News highlights of the day: Success of Aamir's films can warm Sino-India ties, says China media

22:38 That's all for today, readers. Thanks for staying on with our coverage of the day's action. Your enthusiasm encourages us to better our coverage every day. Do come back tomorrow for more news, views and insights.

21:48 Success of Aamir's films can warm Sino-India ties: China media

The goodwill generated by Aamir Khan's latest movie - 'Secret Superstar' - among Chinese audiences should be extended to politics and economy for improving China-India relations, an official media commentary has said.

"Aamir Khan's latest film 'Secret Superstar' has taken Chinese audiences by storm within four days of its release, becoming a hot topic against the relatively cooler China-India relationship," the commentary by state-run Xinhua news agency said.

21:46 India, Vietnam need to enhance cooperation in oil sector, says President Kovind

President Ram Nath Kovind today asserted that India-Vietnam relations are on an upward curve, and said the two countries need to enhance cooperation in oil and gas sector.

"We need to redouble our efforts to reach the target of USD 15 billion in bilateral trade by 2020," Kovind said, welcoming Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who had called on him at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

21:43 Show cause notice to 15 Congress councillors for boycotting mayoral election

The Amritsar District Congress chief today issued show cause notice to 15 municipal councillors for boycotting the official programme of the election of Amritsar mayor.

They were also asked to respond why disciplinary action should not be taken against them for not attending the official programme yesterday.

20:36 Merkel says protectionism must be shunned, lauds India for multilateral cooperation

German Chancellor Angela Merkel today joined world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in voicing open criticism of protectionism and lauded India and China for continuing to pursue an approach of multilateral cooperation with the European Union.

Citing examples, she said if major countries like India, China and the US start framing their foreign policies nationally, they "will fail".

20:16 Fresh plea in SC against controversial movie 'Padmaavat'

Tryst of controversial movie 'Padmaavat' with the Supreme Court does not seem to be ending!

A lawyer, who failed in his twin attempts in the Supreme Court in getting Deepika Padukone-starrer stalled from being released, filed his third petition against the film on the eve of its all-India release and mentioned it before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra today.

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, agreed to hear the fresh plea on January 29.

19:00 India ranks 177 out of 180 in Environmental Performance Index

India is among the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index 2018, plummeting 36 points from 141 in 2016, according to a biennial report by Yale and Columbia Universities along with the World Economic Forum.

While India is at the bottom of the list in the environmental health category, it ranks 178 out of 180 as far as air quality is concerned.

Its overall low ranking -- 177 among 180 countries -- was linked to poor performance in the environment health policy and deaths due to air pollution categories.

The report was released on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

18:07 Future will be about 'made on the internet': Jack Ma

With e-commerce growing, Chinese giant Alibaba's chief Jack Ma today predicted the future will be about 'made on the internet' and not labels like 'made in China' or 'made in America'.

Speaking at a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on 'Enabling e-commerce: Small enterprises, global players', Ma said in the future, every young person and small business will be able to buy, sell, pay and travel globally.

17:18 Protests staged in the area near Chittorgarh Fort in Rajasthan against the screening of Padmaavat

A day before the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmaavat, Rajasthan witnessed a spate of protests with protesters from fringe outfits taking out rallies, blocking roads and damaging vehicles in different parts of the state.

Members of the Karni Sena damaged windows of two state roadways buses and blocked a road in Kalwar area in state capital Jaipur.

16:24 InterGlobe Aviation Q3 profit rises over 56% YoY
InterGlobe Aviation, the owner of India’s biggest airline IndiGo, said net profit rose over 56% YoY in the third quarter, helped by higher passenger ticket revenue, reports Reuters. Net profit for October-December was Rs 7.62 billion compared with Rs 4.87 billion in the year-ago quarter. Passenger ticket revenue rose 21.8% for the quarter to Rs 53.22 billion.

16:20 HC for EC reply on Dhinakaran plea for suitable name and symbol
The Delhi High Court sought response of the Election Commission on TTV Dhinakaran's plea to use a suitable name or symbol for his faction till his plea laying claim to the two-leaves symbol is decided, reports PTI. Justice Rekha Palli also issued notice to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister EK Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, to whose group the EC has allotted the 'two-leaves' symbol of AIADMK and sought their stand on the matter. The court listed the matter for further hearing on February 6.

