Deepak Patel &Amp;Amp; Subhayan Chakraborty

Stories by Deepak Patel &Amp;Amp; Subhayan Chakraborty

I&B ministry may begin independent review of C-band allocation plans

I&B ministry may begin independent review of C-band allocation plans

Rediff.com   3 May 2023

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B ministry) may launch its review of the government's plan to potentially reserve the crucial C-band of radio frequencies for 5G and 6G telecommunication (telecom) use, said officials. While the incumbent broadcasting operators have warned that the plan will leave "precious little spectrum" for broadcasting services, telecom service providers (TSPs) have pressed hard for getting access to the C-band. In multiple letters to the I&B ministry over the past month, the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) has said the industry would be left with precious little spectrum for broadcasting services if the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) further allocates the scant C-band for 5G.

Telecom service providers log in to AI filter to stop pesky calls: Trai

Telecom service providers log in to AI filter to stop pesky calls: Trai

Rediff.com   3 May 2023

Telecom service providers (TSPs) have begun to monitor and prevent spam calls since May 1, with the help of an artificial intelligence and machine language-based system acting on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) latest directive on the matter, its officials told Business Standard. Touted as the first big technological measure against the growing menace of unsolicited commercial communications, all TSPs have confirmed to Trai that they have rolled out the AI/ML tool. The filter system works on the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform used by TSPs, and is set to go for incremental updates, rules for which will soon be released, they added.

Don't see growth in small car segment this fiscal year: R C Bhargava

Don't see growth in small car segment this fiscal year: R C Bhargava

Rediff.com   27 Apr 2023

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) does not anticipate growth in the small car segment because people continue to find these vehicles unaffordable, chairman R C Bhargava said on Wednesday. He said the market had clearly shifted towards the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment and the company will go in the same direction. The domestic sales of utility vehicles jumped in India by 34.54 per cent to about 2 million units in FY23.

Jio slams Airtel for 'maligning' its tariff policy

Jio slams Airtel for 'maligning' its tariff policy

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2023

Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) has written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) stating that a recent complaint against it by Bharti Airtel is a deliberate, malicious attempt at defaming RJIL's consumer-friendly tariff. RJIL has also asked the regulator to warn Airtel against 'making such frivolous complaints in the future'. The move is in response to Airtel recently requesting Trai to bring content aired through broadband under the regulatory fold and keep a check against discriminatory bundling tactics.

Pilot suspensions rose 2x in 2022 for violating safety norms: DGCA

Pilot suspensions rose 2x in 2022 for violating safety norms: DGCA

Rediff.com   19 Apr 2023

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended the licences of 92 pilots in 2022 for violating safety norms, which was more than double the 2021 figure. The number of scheduled flights (domestic and international) in India increased by 32.74 per cent to 1.3 million in 2022, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. A DGCA official stated that the minimum period of licence suspension in 2022 was one month and the maximum was three years.

Air India, SpiceJet, and Go First lost domestic market share in Q4FY23

Air India, SpiceJet, and Go First lost domestic market share in Q4FY23

Rediff.com   19 Apr 2023

Indian carriers transported 12.8 million domestic passengers in March 2023, a year-on-year growth of 21.41 per cent. India's largest carrier IndiGo shored up its domestic market share from 53.8 per cent in Q4 of FY22 to 55.7 per cent in Q4 of FY23, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data released on Monday.

Two-wheeler exports from India skid nearly 18% in FY23

Two-wheeler exports from India skid nearly 18% in FY23

Rediff.com   14 Apr 2023

Two-wheeler exports from India fell by 17.8 per cent to 3.65 million units in 2022-23 (FY23), according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) on Thursday. This decline is due to a rise in global inflation and the weakening of economies and currencies in key export markets of Africa, Latin America (LatAm), and South Asia. In contrast to FY23, two-wheeler exports from India jumped 35.4 per cent to 4.44 million units in 2021-22 (FY22).

Mercedes-Benz's India sales jump 36% in FY23; female customer base doubles

Mercedes-Benz's India sales jump 36% in FY23; female customer base doubles

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2023

Sales of Mercedes-Benz in the country have jumped by 36.67 per cent to 16,497 units in 2022-23 amid high demand for its top-end vehicles, according to its India MD & CEO Santosh Iyer. "This is the highest-ever sales recorded by the company in any financial year," he stated. In the luxury car segment of India, Mercedes-Benz is the market leader with about a 42 per cent share.

