AirAsia India’s internal battles dent performance
Low-cost airline AirAsia India has been in the news for all the wrong reasons since its launch over two years ago. The latest revelation by the airline that an investigation was being carried out against former executives which confirmed former Tata Sons’ Chairman Cyrus Mistry’s statement in an e-mail to the board that a probe had revealed fraudulent transactions worth ?22 crore, clearly shows that the airline was busy fighting internal battles which reflected on its overall performance. Source inside the airline told BusinessLine that the ongoing probe did not prevent the board from giving its then CEO Mittu Chandilya additional charge. In August last year, the airline board not only gave him the additional post of managing director but also inducted him into the board. This, however, did not prevent Chandilya from quitting the post during February this year. The investigation was carried out for nearly six months. Background to the venture The probe related to allegedly buying furniture for personal use, hiring drivers for personal use of the car and for frequent overseas travel all at the airline’s expense. In his e-mail to the board, Mistry claims that though he could not prevent the Tatas from partnering AirAsia Group to float AirAsia (India), he was able to extract a promise of not raising stake in the venture. Giving a background to how the Tatas got into the airline venture, Mistry said the foray into the aviation sector began when Ratan Tata ushered him into his office and handed him a report on AirAsia by Bain & Co. He had concluded negotiations to partner with AirAsia and wanted the proposal tabled at the forthcoming Tata Sons board meeting. “My push-back was hard but futile. However, I was able to extract a promise of no debt to be raised at the level of the JV as well as limiting Tata Sons investment to 30 per cent of the $30-million equity.” Increase stake However, Tata Sons increased its stake initially from 30 per cent to 41 per cent buying half of another partner, Arun Bhatia’s (Telstra TradePlace) stake. It went on to increase its stake further to 49 per cent after it bought the remaining stake from Bhatia. AirAsia India’s Chairman S Ramadorai as well as board director R Venkataramanan also pitched in by buying 2 per cent stake in the airline. AirAsia Berhad owns 49 per cent stake at present. Since its inception, the airline has struggled to remain solvent even though Chandilya continued to make claims that it would turn around within three months of its operations. It continues to remain unprofitable though for the first time it has been able to reduce losses during the April-June, 2016 quarter to ?20.36 crore compared with ?44 crore during the same period previous year. Its revenues, however, have grown 73 per cent to ?189 crore. The foray into the airline sector did not stop at floating AirAsia India. The Tatas went on to float another airline venture Vistara picking up 51 per cent in a $100-million joint venture with Singapore Airlines, which Mistry termed it as a fait accompli. Cameron Sutton Womens Jersey
Japan government keen to fund Delhi Metro’s phase IV project
The Japanese government funding agency JICA is keen to extend its association with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) beyond the phase III, a senior official of the agency said. The Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) India office Takema Sakamoto said there is a need for huge capacity expansion in public transportation and the agency is likely to discuss further association with the Delhi Metro. “For public transportation, we need huge capacity and that is why we are now discussing for the further extension for the Delhi Metro even after the phase III. The DMRC is likely to request for support for the phase IV very soon,” Sakamoto told PTI. JICA has been supporting DMRC’s metro project since phase I construction in 1997. “We are now supporting the construction of the phase III of the DMRC and it is targeting completion in 2016 or next year,” he added. The third phase of the DMRC is being supported by JICA with a 48.57 per cent loan by the Japanese funding agency. The estimated cost of the third phase project is Rs 41,079 crore. The loan comes at a concessional rate of 1.4 per cent and carries a repayment period of 30 years with grace period of 10 years. Sakamoto said DMRC is also likely to make a further request for procurement of many more coaches for enhancement of the transportation capacity in the capital. JICA is ready to discuss the proposal with the Indian government, including the Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, he said. Sakamoto said the agency is also likely to support the high speed bullet train project proposed between Mumbai and Ahmedabad. The matter is being discussed directly between the two Prime Ministers’ offices –Narendra Modi (India) and Shinzo Abe (Japan). “The bullet train project has been discussed between the two Prime Ministers’ offices. The high speed railway investment is very safe. We do not need very large space for building stations. That is why we can squeeze the cost,” Sakamoto said. The bullet train project will be supported both in the form of yen loan and technical assistance, he added. During Abe’s India visit in December, the two countries vowed to realise 3.5 trillion yen of public and private financing to India in five years under the ‘Japan-India Investment Promotion Partnership’. Milan Lucic Authentic Jersey
The need for speed: What good are new roads when they are incapable of moving people and goods quickly?
