GoAir set to take delivery of its first fuel-efficient Airbus
Private budget carrier GoAir is all set to take the delivery of its first fuel-efficient Airbus A320 neo plane this week. “Our first A320 neo (new engine option) will be landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on June 2,” a GoAir official said. “The aircraft should be in operations by early next week,” the official added. The Mumbai-based carrier was originally scheduled to induct these aircraft in the fleet from April this year. As of now, another budget airline IndiGo is the only operator of A 320 neo in India . The induction of the new aircraft will increase GoAir’s fleet size to 20 and make it eligible to fly it international. As of now, it has 19 Airbus A320 planes in the fleet. The existing regulation requires an Indian carrier to have a minimum five years of domestic flying experience and a fleet of at least 20 planes to fly overseas. Airbus claims that this new type of aircraft burns 10-15 per cent less fuel than the existing versions. The Wadia Group-promoted no-frills carrier had, in June 2011, placed order for 72 new A320 neo aircraft, valued at about Rs. 32,400 crore on list price, with the European aviation major Airbus. “GoAir plans to induct a total of eight A320 neo planes this fiscal of the 72 planes on order,” the official said, adding the first A320 neo is expected to be deployed on the Mumbai-route. Tobias Rieder Authentic Jersey
Special group to fix maintenance issues at Chennai Airport
A special group will soon be formed to fix various maintenance issues at Chennai airport, Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathy Raju said. Recently, he took to Twitter to make the announcement after top officials of the Civil Aviation Department and the Airports Authority of India inspected the airport and recommended measures for improving the airport. He tweeted: JS MOCA and chairman AAI inspected Chennai airport; suggested changes. Special group to be set up for improving facilities and maintenance. The inspection by the officials came weeks after Mr. Raju said he had received several complaints on the maintenance of the Chennai airport. Ken Boyer Authentic Jersey
Airport at Kothagudem to take wing soon
The Central government has given its nod for setting up of an airport at Kothagudem in the district, said Minister for Roads & Buildings Tummala Nageswara Rao. He was speaking at a special meeting of the Zilla Parishad held here on Sunday. The meeting was convened in connection with the ensuing Telangana State Formation Day celebrations slated for June 2. Addressing the ZPTC members and MPPs at the meeting, the Minister said the land acquisition process for the proposed airport at Kothagudem, the coal hub of the State, will be completed soon and the land required for the proposed mega facility will be handed over to the executing agencies. Jaromir Jagr Womens Jersey
Bids for upgrading Nagpur airport to be issued soon
In a boost to regional air connectivity in Maharashtra and Central India, the state government is planning to expand the capacity of the Nagpur airport and to construct a new runway. “The request for quotations (RFQs) for the upgradation and modernisation of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport (BAIA) will be issued soon. This project will be undertaken on a public private partnership (PPP) basis on design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis,” said a senior government official. He added that a decision in this regard was taken in a recent meeting of the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation (MADC) – a special purpose company to develop Multi-modal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) and Aviation Infrastructure in the state to provide the regional air connectivity. The BAIA airport is considered among the top 20 busiest airports in the country. According to an estimate, the airport saw a movement of around 1,401,147 passengers and 13,330 aircraft in 2014. The airport also saw handling of around 6,063 tonnes of cargo. The recent development is expected to improve its traffic handling capacity. The official said the decision to add another runway to the existing one would augment the capacity of the airport to handle passenger and cargo traffic. “One runway can be earmarked exclusively for the use of the Indian Air Force… now, there are restrictions on civilian flights. If a new runway is constructed, one can be kept exclusively for them,” he added, stating that the capacity augmentation would also help boost passenger traffic and exports from the units located in MIHAN and the larger region.
