Aneesh Phadnis And Subrata Panda

Stories by Aneesh Phadnis And Subrata Panda

Air India pilot unions oppose salary proposal, call it anti-labour

Air India pilot unions oppose salary proposal, call it anti-labour

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2023

Two unions representing Air India pilots have asked members not to accept the revised compensation and employment offer, calling the company's proposals "unfair labour practices." They said any coercion on pilots to sign the offer would lead to industrial unrest. The Tata group airline announced on Monday a new salary structure for pilots and cabin crew.

Air India revises pilots', cabin crew salaries, announces reward, bonus

Air India revises pilots', cabin crew salaries, announces reward, bonus

Rediff.com   18 Apr 2023

Air India on Monday announced a new compensation structure for its pilots and cabin crew, with a guaranteed flying allowance of 40 hours per month for both categories of staff. While the flying allowance has been doubled for pilots, it has been introduced for flight attendants as part of the new compensation structure. Pilots will earn an additional amount as a reward based on the number of years of service with the airline and get an allowance while undergoing training for command or conversion to another aircraft type.

Market share of PSU general insurers shrinks 800 bps in 5 years: Irdai

Market share of PSU general insurers shrinks 800 bps in 5 years: Irdai

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2023

The four public sector general insurance companies -- New India Assurance, United India Insurance, Oriental Insurance, and National Insurance Company -- have lost 800 basis points (bps) in market share in last five years to their private counterparts, the data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irdai) revealed. In 2018-19, the four had a cumulative market share of 40.04 per cent, with New India Assurance having a market share of 14 per cent and United India Insurance with a market share of 9.63 per cent. But, gradually in the past five years, these state-backed firms have lost their market share to private sector players, due to the declining health of their business.

Many cases may have to be reopened after SC ruling on borrowers' voice

Many cases may have to be reopened after SC ruling on borrowers' voice

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2023

The Supreme Court's decision to allow borrowers a chance to be heard before their accounts are flagged as fraudulent by lenders is expected to result in several cases being reopened where the borrower is aggrieved because of such classification, bankers said. Still, the reopening of cases would not be automatic. A borrower who is aggrieved by the 'fraud' classification will have to approach the bank and consequently, the bank will take the necessary steps so that the apex court's order is followed in letter and spirit, they said.

'Rs 2,000 note is not easily available'

'Rs 2,000 note is not easily available'

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2023

By the end of March 2022, only 2,140 million pieces of Rs 2,000 denomination currency notes were in circulation, or 13.8 per cent of the total value of notes.

HDFC twins' merger: RBI may take call on relaxations closer to date

HDFC twins' merger: RBI may take call on relaxations closer to date

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2023

The Reserve Bank of India is likely to take a call on the relaxations sought by HDFC Bank in relation to the merger, as the date of merger draws closer, sources said. The HDFC twins, which announced their decision to merge in April last year, received National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT's) approval recently - a key milestone to close the deal in due time. The management of both the entities had said that it will take 15-18 months for the merger.

Life insurers' new biz premium down 17% in Feb, LIC collections shrink 32%

Life insurers' new biz premium down 17% in Feb, LIC collections shrink 32%

Rediff.com   17 Mar 2023

Life insurance companies reported a 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) drop in new business premium (NBP) in February as state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India's premiums contracted 32 per cent during this period on account of a drop in its group single premium segment. According to data released by the Life Insurance Council, the industry earned an NBP of Rs 22,847.65 crore in February - a drop of 17 per cent from the same period a year ago.

REVEALED: How RBI Operated During Covid

REVEALED: How RBI Operated During Covid

Rediff.com   10 Mar 2023

200 staffers, consisting of RBI officials and support teams, who are essential to perform critical functions, were isolated at a separate facility in a dedicated quarantined environment near all three RBI data centres.

Insurance companies yet to see fire sale of high-value life policies

Insurance companies yet to see fire sale of high-value life policies

Rediff.com   8 Mar 2023

Many life insurance companies are yet to see a sharp spike in the sale of high-value policies as was widely expected in the aftermath of the government's decision to tax income from insurance policies having an aggregate premium above Rs 5 lakh in a year.

'Every airport in India is on our radar'

'Every airport in India is on our radar'

Rediff.com   4 Mar 2023

'Domestic will remain very much the core of what IndiGo is.' 'But the emphasis in our next growth phase is going to be on the international side.'

90 planes set to board Air India fleet in 2 years

90 planes set to board Air India fleet in 2 years

Rediff.com   20 Feb 2023

The Tata group-owned Air India will induct over 90 aircraft in two years as it looks to widen its footprint and grab a larger market share. The plan includes 56 planes from the mega aircraft order that the airline has now finalised with Airbus and Boeing. These will be in addition to previously announced leases of 36 planes that include Airbus A320Neo, A321Neo, and Boeing 777 aircraft.

With Air India's A350 order, Rolls-Royce makes a comeback in engine market

With Air India's A350 order, Rolls-Royce makes a comeback in engine market

Rediff.com   16 Feb 2023

For the first time in 13 years, since Jet Airways' A330 planes exited the airline's fleet in around 2010, an Indian wide-body aircraft will have a Rolls-Royce-powered engine, with Air India ordering 40 Airbus A350 planes. On Tuesday, Air India announced its mega aircraft order for 470 aircraft, including A350 planes. The A350 aircraft, which will come in two variants, are powered solely by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines and the local team has begun work to assist Air India with its aircraft-induction plans.

IndiGo restores annual pay hike for pilots after financial turnaround

IndiGo restores annual pay hike for pilots after financial turnaround

Rediff.com   14 Feb 2023

IndiGo has restored annual increments for more than 4,500 pilots as a financial turnaround helped the airline make a profit in Q3 FY23 after three quarters of loss. An email from the airline's management last week informed pilots of the restoration from April. "The component of annual increment for Indian captains (Rs 10,000 per month) and Indian first officers (Rs 5,000 per month) on the Airbus and ATR fleet which was stopped due to Covid will restart from April 1, 2023," the airline's senior vice president (flight operations) Ashim Mitra said in the staff email.

One year since Tatas took over Air India, here's how the journey has been

One year since Tatas took over Air India, here's how the journey has been

Rediff.com   2 Feb 2023

When the Tatas re-boarded Air India on January 27 last year, the price of aviation turbine fuel was at over Rs 80,000 per kilolitre. Rupee was trading at around Rs 74 to a US dollar. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was in prevalence - barely a week earlier, India had reported over 340,000 cases on a single day. Seven-day home quarantine of international travellers was the norm.

Credit card spends in Dec cross Rs 1 trillion for 10th month in a row

Credit card spends in Dec cross Rs 1 trillion for 10th month in a row

Rediff.com   26 Jan 2023

After a sequential fall in November, due to high base and waning of the festival season effect, credit card spends have picked up again in December, recording over Rs 1 trillion for the 10th consecutive month. Latest figures released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) show that credit card spends in December 2022 touched Rs 1.26 trillion, up 10.21 per cent compared to November. And, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, spends were up 34.31 per cent during this period.

Unruly Airline Passenger Incidents Increasing

Unruly Airline Passenger Incidents Increasing

Rediff.com   23 Jan 2023

Most reported unruly passenger incidents were classified as level 1, or intentional non-compliance with safety regulations like not wearing face masks, not wearing seat belts.

Indians remitted nearly $2 bn in Nov under Reserve Bank's LRS scheme

Indians remitted nearly $2 bn in Nov under Reserve Bank's LRS scheme

Rediff.com   20 Jan 2023

Indians remitted close to $2 billion in November under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) liberalised remittance scheme (LRS), latest data released by the central bank showed. Outward remittances under the scheme jumped 29 per cent to $1.99 billion compared to $1.54 billion in the year-ago month. Sequentially, outward remittances under the scheme were up about 3.5 per cent.

Goa's 2nd airport a big boost for regional aviation

Goa's 2nd airport a big boost for regional aviation

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2023

Goa's second airport began operations last week and if all goes according to plans, the state will be the base for a new regional airline, Fly91. Promoted by the ex-executive vice-president of now grounded Kingfisher Airlines, Manoj Chacko, and Fairfax India's former head, Harsha Raghavan, the airline will offer no-frills buy on board product and serve unconnected routes with two ATR 72 aircraft. An application for the initial no-objection clearance was filed with the civil aviation ministry last week.

How Go First Left 55 Passengers Behind!

How Go First Left 55 Passengers Behind!

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2023

'Were the Go First pilots aware that 55 passengers were missing when the aircraft was on ground?'

Budget 2023 wish list: Insurers bat for hike in tax deduction limit

Budget 2023 wish list: Insurers bat for hike in tax deduction limit

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2023

Ahead of the Union Budget 2023, insurers are hoping that the Centre will act on their recommendations, which includes increasing the limit for tax deduction under 80D of the Income Tax Act. Also among them are issuance of long-term bonds, tax incentives for home insurance premiums, and a separate section to claim deduction for term-insurance premium, among others. These suggestions would help improve the penetration of insurance in the country.