Deepak Patel &Amp; Sohini Das

Stories by Deepak Patel &Amp; Sohini Das

Battle for skies: Tatas kick-start Air India fleet expansion via leasing

Battle for skies: Tatas kick-start Air India fleet expansion via leasing

Rediff.com   13 Sep 2022

In its first move to significantly expand the fleet after the Tatas took over, Air India has leased 25 Airbus narrow-body aircraft and five Boeing wide-body planes. These will enter service starting December, the company said on Monday. A wide-body plane has a bigger fuel tank, allowing it to travel longer distances such as India-US routes.

Former SC judge PV Reddi to mediate SpiceJet-Kalanithi Maran spat

Former SC judge PV Reddi to mediate SpiceJet-Kalanithi Maran spat

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2022

The Supreme Court has appointed its former judge P V Reddi to mediate the dispute between SpiceJet and its former promoter Kalinithi Maran, the airline said on Wednesday. The dispute dates back to 2015, when Maran sold his stake in SpiceJet of 58.46 per cent, or 50.4 million shares, to Ajay Singh for Rs 2 after the airline suffered financial trouble. A year later, Maran approached the Delhi high court, alleging a breach of agreement by Singh for not issuing him 189 million share warrants and preference shares despite Maran's Rs 679-crore infusion.

Coming Soon, New Ways To Vaccinate

Coming Soon, New Ways To Vaccinate

Rediff.com   3 Sep 2022

'Just put a patch on your arm and the vaccine can be absorbed by the body.'

Personal info of Akasa Air's passengers leaked, airline informs CERT-In

Personal info of Akasa Air's passengers leaked, airline informs CERT-In

Rediff.com   29 Aug 2022

Personal information such as name, gender, email address and phone numbers of some Akasa Air passengers has been leaked to "unauthorised individuals", the airline stated on Sunday. India's newest carrier said it self-reported this incident to Indian Computer Emergency Response Team CERT-In, which is the government-authorised nodal agency tasked to deal with matters of this nature. However, Akasa Air asserted that there was no "intentional hacking attempt, but that the situation was reported by a research expert through a journalist for which we are grateful".

Lamborghini accelerates India plans, goes full throttle on Tier-I, -II cities

Lamborghini accelerates India plans, goes full throttle on Tier-I, -II cities

Rediff.com   26 Aug 2022

Lamborghini is focusing on bringing its new car models to India faster after the global launch of its Huracn Tecnica, its country head Sharad Agarwal said on Thursday, adding there is a lot more scope for the company to expand in tier I and II cities. "Typically, in the premium and luxury car segments, there is a lag of six to 18 months between a global launch and India launch," he said in an interview to Business Standard. The Italian carmaker launched the two-seater track-focused performance car - the Huracn Tecnica - here on Thursday four months after its global unveiling.

Ethical Code to keep doctor, drugmaker nexus at bay not mandatory yet

Ethical Code to keep doctor, drugmaker nexus at bay not mandatory yet

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2022

'Gift-giving' - from free dinners and drug samples to promotional merchandise - seems to be driving drugmakers' marketing - a marketing prescription deeply entrenched in the industry. This is a well-oiled racket that sees pharmaceutical (pharma) companies 'gifting' doctors to push their respective drugs under the guise of marketing. But is there a cure in sight to end this unhealthy alliance? The recent controversy following the income-tax raids on Bengaluru-based drugmaker Micro Labs, makers of popular paracetamol brand Dolo-650, has brought this to the fore, again.

Biocon Biologics Plan Molecule Launch Every 1-2 Years

Biocon Biologics Plan Molecule Launch Every 1-2 Years

Rediff.com   17 Aug 2022

'The tie-up with Serum Institute Life Sciences brings to the table their strengths in manufacturing and also their vaccine portfolio.'

'Around 100 million doses will definitely be wasted'

'Around 100 million doses will definitely be wasted'

Rediff.com   13 Aug 2022

'We are trying to salvage 50-100 million doses of Covishield with the latest drive on booster doses.'

SpiceJet flyers walk on Delhi airport tarmac post 45-min wait for bus

SpiceJet flyers walk on Delhi airport tarmac post 45-min wait for bus

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2022

Passengers are not allowed to walk on the Delhi airport's tarmac area as it is a security risk. There is a demarcated path on the tarmac for vehicles only.