“Sir, can’t you pass a central law and solve the Bengaluru traffic problem for us”, went the impassioned plea from Flipkart’s executive chairman Sachin Bansal to Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari at an awards event for startups recently. Bansal was not the only one to petition the minister that day, and Bengaluru was not the only city whose traffic problem was brought to Gadkari’s notice. Because of poor quality roads and virtually non-existent traffic planning and management, Indian city dwellers spend far too many hours on the road every day. If time is as precious as money, our cities impose a hefty tax on us, and they still lose more money. One estimate pegs the economic loss because of Bengaluru traffic congestion at Rs 3,700 crore a year, including a whopping 50 crore litres of annual fuel losses. Extrapolate these figures to Delhi, Mumbai and other Indian cities and we have a full-blown economic crisis on hand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has championed startups. I wonder if Bansal’s plea reached his ears, for there is nothing that puts an Indian startup in a more disadvantageous position compared to its foreign counterparts than the crippling infrastructure around it. Imagine the hidden cost Flipkart pays for delayed shipments because the delivery boys keep getting stuck in traffic all the time. I recently left Gurgaon’s Cyber City in the evening hours with a French client who made a telling point during our hour-plus commute to south Delhi. “I can easily do 5 or more meetings in a day even if they are spread across in Singapore or any European city. In Delhi or Bengaluru, I can never plan more than 2 or maximum 3.” Gadkari’s ministry measures its performance in kilometres of new roads built per year. What good are these new roads, or the existing roads for that matter, when they are rank incapable of moving people and goods quickly? It takes anywhere between 5-7 hours to drive between Jaipur and Delhi – instead of the 3 hours it should take a modern car to cover the 250-odd kilometre journey. Also, India has the worst record of road accident deaths in the world; every 4 minutes a person dies on our roads. That awards evening, the minister patiently explained that city roads are not his ministry’s responsibility, these actually fall under local city municipalities, or peculiarly in Delhi’s case under the Public Works Department of the state government. Even if we know who to blame for our broken, potholed and permanently congested roads, we still cannot do anything meaningful about it. But surely the prime minister of India can? His promise of an economically developed India is held to ransom by some of the most corrupt and incompetent civic bodies. He should help pass laws to give urban transportation the urgent and focused attention it truly deserves. One of these laws must define the standards for road construction, design and safety, like the vaunted German Autobahn standards or the American federal specifications for road construction. Centre must make these standards universally applicable to all civic, state and central bodies responsible for our roads; while simultaneously making any violation prosecutable, like the Germans have done. This pan-India road standardisation alone can potentially fix half of our problems with traffic. The best of our roads collect potholes and slow us down because the constructor never bothered to camber them properly, or the municipality never thought of ensuring adequate water drainage on the kerbside.Because there are no universal lane markings, drivers indiscriminately cut into visible or invisible lanes and slow down the entire traffic behind them. Because there is no standard mandating pedestrian walkways, all pedestrians turn into jaywalkers, causing serious traffic jams, besides risking their own life and limb. Of course, the best standards, rules or laws amount to nothing if they are not enforced. Part 2 of fixing our traffic crisis involves centrally supervised enforcement because clearly our states and municipalities are not up to task. WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2015 gave India a rating of 3 or 4 out of 10 for enforcement of laws on speed limits, drunk driving or wearing helmets on two wheelers. Better enforcement will not only reduce accidents and save precious lives; it would also mean that vehicles aren’t parked illegally and obstructing traffic, keep to their lanes and that roads themselves are free of potholes and illegal encroachment. The final part of the solution is simply to create effective public and alternate transportation systems that take vehicular traffic off our roads. Mass rapid transportation systems like the Delhi Metro work extremely well, but our cities are decades away from having a functional citywide system that also seamlessly integrates with other forms of transport. In fact, the continuing short-sightedness in planning effective urban transportation is apparent when you see how cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad went on to build airports well outside city limits without putting a high-speed rail link to the city centre, like nearly every other major metropolitan city around the world has done. As a country, we have so far failed to see the link between fast and efficient urban transportation and economic growth. The prime minister should take the wheel in his own hands. On the lines of Swachh Bharat and Digital India, he should give us Gatisheel Bharat. Garrett Grayson Jersey
Super E-way to cost Rs 16,000 crore more?
