BUSINESS
Average speed of goods trains on DFCs increases to 40 km/hour: Anil Saini, MD, Alstom India Rolling Stock
While the increasing speed of locomotives on the Western and Eastern DFCs has helped lower cargo movement time, a lot still needs to be done to reach the average speed goals of 75 km/hour, he said.
BUSINESS
SpiceJet Q2 results: Airline flies back into red with net loss of Rs 431.54 crore
Revenue from operations fell 27 percent to Rs 1,425.29 crore, from the year-ago period when the airline had reported a top line of Rs 1,952.61 crore
BUSINESS
SpiceJet gets board nod to raise Rs 2,254 crore from shares, warrants
Currently, SpiceJet's promoters, led by Ajay Singh, hold a 56.5 percent stake in the company. Of this, 37.9 percent is pledged with various lenders. The airline posted a net loss of Rs 431.54 in Q2FY24, compared to a net loss of Rs 837.8 crore in the same period a year ago.
TRENDS
Indians emerge big globetrotters in 2023, fueled by competitive fares and free visas
The booming demand for foreign trips among Indian tourists has led to the number of international flyers surpassing the 2019 levels. Top outbound destinations include Bangkok, Dubai, Bali, Singapore and Pattaya.
BUSINESS
MC Exclusive: Go First lenders closer to agreeing on liquidation; eye up to Rs 3,000 crore from asset sales
The airline’s lenders could vote on a proposal to liquidate the insolvent airline as early as this week, Moneycontrol has learnt. With this, another domestic airline’s days are set to come to an end
BUSINESS
MC Exclusive | Govt to come out with estimate for logistics costs by year-end: DPIIT Special Secretary Dawra
The government was earlier expected to announce the baseline estimate by October, but the process has been delayed due to the complexity involved in accurately coming out with an estimate.
BUSINESS
MC Exclusive: Road Ministry asks for 25% hike in budget allocations as NHAI borrowings remain muted
The government expects to award more road construction projects in FY24-25. This year, unpredictable weather and the impending state elections had caused current and new projects to be delayed
BUSINESS
MC Exclusive: Aviation ministry asks for 25-30% increase in FY25 budgetary outlay for RCS-UDAN scheme
Despite the aviation industry surpassing pre-COVID-19 levels, traffic under UDAN remains low. So, to speed up the launch of new routes and revive airports under UDAN, MoCA has sought a budgetary allocation of Rs 1,500 crore for 2024–25, the highest-ever allocation for the scheme.
BUSINESS
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Govt working on new SOPs for tunnel construction and rescue operations
The government has asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Konkan Rail Corporation DMRC, and international tunneling experts Chris Cooper and Arnold Dix to come out with the SOPs by January-end.
BUSINESS
Road transport ministry likely to spend Rs 1.85 lakh crore as capex by Dec 2023
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways was earlier planning to spend over 90% of its Rs 2.59 lakh cr capex allocation for financial year 2023-24 by December 2023. However, heavy rains, delays in land allocation and elections in five states have led to a dramatic slowdown in project-awarding.
BUSINESS
Budget 2024 Expectations: All eyes on aviation sector as industry on the cusp of a boom
Budget 2024 Expectations: While govt measures have seen more Indians flying, making the country the third-largest aviation market in the world, infrastructure woes continue to haunt. Abolition of the negative fiscal regime and provision of adequate infrastructure are the industry's two main demands.
INDIA
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Officials say 41 trapped workers will likely be rescued by November 25
Activists suggest unsuitable construction methods may be the root cause of the disaster, noting that the use of dynamite and large drills in the sensitive Himalayan terrain causes landslides and tunnel collapses.
BUSINESS
MC explains: Uttarakhand tunnel collapse and what is being done to rescue 40 workers
Officials said around 21 metres of slab blocking the tunnel has been removed and a 19-metre passage is yet to be cleared. Rescue teams are planning to push pipes of 900 mm diameter, wide enough for the trapped men to squeeze through.
BUSINESS
MC Exclusive | Govt aims to include phase-I launch plans of two major sea routes in the interim budget for 2024-25
The central government is eager to finalise plans for the two trade routes by February as it is expected to boost public sentiment ahead of the upcoming general elections, to be held between April and May 2024.
BUSINESS
Government asks travel firms to clear pending refunds or face legal action
An estimated 8,000 refunds totalling as much as Rs 50 crore, arising from cancellations during the lockdowns, are yet to be paid to consumers.
BUSINESS
35 aircraft to be grounded due to powder metal issue in P&W engines: IndiGo
The problem, which the company first disclosed in July, stems from defects with powder metal used to make some of the popular Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines, a flaw that can cause cracks.
BUSINESS
IndiGo awaiting clarity from P&W on aircraft grounding due to powder metal issues: CEO
IndiGo currently operates 176 A320neo as part of its fleet of 334 aircraft and currently has over 40 aircraft grounded due to P&W engine issues.
BUSINESS
MC Interview | Deendayal Port has signed MoUs worth Rs 1.47 lakh crore during Global Maritime Summit
The Global Maritime India Summit 2023 concluded on October 19 with 360 MoUs inked with the investment commitment of Rs 8.35 lakh crores for promotion and cooperation in the maritime sector.
BUSINESS
More aircraft to be grounded due to P&W engine issues after Jan 2024: IndiGo
While IndiGo did not quantify how many aircraft it expects to be grounded after January 2024, CEO Pieter Elbers added that IndiGo is confident of meeting its guidance of 15-19% fleet expansion in 2023-24 compared to a year ago
BUSINESS
CONCOR plans to surrender land portion at Tughlakabad ICD in a bid to reduce land license fee payout to Indian Railways
CONCOR has paid Rs 215.57 crore as LLF in the first half of 2023-24 when compared to Rs 191.49 crore that was paid in the same period a year ago.
BUSINESS
L&T hopes to divest stake in Hyderabad Metro in 2.5 years: CFO
L&T is also working to identify the right time to announce revised tariffs for its Hyderabad metro projects in a bid to improve the viability of the project and make it more attractive for potential buyers, Raman said.
BUSINESS
Mumbai can't be the panacea to every empty stomach, shift jobs elsewhere too: L&T CFO
Construction is an easy target when talking about air pollution, vehicular pollution is equally responsible, Raman added.
BUSINESS
MC Interview | Malaysia Airlines says it plans to fly 2 million passengers from Indian destinations in 2023-24
The airline expects to serve 600,000 passengers through its newly launched flights from Thiruvananthapuram, Amritsar, and Ahmedabad by the end of 2026, chief commercial officer Dersenish Aresandiran said.
BUSINESS
L&T Q2 results: Not appropriate to revise order inflow, revenue guidance despite strong H1, says CFO
Raman added that by looking at the strong momentum of order inflow witnessed during the first half of FY24, it is likely that L&T will surpass its guidance for order inflow and revenue for FY24