16:18 No stay on AAP MLAs disqualification
The Delhi High Court refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding office of profit but restrained the Election Commission from taking any "precipitate measures" like announcing the dates for by-polls till January 29, reports PTI.

16:10 Ashok Leyland bags Rs 350cr order from VRL for 1,200 trucks
Hinduja group flagship firm Ashok Leyland has received an order for 1,200 trucks worth over Rs 350 crore from VRL Logistics (VRL). The trucks will come fitted with the latest in features and technology that will help VRL to have reduced maintenance time, fewer stop overs, better efficiency resulting in better uptime and increased profitability, the company said in a statement.

16:08 Markets scale fresh highs; telecom stocks in red
Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty ended at fresh life-time highs for yet another session today, powered by unabated buying by participants and healthy corporate results. However, telecom stocks tumbled up to 6.5% after Reliance Jio decided to offer extra data on some plans, intensifying the tariff war in the sector. Speculators covered their short positions ahead of the January derivatives expiry on Thursday, building up the momentum.

The 30-share Sensex rallied to an all-time high of 36,268.19 intra-day. However, emergence of profit-booking at record levels ahead of January derivatives expiry sent it lower to 36,036.51. It finally settled 21.66 points, or 0.06%, higher at 36,161.64 - surpassing its previous record closing of 36,139.98 reached on Tuesday. After hitting a fresh intra-day record of 11,110.10, the 50-share NSE Nifty ended at 11,086, recording a modest rise of 2.30 points, or 0.02%. It breached its previous record closing of 11,083.70 hit on Tuesday.

16:01 HSBC sees FY19 GDP at 7% as GST impact wanes
British lender HSBC said waning effects from the GST impact will help push the Indian GDP growth to 7% in FY19, reports PTI. It can be noted that International Monetary Fund has come out with an estimate of 7.4% growth two days ago. "For India, we are expecting the economy to grow in the next three years (FY18-20) by 6.5%, 7% and 7.6%," the bank’s chief economist Pranjul Bhandari said.

She added that growth has slid from previous year’s 7.1% to 6.5% in FY18 due to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). "As some of the short-run disruptions caused by GST get ironed out, we expect growth to rise in the next couple of years," she noted.

15:54 Bawana fire: Court allows 5-day police custody of accused
A Delhi court has sent the owner of the firecracker storage unit in New Delhi’s Bawana area, where 17 people were killed in a massive blaze, to five-day police custody, reports PTI. Metropolitan Magistrate Jitendra Pratap Singh allowed the police custody of accused Manoj Jain, 49, who was arrested on January 21 in connection with the fire tragedy which took place on January 20.

15:19 Maruti Suzuki’s new concept at Auto Expo will be a SUV-like hatchback
At the upcoming Auto Expo 2018 India’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, will unveil its concept Future-S, a cross-over between a hatchback and an SUV, a top company official has confirmed. This new concept will be positioned below the best-selling SUV Vitara Brezza making it one of the smallest vehicle of its kind in the line-up, reports Moneycontrol News’ Swaraj Baggonkar. The company will gauge the response of viewers at the Expo and decide on whether it should go for commercial production.

CV Raman, Executive Director (engineering), Maruti Suzuki said, “We believe that going forward SUV kind of vehicles are increasing in demand and we have a line up where we have the S-Cross, Brezza just under 4 meters but we believe that going forward SUV taste is going to be liked by customers. So looking at that we have made a concept vehicle which is going to be less than 4 meters and less than Vitara Brezza size and we have let our designers experiment on the design of the vehicle and they have come out with a product which has an upright stance, upright A-pillar.”

14:58 Syria says claims it uses chemical weapons "lies"
The Syrian government said that claims by the French and US foreign ministers that it was still using chemical weapons were “lies”, reports Reuters. On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the Syrian government may still be using chemical weapons, following a suspected chlorine attack in the rebel enclave of eastern Ghouta on Monday.

14:52 Shape of Water, Three Billboards lead best picture race after Oscar nominations
Fox Searchlight’s fantastical romance “The Shape of Water” and its dark comedy “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” emerged as front runners for the Oscar best picture prize on Tuesday after capturing nominations in all of the major categories, reports Reuters. “The Shape of Water” earned a leading 13 nominations, including nods for best picture, screenplay, director Guillermo del Toro and actors Sally Hawkins, Richard Jenkins and Octavia Spencer.

14:43 Idea posts wider Q3 loss at Rs 1,284.5cr, blames IUC rate cut
Idea Cellular posted deeper losses of Rs 1,284.5 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2017, and said a "sharp" cut in call connect charges and "unrelenting" rate pressure hit its earnings. India's third largest telecom operator had registered a loss of Rs 383.9 crore in the year-ago period, according to its regulatory filing.

The revenue from operations came in at Rs 6,509.6 crore for the quarter ended December 2017, almost 25% lower than Rs 8,662.7 crore in the same period previous year. "The regulation imposed 57% sharp decline in IUC (Interconnect Usage Charges) settlement rates negatively impacted Idea’s revenue and EBITDA for this quarter by Rs 820 crore and Rs 230 crore, respectively," the company said in a statement.

14:26 Vijaya Bank Q3 net tanks 65.45% YoY to Rs 79.56 crore
State-owned Vijaya Bank reported a 65.45% decline in net profit at Rs 79.56 crore for the third quarter ended on December 31, 2017 due to rise in provisions. The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 230.28 crore in the October-December quarter of the 2016-17 fiscal. The bank's total income also declined 7.09% to Rs 3,450.81 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 3,714.37 crore in the same period a year ago, Vijaya Bank said in a BSE filing.

During the quarter, Vijaya Bank's provision (other than tax) and contingencies grew by 62.35% to Rs 676.92 crore as against Rs 416.95 crore in the year-ago period. The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) improved marginally to 6.17% as against 6.98% in the same quarter last fiscal. Net NPA's also came down to 3.99% in the quarter under review compared to 4.74% a year ago.

14:16 Gunmen attack Save the Children Jalalabad’s office, 11 injured
Gunmen blasted their way into Save the Children's office in Afghanistan's restive east, witnesses and officials said, in an ongoing attack that has wounded at least 11 people. After blowing up a car outside the British charity's compound in Jalalabad city, the attackers used a rocket propelled grenade to storm the complex, reports AFP.

13:48 Devendra Fadnavis woos foreign investors, targets $1 trillion eco tag for Maha
Wooing foreign investors to come and invest in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised to make his state a trillion-dollar economy in the next 7-8 years, reports PTI. "Our state GDP is currently about $400 billion and we are growing at about 10%. We are expecting to reach a size of $1 trillion in the next 7-8 years," Fadnavis said.

13:31 ICICI Bank looking at new growth opportunities in Indian eco
ICICI Bank is looking at new areas of growth opportunities in the Indian economy as new areas are coming up to be tapped post demonetisation and introduction of GST, its chief Chanda Kochhar said. She said more SMEs are becoming part of the formal economy, creating big opportunities for growth, adding that the government has also provided a strong impetus to increase lending to MSMEs.

"Further, as the resolution process progresses and government capex picks up, the investment climate will improve leading to private corporate investments eventually looking up. We will look to participate in this pick up as and when it happens," Kochhar said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

13:23 Lalu Prasad convicted in third fodder scam case
A special CBI court in Ranchi convicted Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad in the third fodder scam case, reports PTI. CBI judge SS Prasad also found another former chief minister Jagannath Mishra guility in the case pertaining to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.62 crore from the Chaibasa treasury in the 1990s.

Out of the 56 accused in the case, six were acquitted. The 69-year-old Prasad is currently lodged in the Birsa Munda Jail. On January 6, Prasad was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail and fined Rs 10 lakh by a another CBI judge in a fodder scam case relating to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 89.27 lakh from the Deoghar Treasury 21 years ago.

13:10 Power minister supports tax incentives for electric vehicles
Power Minister RK Singh made a pitch for tax incentives for electric vehicles and said the ministry will soon come out with regulations for promoting e-mobility in the country, reports PTI. The minister also said that the electricity amendment bill which seeks renewable of distribution licences for discoms among other proposals is likely to be moved in the upcoming Budget session.

Addressing an e-mobility conference in New Delhi, the minister said tax incentives are needed to promote electric vehicles. The ministry will soon bring in regulations for electric vehicles to address issues such as whether charging is a service for promoting e-mobility in the country.

12:32 Rajiv Gandhi assassination case: Convict in SC seeks recall of its conviction order
The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the CBI to respond to a plea filed by one of the convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case seeking recall of the apex court's May 1999 order upholding his conviction.

A bench comprising Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi asked the probe agency to file its response to the application filed by convict A G Perarivalan within three weeks and posted the matter for hearing on February 21.

12:26 Delhi HC to hear plea of 9 AAP MLAs against disqualification
A Delhi High Court judge will hear later in the day the plea of eight AAP MLAs against their disqualification for holding office of profit.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru said he will hear the pleas of the MLAs, challenging the Centre's notification which had disqualified 20 legislators, after lunch.

Observing the crowd in his courtroom before taking up the matter, the judge said he was unable to conduct hearing of other matters.

12:10 Global investors welcome to participate in railways upgrade: Piyush Goyal
Promising a major technological and modernisation upgrade at railways, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said there are plans to equip the entire rail network with Wi-Fi and CCTV system and foreign investors are welcome to participate in this growth story.

Goyal, who is here to attend the World Economic Forum annual meeting, said there is a huge scope for innovation in railways including in signalling systems for which latest technologies of the world are being brought in.

12:03 2018 global growth to roll to highs not seen in eight years: Reuters poll
The global economy is expected to grow at a robust pace this cear and reach an altitude not seen since 2010, as momentum builds in developed economies and inflation revives, according to a Reuters poll of over 500 economists.

Major central banks are expected to move away from ultra-easy monetary policy this year, but borrowing costs are still accommodative and should underpin growth. The poll,  covering more than 45 countries, not only underscored optimism on growth but also showed inflation forecasts were either upgraded or left unchanged in nearly 70 percent of those economies.

11:46 UPDATE: Third fodder scam case, the Chaibasa Treasury case: Former Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra also found guilty by Special CBI court in Ranchi

11:37 JMC Projects bags orders worth over Rs 751cr
Civil engineering and EPC firm JMC Projects (India) said it has bagged new construction projects worth Rs 751 crore. The company has received contracts for two commercial projects and a residential project in south India, totalling Rs 448 crore, the company said in a BSE filing.

It has also secured order for construction of two residential projects and one industrial project worth Rs 303 crore in northern and eastern India, it said. The company is an arm of Kalpataru Power Transmission.

11:35 Dilip Buildcon bags NHAI road project worth Rs 1,522cr
Highway developer Dilip Buildcon (DBL) said it has bagged a road project worth Rs 1,522 crore from NHAI in Odisha, reports PTI. "The company has been declared L-1 bidder by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a new hybrid annuity project...in Odisha," Dilip Buildcon said in a BSE filing. The project is for rehabilitation and upgradation to six laning of Chandikhole-Bhadrak section of NH-5 (new NH-16) from km 62 to km 135.5 in Odisha, the company added.

11:21 Idea Q3 net loss may widen to Rs 1,292cr
Idea Cellular, which is scheduled to report its results for the quarter ended December on Wednesday could report a net loss of Rs 1,292 crore compared to Rs 1,106 crore reported in the previous quarter, according to a poll conducted by CNBC-TV18. According to estimates, the telecom major is expected to report 10% fall in revenues for the quarter ended December to Rs 6,738 crore compared to Rs 7,465 crore reported in the previous quarter, weighed down by interconnection usage charges (IUC) cut by TRAI and sharp fall in realisations.

10:57 After rallying 3,985% since 2008, V-Guard bets on Internet of Things
After a 3,985% rally since its 2008 listing, V-Guard Industries,  which has evolved into one of India’s leading consumer-durable companies, has found its next big growth plan: Internet of Things, reports Bloomberg. The company, which started 40 years ago with a mere Rs 100,000, now has products ranging from food mixers to fans and is betting that rising personal incomes in the world’s second-most populous nation and more than a billion mobile-phone connections will boost its sales further.

“IOT is the next big step for our company as smart-phone users are expected to rise every passing day and more people are becoming tech savvy,” Managing Director Mithun Chittilappilly said. The company plans to sell “smart fans” after introducing water heaters and power back-up systems that use similar technology, he said.

V-Guard expects sales to rise 12% in FY18, missing its FY22 target of 15% annual growth, after it passed on a higher tax rate to its customers following the recent introduction of a goods and services levy. Revenue growth is expected to recover to at least 15% in FY19, Chittilappilly said.

10:49 AirAsia to add around 30 jets this year amid strong demand
Budget airline group AirAsia plans to add around 30 jets to its airline affiliates across Asia this year due to strong demand growth across the region, Chief Executive Tony Fernandes told Reuters. AirAsia, which flies close to 200 airplanes and is the largest operator of Airbus’s best-selling A320 jet, has airlines in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Japan and plans to grow in China and Vietnam.

10:26 Liberty House, Deccan Value reject low price bids for Amtek Auto, says report
Lenders to Amtek Auto, which is facing Rs 12,722 crore of claims from financial creditors, decided to reject the only two offers they received for the auto component maker unless the bidders raised the price, sources told The Economic Times. The lenders plan to renegotiate the offers with UK-based metals group Liberty House and US-registered hedge fund Deccan Value Investors after their offers came in below the liquidation value, sources said. They could also call for a second round of bidding, sources added.

10:13 ArcelorMittal opts out of Bhushan Power & Steel race
ArcelorMittal has withdrawn from bidding for bankrupt Bhushan Power & Steel after it conducted due diligence on the Indian company, reports The Economic Times. ArcelorMittal informed the Bhushan Power & Steel committee of creditors of its decision through a letter sent by its financial advisor Goldman Sachs, sources said. Tata Steel, JSW, Vedanta, AION Capital and a Dubai-based billionaire remain in the fray for the bankrupt company ahead of the January 29 deadline for final offers.

09:49 US Senate confirms Jerome Powell as next Fed chairman
The US Senate confirmed former investment banker Jerome Powell as head of the Federal Reserve, putting President Donald Trump's pick in a role of enormous influence over the world's largest economy, reports AFP. Powell, a current Fed governor, was confirmed by a vote of 85-12, paving the way for him to replace current Chair Janet Yellen when she steps down next month. In choosing to replace Yellen, Trump dismantled another piece of his predecessor Barack Obama's legacy, making Trump the first US president in nearly 40 years not to reappoint the incumbent Fed chair.

09:40 Bitcoin may split 50 times in 2018 as forking craze mounts
Bitcoin God arrived last month. Bitcoin Pizza was delivered in January. Bitcoin Private’s issuance date is... still a secret. They’re just a few of the growing stable of so-called forks - a type of spinoff in which developers clone Bitcoin’s software, release it with a new name, a new coin and possibly a few new features, reports Bloomberg. Often, the idea is to capitalise on the public’s familiarity with Bitcoin to make some serious money, at least virtually.

Some 19 Bitcoin forks came out last year - but up to 50 more could happen this year, according to Lex Sokolin, global director of fintech strategy at Autonomous Research. Ultimately, the number could run even higher now that Forkgen, a site enabling anyone with rudimentary programming skills to launch a clone, is in operation. In a January 14 tweet, hedge fund manager Ari Paul predicted more than 10% of the current value of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash will reside in new offshoots.

Motives behind the efforts vary. Some backers try to improve on Bitcoin. Others seek a quick profit. Developers typically score a cache of newly minted coins in a process called post-mining. Yet prices don’t necessarily hold up for long.

08:53 Japan's January manufacturing activity hits highest in almost four years
Japanese manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in almost four years in January, a survey showed on Wednesday, with solid output and employment levels pointing to a bright outlook for an economy that continues to grow at a healthy clip, reports Reuters. The Flash Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 54.4 in January from a final 54.0 in December.

08:45 Jio hikes per day data limit by 500 MB on popular plans
Stepping up the tariff war, Reliance Jio has decided to offer 500 MB extra data to its subscribers using 1GB and 1.5GB per day data packs with effect from January 26, sources told PTI. Besides, the telco as part of its 'Republic Day offer' will double the validity of Rs 98 pack to 28 days from the current 14 days from January 26 onwards, sources said.

"Jio will always offer more value to its customers, and offer Rs 50 lower price than competition and 50% more data on its plans. As part of Republic Day offer, all existing 1 GB per day packs enhanced to 1.5 GB per day, 1.5 GB per day packs enhanced to 2 GB per day," sources said. With this new offer, Jio's flagship Rs 399 plan will provide free voice, unlimited 4G data with 1.5 GB daily, unlimited SMS and premium subscription to Jio Apps for 84 days. The Rs 98 pack at present offers 2.1 GB data at 4G speed and thereafter speed drops to 64 kilobit per second with 14 days validity.

08:40 NPPA fixes retail price of 5 formulations
National drug pricing regulator NPPA said it has fixed the retail prices of five formulations including those used for the treatment of hypertension, asthma and heart failure. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has also revised the ceiling price of Metronidazole injection used for treatment of the bacterial infections.

08:37 ONGC ties up Rs 18K cr loan from 3 banks for buying HPCL
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) said it has tied-up over Rs 18,000 crore loan from three banks to part finance its Rs 36,915 crore acquisition of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL). In a regulatory filing, ONGC said it had on Monday entered into loan agreements with Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Axis Bank for the borrowing Rs 18,060 crore for the acquisition.

ONGC said the loans are of one-year duration. The pact with PNB is for loan of up to Rs 10,600 crore and with Bank of India for another Rs 4,460 crore. With Axis Bank it has secured Rs 3,000 crore credit. The company is likely to sign-up more loan agreements to pay for acquiring government's 51.11% stake in HPCL for Rs 36,915 crore.

08:26 United Spirits Q3 net profit slips 9% YoY to Rs 135cr
Liquor major United Spirits reported a decline of 8.8% in its standalone net profit to Rs 134.7 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, mainly due to market changes in certain states. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 147.7 crore in the October-December period last fiscal, Diageo-controlled firm said in a regulatory filing.

Its total income during the quarter under review was at Rs 7,160.9 crore, up 1.17%, as against Rs 7,077.8 crore in corresponding quarter previous fiscal. Total expenses were up 1.34% at Rs 6,964.5 crore as against Rs 6,872.1 crore in the same period last fiscal.

08:15 Indiabulls Housing Finance Q3 net rises 55% YoY to Rs 1,167crIndiabulls Housing Finance reported a 55.38% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,167.73 crore for the third quarter ended December 31. The company had reported net profit of Rs 751.49 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Revenues grew by 36.65% YoY to Rs 4,105.66 crore during October-December quarter of the current fiscal, up from Rs 3,004.47 crore in the year-ago period, Indiabulls Housing Finance said in a BSE filing. Gross non-performing asset (NPA) stood at 0.77% of total advances, and net NPAs were at 0.21% in the quarter under review.

08:03 Domestic air traffic up 17.69% YoY in December 2017
Domestic air traffic registered a growth of over 17% in December last year as compared to the same month in the previous year, government data stated. Domestic airlines carried 11.24 million passengers in December 2017 as compared to 9.55 million compared to the year-ago period, registering a growth of 17.69%.

According to the monthly traffic data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the passenger load factor (PLF), which is a measure of number of seats occupied in a plane, was the highest for SpiceJet with 95.6% of its seats being sold. GoAir was at the second spot with 92% of seats occupied, followed by IndiGo (90.8%), Jet Airways (88.5%), Vistara (87.7%) and Air India (81.8%).

IndiGo regained its top position in terms of punctuality or on-time performance (OTP) with 81.1% of its flights taking off and landing on time. It was followed by SpiceJet (78.4%), Vistara (74.5%), Air India (70.8%), Go Air (68.4%) and Jet Airways at the bottom (52.2%).

IndiGo also continues to be the market leader cornering 39.4% of the market share, DGCA data stated. While market shares remained more or less flat for most airlines, GoAir witnessed an increase from 8.9% to 9.6%, while Jet Airways saw a dip from 15.2% to 14.6% in November as compared to October.

07:36 PE investments in realty to reach $100bn by 2026, says JLL
With India emerging as an attractive investment destination, private equity inflow in real estate is likely to reach $100 billion by 2026. According to property consultant JLL, in the next 10 years, private equity inflow in the sector is likely to grow at 10% CAGR to $100 billion by 2026, with Tier I and II cities being the prime beneficiaries of it. In the past 12 years (2006-2017) India has seen investments of $42 billion, while the next 10 years (2017-2026) is expected to see inflows to the tune of $58 billion, the report said.

07:23 India aims to become $5 trillion economy by 2025, says Modi
India is moving towards becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual gathering. Pitching India as an attractive investment destination, he said those wanting wealth with wellness and peace with prosperity should come to the country.
The first Indian prime minister in two decades to attend the WEF summit in Davos, he delivered the speech at the opening plenary where he raised concerns about protectionist tendencies. He said the country is moving towards becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and emphasised that the government is following the principle of reform, perform and transform. Currently, India's gross domestic product (GDP) is around $2.2 trillion.