General Affairs
Maharashtra civic polls: Shiv Sena on top in BMC, but BJP makes decisive gain overall; Cong wiped out
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“I thank people of Maharashtra, it’s an unprecedented victory.This is a vote for transparency,” Fadnavis told the press conference, adding “All decisions for the party are taken by its core committee. Whether or not to go for an alliance will be decided when I, (Maharashtra BJP President) Raosaheb Danve, (Mumbai BJP chief) Ashish Shelar sit and look at the prevailing situation.” The chief minister also rallied support for the Centre’s demonetisation move in his speech when he said, “The results are an ample indication that people have accepted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s note ban move and the state government’s transparency plank.” Fadnavis said the BMC results and other municipal corporations has made the BJP more humble and that they would concentrate on good governance. “This is a victory of demonetisation. The move was to end corruption and weed out black money. The results have proven people have faith in Modi ji’s governance,” he said. As per the results, BJP is also set to gain control of at least six civic bodies — Pune, Nashik, Ulhasnagar, Akola, Nagpur and Amravati — out of the 10 corporations for which the elections were held on Tuesday. The BJP also appeared to have expanded its base in Pimpri Chinchwad, despite fierce competition from the NCP. Halfway between polling, Congress’ state chief Sanjay Nirupam offered to resign following party’s bad performance. In a statement to news agency ANI, Nirupam said some big leaders within party deliberately made statements on party’s work and me. This result is outcome of their anti party campaigns,” he said. BJP’s Pankaja Munde also offered to resign after the party lost 8 out of 10 seats in Parli, her constituency. But during the press conference, Fadnavis said he won’t accept Pankaja’s resignation. “In election it happens that we loose and win,” he added. Along with the Congress, the NCP took a drubbing too as its leader Supriya Sule said after the results that the party lost three municipal corporations and a zilla parishad to the BJP. “It is definitely a setback and we need to introspect and rebuild our party,” she said. In the meantime, high on confidence after Shiv Sena’s massive show in the polls, party chief Uddhav Thackeray said that not “just Mumbai Mayor but the next chief minister of Maharashtra will also be from Shiv Sena.” Thackeray, however, didn’t speak anything about the post-poll alliance. When asked about the future course of action, Thackeray said, “What is the hurry? Wait for some time. We have not yet decided if an alliance has to be made or not. We will do so soon.”
Noting that the “overwhelming blessings” in Maharashtra came after Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘thanked each and every Indian for continuously placing their faith in BJP’ and said “We are working determinately to create a strong and inclusive India.” In a series of tweets, PM Modi praised BJP workers, particularly Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state party president Raosaheb Danve Patil, for tirelessly working for the people. Meanwhile, the BJP made big gains in nine other civic bodies’ elections in Maharashtra.
In the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party triumphed over its erstwhile rival Nationalist Congress Party by tripling its seat-share from the previous polls in 2012. The BJP, however, fell short of four seats from achieving a full majority as it notched up victories in 77 seats — up from its previous tally of 26. The NCP got 44, Shiv Sena 10, Congress 16 and MNS six.
City Guardian Minister and BJP leader Girish Bapat credited the BJP-led governments at the Centre and State for its grand showing in Pune. He claimed Pune residents rejected the NCP and Congress because of their laggard attitude towards the key civic issues. “The credit for the win goes to the good governance and decision making shown by State and Centre governments, hardwork by party workers and terrible governance of PMC by Congress and NCP in last 15 years. Puneites knew that it wasn’t just sloganeering. The metro project wasn’t only cleared but a huge budgetary allocation too was made,” Bapat said. The polling contest was quite close in Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The BJP propelled ahead with 58 seats, while the ruling NCP got 29 seats in the 128-member house. In Thane Municipal Corporation polls, Shiv Sena retained control over the 131-member house with 60 seats, the NCP bagged 31 and the BJP got 21. In 78-seat Ulhasnagar, the BJP received 32 seats and Shiv Sena 25. The NCP got four, Congress received one and independents and others got 16.
BJP took away Nagpur as well bagging 91 of the civic body’s 151 seats. The Congress received 23, and the NCP bagged one seat. In Nashik, the BJP appeared on way to controlling the civic body, winning 55 seats out of 112 seats. The Shiv Sena got 35 seats, while the ruling Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was relegated to just three. The Congress and NCP fared better than MNS with six and five seats respectively. In Nashik, BJP seems to be on its way to control the civic body, winning 55 seats out of 112 seats. Sena bagged 35 seats, while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was relegated to just three. The Congress and NCP got six and five seats respectively.
