Dhruvaksh Saha And Deepak Patel

Stories by Dhruvaksh Saha And Deepak Patel

Kinetic Luna back after 2 decades, in e-avatar

Kinetic Luna back after 2 decades, in e-avatar

Rediff.com   9 Feb 2024

Kinetic on Wednesday relaunched the iconic two-wheeler Luna in an electric avatar, addressing the demand for affordable electric vehicles (EVs), more than two decades after its initial introduction. e-Luna will be available at an introductory ex-showroom price of Rs 69,990, as announced by Sulajja Firodia Motwani, founder and chief executive officer of Kinetic Green, after Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari launched the vehicle. Motwani pointed out that the current top 10 electric two-wheelers in the country are priced between Rs 1.05 lakh and Rs 1.49 lakh, making them a "luxury" that is not "practical and accessible" for most people in India.

Private, state ports' growth outpaces central counterparts till Q3 FY24

Private, state ports' growth outpaces central counterparts till Q3 FY24

Rediff.com   29 Jan 2024

India's private and state government-owned ports (non-major ports) continued to grow faster than those owned by the Centre (major ports) through the first three quarters of 2023-24 (FY24), cargo handling data shows. At 604 million metric tonnes (mmt), cargo at major ports grew by 5 per cent between April and December, while non-major ports' cargo traffic growth was 11 per cent at 531 mmt. During December 2023, central government-owned ports in India handled cargo volumes of 69.9 mmt, a tepid year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth of 0.7 per cent.

Flight Kitchens Under FSSAI Scanner

Flight Kitchens Under FSSAI Scanner

Rediff.com   27 Jan 2024

FSSAI is looking to tap the Airport Health Organisation to ensure that such incidents aren't reported in the future.

Mercedes-Benz's mega India plans: 12 new launches and double digit sales growth

Mercedes-Benz's mega India plans: 12 new launches and double digit sales growth

Rediff.com   16 Jan 2024

Mercedes-Benz India is aiming to post double-digit growth in sales volume during 2024 as it plans to launch over 12 car models during the year, says its managing director and CEO Santosh Iyer. The German carmaker, which leads the luxury car market in the country, recorded 10 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) growth to 17,408 units in 2023. "For 2023, we always said that the growth would be in double digits.

Black Is The New White For Car Buyers

Black Is The New White For Car Buyers

Rediff.com   16 Jan 2024

'The decrease in the popularity of white cars and the rise in preference for darker colours like black, grey, and blue over the past three years reflect changing consumer attitudes.'

BMW India races to new peak in record year for luxury car sales

BMW India races to new peak in record year for luxury car sales

Rediff.com   12 Jan 2024

BMW Group India recorded its highest annual sales on the back of strong demand for its top-end ICE (internal combustion engine) and electric vehicles (EVs). The German luxury automaker on Thursday announced that its domestic car sales jumped 18 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 14,172 units in calendar year 2023 (CY23). This mirrored a trend in the luxury space, with its peers also reporting record numbers.

'Railways plans to carry 10 billon passengers every year by 2030'

'Railways plans to carry 10 billon passengers every year by 2030'

Rediff.com   12 Jan 2024

'We carry 6.5 billion passengers every year. We have crossed seven billion this year, and are targeting 10 billion by 2030.'

Renault plans 5 new cars in 3 yrs, seeks regulatory clarity

Renault plans 5 new cars in 3 yrs, seeks regulatory clarity

Rediff.com   10 Jan 2024

The Centre should provide a clear regulatory pathway that it will follow so that automobile companies can plan their investments and car launches accordingly, Venkatram Mamillapalle, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO), Renault India Operations, said on Tuesday. Renault is planning to launch five cars - including a B-plus segment sport utility vehicle (SUV), a C-segment SUV and an electric vehicle (EV) - in India in the next three years, he told reporters. In early 2022, the ministry of road transport and highways had announced that cars in India would be required to have six airbags from October 1, 2022.

'Public AI infrastructure we create would help startups'

'Public AI infrastructure we create would help startups'

Rediff.com   9 Jan 2024

'Similar to the case of the digital payment system where the government created a public platform and others joined in, we are exploring a similar structure to create a PPP platform where the compute required for AI could be accessed by the small player.'

