Dev Chatterjee, Aneesh Phadnis And Shine Jacob

Stories by Dev Chatterjee, Aneesh Phadnis And Shine Jacob

Tata Sons sets the ball rolling for buying Air India

Tata Sons sets the ball rolling for buying Air India

Rediff.com   21 Jul 2021

Tata Sons has started the process of due diligence of state-owned Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Sources said the group has appointed Bain and Company and Seabury Group for this purpose. Once complete, a financial bid will be submitted and a deal to take over the airline is likely to fructify by end of this year or even earlier, people involved in the process said. Simultaneously, the group has brought in veterans in the aviation business from Delta and United Airlines to prepare a plan for post-merger integration of Air India with its existing airline ventures. Tata Sons operates Vistara - a 51:49 percent joint venture with Singapore Airlines and Air Asia India, in which Tatas hold 83.67 per cent stakes.

Tata, Reliance ready for mother of all battles

Tata, Reliance ready for mother of all battles

Rediff.com   20 Jul 2021

'The competition between the two is definitely going to be of great interest to the Indian market.'

Kirloskars latest business family to feud over settlement

Kirloskars latest business family to feud over settlement

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2021

Sanjay Kirloskar, promoter of Kirloskar Brothers, moves Supreme Court to enforce a family settlement signed in 2009.

Despite security risks, 95% Indian cos to continue with WFH

Despite security risks, 95% Indian cos to continue with WFH

Rediff.com   15 Jul 2021

The survey covered 1,210 IT executives and technology professionals from North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and India. In India, 202 respondents from businesses with more than 500 employees across 18 industry verticals completed the survey. Overall, 89 per cent of the respondents said implementing a work-from-home policy had increased security challenges for their organisations. The risk posed by shadow IT was especially high, with 89 per cent of companies having no control over the software that employees purchase and install on their devices.

Over 200 Indians stuck in Serbia due to surprise quarantine rule

Over 200 Indians stuck in Serbia due to surprise quarantine rule

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2021

Serbia has become one of the transit points for Indians heading to Canada and the US. Canada requires passengers from India to take an RT-PCR test from a third country, while the US wants them to spend 14 days outside of India. As a result, many students are taking the Serbia route to Canada, and the US.

Will Jet Airways manage to get enough airport slots?

Will Jet Airways manage to get enough airport slots?

Rediff.com   8 Jul 2021

As and when Jet Airways applies for slots, these would be allocated among all airlines according to guidelines, without any claim of historicity in favour of any airline. Slots would be given to Jet only from the available remaining pool.

Will Sudhir Valia, Suraksha's 'deal maker' manage to bag Jaypee Infra?

Will Sudhir Valia, Suraksha's 'deal maker' manage to bag Jaypee Infra?

Rediff.com   7 Jul 2021

With the Jaypee acquisition, the Suraksha group, which made lenders an offer of Rs 7,736 crore, will be able to expand its footprint in north India after making inroads in Mumbai's real estate market over the past year. Sudhir Valia, the promoter, was a co-founder and executive director of India's biggest pharmaceutical firm, Sun Pharmaceuticals, and is a close relative of Dilip Shanghvi.

95% Jet staff must consent to Kalrock-Jalan proposal or lose benefits

95% Jet staff must consent to Kalrock-Jalan proposal or lose benefits

Rediff.com   6 Jul 2021

At least 95 per cent of Jet Airways employees will have to give their consent to the Kalrock-Jalan consortium's proposal or lose benefits offered to them under the revival plan. Voting on the consortium's offer for employees and workmen began on Monday and will go on till August 4. The National Company Law Tribunal cleared the consortium proposal to revive the airline on June 22. While Jet Airways had admitted claims of around Rs 15,000 crore, the consortium has offered to settle claims of Rs 475 crore of financial and non financial creditors.

Tata vs JioMart: The next big corporate battle to watch

Tata vs JioMart: The next big corporate battle to watch

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2021

Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL's JioMart is set to launch a slew of new products including financial services, electronics to airline tickets to take on the competition from upcoming rivals like the Tata Super app and other established players including PayTM, Amazon and Flipkart. This comes at a time when RIL's e-commerce revenues are set to grow by 35 per cent to $15 billion within four years and its core retail revenue is expected to grow at the same pace to $44 billion, as per a forecast by Goldman Sachs. "The Tata vs JioMart war will be the next big corporate battle to watch. "While Tata has an upper hand like in-house products and brands, RIL has the backing of global biggies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft," said head of a rating firm asking not to be quoted.

Economists sceptical about Sitharaman's Covid stimulus

Economists sceptical about Sitharaman's Covid stimulus

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2021

Direct economic stimulus measures such as tax cuts for individuals and industry would have helped to prop up the Indian economy which was hit hard by the lockdowns across several states in India, say economists and corporate leaders. While the measures announced on Monday are focussed more on the supply side, these steps would take a lot of time to move the needle for the economy.

Jet Airways assured of slots by around 30 airports

Jet Airways assured of slots by around 30 airports

Rediff.com   28 Jun 2021

The Kalrock-Jalan consortium - new owners of Jet Airways - has got an assurance from around 30 airports that if the airline restarts operations, 170 pairs of slots can be made available. However, whether those slots will be according to the airline's demand will depend on the order of the insolvency court, which is slated to come next week. Sources said the new management feels it is extremely important that some of those slots are restored or else its business plan of operating Jet as a premium carrier will not be viable.

Adani group strikes first coal from its Carmichael mine in Australia

Adani group strikes first coal from its Carmichael mine in Australia

Rediff.com   25 Jun 2021

The Adani group struck first coal from its Carmichael, Australia project on Thursday and will start shipping to its customers according to schedule. With this, the project will not only lift the economic prospects of the hitherto barren Australian outback, but also help Indian power plants to source cheap coal. The project had faced protests from a section of population with several banks even refusing to fund it. The group, however, went ahead with the project which included construction of a brand new railway line connecting an Australian port to the mine -- situated 300 kilometers away in Queensland.

Covid impact: Million dollar M&A deals sealed on phone, Zoom calls

Covid impact: Million dollar M&A deals sealed on phone, Zoom calls

Rediff.com   17 Jun 2021

Some buyers are insisting on a clause in the agreement that the whole deal hinges on physical verification at a later date with some part of payment kept in escrow.

REVEALED! Design of the Navi Mumbai airport

REVEALED! Design of the Navi Mumbai airport

Rediff.com   10 Jun 2021

The Navi Mumbai international airport will boast three interconnected multi-level terminals with a lotus-inspired design, according to the master plan prepared by its outgoing developer. The GVK group, which completed 15 years of airport business, shared the first look of the Navi Mumbai airport. The group in 2018 had commissioned British firm Zaha Hadid Architects to design the main terminal and air traffic control tower. The master plan of the airport was approved by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in 2019.

Airlines cut wages, re-negotiate contracts to tide over Covid-19 crisis

Airlines cut wages, re-negotiate contracts to tide over Covid-19 crisis

Rediff.com   3 Jun 2021

Airlines are slashing salaries and re-negotiating vendor contracts as drastic fall in passengers has hurt revenue. Go First has cut staff salaries by around 16 per cent while IndiGo and SpiceJet are enforcing a leave without pay (LWP) policy and pay by the hour structure respectively to prune expenses. Vistara, which reversed pay cuts for junior staff including managers and cabin crew in March, is not touching employee salaries at the moment and instead focusing on vendor renegotiation and maximising cargo revenue. An Air India executive said efforts are on to pay salaries by 7th or 8th of June.

UK regulator probes Air India's data leak impacting 4.5 mn passengers

UK regulator probes Air India's data leak impacting 4.5 mn passengers

Rediff.com   26 May 2021

EU and UK laws require airlines to incorporate data protection measures and report data breach to regulators within 72 hours. Non-compliance can invite steep fines.

Start-ups, venture capitalists offer funds to tackle Oxygen scarcity

Start-ups, venture capitalists offer funds to tackle Oxygen scarcity

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2021

Amid oxygen shortage and a faltering health system in the country, India is seeing over 300,000 cases daily.

India's Sputnik V decision a win for Russia's soft power diplomacy

India's Sputnik V decision a win for Russia's soft power diplomacy

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

The Russian vaccine has been registered in more than 55 countries and is gaining recognition in the virtual world -- being the only to have its own Facebook page, YouTube channel and a Twitter handle, reports Aneesh Phadnis

Maha curfew: 50% factories may remain shut for next fortnight

Maha curfew: 50% factories may remain shut for next fortnight

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2021

According to the order, all factories producing essential goods and services will remain operational at full capacity.

Coffee Day stares at bankruptcy as asset sale fails to make headway

Coffee Day stares at bankruptcy as asset sale fails to make headway

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2021

Attributing the delay in debt servicing to a liquidity crisis, the company said its total indebtedness was Rs 518 crore.