Surajeet Das Gupta And Mihir Mishra

Stories by Surajeet Das Gupta And Mihir Mishra

North block clears decks for 3G auction by Mar 31

North block clears decks for 3G auction by Mar 31

Rediff.com   16 Feb 2010

By setting a single spectrum-release deadline for all bidders, the finance ministry aims to ensure a level playing field for all operators.

Domestic carriers close in on their intl rivals

Domestic carriers close in on their intl rivals

Rediff.com   15 Feb 2010

India's share will only get bigger once SpiceJet enters the fray from June to fly south east Asia and south Asian countries.

AAI to hive air traffic off into new subsidiary

AAI to hive air traffic off into new subsidiary

Rediff.com   10 Feb 2010

ATC operations provide over 60 per cent of AAI revenue. The move is to ensure focus on revamp of ATC, particularly the key area of staff hiring, where there is a big shortage.

Kingfisher Airlines hires US firm to revamp ops

Kingfisher Airlines hires US firm to revamp ops

Rediff.com   8 Feb 2010

The move comes when Kingfisher remains the only listed airline in India to have made losses in the third quarter of the current financial year.

Parikh's flat tax deflates diesel carmakers' plans

Parikh's flat tax deflates diesel carmakers' plans

Rediff.com   5 Feb 2010

Manufacturers that mainly sell diesel cars like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen anticipate a significant fall in sales if the government accepts the Parikh committee's recommendation of a flat tax of Rs 80,000 on diesel cars, because of a widening cost differential with petrol variants.

Flat tax will hurt diesel car makers' growth

Flat tax will hurt diesel car makers' growth

Rediff.com   5 Feb 2010

Manufacturers that mainly sell diesel cars like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota, Mercedes, BMW and Volkswagen anticipate a significant fall in sales if the government accepts the Parikh committee's recommendation of a flat tax of Rs 80,000 on diesel cars, because of a widening cost differential with petrol variants.

Delhi airport to be made global airline hub

Delhi airport to be made global airline hub

Rediff.com   3 Feb 2010

Air India to shift, unused capacity in existing bilaterals may be mobilised.

Ex-minister Rudy joins IndiGo as co-pilot

Ex-minister Rudy joins IndiGo as co-pilot

Rediff.com   1 Feb 2010

The first Indian civil aviation minister to fly for a commercial airline -- Rajiv Gandhi has been the only prime minister to do so -- Rudy started his job with IndiGo from January 4.

BJP leader Rudy joins IndiGo as co-pilot

BJP leader Rudy joins IndiGo as co-pilot

Rediff.com   30 Jan 2010

Former Civil Aviation Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy has been hired as a co-pilot with Delhi-based private airline IndiGo Airlines on an honorary basis.

What Indian aviation needs to take off

What Indian aviation needs to take off

Rediff.com   28 Jan 2010

"This is the best time that Indian aviation is seeing and the next six months will be critical. The airlines should monetise this growth without getting into unnecessary capacity addition," said Nikhil Vora, managing director, IDFC-SSKI, a financial services group.

Runway shutdown may clog IGI airport

Runway shutdown may clog IGI airport

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2010

The runways are expected to be made operational for the larger aircraft before the Commonwealth Games in October.

FinMin wields deficit stick on 3G bid

FinMin wields deficit stick on 3G bid

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2010

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has asked Communications Minister Andimuthu Raja to complete the auction of the third generation (3G) spectrum within the agreed deadline (February 15), so that the revenue from it can be reflected in the Union Budget for 2009-10. Mukherjee had earmarked Rs 30,000 crore as revenue from 3G auction, which has already been delayed by a year, in the Budget.

Patel wants airlines to club fare, surcharge

Patel wants airlines to club fare, surcharge

Rediff.com   18 Jan 2010

The airport and user development fees will be kept out of it.

ITC stake in Leela rises to 7.37%

ITC stake in Leela rises to 7.37%

Rediff.com   15 Jan 2010

ITC's investment arm Russell Credit has raised its stake in Hotel Leelaventure to 7.37 per cent --an increase of 2.26 percentage points. The promoters of Mumbai-based Leela group, meanwhile, said they were not interested in tying the knot with ITC as a strategic partner in the growing hotels business.

Airports Authority to take Rs 600-cr SBI loan

Airports Authority to take Rs 600-cr SBI loan

Rediff.com   14 Jan 2010

The loan will be at an interest rate of 7.5 per cent and for a period of three years. "We have negotiated with SBI for Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) and Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) will come immediately and the rest will come by March-end," said a senior AAI official.

Surge in passengers to help airlines cut losses

Surge in passengers to help airlines cut losses

Rediff.com   11 Jan 2010

The passenger numbers in the third quarter were up by over 25 per cent compared to the same quarter last year.

Now, aviation ministry wants Rs 1,200 cr for AI

Now, aviation ministry wants Rs 1,200 cr for AI

Rediff.com   11 Jan 2010

The national carrier to get lion's share of the Rs 1,978 crore budgetary support demanded by the ministry for 2010-11.

China auto biz enters India

China auto biz enters India

Rediff.com   7 Jan 2010

Chinese auto component manufacturers are quietly making inroads into India.

Car insurance may come with accident cover

Car insurance may come with accident cover

Rediff.com   5 Jan 2010

Road ministry mulls a fee of Rs 15 for such a cover.

Airlines will continue to add low-cost seats

Airlines will continue to add low-cost seats

Rediff.com   31 Dec 2009

The trend of airlines shifting capacities to the low-cost model, as witnessed in the current year, is likely to continue in the next year. Around 80 per cent of the capacity converted or added in the latter part of 2009 had been in the low-cost segment, and a majority came from conversions of full fledged services.