Indicating that the total cost for 710-km-long Mumbai Nagpur Super Expressway has increased by almost Rs 16,000 crore, Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), the implementing agency for the project, claimed that the total cost of the Expressway connecting Mumbai and Nagpur would be `46,000 crore. The estimated cost of the project was Rs 30,000 crore when chief minister Devendra Fadnavis announced the project in the State Assembly during the Monsoon Session in August 2015. Radheshyam Mopalwar, managing director, MSRDC, said, “Civil construction cost would be around Rs 24,000 crore followed by Rs 12,000 crore approximately for land pooling and acquisition of around 10,000 hectares of land. Another Rs 500 crore would be used for shifting of utilities and the rest on management of site while construction.” “Rs 30,000 crore was never the cost of the Expressway and the total cost at the moment is Rs 46,000 crore,” asserted Mr Mopalwar. Meanwhile, it is said that the MSRDC officials and the State Bank of India (SBI) and IDBI Bank officials are in talks with each other for funding for the construction of Expressway. “The state government has agreed to fund Rs 2,400 crore for the construction of 24 townships on the proposed Expressway,” said Kiran Kurundkar, joint managing director, MSRDC. The MSRDC plans to construct 24 townships with facilities like Wi-Fi, IT, education and logistics hubs along with solar panels and runway for emergency landing of planes belonging to the Indian Air Force (IAF) along the Expressway. Currently, the corporation is in the process of preparing the detailed project report (DPR) for the project. The deadline for the E-way is 2019. It is expected to reduce the travel time between Mumbai and Nagpur to 10 hours from the current 15-17 hours. The E-way will pass through 350 villages from 27 talukas where non-cultivable landowners will get developed plot of 25 per cent of the area given up by them. For those having irrigated or cultivable land, it will be 30 per cent of the land given up. Irving Fryar Womens Jersey
Two mega traffic projects opened in Noida
Noida Authority is leaving no stone unturned in throwing open to the public several infrastructure projects aimed at decongesting the city. A day after a 3-lane bridge was opened to traffic near Film City, another two mega projects—elevated road and underpass—at busy locations in the city were inspected by P K Agarwal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Noida Authority on Friday. After conducting a detailed inspection of the facilities, Agarwal found them fit and ordered them open for trials. The facilities will be inaugurated formally at a later date, he said. Speaking to TOI, Agarwal said that the first phase of the city’s maiden elevated road has been completed and is now fit for traffic. “We have thrown it open to traffic before the festival of Diwali as we had promised. We want the public to provide us with feedback, so that we can improve the facility if required,” he said. “The 4-lane elevated stretch will provide respite to thousands of commuters who travel to Delhi, Ghaziabad and Greater Noida,” he said adding that along with the new bridge across the Shahdara drain on Master Plan road-II opened on Thursday, it will definitely be a smooth ride for commuters. The first phase of the elevated road is about 2.50 kms of the total 4.80 kms between Shopprix Mall in sector 61 to NTPC cross roads near sector 24 of Noida. Part of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s project, the foundation for the project was laid in April last year and project was commissioned in October 2014. Once complete, the 16.63-metre-wide (with two 7.5-metre-wide lanes on both sides) elevated road with exits and entry provisions at Nithari, sector 30 and NTPC, sector 24 will ensure seamless flow of traffic at busy stretches along its route as about seven points on this stretch will become signal-free. About one lakh vehicles pass through the Sector 62 area. Commuters use the stretch to reach Ghaziabad via NH-24 and East Delhi. Several hundred vehicles also drive towards Greater Noida West area from Film City via the City Centre and Uflex route. Agarwal also opened a second big-ticket project for the public on Friday, the Rs 112 crore underpass located at the busy NH-24 in the sector 62 area. “This project too is fit for traffic,” he said. “This facility is expected to decongest and streamline traffic movement for thousands of commuters going between Noida, Delhi and Ghaziabad,” he explained. To augment smooth traffic movement in the area, the authority has also constructed four clover leaves — two on either side of the national highway — to avoid jams on NH-24. Vehicles coming from Delhi will enter