How start-ups are shaking up offline pharma business

How start-ups are shaking up offline pharma business

Rediff.com   3 Aug 2022

Bulk of the medicine sales in the $22-24 billion domestic pharma market happens through offline retail chemists. With the entry of online pharmacies, this space has started to witness a shake-up. Sample this: Dawaa Dost, a Rajasthan based digital health start-up, generates medicine orders from 'kirana' stores and women self-help groups (SHGs) that operate in villages, and then service these orders through its affiliated network of pharmacies. Biddano, another health-tech start-up, has a platform that acts as an aggregator for neighbourhood chemist shops.

DGCA begins 2-month-long special audit of airlines after technical snags

DGCA begins 2-month-long special audit of airlines after technical snags

Rediff.com   24 Jul 2022

The DGCA conducted the spot checks as there have been many technical malfunction incidents in Indian carriers' planes during the last 45 days.

India's rising medical devices imports hurt small and medium units

India's rising medical devices imports hurt small and medium units

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2022

India's medical devices imports surged 41 per cent to touch Rs 63,200 crore in 2021-22, led by a 48 per cent year-on-year (YoY) jump in imports from China to Rs 13,538 crore, the commerce ministry data analysed by the Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has showed. Local industry players say this has led to several small and medium units to shut shop. Rakesh Vaid of Usha Fabs, a garments exporter, had started making N95 masks in his Gurgaon factory during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the first time, Centre allows a private player to process opium

For the first time, Centre allows a private player to process opium

Rediff.com   14 Jul 2022

The central government has for the first time allowed a private company, Bajaj Healthcare, to process opium to extract alkaloids used to make pain-killers, cough syrups, and even cancer drugs. Two government factories in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, do the work yet, processing some 800 tonnes of opium gum annually to extract alkaloids. The government on Tuesday gave Thane-based Bajaj Healthcare an initial contract to process 500 tonnes of opium gum annually and wants production to be at 800 tonnes per annum (tpa) in the next five years, indicating the state's exit from the highly-regulated sector.

SpiceJet again! China-bound freighter returns to Kolkata as radar fails

SpiceJet again! China-bound freighter returns to Kolkata as radar fails

Rediff.com   6 Jul 2022

SpiceJet said its freighter aircraft, which was heading to Chongqing in China, returned to Kolkata on Tuesday as the pilots realised after take off that its weather radar was not working.

Millions of Covid vaccine doses are set to expire in India

Millions of Covid vaccine doses are set to expire in India

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2022

Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) is sitting on 200 million doses of Covishield that were manufactured in December and are set to expire in September. The company is likely to destroy these vaccines if nothing works out, Sohini Das reports.

Globally, airlines' losses will be down to $9.7 bn this year

Globally, airlines' losses will be down to $9.7 bn this year

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2022

The airlines' losses globally are expected to be down from $52 billion in 2021 to $9.7 billion this year and industry-wide profit should be on the horizon in 2023, Director General of IATA Willie Walsh said in Doha on Monday. International Air Transport Association (IATA) represents some 290 airlines comprising 83 per cent of global air traffic. Walsh, in his inaugural speech at the 78th annual general meeting of IATA here, said that while the outlook for airlines globally is positive, the business environment remains challenging.

Air India plans to buy over 200 new planes

Air India plans to buy over 200 new planes

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2022

Tata Group-owned Air India is considering buying more than 200 new planes with 70 per cent of them being narrow-bodied aircraft, aviation industry sources said on Sunday. While Air India has zeroed in on Airbus's A350 wide-bodied aircraft for the procurement, the talks with Airbus and Boeing for narrow-bodied aircraft is still on, they said. A wide-bodied plane like Airbus A350 has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel longer distances such as the India-US routes.

'We can't get rid of COVID-19 for a long time to come'

'We can't get rid of COVID-19 for a long time to come'

Rediff.com   10 Jun 2022

'There will be ups and downs, and we have to plan how we live with it now.'

SIIto test Novavax's Omicron-specific vaccine

SIIto test Novavax's Omicron-specific vaccine

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2022

The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the manufacture of this Sars-CoV-2 spike protein recombinant nano-particle vaccine for 'examination, test, and analysis', reports Sohini Das.

Vistara fined for letting improperly trained pilot land a plane in Indore

Vistara fined for letting improperly trained pilot land a plane in Indore

Rediff.com   2 Jun 2022

The pilot, who was the first officer on the flight, landed the aircraft at the Indore airport recently without first getting the requisite training in a simulator, they said.