Noting that the “overwhelming blessings” in Maharashtra came after Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘thanked each and every Indian for continuously placing their faith in BJP’ and said “We are working determinately to create a strong and inclusive India.” In a series of tweets, PM Modi praised BJP workers, particularly Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and state party president Raosaheb Danve Patil, for tirelessly working for the people. Meanwhile, the BJP made big gains in nine other civic bodies’ elections in Maharashtra.
In the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party triumphed over its erstwhile rival Nationalist Congress Party by tripling its seat-share from the previous polls in 2012. The BJP, however, fell short of four seats from achieving a full majority as it notched up victories in 77 seats — up from its previous tally of 26. The NCP got 44, Shiv Sena 10, Congress 16 and MNS six.
City Guardian Minister and BJP leader Girish Bapat credited the BJP-led governments at the Centre and State for its grand showing in Pune. He claimed Pune residents rejected the NCP and Congress because of their laggard attitude towards the key civic issues. “The credit for the win goes to the good governance and decision making shown by State and Centre governments, hardwork by party workers and terrible governance of PMC by Congress and NCP in last 15 years. Puneites knew that it wasn’t just sloganeering. The metro project wasn’t only cleared but a huge budgetary allocation too was made,” Bapat said. The polling contest was quite close in Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation. The BJP propelled ahead with 58 seats, while the ruling NCP got 29 seats in the 128-member house. In Thane Municipal Corporation polls, Shiv Sena retained control over the 131-member house with 60 seats, the NCP bagged 31 and the BJP got 21. In 78-seat Ulhasnagar, the BJP received 32 seats and Shiv Sena 25. The NCP got four, Congress received one and independents and others got 16.
BJP took away Nagpur as well bagging 91 of the civic body’s 151 seats. The Congress received 23, and the NCP bagged one seat. In Nashik, the BJP appeared on way to controlling the civic body, winning 55 seats out of 112 seats. The Shiv Sena got 35 seats, while the ruling Maharashtra Navnirman Sena was relegated to just three. The Congress and NCP fared better than MNS with six and five seats respectively. In Nashik, BJP seems to be on its way to control the civic body, winning 55 seats out of 112 seats. Sena bagged 35 seats, while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) was relegated to just three. The Congress and NCP got six and five seats respectively.
Freedom doesn’t mean make campuses hub of anti-national acts: Kiren Rijiju
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Amidst tension in DU’s North Campus in the wake of clashes, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said freedom of expression in the country does not give right to make college campuses hub of anti-national activity. “No anti-India slogans will be allowed in the name of freedom of speech. Freedom of expression in the country does not give anyone the right to make college campuses hub of anti-national activity,” he told reporters in New Delhi. Rijiju’s statement came a day after Ramjas College had turned into a battleground as students of Left-affiliated AISA and the RSS-backed ABVP, armed with hockey sticks, rained blows on each other, causing injuries to many. Tension prevailed on DU’s North Campus on Thursday in the wake of Wednesday’s incident even as members of students’ groups protested at many places, including at the Delhi Police headquarters, seeking action against the ABVP members.
Rijiju, an alumni of DU, said no one should make any statement which will harm the national interest. “India is a democratic country. We have fundamental rights but we have fundamental duties too,” he said.
Amidst tension in DU’s North Campus in the wake of clashes, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said freedom of expression in the country does not give right to make college campuses hub of anti-national activity. “No anti-India slogans will be allowed in the name of freedom of speech. Freedom of expression in the country does not give anyone the right to make college campuses hub of anti-national activity,” he told reporters in New Delhi. Rijiju’s statement came a day after Ramjas College had turned into a battleground as students of Left-affiliated AISA and the RSS-backed ABVP, armed with hockey sticks, rained blows on each other, causing injuries to many. Tension prevailed on DU’s North Campus on Thursday in the wake of Wednesday’s incident even as members of students’ groups protested at many places, including at the Delhi Police headquarters, seeking action against the ABVP members.
Rijiju, an alumni of DU, said no one should make any statement which will harm the national interest. “India is a democratic country. We have fundamental rights but we have fundamental duties too,” he said.
Former Arunachal CM Kalikho Pul’s wife withdraws letter to CJI
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Dangwimsai Pul, wife of former Arunachal Pradesh CM Kalikho Pul, has withdrawn her letter to Chief Justice of India J S Khehar, saying “the letter will lead to closure of other remedies”. She said the letter should have been dealt with on the administrative side. Her counsel Dushyant Dave indicated that she may now approach Vice-President Hamid Ansari to look into the matter as President Pranab Mukherjee was mentioned in her husband’s suicide note.
Dangwimsai had written the letter to the Chief Justice of India seeking permission to lodge an FIR on the basis of a suicide note allegedly written by Kalikho Pul before his death on August 9 last year. She also alleged corruption by politicians and a few higher judiciary functionaries in her letter.
A bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit allowed Dangwimsai to withdraw her letter, as Dave said they should recuse from hearing the matter as the same cannot be heard on the judicial side. According to news agency IANS, he also wanted to know on whose instructions the court Registry had listed the letter for hearing before the bench when it was meant to be dealt with on administrative side. The counsel also questioned how the letter was listed for hearing in court number 13 and not court numbers 3, 4 or 5.
Kalikho Pul was found dead on August 9, 2016, at his official residence in Itanagar. He left behind a 60-page note in which he accused several top politicians and Supreme Court Judges of seeking bribe. Dangwimsai, who was his first wife, demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the case. She later claimed the Arunachal Pradesh government was not interested in probing Pul’s death.
Dangwimsai Pul, wife of former Arunachal Pradesh CM Kalikho Pul, has withdrawn her letter to Chief Justice of India J S Khehar, saying “the letter will lead to closure of other remedies”. She said the letter should have been dealt with on the administrative side. Her counsel Dushyant Dave indicated that she may now approach Vice-President Hamid Ansari to look into the matter as President Pranab Mukherjee was mentioned in her husband’s suicide note.
Dangwimsai had written the letter to the Chief Justice of India seeking permission to lodge an FIR on the basis of a suicide note allegedly written by Kalikho Pul before his death on August 9 last year. She also alleged corruption by politicians and a few higher judiciary functionaries in her letter.
A bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit allowed Dangwimsai to withdraw her letter, as Dave said they should recuse from hearing the matter as the same cannot be heard on the judicial side. According to news agency IANS, he also wanted to know on whose instructions the court Registry had listed the letter for hearing before the bench when it was meant to be dealt with on administrative side. The counsel also questioned how the letter was listed for hearing in court number 13 and not court numbers 3, 4 or 5.
Kalikho Pul was found dead on August 9, 2016, at his official residence in Itanagar. He left behind a 60-page note in which he accused several top politicians and Supreme Court Judges of seeking bribe. Dangwimsai, who was his first wife, demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the case. She later claimed the Arunachal Pradesh government was not interested in probing Pul’s death.
Congress has become ‘a crowd around a fading dynasty’: Arun Jaitley
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Elated by BJP’s good show in civic polls in Odisha and Maharashtra, Finance Minister Arun Jatiley took potshots at the Congress, saying it has become “a crowd around a fading dynasty”. The Congress party’s stiff opposition to demonetisation has cost the party dear as the government’s decision got overwhelming support from the poor, the senior BJP leader said in a Facebook post. The BJP registered an unprecedented win in municipal elections in Maharashtra and made significant gains in eastern state of Odisha. Hitting out at the current Congress leadership, Jaitley said that if the current representative of the “dynasty lacks the ability to lead the party or the country, the party suffers. It becomes a crowd around a fading dynasty. This now seems obvious in the case of the Congress”.
The Congress, he said, has “lost its image as a responsible political organisation”. “From a natural party of governance, it has moved to the fringe. Its policies have alienated its constituency of the poor aam aadmi,” he added. Jaitley further said parties which adopt dynastic succession as an alternative to merit-based leadership creation suffer from a natural disadvantage.
“Tall leaders do not grow in such parties. The strength of the party overlaps with the charisma of the current generation of the dynasty,” he said. Referring to note ban decision, the minister said the Congress’ stand on demonetisation of high value currency “is costing it dearly”. “The poor have overwhelmingly supported demonetisation. The Congress party has lost its traditional constituency of the poor electorate to the BJP,” the minister said. He said the disruptive role played by the Congress in Parliament has projected it “more as a fringe rather than a mainstream political party”.
Elated by BJP’s good show in civic polls in Odisha and Maharashtra, Finance Minister Arun Jatiley took potshots at the Congress, saying it has become “a crowd around a fading dynasty”. The Congress party’s stiff opposition to demonetisation has cost the party dear as the government’s decision got overwhelming support from the poor, the senior BJP leader said in a Facebook post. The BJP registered an unprecedented win in municipal elections in Maharashtra and made significant gains in eastern state of Odisha. Hitting out at the current Congress leadership, Jaitley said that if the current representative of the “dynasty lacks the ability to lead the party or the country, the party suffers. It becomes a crowd around a fading dynasty. This now seems obvious in the case of the Congress”.
The Congress, he said, has “lost its image as a responsible political organisation”. “From a natural party of governance, it has moved to the fringe. Its policies have alienated its constituency of the poor aam aadmi,” he added. Jaitley further said parties which adopt dynastic succession as an alternative to merit-based leadership creation suffer from a natural disadvantage.
“Tall leaders do not grow in such parties. The strength of the party overlaps with the charisma of the current generation of the dynasty,” he said. Referring to note ban decision, the minister said the Congress’ stand on demonetisation of high value currency “is costing it dearly”. “The poor have overwhelmingly supported demonetisation. The Congress party has lost its traditional constituency of the poor electorate to the BJP,” the minister said. He said the disruptive role played by the Congress in Parliament has projected it “more as a fringe rather than a mainstream political party”.
NASA discovers seven Earth-size planets: Here’s all you need to know
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NASA announced a new system of Exoplanets, which are Earth-size, and could potentially hold life.These exoplanets are located outside of our solar system and orbit a star, which is why they are named so. So why is the discovery of these Exoplanets such a big deal, and what should you know about them? We break down the facts.
First:A system of seven planets in a system called TRAPPIST-1 is the highlight of this discovery. NASA has named the system of planets after the ‘Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope,’ which is located in Chile. This telescope first discovered three of the planets in this system in May 2016.
According to NASA, along with the assistance of other big telescopes, and the European Space telescope called Spitzer, the existence of two of these planets was confirmed. In addition to these two, five more planets were discovered by Spitzer. NASA is now putting the total number of planets in this system at seven.
Second: The star in TRAPPIST-1 is classified as an ultra-cool dwarf, which NASA points out is in contrast to our Sun. The ultra-cool dwarf has a lower mass than the Sun, and also much lower temperatures. What this means is even if planets are orbiting close to the dwarf sun, it is so cool that liquid water will be able to survive on these planets.
The ultracool star shines 200 times dimmer than our sun, so you’d have twilight at all times on these planets, and the star glows red. The Sun is no bigger than the planet Jupiter in our solar system.
NASA’s telescopes show the planets are closer to the host star than planet Mercury is to our Sun. According to NASA’s own press statement, “If a person was standing on one of the planet’s surface, they could gaze up and potentially see geological features or clouds of neighbouring worlds, which would sometimes appear larger than the moon in Earth’s sky.”
Third: Unlike Earth, which rotates on its axis, the planets are “tidally locked to the star.” This means that one side of the planet has only day, and one side has only night. It also means the weather conditions are unlike what we experience on Earth.
Fourth: The planets are Earth-sized. “The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star,” said Michael Gillon, lead author of the paper and the principal investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanet survey at the University of Liege, Belgium in NASA’s press statement. “It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds.” Using the Spitzer data, NASA’s team calculated the sizes of the seven planets, and have developed the first estimates of the masses of six of them. NASA predicts that based on the density, the planets are rocky, though they can’t confirm the presence of water yet. This will only be determined with more observations. It looks like the seventh planet is an icy, snow world, which might remind some of Pluto in our solar system.
Fifth: Scientists said they need to study the atmospheres before determining whether these rocky, terrestrial planets could support some sort of life. But it already shows just how many Earth-size planets could be out there. Two planets closest to the host star have already shown signs of no puffy atmosphere, meaning they are potentially rocky in nature.