Noida through a loop road without increasing the burden on the highway. Also, after the construction of the underpass, vehicles going towards Indirapuram and Vasundhara will not have to use the highway. The cloverleaf loops on all sides leading to and from the NH-24 will provide access. “I have asked my officials to keep the loop from Ghaziabad towards Noida closed for another 2-3 days till completed. Sign boards and lighting will be enhanced and to counter dust, water will be sprinkled,” Agarwal said. Work on the underpass, which cuts NH-24 perpendicularly near Model Town crossing, had started in March 2014. However, it was stalled for about six months in 2015. Work was finally restarted in November last year. When construction started in March 2014, the facility was to be completed in 18 months. Officials said the project faced several hindrances before it could achieve the required pace needed to meet the deadline. Chipper Jones Womens Jersey
Rooftop solar projects need additional $50 billion to meet 40 GW by 2022 target: Report
In order to meet its target of generating 40 GW or 40,000 MW of solar power by 2022, India would require an additional investment of $ 50 billion, a report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance said on Tuesday. India plans to generate 175 GW of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2022 requiring an investment of nearly $100 bn. The small and rooftop solar sector will need another $50 bn to meet its own 40GW by 2022 target. The reporter observed that rooftop solar in particular has become the fastest growing renewable power sub-segment in India’s clean energy market. In terms of policy support for the rooftop solar segment, most states have recently introduced net-metering regimes and are supporting the roll-out of projects. These will likely carry the market forward in the immediate future, although it may not be enough to expand into the still dormant residential market. The rooftop solar industry in India is primarily divided into two models — captive ownership where the consumer owns the PV (photovoltaic) system and the remaining projects are being built and financed by the renewable energy services companies (resco) or third-party investors. Rooftop segment is buoyed by favourable economics due to high power tariffs and cash availability. Financing is arranged either through their balance sheets or through their existing banks. “We estimate that $610 million was invested in rooftop solar segment across the country between FY2013 and FY2016, but the lack of financing for resco projects raises concern as it is a dominant part of other major solar markets. This is a big drawback for a sector that needs almost $50 bn of capital to meet the ambitious government goals,” the report said. Various international agencies are committing new funding for the small solar segment to their partner banks or non-banking financial companies in India but quick loan disbursement still remains a challenge, it added. The following steps can go a long way towards ensuring further growth in the sector: educating loan disbursement agencies and creating standardised loan application review processes, establishing and propagating norms for quality control of products, creating intermediation platforms to raise awareness and reduce transaction costs, and time-bound clearance of subsidy applications. Smart grids, which allow for two-way flow of power, upgraded transformers that can take the added rooftop capacity and smart metering technology with proper IT infrastructure are needed to make rooftop addition to the existing grid easy and enabling, the report further added. Matt Bosher Womens Jersey
CII seeks reactivation of Salem airport
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Salem district has urged the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to take effective steps for the reactivation of Salem airport. A delegation of the Salem district CII called on V. V. G. Raju, Regional Executive Director, Airports Authority of India, Southern Region, Chennai, during his recent visit to the city and appraised him on the immediate need for the reactivation of the Salem airport for the overall development of western region. Selvakumar, Director, Salem airport, was also present on the occasion. The CII delegation which called on Mr. Raju comprised P. Vimalan, Chairman, CII Salem district, and Sundar Ramaswamy, mentor, Entrepreneurship Panel, CII Salem district. According to CII sources here, Mr. Raju informed the delegation that the Salem airport was a full-fledged facility in the region and could resume flight operations at any time. He said that the signing of memorandum of understanding between the State Government and the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Airports Authority of India will enable in reviving the airport under the recently introduced Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the Civil Aviation Ministry, without any delay. Mr. Raju said that the AAI had already written to the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu inviting the State Government to participate in the RCS. Brendan Leipsic Authentic Jersey
Delhi’s IGI airport to witness more flight cancellations, delays this foggy winter
With 21 per cent more flights allowed by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), advancing foggy conditions this winter in addition to no new nearby airports to fall back on for flight diversions, India’s largest and busiest Indira Gandhi International Airport (DIAL) in New Delhi could witness more flight delays and cancellations during the ensuing foggy cold season. A top official with DGCA told Express that two of the nearest airports — Amritsar and Lucknow — operated by state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) have missed two deadlines in their bid to be CAT III-B compliant by October 30. The CAT III-B level of instrument landing system (ILS) enables aircraft to land when the visibility is down to 50 metres. It guides an aircraft in approaching and landing on a runway by a combination of radio signals and high-intensity lighting arrays. Besides, ILS also helps pilots while landing during heavy rainfall. The DGCA official explained that they expect Amritsar airport to be CAT III B-ready by December-end or January next year. But by then, most of the mess due to the winter fog would be nearing its end, the official added. A thick blanket of fog starts building up over Delhi and other parts of northern India around the third week of December and continues for over a month. Last winter, foggy conditions prevailed at the IGI airport for over a month from the third week of December 2015 to the first week of February 2016. Many morning flights were either cancelled or delayed due to extreme fog conditions during this period. Currently, the Jaipur airport is the only nearby option for incoming flights which could be diverted there in case of extreme foggy conditions as it has CAT III-B-level ILS. Von Miller Womens Jersey
Need more time on 5th-gen fighter jet, India tells Russia
In the latest round of India-Russia military talks, New Delhi has told Moscow that it will need more time to examine the proposal to jointly develop the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA). The FGFA, which is under development, is very much a future requirement for the Indian Air Force (IAF) upgrade programme, the Russian side was conveyed last week at a meeting between Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu in New Delhi. “We have asked for greater details with regards to the work India will be doing in manufacturing the plane and also technology transfer,” a top source in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. India and Russia have been working to conclude a pending agreement to co-develop the FGFA. New Delhi has told Moscow that it wants a new engine and the plane must have super cruise ability, a 360-degree radar ability, added stealth features among 40-odd other India-specific modifications over the existing prototype. A plane called the ‘T-50’ built by the Russians under the PAK-FA (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation) programme as FGFA is already being tested as prototype in Russia. Giovani Bernard Womens Jersey
India to become 3rd biggest aviation market by 2026: IATA
India will displace the United Kingdom to become the world’s third largest aviation market by 2026, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said. IATA, which represents some 265 airlines comprising 83% of global air traffic, expects 7.2 billion passengers to travel in 2035, a near doubling of the 3.8 billion air travelers in 2016. These findings are part of IATA’s 20-year air passenger forecast. “People want to fly. Demand for air travel over the next two decades is set to double. Enabling people and nations to trade, explore, and share the benefits of innovation and economic prosperity makes our world a better place,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. The forecast confirms that the biggest driver of demand will be the Asia-Pacific region. “It is expected to be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years. China will displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market (defined by traffic to, from and within the country) around 2029. India will displace the UK for third place in 2026, while Indonesia enters the top ten at the expense of Italy,” IATA said. Houston Texans Womens Jersey