Pre-monsoon rainfall in India second lowest in 65 years, says Skymet
NEW DELHI: The pre-monsoon rainfall in the country was the second lowest in 65 years, private weather forecaster Skymet Weather said on Monday. The three-month pre-monsoon season March, April and May ended with a rainfall deficiency of 25 per cent. All the four meteorological divisions – Northwest India, Central India, East-Northeast India and South Peninsula […]
SpiceJet to hire up to 2,000 Jet staff, including pilots and cabin crew
NEW DELHI: SpiceJet plans to hire up to 2,000 staff, including pilots and cabin crew, of the defunct Jet Airways as the no-frills carrier continues to expand its operations. The airline has taken at least 22 planes that were earlier used by Jet Airways, which temporarily shuttered its operations due to cash crunch in April. […]
Vistara to launch international flights in the second half of 2019
NEW DELHI: Full service carrier Vistara, which has been serving the Indian skies for more than four years, plans to launch international services in the second half of this year. A joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, Vistara might also look at starting medium and long-haul flights, depending on approvals, amid the grounding of […]
With elections over, Emirates now eyes more seats on Dubai-India route
NEW DELHI: Gulf carrier Emirates is looking for more seats to offer on the Dubai-India route, which has not seen an increase in bilateral rights for the last five years, and expects discussions to restart between the two governments, a top official said. Emirates, the flagship carrier of Dubai, flies to nine destinations in India […]
Opportunities in India narrowing after Jet shutdown: Star Alliance CEO
NEW DELHI: “India is a big aviation market and Air India provides the important domestic network for our members but opportunities in the market are narrowing with Jet Airways being non-operational,” Star Alliance CEO Jeffrey Goh said on Sunday. Star Alliance is a grouping of 28 airlines, including Air India, which became a member in […]
Telecom spectrum auction to be held this year: Ravi Shankar Prasad
NEW DELHI: Newly-appointed Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that India will hold spectrum auction for 5G and other bands in the current calendar year. Taking charge of his new ministry, Prasad said that amongst his priorities will be revival of state-owned MTNL and BSNL. The minister, however, asserted that the telecom corporations […]
Delhi court allows Robert Vadra to travel abroad but not London
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Monday allowed Robert Vadra, accused in a money laundering case, to travel abroad for six weeks. Special Judge Arvind Kumar allowed him to travel to USA and the Netherlands for six weeks and asked him to submit his travel schedule. The court, however, did not allow Vadra, brother-in law […]
Odisha to set up startup hubs in major cities
BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has approved a proposal to set up startup hubs in major cities of the state, aiming to boost the ecosystem for emerging businesses, officials said. Chief Secretary A P Padhi, while reviewing the progress of the startup policy implementation on Thursday, directed officials to prepare a detailed business plan of the […]
Narendra Modi cabinet clears pension scheme for shopkeepers, traders
NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government in its first Cabinet meeting has approved a new scheme, which assures minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to all shopkeepers, retail traders and self employed persons after attaining the age of 60 years, fulfilling its poll promise. The decision taken at the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime […]
India to present Budget 2019-20 on July 5
NEW DELHI: The newly appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the full Budget for 2019-20 on July 5 in the Lok Sabha. This will be first full Budget of Modi 2.0 government. In view of the general elections, the interim Budget for the current fiscal was presented by the then Finance Minister Piyush Goyal. […]
GDP growth slows to five-year low at 5.8 per cent in January-March
NEW DELHI: India’s economic growth rate slowed to five-year low of 5.8 per cent in January-March 2018-19, due to poor performance in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, official data released on Friday said. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) also revealed that GDP growth during 2018-19 fiscal stood at 6.8 per cent, lower than 7.2 per cent […]
Gaurs group sells over 10K housing units for nearly Rs 4000 crore
NEW DELHI: Realty firm Gaurs group achieved nearly 150 percent increase in sales bookings at around Rs 4,000 crore during the last fiscal year on improvement in demand for housing and commercial properties. The company sold a little over 10,000 housing and commercial units during the 2018-19 fiscal year. “Our sales bookings in value term […]
Cognizant to offer higher pay package to entry-level engineers
NEW DELHI: IT major Cognizant, which has close to two lakh employees in India, will hand out over 18 per cent higher pay packages to entry-level engineers joining next year, according to industry sources. Engineering students graduating in June 2020 will see the offer made by the US-based company increase from Rs 3.38 lakh per […]
Pakistan extends closure of airspace along India till border till June 15
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has further extended the closure of its airspace along its eastern border with India until June 15, according to the country’s civil aviation authority. Pakistan fully closed its airspace in February after an Indian Air Force strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Balakot. The country opened its airspace for all flights […]
Reliance Entertainment, PVR pictures collaborate to distribute films in India
NEW DELHI: Anil D. Ambani led Reliance Entertainment, joins hands with PVR Pictures Limited, the motion picture arm of PVR Limited, India’s largest cinema chain, to distribute films pan India. This venture is the first endeavor of its kind in the Indian film industry. At the onset the companies together will distribute Reliance Entertainment’s upcoming […]
US removes India from its currency monitoring list
By Lalit K Jha WASHINGTON: The Donald Trump administration on Tuesday removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, citing certain developments and steps being taken by New Delhi which address some of its major concerns. Switzerland is the other nation that has been removed by the US from its currency monitoring […]