Hero MotoCorp offers VRS, eyes leaner organisation

Hero MotoCorp offers VRS, eyes leaner organisation

Rediff.com   7 Apr 2023

With a new chief executive officer (CEO) at the helm, the country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp is now looking to cut flab and move towards a leaner organisation. It has launched a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its staff as it aims to make the organisation 'agile and future-ready'. Recently, the company's erstwhile chief financial officer (CFO) Niranjan Gupta was elevated as CEO.

Akasa's Focus: Connecting Metros To Non-Metros

Akasa's Focus: Connecting Metros To Non-Metros

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2023

'While we do some metro-to-metro flying, we have got a lot of metro-to-non-metro cities like Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru-Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru-Guwahati and Bengaluru-Kochi.'

Honda's EV roadmap: Dedicated factory, first two e-scooter models in a year

Honda's EV roadmap: Dedicated factory, first two e-scooter models in a year

Rediff.com   30 Mar 2023

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), India's second-largest two-wheeler maker, on Wednesday revealed its electric vehicle (EV) roadmap, which includes setting up a dedicated EV factory, launching the first two EVs in 2023-24, and establishing 6,000 battery exchange points in the country. HMSI plans to establish a specialised unit for the manufacturing of electric vehicles (EVs), named 'Factory E', at its Narsapura plant located in Karnataka. Factory E will be created by converting an existing production line that currently manufactures internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, said Atsushi Ogata, HMSI managing director and chief executive officer.

Labour pains could hit Hyundai's buyout of GM's Talegaon plant

Labour pains could hit Hyundai's buyout of GM's Talegaon plant

Rediff.com   29 Mar 2023

Legal battles initiated by 1,000-odd former employees of the Talegaon plant continue to present a challenge for the acquisition process.

Traffic Surges; Airlines Grapple With Grounded Planes

Traffic Surges; Airlines Grapple With Grounded Planes

Rediff.com   21 Mar 2023

If all 102 grounded planes could fly, there will theoretically be 400 more Delhi-Mumbai flights every day.

Go First may take legal action against Pratt & Whitney over engine issues

Go First may take legal action against Pratt & Whitney over engine issues

Rediff.com   10 Mar 2023

Indian airline Go First is considering legal action against Pratt and Whitney (PW) for failing to provide compensation after March 2020 for planes grounded due to engine supply delays, sources said on Thursday. About 90 per cent of the airline's fleet of aircraft uses PW engines. About 24 of the airline's 55 planes are grounded due to delays in engine supply by PW.

42% Cars Sold In 2022 Were White

42% Cars Sold In 2022 Were White

Rediff.com   6 Mar 2023

White is easy to maintain, looks brighter than other colours over a longer period, is the least commonly rejected colour among family members, has high resale value, provides better safety at night, absorbs less heat in the summer season, makes small cars look bigger, and is not considered inauspicious.

'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.'

Why Air India CCTO Deleted LinkedIn Post

Why Air India CCTO Deleted LinkedIn Post

Rediff.com   27 Feb 2023

In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, February 15, night, Nipun Aggarwal had said Air India, in addition to the order of 470 planes, had the option to purchase 370 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.

Vodafone Idea in talks with vendors for 5G rollout

Vodafone Idea in talks with vendors for 5G rollout

Rediff.com   16 Feb 2023

Vodafone Idea (Vi) is in continuous talks with network vendors to finalise its 5G rollout plans, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra said. "We are in early stages of 5G deployment. "5G is an important development and we are keeping our eyes on it," Moondra said on Wednesday in a post-result analyst call. Already five months behind rivals Jio and Airtel in the 5G race, Vi's efforts will be on the deployment of 5G in target geographies.

Maruti share in Suzuki revenue jumps to 40.9% in April-Dec

Maruti share in Suzuki revenue jumps to 40.9% in April-Dec

Rediff.com   8 Feb 2023

Maruti Suzuki's contribution to the sales revenue of its Japanese parent, Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), has touched the highest-ever figure during April-December of FY23. According to SMC's results declared on Tuesday, Maruti's share in its global revenues jumped from 33.42 per cent in April-December of FY22 to 40.93 per cent in the corresponding period of FY23.

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.