Viveat Pinto, Digbijay Mishra And Kalpana Pathak

Stories by Viveat Pinto, Digbijay Mishra And Kalpana Pathak

Slowdown to hit travel companies

Slowdown to hit travel companies

Rediff.com   2 Jul 2008

While a few say that they have already recorded a significant drop in bookings, others say that if the trend continues, the effects will be reflected on the revenues for the next three to six months.

Hotel tariffs to melt in slowdown heat

Hotel tariffs to melt in slowdown heat

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2008

According to Crisil Research, the average room rates in cities like Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore are likely to fall 5-10 per cent in the next few months. Industry experts said the occupancy rates could fall from 75-80 per cent now to 65-70 per cent soon.

Hotels, pay channels lock horns over rates

Hotels, pay channels lock horns over rates

Rediff.com   21 Jun 2008

Hospitality majors, including Le Meridien and Pride Hotel, are opposing pay channels such as Star and Zee for raising rates for the second time in six months, pending an earlier court battle between the hotel trade body and private broadcasters.

Oil companies take credit flow to positive zone

Oil companies take credit flow to positive zone

Rediff.com   10 Jun 2008

The oil marketing companies are driving credit growth. The banking sector -- which typically sees credit contraction in the initial months -- has managed to buck the trend and has added nearly Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion) of advances in the first seven weeks of the current financial year thanks to the demand from the two sectors.

Centre to add IIT label to new colleges

Centre to add IIT label to new colleges

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2008

Brushing aside objections over brand dilution, the government has reportedly begun work on modifying the IIT Act, 1961, to ensure that the eight new engineering institutes it is setting up come under the premier Indian Institute of Technology umbrella.

HPCL wind power project to relocate

HPCL wind power project to relocate

Rediff.com   5 May 2008

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation's wind power foray is facing teething troubles. The state-run company plans to set up 100 mw capacity at an investment of Rs 500 crore. Its first project - a pilot of 25 mw coming up in Maharashtra's Dhule district - is being shifted to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan following protests by farmers.

IIMs scramble to get finances right

IIMs scramble to get finances right

Rediff.com   21 Apr 2008

The premier Indian Institutes of Management will have to draw on all their management skills to solve the current financial imbroglio they are in. On the one hand, the fee hike by IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore has caused heartburn not only among students and the Union Human Resource Development Ministry but also among the other IIMs who say they were not consulted despite an existing agreement to do so. IIM-A and IIM-B have said that a fee hike is a prerogative of their own

Give new institutes another name: IIT directors

Give new institutes another name: IIT directors

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2008

They are of the view that calling the new institutes "IITs" would dilute the brand image of the existing premier institutes, which figure among the world's 100 best technology universities and are compared with the likes of MIT, California University and Berkeley. The seven IITs are located in Kharagpur, Mumbai, Chennai, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee.

IITs show what sharing faculty is all about

IITs show what sharing faculty is all about

Rediff.com   3 Apr 2008

The government appears to have hit upon a novel faculty-sharing solution to tackle the shortage of quality faculty at the premier Indian Institutes of Technology. The shortage will accentuate now that eight new IITs have been announced.

40 windows to US visa in Mumbai

40 windows to US visa in Mumbai

Rediff.com   19 Mar 2008

In December 2009, the Consulate will change its address from the landmark Lincoln House in south Mumbai to the Bandra-Kurla Complex, where it will have 40 visa windows as compared with the 17 visa windows at present.

Varsities may soon own patent rights

Varsities may soon own patent rights

Rediff.com   17 Mar 2008

The move was initiated by National Knowledge Commission Chairman Sam Pitroda as an incentive to encourage innovation, collaboration, licensing and commercialisation in Indian institutes. The matter is before the Cabinet and will shortly be moved to Parliament for approval, according to a source close to the development. The law will be on the lines of the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act of America.

B-school grads shunning jobs to go it alone

B-school grads shunning jobs to go it alone

Rediff.com   12 Mar 2008

At IIM-Ahmedabad, 11 students opted out of placements to start their own venture. While at IIM-Bangalore, 4 students chose not to join the corporate world, IIM-Kozhikode had 5 students who decided to kick-start their own venture. At S P Jain Institute of Management and Research in Mumbai, out of 89 students, one student decided to opt out of placements to join his own family business where he would be heading a new division.

The job offers for ISB students just got better

The job offers for ISB students just got better

Rediff.com   8 Mar 2008

The premier southern institute is said to have got about 100 international and 600 domestic offers for its batch of 425 students. ISB rules mandate that each student will get at least two offers.

IT firms go slow on hiring from IITs

IT firms go slow on hiring from IITs

Rediff.com   25 Feb 2008

Information technology firms appear to have lost their appeal at the Indian Institutes of Technology. Campus recruitment figures by major Indian and foreign IT firms have dipped this year, raising further concerns of an industry slowdown.

Oil companies firm up bio-diesel plans

Oil companies firm up bio-diesel plans

Rediff.com   25 Feb 2008

With the government planning to start 20 per cent blending of bio-diesel with diesel, Indian oil companies are fast firming up their bio-diesel ventures.

PSU oil sale losses double in 3 years

PSU oil sale losses double in 3 years

Rediff.com   8 Feb 2008

Higher crude oil prices have almost doubled the under-recoveries of government-owned oil marketing companies -- Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum -- in the past three years.

Refund fees, AICTE to direct B-schools

Refund fees, AICTE to direct B-schools

Rediff.com   7 Feb 2008

The technical education regulating body plans to direct the institutions to refund the entire fee collected from the student after deducting processing fees, which cannot exceed Rs 1,000.

Executive course grads to bag huge salaries

Executive course grads to bag huge salaries

Rediff.com   6 Feb 2008

For executives who quit their cushy jobs to do a one-year post-graduate programme in management at reputed management schools, it could be a problem of plenty, with placement offers pouring in two months before their course comes to an end.

CAT to go online from November 2009

CAT to go online from November 2009

Rediff.com   4 Feb 2008

The directors of the seven Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will meet later this month to discuss details of a proposal to take the Common Admission Test (CAT) online by 2009.

Govt refineries to gain from FDI cap hike

Govt refineries to gain from FDI cap hike

Rediff.com   1 Feb 2008

State run refineries stand to gain as govt raised the FDI limit to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.