Sixth: TRAPPIST-1 holds the record for the greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system. The discovery of the planets doesn’t mean the end of the job for NASA. The space agency’s Hubble Space Telescope is already screening four of the planets, three which are inside the habitable zone. Spitzer, Hubble and Kepler will do initial surveys of the exoplanets ahead of NASA’s launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2018.
According to NASA’s statement, the new Web telescope will “detect the chemical fingerprints of water, methane, oxygen, ozone, and other components of a planet’s atmosphere,” along with temperature, surface pressure, etc to know if these planets can be inhabited by life in the future.
NASA announced a new system of Exoplanets, which are Earth-size, and could potentially hold life.These exoplanets are located outside of our solar system and orbit a star, which is why they are named so. So why is the discovery of these Exoplanets such a big deal, and what should you know about them? We break down the facts.
First:A system of seven planets in a system called TRAPPIST-1 is the highlight of this discovery. NASA has named the system of planets after the ‘Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope,’ which is located in Chile. This telescope first discovered three of the planets in this system in May 2016.
According to NASA, along with the assistance of other big telescopes, and the European Space telescope called Spitzer, the existence of two of these planets was confirmed. In addition to these two, five more planets were discovered by Spitzer. NASA is now putting the total number of planets in this system at seven.
Second: The star in TRAPPIST-1 is classified as an ultra-cool dwarf, which NASA points out is in contrast to our Sun. The ultra-cool dwarf has a lower mass than the Sun, and also much lower temperatures. What this means is even if planets are orbiting close to the dwarf sun, it is so cool that liquid water will be able to survive on these planets.
The ultracool star shines 200 times dimmer than our sun, so you’d have twilight at all times on these planets, and the star glows red. The Sun is no bigger than the planet Jupiter in our solar system.
NASA’s telescopes show the planets are closer to the host star than planet Mercury is to our Sun. According to NASA’s own press statement, “If a person was standing on one of the planet’s surface, they could gaze up and potentially see geological features or clouds of neighbouring worlds, which would sometimes appear larger than the moon in Earth’s sky.”
Third: Unlike Earth, which rotates on its axis, the planets are “tidally locked to the star.” This means that one side of the planet has only day, and one side has only night. It also means the weather conditions are unlike what we experience on Earth.
Fourth: The planets are Earth-sized. “The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star,” said Michael Gillon, lead author of the paper and the principal investigator of the TRAPPIST exoplanet survey at the University of Liege, Belgium in NASA’s press statement. “It is also the best target yet for studying the atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds.” Using the Spitzer data, NASA’s team calculated the sizes of the seven planets, and have developed the first estimates of the masses of six of them. NASA predicts that based on the density, the planets are rocky, though they can’t confirm the presence of water yet. This will only be determined with more observations. It looks like the seventh planet is an icy, snow world, which might remind some of Pluto in our solar system.
Fifth: Scientists said they need to study the atmospheres before determining whether these rocky, terrestrial planets could support some sort of life. But it already shows just how many Earth-size planets could be out there. Two planets closest to the host star have already shown signs of no puffy atmosphere, meaning they are potentially rocky in nature.
Sixth: TRAPPIST-1 holds the record for the greatest number of habitable-zone planets found around a single star outside our solar system. The discovery of the planets doesn’t mean the end of the job for NASA. The space agency’s Hubble Space Telescope is already screening four of the planets, three which are inside the habitable zone. Spitzer, Hubble and Kepler will do initial surveys of the exoplanets ahead of NASA’s launch of the James Webb Space Telescope in 2018.
According to NASA’s statement, the new Web telescope will “detect the chemical fingerprints of water, methane, oxygen, ozone, and other components of a planet’s atmosphere,” along with temperature, surface pressure, etc to know if these planets can be inhabited by life in the future.
Business Affairs
Sensex soars to 100 pts, Nifty opens higher; Airtel stock surges 10%
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The Indian stock market opened higher despite Asian markets falling from their 19-month highs after Federal Reserve minutes indicated a cautious approach to raising US interest rates.
At 09.50 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,926, 61.69 points higher, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,945., up 18.35 points.
"8,905-8,874 would provide a decent support to Nifty; whereas on the flipside, 8,969 remains to be an immediate hurdle. Surpassing this level would unfold possibility of a new high soon, however, tomorrow's session being a February month derivatives expiry; we would expect some volatility in the market. Also, we hope this series to conclude at a new 52-week high," said an Angel Broking report.
Shares of Bharti Airtel rose over 10 per cent to hit its 52-week high of Rs 400 becoming the top mover on Sensex and Nifty.
India's largest telecom network operator said it would buy Telenor (India) Communications Pvt Ltd, in a deal that will bolster Airtel's footprint with additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.
Airtel will buy Telenor's India operations in seven circles - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West) and Assam, the company said in a statement.
Among the other gainers were TCS and GAIL rising as much as 1.87 per cent and 1.01 per cent respectively.
Global markets
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.39 per cent, the Hang Seng Index was 115 points lower while Japan's Nikkei was 46 points down.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 32.6 points at 20,775.6, the S&P 500 closed down 2.56 points at 2,362.82 and the Nasdaq Composite finished down 5.32 points to 5,860.63.
The Dow reached its ninth straight all-time closing high.
The Indian stock market opened higher despite Asian markets falling from their 19-month highs after Federal Reserve minutes indicated a cautious approach to raising US interest rates.
At 09.50 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,926, 61.69 points higher, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,945., up 18.35 points.
"8,905-8,874 would provide a decent support to Nifty; whereas on the flipside, 8,969 remains to be an immediate hurdle. Surpassing this level would unfold possibility of a new high soon, however, tomorrow's session being a February month derivatives expiry; we would expect some volatility in the market. Also, we hope this series to conclude at a new 52-week high," said an Angel Broking report.
Shares of Bharti Airtel rose over 10 per cent to hit its 52-week high of Rs 400 becoming the top mover on Sensex and Nifty.
India's largest telecom network operator said it would buy Telenor (India) Communications Pvt Ltd, in a deal that will bolster Airtel's footprint with additional spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.
Airtel will buy Telenor's India operations in seven circles - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West) and Assam, the company said in a statement.
Among the other gainers were TCS and GAIL rising as much as 1.87 per cent and 1.01 per cent respectively.
Global markets
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.39 per cent, the Hang Seng Index was 115 points lower while Japan's Nikkei was 46 points down.
On Wall Street, the Dow ended up 32.6 points at 20,775.6, the S&P 500 closed down 2.56 points at 2,362.82 and the Nasdaq Composite finished down 5.32 points to 5,860.63.
The Dow reached its ninth straight all-time closing high.
Uncertainty looms over future of Snapdeal as founders admit to serious flaws in strategy
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With planned layoffs of around 500 to 600 people over the next few days, clouds of uncertainty loom over the future of online marketplace Snapdeal, once India's start-up posterboy. In an official communication to its employees, the founders admitted to some serious flaws in their strategy.
Further, the founders of Snapdeal pledged to take a 100 per cent salary cut. As per the Registrar of Company records, the founders received a compensation of Rs 52.94 crore (as per form 16) each in 2014/15, significantly higher from Rs 1 crore each in the previous fiscal.
The ill health of the company can easily be diagnosed from its mounting losses which significantly jumped over 120 per cent in 2015/16 to Rs (-) 2,960 crore from Rs (-) 1,319 crore in 2014/15.
Its revenues, however, rose 55.3 per cent over the period. Its employees expenses, the next biggest expense head of the company after advertising expenses, shot up around 148 per cent to Rs 911 crore in 2015/16 from Rs 367.19 crore in the previous fiscal.
Clearly, mounting employee expenses, proved to be the Achilles heel for the company.
The company, founded in 2010, has seen 12 rounds of funding, raising a total equity funding of $ 1.7 billion, according to the data from Tracxn. It has been struggling to raise funds fresh funds recently, with $221 million raised in 2016 compared to $ 500 million raised in 2015.
Snapdeal has also suffered a devaluation-valuations went down to $ 4 billion currently from $ 6.5 billion in February 2016 The top-level exits continued at Snapdeal with Anand Chandrasekharan, Chief Product Officer; Tony Navin, Head of Partnerships and Strategic Investments; Abhishek Kumar, responsible for the acquisition of FreeCharge mobile wallet; and Sandeep Komaravelly, head of mobile customer-to-customer marketplace Shopo, leaving the company.
It plans to sell its digital wallet FreeCharge which it acquired in April 2015. Another acquisition which did not pay-off was Exclusively.in, a premium fashion platform which shut down within 18 months of acquiring it. Four years after buying it in 2013, