companies. It is expected to drive down real estate prices in Central Mumbai by up to 25 per cent, forecast real estate experts. Spread over 92 acres in Central Mumbai's prime localities of Worli, Lower Parel, and Dadar and consisting 195 four-storey houses, the BDD chawls were constructed in the 1920s.

Indian students hung out to dry

Indian students hung out to dry

Rediff.com   21 Aug 2021

With Canada, Australia extending restrictions, admission seekers are deferring their studies or looking elsewhere.

More bad news: Vodafone Idea may get notice for licence fee delay

More bad news: Vodafone Idea may get notice for licence fee delay

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2021

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is in the process of issuing a show-cause notice to Vodafone Idea (Vi) for delaying the payment of licence fee. Companies pay 8 per cent of their adjusted gross revenue as licence fee. This also includes a universal service obligation levy. The fee is collected from each of the 22 telecom circles in the country on a quarterly basis.

Vi lost 12.4 mn subscribers in Q1, most since March '20

Vi lost 12.4 mn subscribers in Q1, most since March '20

Rediff.com   16 Aug 2021

Vodafone Idea (Vi) lost 12.4 million subscribers in the first quarter of FY22, the most since the fourth quarter of FY20, as the second wave of Covid hurt its operational and financial performance. Vi had managed to trim subscriber losses in the third and fourth quarters of FY21. However, it lost 12.4 million subscribers and its customer base shrunk to 255.4 million in the first quarter of FY22. Sequential fall in 4G users was modest, indicating that most of the loss was in the low-margin 2G segment.

Tata group keen to enter chip manufacturing: Chandrasekaran

Tata group keen to enter chip manufacturing: Chandrasekaran

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2021

The Tata group is looking to make a foray into semiconductor (also known as chips) manufacturing and it has set up a business to seize the opportunity, Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Monday. "At the Tata group, we have already pivoted into a number of new businesses like electronics manufacturing, 5G network equipment as well as semiconductors, in all probability," he said while speaking at the annual general meeting of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Chandrasekaran said global supply chains, currently heavily dependent on China, would see a big change in a post-pandemic world with businesses shifting their reliance to other countries.

Minimum one-way Delhi-London airfare zooms over Rs 1 lakh

Minimum one-way Delhi-London airfare zooms over Rs 1 lakh

Rediff.com   9 Aug 2021

Minimum one-way air fares between Delhi and London are priced upwards of Rs one lakh in August due to limited number of seats, data collected by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows. The United Kingdom has included India in the amber list and the change came into effect from Sunday. With this, passengers from India needn't undergo institutional quarantine and can self-isolate at home for 10 days.

Future's poor FY21 results could spell trouble for Biyani

Future's poor FY21 results could spell trouble for Biyani

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2021

For the fiscal ended 2021, the group has made a loss of Rs 5,943 crore on sales of Rs 11,723 crore, a drop of 66 per cent over fiscal 2020. The group's total debt was up by 7 per cent to Rs 20,742 crore.

Mumbai all set for its BIGGEST infra transformation

Mumbai all set for its BIGGEST infra transformation

Rediff.com   5 Aug 2021

Mumbai, India's financial capital, is set for a mega transformation with a massive patch of land opening up for redevelopment; a new metro railway ready to start services by the year-end; and the country's oldest railway station, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, going for modernisation with private sector participation. Work on Mumbai's second airport will start from next month, while construction of the sea link connecting central Mumbai to Navi Mumbai has already moved into a fast lane despite Covid-induced lockdowns. Also, a coastal road project, connecting Nariman Point to Worli, is under way and will help decongest the city to quite an extent. Of all these mega infrastructure projects, the one that has a huge potential to change the city's skyline is the Eastern Waterfront project - to be built on the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) land.

Zee founder Subhash Chandra settles 91.2% of debt with 43 lenders

Zee founder Subhash Chandra settles 91.2% of debt with 43 lenders

Rediff.com   4 Aug 2021

The Essel group founder, Subhash Chandra has settled 91.2 per cent of his debt with 43 lenders, and the remaining dues are in the process of being paid. "I am happy to report that we have come out of the financial stress situation by settling 91.2% of our total debt to 43 lenders in 110 accounts. "About 88.3% of the amount has been paid, while the remaining 2.9% is in the process of being paid. "We are making all the required efforts to settle the remaining 8.8% of our total debt.

Dubai tycoon slaps $8 bn suit on BoB, EY in New York for ignoring 'fraud'

Dubai tycoon slaps $8 bn suit on BoB, EY in New York for ignoring 'fraud'

Rediff.com   30 Jul 2021

Dubai-based billionaire BR Shetty has sued Bank of Baroda (BoB) and audit firm Ernst & Young (EY) in a New York court, accusing them of ignoring fictitious and fraudulent transactions that resulted in NMC Healthcare going bankrupt. Shetty is seeking $8 billion in damages in the suit that also names the top management of NMC Healthcare, and Netherlands-based Credit Europe Bank. A top NMC Healthcare official confirmed the development to Business Standard and said despite several meetings, senior BoB officials in India did not take remedial steps for fear of getting involved in an international ponzi scheme perpetrated by then senior management officials.

How India can 'keep' Vodafone Idea

How India can 'keep' Vodafone Idea

Rediff.com   27 Jul 2021

The government should convert Vodafone Idea's (Vi) debt into equity to avoid a duopoly in the telecom sector, Deutsche Bank Research said in its report on Monday. This, the bank suggested, would be the only viable solution in the backdrop of the Supreme Court dismissing the telecom company's application for recomputation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

Biocon chief: Sebi's insider trading laws need an overhaul

Biocon chief: Sebi's insider trading laws need an overhaul

Rediff.com   26 Jul 2021

When Biocon chairperson Kiran Majumdar-Shaw - well known for raising issues ranging from lack of civic services in Bengaluru to climate change - decided to take on the Indian stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), she forced the Indian corporate world and legal community to take notice. In an interview to Business Standard, Majumdar-Shaw called a Sebi order to impose a fine on insider trading charges against a Biocon employee and an external consultant an "Agatha Christie" fiction, which destroyed the reputation of "innocent people". "The order is pure harassment and has caused huge reputational damage to us and goes against the principles of good governance promised by this government," Mazumdar-Shaw said. "We will certainly appeal this," she added.