American companies have so far not evinced any interest in investing in the huge Indian infrastructure market, which is estimated to be worth over $200 billion, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Tuesday.
Air India is owed a sum of over Rs 574 crore (Rs 5.74 billion) in outstanding dues by different ministries and departments, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Thursday.
The government said on Thursday it expected that air passenger traffic would witness an increase from over 143 million passengers in the year 2010-11 to over 293.48 million in 2017-18.
The office of former prime minister Manmohan Singh may have taken a special interest to try and keep afloat Vijay Mallya's ailing Kingfisher Airlines against the run of play, e-mails and letters claiming this and accessed by CNN-News18 indicate.
Let's take a detailed look at why this project is yet to take off.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said, "full service airlines earlier used to offer five per cent commission to travel agents on basic fare." "From November 1, 2008, Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher abolished the agency commission and introduced transaction fee model... (however) Jet and Kingfisher have started paying commission on basic fare and fuel surcharge.
B C Khanduri, who was elevated to Cabinet rank in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who was given independent charge of the civil aviation ministry, were among those who joined work on Monday.
The Inter-Ministerial Group for modernising Delhi and Mumbai airports would shortlist the preferred bidders for the airport revamp joint ventures within the next few days, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday.
The empowered group of ministers on Friday deferred a decision on the appointment of a financial consultant for privatisation and modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Sulking former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday attended a party meeting in Mumbai.
A section of Air India pilots, who have threatened to go on strike tomorrow demanding pay parity and better working conditions, on Tuesday, met the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) as part of the conciliation process.
The radar blip on the flight path of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special plane, which created a mid-air scare, was caused by an Indian Air Force aircraft and the incident cannot be considered a serious security lapse, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said. "Primary investigation has revealed that there was some mix-up in the signals," he said. The special aircraft carrying Prime MinisterManmohan Singh had the mid-air scare on Tuesday evening.
The runway length of Mangalore airport, which saw a major air crash a week ago that claimed 158 lives, will be increased from the present 8,000 feet to 9,000 ft to include a larger spillover area, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated the Rs 1,260 crore New Integrated Terminal Building (Phase-1) of the Chennai International Airport, a facility that will boost passenger handling.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday cruised to a two-thirds majority in Madhya Pradesh assembly, winning as many as 163 of the 230 seats in the House, leaving the Congress a distant second at 66.
The incident took place on August 30 when Air India flight AI 102 was on its way to New Delhi from New York.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and former Minister of State Shashi Tharoor were seen having a long chat in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, after a newspaper reported their alleged link in the Indian Premier League bids for the Kochi team.
The party also sought to justify its protest in the Lok Sabha.
'The BJP alliance needs to handle the Maratha quota issue skilfully and address its root cause, which is agrarian distress. Then there is stalled industrialisation. If these issues are addressed, caste fault lines would wither away. But, this is next to impossible in a short span of three-four months.'
Some of India's best-known royals gathered in New Delhi to watch the final of the Sir Pratap Singh Polo Cup, which is named after Sir Pratap Singh, the man credited with the foundation of modern polo in India.
International flights from the Srinagar airport would operate from February 14, when it would be formally inaugurated as an international airport. The first international flight will take off for the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, according to a statement issued by the Union Water Resources Minister, Saif-ud-Din Soz.
Construction activities for modernising and expanding the Kolkata and Chennai airports by the Airports Authority of India will begin by the end of next month, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Thursday. Replying a question on the government's recent decision to allow charging of user development fees by the private operator of the new Hyderabad airport, Patel said "We are considering the same for the new airport at Bangalore."
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who was at the receiving end in the tapped conversations of corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, on Wednesday wondered how she came to prominence and what was her claim to fame.
The government has infused fresh equity of Rs 3,200 crore.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Wednesday that the impasse between the Congress and the Nationalist Congres Party over formation of government in Maharashtra will end on a positive note by Thursday.
After a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in New Delhi, Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta told PTI that six staffers, whose services were terminated after the two-day strike that had disrupted hundreds of flights, have been taken back 'after they submitted apology letters on our advice'.
Asserting that the government can't remain a mute spectator to the move by the air carriers, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said there can be 'no justification' for airlines to hike fares in an 'arbitrary manner'.
Private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher owed over Rs 1,050 crore (Rs 10.50 billion) to the public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) like Indian Oil, HPCL and BPCL towards the payment of jet-fuel bills as on November 15.
All scheduled commercial passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 25 when the Modi government imposed a lockdown to contain the novel cornavirus pandemic.
The US-led war against Iraq and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome have led to sharp decline in demand for air travel and raised costs on account of aviation turbine fuel, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
The cost of deploying Central Industrial Security Force for aviation security at all functional airports across the country would rise by Rs 138 crore (Rs 1.38 billion) per annum, Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain said.
'There are people who left and abused the party, so they should not be taken back'
As senior Air India pilots withdrew their agitation, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Wednesday said the airline would soon set up a committee, including representatives of the ministry and pilots, to work on a turnaround plan and discuss issues relating to their pay and incentives.
With the agitation by Air India executive pilots entering the fourth day on Tuesday, the airline cancelled over 20 flights, including 15 from the national capital, and suspended bookings for the next 15 days.
Jet Airways, Kingfisher and NACIL, which operates Air India, owe over Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) to the oil PSUs in unpaid fuel bills, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.
Air India vacates posh Berkeley Square space, will it leave Nariman Point?
The Air India building has 22 floors overlooking the Arabian Sea. Many floors are already leased out to other companies and it represents one of the costliest commercial real estate in both the city and the country. Air India made losses of Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) in 2008-09.
The detention of Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan at an American airport continued to spark outrage in the country on Sunday with the government saying the action was "offensive" and unacceptable and that it will "strongly" take up the issue with the United States.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances