ECONOMY
Monetizing dedicated freight corridors: Many firms will be keen, but need investor-friendly stance, regulator
Monetizing a part of cross-country 3,300 km dedicated freight corridors has major financial implications for the government and the private sector. Moneycontrol takes a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges.
BUSINESS
GoFirst IPO back on track after Wadias resolve SEBI enquiry
GoFirst’s Rs 3,600-crore IPO likely to hit the stock exchanges by October or November after the low-cost airline’s promoters, the Wadias, resolved a pending enquiry against a group company and themselves.
ECONOMY
Cabinet approves FDI worth Rs 15,000 crore from promoters for Bangalore Airport expansion
Anchorage Infrastructure is the investment vehicle of Fairfax India for airports and other infrastructure investments. Fairfax India is the majority owner and controller of Bangalore International Airport Ltd as it owns a 54 percent stake in the airport.
BUSINESS
Explained | How the Indian Railways is planning to attract more bidders to run trains
Its first round of bidding saw only two participants. Now, it is considering reduced haulage charges, and incentives for using locally made coaches and engines, among other things. Industry participants also expect the railways to ease the terms of the revenue-sharing agreement.
BUSINESS
Air fares between India and UAE remain high as strong demand continues
As work and leisure travel picks up, flight ticket prices on some routes have tripled. Experts say fares should start easing by mid-September.
BUSINESS
Interview | Govt should lower GST on travel, tourism to help recovery: redBus CEO Prakash Sangam
The pandemic has accelerated digitization, which has helped attract more customers from small town and increased the share of digital payment in ticketing to 45-50 percent from 10-15 percent, Sangam says.
BUSINESS
Government looking to invite bids for privatisation of six new airports from October if air traffic continues to rise
Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Raipur, Indore and Trichy the airports. The govt is also looking to hand over control of the Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports to the Adani Group by October, thus completing the last of airport privatisation.
BUSINESS
Some airlines offer India-UK flights at Rs 19,000-Rs 34,000 in mid-Sept vs current Rs 1-1.5 lakh
Airfares between India and UK are likely to fall towards normal levels are more flights are being added on the route, but Etihad, Turkish Airlines and Emirates are already offering much cheaper tickets for mid-September
BUSINESS
DGCA may decide on Boeing 737 Max airworthiness in 2-3 months
Lifting the ban would benefit SpiceJet, which has ordered over 140 such aircraft, and Jet Airways, which is looking to fly again
BUSINESS
Vistara gets another Rs 750-crore fund infusion from Tata Sons, Singapore Airlines
In the latest round of fund infusion, Tata Sons would infuse Rs 382.5 crore in Vistara while Singapore Airlines would infuse Rs 367.5 crore.
BUSINESS
Explained | Why have India-UK airfares skyrocketed in recent days, and when will they fall?
The rush of travellers after the UK eased some restrictions on Indians led to a sharp spike in airfares, but analysts say prices will fall to normal levels by the end of this month as supply catches up with demand.
BUSINESS
JetSetGo to become first Indian aircraft leasing company, bring in plane next month, founder Kanika Tekriwal says
The private jet charter company has taken on the role of a “guinea pig” to lease an aircraft to itself and test the feasibility of the leasing model in India.
BUSINESS
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-promoted Akasa Air’s holding company SNV Aviation registered using Vinay Dubey's address
Last week, Dube said an application for a no-objection certificate has been sought from the aviation ministry for SNV Aviation, which will be the holding company for the proposed budget airline Akasa Air.
BUSINESS
Rise in passenger traffic in August once again triggers debate on removal of fare caps
As airports saw the busiest days this year on August 1 and 2, many airlines are clamouring for a return to the free market regime as far as pricing is concerned. However, airlines like SpiceJet do not favour such a move.
BUSINESS
FASTag toll collections rise to almost pre-COVID-19 second wave levels in July, comes in at Rs 2,976 crore
The rise in toll collection was mostly due to truck rentals that rose 4-6 percent in July, data from the Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) showed.
BUSINESS
Explained | What is Inland Vessels Bill 2021 and how does it benefit the country?
The government expects the new law to remove bottlenecks for vessel movement within the country but experts say that while this would benefit MSMEs, Indian waterways need to be developed further and made navigable throughout the year for proper industrial use
BUSINESS
Explained | How the AERA bill will impact the government's airport privatisation plan
In a bid to expedite its assets monetisation plan and speed up development of smaller airports in the country, the Lok Sabha passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (AERA bill) on July 29.
BUSINESS
Regional routes the flight path to success for Akasa
Industry experts say Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s proposed new airline should target regional routes to thrive. Optimisation of expenses key to success. ULCCs in Europe and the US are known for their punctuality, comparable prices, and frequency of operation, they say.
BUSINESS
Indian Railways' passenger occupancy rises to 80% as COVID-19 case numbers fall
The railways is also in discussion with state governments to consider the restart of local rail service across the country.
BUSINESS
COVID-19, viability issues & turf tussles stall govt’s mega plan for logistics parks
The government’s plan to set up multi-modal parks to reduce logistics costs has made very slow progress and officials say that because of the pandemic and economic slowdown, private investment will be limited if these projects are rushed.
BUSINESS
Foreigners eye trips to India, travel trade seeks easing of international travel curbs
Tourism and aviation industries have urged the government to ease pandemic-related international restrictions at least for travellers who are fully vaccinated.
BUSINESS
Interview | Govt should consider re-opening travel for fully vaccinated people: EaseMyTrip CEO Nishant Pitti
The government should set up funds, and not just provide guarantees for loans as there is a lot of joblessness in the sector currently, EaseMyTrips’s chief executive officer and co-founder Nishant Pitti told Moneycontrol in an interview.
BUSINESS
Interview | Govt should consider some form of direct income support in order to spur consumer sentiment and demand, says Assocham India's President Vineet Agarwal
The Assocham president said that despite the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19 and lockdowns across the country the association expects India's GDP to grow 9 to 10 percent in 2021-22.
BUSINESS
Commercial use of drones likely to take some time; few layers of testing are still pending, say govt officials
The major issues that need to be addressed include operation of drones around army cantonments and other high security areas; privacy issues also on the table
