Dev Chatterjee, Aneesh Phadnis And Shine Jacob

Stories by Dev Chatterjee, Aneesh Phadnis And Shine Jacob

RCap lenders in a fix as Hindujas retract revised Rs 8,950-cr offer

RCap lenders in a fix as Hindujas retract revised Rs 8,950-cr offer

Rediff.com   27 Mar 2023

The Hinduja group is learnt to have backtracked from making a minimum Rs 8,950-crore offer for Reliance Capital (RCap) - a deal that it had belatedly put forth in December, after Torrent Investments emerged as the highest bidder for the bankrupt firm in the challenge process. The Hindujas' latest move has put Indian lenders, with an exposure of Rs 24,000 crore, in a spot as it was the former's revised offer that led to a call for a second auction and litigation by Torrent, which had placed a bid of Rs 8,649 crore in the first auction. Torrent has moved the Supreme Court and plans to wait for the apex court verdict before participating in any fresh auction. A banking source said there was an informal meeting of a few lenders of Reliance Capital with the bidders - the Torrent group and the Hinduja group on Friday when the latter changed its stand. The meeting of RCap's committee of creditors (CoC) is scheduled for Monday.

'Complete fiction': Zoho CEO Vembu denies wife's allegations in magazine

'Complete fiction': Zoho CEO Vembu denies wife's allegations in magazine

Rediff.com   15 Mar 2023

Sridhar Vembu, Zoho Corp's chief executive officer (CEO), said on Tuesday a report that he financially abandoned his wife and son is "complete fiction". An article in Forbes magazine alleged Vembu, founder of the Indian SaaS company, had abandoned his wife Pramila Srinivasan and their special needs son in the US in 2020. Srinivasan and Vembu are fighting a divorce case in California.

'We are exploring setting up an aerotropolis'

'We are exploring setting up an aerotropolis'

Rediff.com   10 Mar 2023

'We would like to develop Andhra Pradesh into a logistics hub not only for India, but also for South Asia.'

Auto Industry Sweats As Semiconductor Shortage Persists

Auto Industry Sweats As Semiconductor Shortage Persists

Rediff.com   10 Mar 2023

Open order books in February breach 700,000; wait period for some models exceed a year.

'Dhoni gets the best out of the players'

'Dhoni gets the best out of the players'

Rediff.com   7 Mar 2023

'It is Dhoni, Fleming and the support staff who decide on cricket.' 'The fans expect CSK to do well, and with Dhoni at the helm, CSK is capable of it.'

Why M&A deals in India are down 80% so far in 2023

Why M&A deals in India are down 80% so far in 2023

Rediff.com   6 Mar 2023

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by Indian companies have declined sharply by 80 per cent so far this year, in contrast with the same period last year, as bankers predict lower deal volumes due to falling profit margins of Indian companies and feeble stock markets. The decline in Adani Group shares has also hit buyer sentiment. According to data from Refinitiv, M&As in India stood at $3.3 billion from 253 deals, year-to-date (YTD) - a fall of 80 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Cross-border deals by Indian companies were also down 84 per cent to just $1.5 billion.

'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.'

100% Railways Electrification By 2024

100% Railways Electrification By 2024

Rediff.com   3 Mar 2023

India is now much ahead of other large railway networks in the world in terms of electrification -- with the US at just 1 per cent, China at 72 per cent and Europe at 60 per cent.

Investors jittery as Vedanta stocks, bonds take a hit

Investors jittery as Vedanta stocks, bonds take a hit

Rediff.com   1 Mar 2023

Vedanta investors were jittery on Tuesday as its share price fell and bond yields of its parent firm rose following concerns raised by a rating agency on its capability to repay debt maturing later this year. Shares of the mining and metals major were down by 7 per cent on Tuesday to Rs 268 a piece on the BSE. The company has lost market valuation of 30 per cent in the last one year and 13 per cent since January 1 this year. Yields on the bonds of Vedanta Resources, the parent firm of the BSE-listed Vedanta, shot up to 39.8 per cent - showing investors' rising concern over the group's debt situation

Why electric two-wheelers missed the ambitious 1 million sales target

Why electric two-wheelers missed the ambitious 1 million sales target

Rediff.com   1 Mar 2023

With just a month left in this financial year, electric two-wheeler sales, so far, are at just 62 per cent of the ambitious target of 1 million units set for 2022-23 by the NITI Aayog. According to VAHAN data, compiled by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), 620,006 units of electric two-wheelers were sold across the country in FY23 until February 21. Though the industry may miss the 1-million target, sales in FY23 are already up 146 per cent from 249,621 units sold in FY22.

Major global brands finally return to Tiruppur after a long dry spell

Major global brands finally return to Tiruppur after a long dry spell

Rediff.com   26 Feb 2023

Following a gap of several months, global brands like Walmart have started lifting orders from Tiruppur's garment makers, leading to growth in knitwear exports in January after five months. Knitwear exports from Tiruppur increased 1.5 per cent in dollar terms and 11.6 per cent in rupee terms in January. According to the Tiruppur Exporters' Association (TEA), global majors have started placing more orders from the region.

How a new tax law has stumped Tata Trusts and top corporate donors

How a new tax law has stumped Tata Trusts and top corporate donors

Rediff.com   24 Feb 2023

Indian charitable trusts, including Tata Trusts and top corporate donors, are stumped by a new tax law proposed in the Budget, which reduces tax breaks for the donor organisations. The Finance Bill proposes that if a charitable organisation donates to another charity, then only 85 per cent of the donation will be considered as application of income for the donor organisation. Trust officials say this is a major setback for the donor organisations, including corporate foundations and intermediary organisations, which work with various implementing agencies at the grassroots level.

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.

ISRO Satellite, Developed By 750 Schoolgirls

ISRO Satellite, Developed By 750 Schoolgirls

Rediff.com   20 Feb 2023

AzaadiSAT had around 75 small payloads developed by schoolgirls of 75 rural schools.

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.

Adani says will complete infra projects on time, focused on financials

Adani says will complete infra projects on time, focused on financials

Rediff.com   16 Feb 2023

Adani Enterprises, the flagship of Adani Group, said on Wednesday new businesses of renewables, data centres, airports and roads account for more than 33 per cent of earnings and it will complete all infrastructure projects on time. "We are laser focused on continuing our business momentum, in this market volatility. "We are confident in our internal controls, compliance and corporate governance.

India a bright spot for investments despite current volatility: Blackstone

India a bright spot for investments despite current volatility: Blackstone

Rediff.com   15 Feb 2023

Despite the recent turmoil in the Indian markets after a scathing report on the Adani group from Hindenburg Research, American private equity major Blackstone is "bullish" on the India growth story and plans to invest more in the country's infrastructure and real estate projects. "We have a long-term view on India, as growth will be higher here. We have invested half of our Asia exposure in India. "Our extraordinary performance in India has made us bullish," said Jonathan Gray, president and chief operating officer of Blackstone.

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.

Adani Ports to prepay Rs 5,000-crore debt

Adani Ports to prepay Rs 5,000-crore debt

Rediff.com   8 Feb 2023

A day after the promoters of Adani Group prepaid $1.1 billion loans, one of the group's listed entities - Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) - announced that it would prepay loans of up to Rs 5,000 crore by next month-end so as to improve its financial metrics. The company is targeting an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of around Rs 15,000 crore this financial year. This was revealed by Karan Adani, chief executive officer (CEO) and whole-time director of APSEZ, while announcing the September-December 2022 results.

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.