These could include strengthening the public-private partnership (PPP) dispute resolution mechanism, uniform PPP institutional framework, easier terms for infrastructure companies accessing bond markets, and tax sops, Business Standard has learnt. Investment in infrastructure projects with high multiplier effect has been the Centre's main plank to revive the economy, create employment and boost consumption.
In the first reduction in rate in two months, jet fuel or ATF price on Thursday was cut by 3 per cent in line with softening international crude oil prices. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price was reduced by Rs 1,887 per kilolitre, or 3 per cent, to Rs 58,374.16 per kl in the national capital, according to a price notification of state-owned fuel retailers. This is the first reduction in rates after four rounds of increase since February. Rates were increased by Rs 3,246.75 per kl on February 1, followed by a 3.6 per cent hike on February 16, and a steep 6.5 per cent raise on March 1. On March 16, prices were again raised by Rs 860.25 per kl. On Thursday, a Rs 10 per cylinder reduction in price of domestic cooking gas LPG also came into effect.
According to the latest data available from the Centre and the states in the night, the total number of Omicron cases in the country was around 1,200.
As AI-176 landed at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and the crew members walked to the lounge, a huge crowd of people gave a rousing reception for scripting history with the about 17-hour journey, the longest flight by the national carrier or any other airline in the country.
Air India passenger flights were barred from landing in Hong Kong between August 18 and August 31 after 14 passengers on its Delhi-Hong Kong flight of August 14 tested positive for COVID-19 post arrival.
'How can I pursue my dream forgoing my identity? I want to fly as a trans man.'
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday held three back-to-back meetings with top officials of the security establishment to assess the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including the recent killings of civilians, as well as reviewed arrangements for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra for which the UT administration will provide RFID tags to every pilgrim.
He also said that although India got independence much before Goa became free, people of the country could not enjoy at that time as they felt uneasy thinking that one part was the country was still under foreign rule.
The The Airports Authority of India is likely to procure two counter-drone systems worth Rs 9.9 crore in 2022-23, according to an official document.
For Jet's revival, Mr Jalan should be on the scene long enough for everyone to get to know him, appreciate his skills, and not vanish into thin air within a matter of months or even weeks, observes Anjuli Bhargava.
Disability rights came under the spotlight again as the country's largest airline IndiGo refused to let a teenager with special needs board its aircraft. While the twitterati as well as fellow passengers have called for strict action, IndiGo has stood by its action saying the airport manager took the decision to ensure safety of other passengers. "Throughout the check-in and boarding process, our intent of course was to carry the family. "However, at the boarding area, the teenager was visibly in panic.
Several politicians, including senior ministers, wished for the well-being and safety of Rawat and others on board.
In the aviation sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route for MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), ground handling, and aircraft purchase.
The government on Friday slapped an export tax on petrol, diesel and jet fuel (ATF) while also joining nations like the UK in imposing a windfall tax on crude oil produced locally. A Rs 6 per litre tax on export of petrol and ATF and Rs 13 per litre tax on export of diesel is effective from July 1, finance ministry notifications showed. Additionally, a Rs 23,250 per tonne tax was levied on crude oil produced domestically.
Oppn MPs had raised the issue of lotus being printed on new passports. MEA said it's our 'national flower' and part of enhanced security measures, adding that other national symbols will also be used.
Airlines sought a limited period concession of the standing rule of slot allocation, which mandates that firms must operate at least 80 per cent of their allocated slots.
'Windows shook and rattled, and the thunderous growl of the engines doused even the sound of our noisy helicopter till such time the plane had lifted itself into the skies and disappeared from view.'
The Indian Navy has a big role to play in support of our strategic objectives in the Indian Ocean. The increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean is a matter of concern and need to be factored. Hence, the requirement of an Aircraft Carrier is a foregone conclusion, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Modi stressed the need to enhance aviation infrastructure capacity to meet the rising demand for air travel.
Eight new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were reported in Maharashtra -- seven of them in Mumbai -- and none of the patients had a history of international travel, the state health department said on Tuesday.
The interim funding has not been forthcoming thus far, and as a result Jet has extended cancellation of international operations until April 18.
Jobs are back with a bang in India, proving it to be the most optimistic nation in terms of hiring plans.
Sources in the know said the government would initiate talks with businesses, including Tatas, shortly for divesting its stake in the national carrier.
Air India owns 32 aircraft, and has 37 aircraft on finance lease; Air India Express owns 17 aircraft on finance lease. The aircraft-related debt of Air India is Rs 16,000 crore; it's Rs 1,100 crore for Air India Express.
Afghanistan and the US have criticised Pakistan in the past for allowing Taliban fighters to cross into Pakistan where they are provided safe havens and also receive medical treatment.
Hit by the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring fuel prices, airlines are flying towards record losses with a likely loss of a whopping Rs 20,000 crore for the full fiscal year, warns a report. The airlines are flying towards their steepest-ever net loss of over Rs 20,000 crore this fiscal, which will be 44 per cent more than Rs 13,853 crore they bled last fiscal, Crisil said in a report. This will push back the industry's recovery beyond fiscal 2023, the report based on three large listed airlines--Indigo, Spicejet, and Air India--which together command 75 per cent of the domestic traffic, warned.
The Congress on Monday sought a thorough probe in the Rafale defence deal and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a French media report claimed that 1.1 million (Rs 9.5 crore) was paid to a "middleman" by the aircraft manufacturer.
Candidates will be short-listed for interview on the basis of the information provided by them in their online application, the statement said.
The political row had erupted after the National Democratic Alliance government inked the Rs 59,000-crore deal on September 23, 2016 to procure 36 Rafale jets from French aerospace major Dassault Aviation after a nearly seven-year exercise to procure 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force did not fructify during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.
When Jet Airways shut operations, the slots which were allocated to it were temporarily distributed among various airlines. And, the airlines that were called upon to immediately create infrastructure so that the public at large does not face any hardship have invested huge amounts of money to created infrastructure to utilise such slots. "In view of this, though the allocation of slots to such airlines is temporary the same can't be withdrawn from them without any legitimate basis.", the affidavit said.
The industry is hoping the Tatas deepen their dive and offer two stable airlines -- a Vistara merged into Air India servicing the international routes, and an AirAsia India merged with Air India Express that competes with the low fare airlines in India and offers destinations within five hours, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Jet Airways will restart domestic operations by the first quarter of 2022 and short haul international flights by the last quarter of the next year, Jalan Kalrock Consortium, the winning bidder for the grounded airline, stated on Monday. The first flight of Jet Airways would be on Delhi-Mumbai route, it mentioned, adding that the airline would now be headquartered in Delhi instead of Mumbai. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June this year had approved the Jalan Kalrock Consortium's resolution plan for Jet Airways, two years after the once-storied full-service carrier went into insolvency proceedings.
There is no official announcement yet on the fate of the 123 passengers and nine crew members as hopes receded about finding any survivors, considering that the plane crashed and exploded in a mountainous area.
The Capitol Hill, the complex comprising of US Congress and its buildings, was briefly put under lockdown on Monday due to "an external security treat", local police said after a fire was reported a few blocks away.
The government expects to realise Rs 35,100 crore from the partial sale of Bharatnet fibre assets and around 13,500 mobile towers owned by state-run telecom firms as part of its national monetisation pipeline released on Monday. Government think tank Niti Aayog has valued over 2.86 lakh kilometre of optical fibre assets laid by BBNL and BSNL under rural broadband project Bharatnet at Rs 26,300 crore, according to the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) document. According to the document, BSNL's 13,567 mobile tower assets and MTNL's 1,350 towers have been valued at Rs 8,800 crore.
In a record time of 13 years, the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant is now ready for formal induction into the Indian Navy.
A ferry flight will soon reach the national capital from Tehran with around 300 swab samples of Indians suspected of having coronavirus infection.
In its report tabled in Parliament, the national auditor said the Dassault Aviation and the MBDA proposed in September 2015 to discharge 30 per cent of their offset obligations by offering high technology to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), but the two firms are yet to do it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held deliberations with Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda amid speculation about a reshuffle in the Union cabinet, an exercise Modi has not undertaken since forming the government for a second time in May 2019.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi on Sunday said a Central Industrial Security Force officer asked her if she was an Indian, when she asked the woman official to speak in Tamil or English.