Maruti Makes More Money Per Car Than Others

Maruti Makes More Money Per Car Than Others

Rediff.com   8 Jan 2024

Maruti recorded a 13.12% year-on-year surge in average revenue earned per car in 2023 compared to M&M's 7.56%, Hyundai's 6.76% and Tata Motors' 1.88%.

Why DGCA Wants Airline Altimeter Upgrades

Why DGCA Wants Airline Altimeter Upgrades

Rediff.com   6 Jan 2024

'We have informed the government multiple times that the situation in the US and India are different.' 'Here, there will be a 500 MHz gap in the frequencies which will safely allow aviation without interference.'

E-cars Sales May Surge 30%-40% In 2024

E-cars Sales May Surge 30%-40% In 2024

Rediff.com   29 Dec 2023

If electric cars with a real range of more than 400 km are launched, the anxiety regarding the charging points will come down, and more people will buy EVs.

SpiceJet's resurgence could disrupt Indian aviation market: Capa

SpiceJet's resurgence could disrupt Indian aviation market: Capa

Rediff.com   29 Dec 2023

SpiceJet's resurgence, once the new funding is in place, has the potential to disrupt the Indian aviation market in 2024 as the airline will bring its grounded aircraft back to service and lease as many planes as possible to be competitively relevant, aviation consultancy firm Capa India said on Thursday. "Although the market for procuring aircraft in 2024 is exceptionally tight, we expect that SpiceJet will bring stored aircraft back into operations, and will wet or dry lease as much capacity as possible, in order to be competitively relevant. "This will have a material impact on the industry structure, and possibly on domestic profitability," Capa India said in its report.

Centre Assesses Threats As Sea Piracy Surges

Centre Assesses Threats As Sea Piracy Surges

Rediff.com   29 Dec 2023

'Due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, a faction operating in the Red Sea -- which is a typically safe area - has been firing projectiles arbitrarily.' 'Additionally, there have been two incidents involving Somali pirates, and one vessel has been hijacked.'

Will attacks on ships in Red Sea affect India?

Will attacks on ships in Red Sea affect India?

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2023

'Given that the situation is quickly escalating, such attacks will affect the flow of crude in the short term from West Asia' Subhayan Chakraborty and Dhruvaksh Saha report.

Shippers Are Worried About Red Sea Attacks

Shippers Are Worried About Red Sea Attacks

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2023

'If attacks escalate, there is a risk the Suez Canal may be closed.'

Air India changes aircraft order with Airbus, cites 'business requirements'

Air India changes aircraft order with Airbus, cites 'business requirements'

Rediff.com   7 Dec 2023

Air India significantly altered the composition of the aircraft order it placed earlier this year with Airbus, the European plane manufacturer has said. In February, Air India had placed the world's second-largest single-tranche aircraft order for 470 planes: 250 with Airbus and 220 with Boeing. In July, Airbus disclosed an order comprising 70 A321neo, 140 A320neo, 34 A350-1000, and six A350-900 aircraft for Air India.

91% drop in Indian visas granted to Canadians this year

91% drop in Indian visas granted to Canadians this year

Rediff.com   30 Nov 2023

Data reveals that India issued only 5,709 tourist visas during this year's January 1 to November 2 period, reflecting a staggering 91 per cent decrease compared to the entire year of 2022.

1/4th of Indian carriers' aircraft may be grounded by March-end: CAPA

1/4th of Indian carriers' aircraft may be grounded by March-end: CAPA

Rediff.com   28 Nov 2023

Nearly 200 of the 789 aircraft of Indian carriers are expected to be grounded by the end of March due to ongoing supply chain issues, according to the report released on Monday by CAPA India. At present, 161-166 aircraft are grounded. "More aircraft will be on the ground than expected due to serious supply chain issues, which were supposed to improve but actually deteriorated," it noted.

Engine MRO in India could have saved Go First, says govt official

Engine MRO in India could have saved Go First, says govt official

Rediff.com   22 Nov 2023

The presence of an engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India could have prevented Go First airline from going "belly up", as sending engines abroad for servicing is not an efficient way to operate a carrier, Piyush Srivastava, senior economic advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in a statement on Tuesday. On May 3, Go First suspended its flights and filed for insolvency, squarely blaming engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (PW) for its cash crunch. The airline claimed that about half of its 54 aircraft were grounded on May 3 due to a delay in the supply of engines by the US-based company. PW has denied the charges.