Nitin Kumar, Shine Jacob &Amp;Amp; Deepak Patel

Stories by Nitin Kumar, Shine Jacob &Amp;Amp; Deepak Patel

Spectrum auction to hurt India's satellite play, says Sunil Mittal

Spectrum auction to hurt India's satellite play, says Sunil Mittal

Rediff.com   24 Oct 2022

Spectrum allocation for satellite services came up as a dominant theme at the launch of 36 communication satellites by OneWeb, a Bharti group venture, here on Sunday. Following the launch, Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal, in a conversation with a group of reporters, reiterated that spectrum auction did not make sense in the case of satellite services. "This (satellite services) is not competing with mobile services where you can justify the auction.

Indian airlines revamp their in-flight menus amid intense competition

Indian airlines revamp their in-flight menus amid intense competition

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2022

From croissants to Galouti kebabs and Medu vada, Indian carriers, both low-cost and full-service, are revising their in-flight menus to offer passengers a differentiated fare as competition is heating up amid the boom in air travel with the waning of Covid-19. On Monday, Air India, which was taken over by the Tata Group on January 27, unveiled its new domestic in-flight menu comprising gourmet meals, new appetizers, desserts, and local dishes. Air India's economy class passengers would now be served dishes such as Mushroom cheese omelette, Dry jeera aloo wedges, and Garlic tossed spinach and corn for breakfast, and Vegetable biryani, Malabar chicken curry, and mixed vegetable poriyal for lunch.

iPhone 14 production cut may not impact Apple's India plans: Experts

iPhone 14 production cut may not impact Apple's India plans: Experts

Rediff.com   8 Oct 2022

The Apple iPhone comprises 44 per cent of the global smartphone market's revenues and it is the second most-such device to be shipped after Samsung. More than half of smartphones used in the US are iPhones. More than 7 million iPhones are expected to be sold in India in 2022, extending the user base to 20 million, according to market research and analyst firm Techarc. Hence, the news about Apple scaling down its production target for iPhone 14 in India has made news.

Majority of Mercedes-Benz models in India to be EVs by 2030: CEO Schwenk

Majority of Mercedes-Benz models in India to be EVs by 2030: CEO Schwenk

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2022

Driven by a rise in sales during the current year, German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday that the company is expecting a growth in sales of around 8-10 per cent in the next few years. This comes at a time when the company is ready to surpass the previous highest sales of 15,538 vehicles (2018) in 2022. During the first half, the company sold 7,600 units. It already has an order bank of around 7,000 vehicles. In 2021, the company sold 11,242 vehicles.

30% of two-wheelers will be electric by 2030: Study

30% of two-wheelers will be electric by 2030: Study

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2022

India will have 30 per cent of its two-wheeler industry turning electric by 2030 as new manufacturers lead the shift, said a report on Monday. Passenger vehicles will be 15 per cent electric and the three-wheeler segment 75 per cent electric by 2030, said the report by BNP Paribas called 'India Autos-Electric vehicles: Minutes to midnight'. "We see FY22 as the year of inflection for the two-wheeler EV industry, with an accelerated EV adoption helped by incentives, wider availability, model launches, rise in crude prices and improved general awareness. We see 30 per cent of the 2W industry turning electric by 2030; the pace of incentive withdrawal presents an upside/downside risk," the report (India Autos - Electric vehicles: Minutes to midnight) said.

Cash crunch pushes AirAsia India to take short-term loans of Rs 630 crore

Cash crunch pushes AirAsia India to take short-term loans of Rs 630 crore

Rediff.com   3 Oct 2022

Tata Group-owned AirAsia India, which is in the process of being merged with Air India Express, has taken short-term loans worth Rs 630 crore during the last six months to deal with cash crunch. AirAsia India has been making losses since its first commercial flight on June 12, 2014. Its net loss increased by 42 per cent to Rs 2,178 crore in FY22.

Sharp Spike In Fever Cases

Sharp Spike In Fever Cases

Rediff.com   1 Oct 2022

'This year there is a sharp spike in fever cases, and it seems to be more than the pre-COVID-19 levels.'

Air India processes refunds worth over Rs 150 crore after privatisation

Air India processes refunds worth over Rs 150 crore after privatisation

Rediff.com   27 Sep 2022

Air India said on Monday that it has processed passengers refunds of more than Rs 150 crore during the first few months after its privatisation. After winning the bid for Air India on October 8 last year, the Tata Group took charge of the airline on January 27. Since then, the airline has been taking multiple steps to address the legacy issues such as stuck refunds.

Tatas to invest $90 bn in India in 5 years

Tatas to invest $90 bn in India in 5 years

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2022

The Tata group is planning to invest $90 billion in new industries such as mobile components plant, semiconductor, electric vehicles, batteries, renewables energy and e-commerce by 2027. The Tata group's investment in India is far higher than the $75-billion investments planned by Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries and $55-billion investment planned by the Adani group in the next five years in the country, the Economist reported recently. The investment by the Tata group is a shift in its strategy to focus more in the home markets instead of international markets where the group lost money.

Amazon readies plan for 100% dependence on renewable energy by 2025

Amazon readies plan for 100% dependence on renewable energy by 2025

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2022

As part of its road map to achieve 100 per cent dependence on renewable energy by 2025, Amazon on Wednesday announced its first utility-scale renewable energy projects in India - three solar farms located in Rajasthan. These include a 210-megawatt (Mw) project to be developed by India-based developer ReNew Power, a 100 Mw project to be developed by local developer Amp Energy India, and a 110 Mw project to be developed by Brookfield Renewable Partners. By the end of 2021, the company had reached 85 per cent renewable energy across its business.

Moscow now wants biz in ruble, trade may take a hit

Moscow now wants biz in ruble, trade may take a hit

Rediff.com   19 Sep 2022

Russian traders have started asking for payments in ruble for their exports to India in a move that could derail trade between the two countries which gathered pace after the war in Europe. This is because Indian importers are unable to pay in ruble. The India-Russia trade gathered pace after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February this year. In the April-June quarter, India's imports from Russia were valued at $9.27 billion, up 369 per cent year on year.

Air India's 5-year plan - 30% domestic market share

Air India's 5-year plan - 30% domestic market share

Rediff.com   16 Sep 2022

The Tata Group-owned Air India has readied a five-year transformation plan, which is expected to take its domestic market share to 30 per cent, up from 8.4 per cent logged in June. IndiGo leads with a market share of 58.8 per cent. The transformation plan--Vihaan.AI-unveiled on Thursday revolves around tripling the domestic market share with investments in new aircraft, technology and improvements in customer service.

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.

Kerala likely to witness all-time high liquor sales this Onam

Kerala likely to witness all-time high liquor sales this Onam

Rediff.com   7 Sep 2022

Kerala is likely to witness all-time high liquor sales this Onam, the harvest festival, with the season already reporting a 30 per cent hike. According to the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BevCo), the first few days of this Onam season have set the tone for record sales. "During last year's Onam season, our sales were around Rs 561 crore. This year, we expect it to be over Rs 700 crore," said Yogesh Gupta, chairman and managing director, BevCo.

Ford India offers final severance package for Chennai unit employees

Ford India offers final severance package for Chennai unit employees

Rediff.com   6 Sep 2022

Ford India has offered a "final revised severance package" for its employees at the Chennai unit, which is on average equivalent to 130 days of gross wages per completed year of service. The company said this was rolled out in the absence of any suitable alternative buyer. As part of the earlier package, employees were offered 115 days of gross wages for each completed year of service, which was later revised to 124 days.

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.

GAIL feels blowback from Ukraine war

GAIL feels blowback from Ukraine war

Rediff.com   17 Aug 2022

On February 24, when Vladimir Putin announced a military operation on Ukraine, few would have thought that Indian government-owned GAIL India would feel the impact. The tensions over gas supplies were essentially a Europe-Russia problem, related to the sanctions western economies imposed on Moscow. But the EU depends on Russian imports for 40 per cent of its gas stocks, an over-dependence that Russia has underlined with Kremlin-owned Gazprom cutting its supplies through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 20 per cent, citing maintenance issues.

IIT-M Scores BIG On Job Offers

IIT-M Scores BIG On Job Offers

Rediff.com   16 Aug 2022

The average salary received by students during campus placements for 2021-2022 was Rs 21.48 lakh per annum. The highest salary offered was $250,000.