Let’s be clear on single-brand retailing, says Sitharaman
Now, the finance ministry has already taken a different position, we will certainly talk to them… I want more clarity on that… We will talk and make sure that sooner we will come out with some decision,” she told reporters on Monday morning. Sources told TOI that the concern over the finance ministry’s proposal has been flagged at the highest level and there has been a suggestion that the issue should be discussed at the level of officers. They contested the finance ministry’s observation over the decision of the panel to classify Apple’s proposal in the “cutting-edge” category. While North Block had pointed out that the recommendation was made without any “expert” being part of the group, sources said the Department of IT as well as NITI Aayog representatives had provided technical inputs. Similarly, the finance ministry has pointed out that even Xiaomi had sought permission to open stores in the same category, a proposal that was withdrawn after the DIPP sought detailed queries. “Can Apple sources from artisans and local vendors when none exist?” asked a source. Countering the finance ministry’s claims over the plan impacting job creation, sources said Apple had indicated that in the years ahead, they would open a few hundred stores, which will create several jobs. “We are not talking about changing the rule for manufacturing. We are just saying let’s be clear on single-brand retailing… Why do we want to have something which is not going to change in any way the parameter in the market and therefore we want to explain it out to the finance ministry,” Sitharaman said. Last week, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), under the finance ministry, had red-flagged a panel’s proposal to ease the mandatory local sourcing norm for the Cupertino-based company to sell its products through the single-brand retail window. Joe Kelly Womens Jersey
Flipkart row: IIM-A prof says students free to look at options
As the deadlock between Flipkart and IIM-A continues over compensation offered by the company for deferring joining dates of students hired from campus, IIM-A faculty expressed that the concerned students are no more bound to wait for Flipkart, but are free to look for alternative employers. Vijaya Sherry Chand, professor at Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation at IIM-A, stated in an email reply to ToI on Monday, “In the event that a firm delays the date of joining, students are free to look for alternative opportunities.” Earlier, the institute had said, “Flipkart has been a trusted recruiter, and we are facing such a situation for the first time. We are certain that this matter can be sorted out satisfactorily.” Recently, Flipkart deferred the joining dates of 18 hired students from June to December and proposed a compensation of Rs1.50 lakh to each for postponing joining dates. Following the incident, IIM-A authority wrote a strong-worded letter to the company, and asked them to increase the compensation. However, the institute chose not to divulge other details on the issue. Meanwhile, Flipkart issued a statement saying, “Regret to share that the matter is confidential and we will not be able to divulge any information pertaining to this.” This was after both– the institute and the company– remained stuck in their stands and failed to progress on the issue. Nate Palmer Jersey
Amazon India charges sellers more; hikes ‘referral rates’ by up to 9%
Amazon India has increased the commission it charges sellers on its marketplace by up to 9% even as ecommerce companies in the country are looking to cut losses and make profits. The US giant increased the ‘referral rates’, or commission on various categories of products, on almost every product last month. While commission on mobile phone accessories such as cases and screen guards was raised the maximum of 9%, that on luggage, pet accessories and shoes saw the minimum spike of 2%. Amazon also revised charges for logistic support it provides to sellers. Many sellers on Amazon alleged that Cloudtail India, the largest vendor on the platform, is charged lesser. “On one side they are increasing commission of sellers, (and) on the other side they have decreased commission for Cloudtail. We demand Amazon to come clear on its contract with Cloudtail so that we sellers do our planning accordingly,” said a spokesperson of the All India Online Vendors’ Association (AIOVA), a group of 1,000 medium and large sellers who sell on various ecommerce platforms. Cloudtail India is a joint venture between Amazon Asia and Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy’s personal investment vehicle Catamaran Ventures. The allegation could not be verified. Amazon did not respond to ET’s detailed email queries as of press time Monday. AIOVA also alleged that Amazon did not consult sellers before changing the rates. “Changes in commission cannot be avoided. But Amazon is on a one-sided track, not taking sellers’ views on policy changes,” its spokesperson said. In a communication to sellers, Amazon India said, “We appreciate and thank you for your continued participation on Amazon India marketplace. We are pleased offer to new promotional referral rates for sell on Amazon effective April 5, 2016 and Amazon Easy Ship effective April 26, 2016.” ET reviewed a copy of the communication. According to the revised rates of Amazon Easy Ship logistical support, minimum charge is applicable up to a weight is 500 gm. “In case of items that weigh more than 500 gms, you will be charged in multiples of the price applicable for each 500 gms,” the communication said. Many sellers have passed on the hike to consumers, which some sellers said has resulted in a drop of orders on the website. In some cases the drop in sales has been as high as 60%, they claimed. India’s ecommerce market is expected to grow to $103 billion by 2019-20 from $26 billion now, according to a report by Goldman Sachs. Amazon expects its India operations to overtake Japan, Germany and the UK to become its largest overseas market. It is in stiff completion with the local players Flipkart and Snapdeal in the Indian ecommerce space. Josh Norman Womens Jersey
Indian startups can test their technology ideas in true gangnam style
For early startups looking to test out their technology ideas in the South East Asian markets, the first K-Startup Grand Challenge promises an invitation to accelerator programme Gangnam-style and more. “Over the last three to four years we have shifted focus to globalisation and establishing an open ecosystem for the Korean startups. With a population which is an early adapter of technology we want global startups to look at Korea as a testing bed for the launch of their product in South East Asian market,” says Kyung Hwan Lee, executive director of National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) at Korea-India SW Cooperation Center. He adds that the programme also looks at diversifying the startup ecosystem within the country where market leaders in the technology and on-demand space have been startups from Korea focused on the domestic market. As fintech becomes a major area of interest across India and South East Asia, Lee adds that payments and on-demand services are sectors which will pick pace in a growing startup economy. “In the Indian startup scenario, we have seen that ecommerce companies from Korea find it difficult to integrate payments services and this is an area which will be of great interest. Secondly, through our lived experience in Korea, we have seen that as the system matures, hedonic services take over the utilitarian on-demand app,” says Lee. Last year Korean ecommerce startup Coupang raised $1 billion from SoftBank, while adtech company Yello Mobile has raised over $100 million in funding. According to data from Tech in Asia, the total amount of investments made in the Korean startup ecosystem last year adds up to $1.7 billion. “Close to 85% of investments by Korean investors have been in domestic companies, followed by the US, Japan and China. India has evolved as a good bet for the investors in the Asian market and it will take time for them to understand the ecosystem,” adds Lee. The K-Startup Grand Challenge will see selected startups interacting with accelerators and conglomerates in Seoul, $33,000 for starting a legal entity in Korea and office space at Pangyo, close to the startup hub in Gangnam. The programme will select 80 startups across the US, Latin American, European Union and South East Asia for the first phase based on applications received before June 14. The final shortlist will select 40 companies. Rob Ramage Womens Jersey
PM Modi asks railways to speed up redevelopment of stations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked the railways to speed up redevelopment of stations and substantially raise its “level of ambition” in this regard as he reviewed the performance of the sector at a meeting here. At the meeting where the performance of Roads and Highways Ministry was also assessed, Modi pitched for more private investment in the sector and adoption of best practices in road development after studying various models across the country. He stressed the need for decongesting critical stretches of highways and adoption of latest technologies for toll collection. In the course of the review of the railways sector, it was noted that the capital investment in 2015-16 was over Rs 93,000 crore, “which represents a massive increase of 65 per cent over the previous year, and is the highest-ever”, a PMO statement said. “The Prime Minister stressed upon the need to speed up the redevelopment of Railway Stations, and urged the railways to substantially raise its level of ambition in this regard,” it added. He emphasized the need for the railways to upgrade and diversify the uses of its infrastructure, the statement said. “Centre is working on upgrading rail infra. In rural areas this will boost skill development & increase non-fare revenue for railways,” Modi tweeted later. “Progress in commissioning of lines & electrification of lines has been commendable. Discussed speeding up process of redeveloping stations,” he said in another tweet. The PMO added that 1780 km of rail lines have been commissioned and 1730 kms electrified during 2015-16, which represent the best performance on these metrics in railway history. “As far as roads are concerned, completion of highways is going on at remarkable pace. Spoke on need of more private investment in the sector,” the Prime Minister said in a tweet. “Also emphasised on decongesting critical stretches and invigorating the roads & highways sector with latest technology,” he added. At the meeting, the the Prime Minister was informed that over 6000 kms of highways were completed in 2015-16, while contracts for another 10,098 kilometres were awarded in the same period, the PMO said. “Also emphasised on decongesting critical stretches and invigorating the roads & highways sector with latest technology,” he added. At the meeting, the the Prime Minister was informed that over 6000 kms of highways were completed in 2015-16, while contracts for another 10,098 kilometres were awarded in the same period, the PMO said. He stressed on the need for studying various models of road development across the country, and adopting the best practices, so that more private investment can be brought into the highway construction sector, it added. He also stressed the need for decongesting critical stretches, and adopt latest technologies for toll collection. David Krejci Womens Jersey
Venkaiah Naidu to visit Germany to boost investments in Smart Cities
Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu will attend a three-day conference on ‘Smart City Mission’ starting tomorrow in Berlin to promote investment in the urban development sector in the country. Three Indian cities are to be developed as smart cities in collaboration with Germany. The Union Urban Development Minister, who leaves for Berlin tonight, will hold detailed talks with his German counterpart and senior officials on the roadmap for developing the Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Kochi (Kerala) and Coimbatore ( Tamil Nadu ) as smart cities with German assistance, an official statement said. The three cities have been identified further to consultations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Morkel in October last year here. Naidu’s visit is also aimed at “intensifying high-level engagement for identifying new opportunities” for German companies in the urban development sector offered by the initiative of development of 100 smart cities, it said. Torey Krug Womens Jersey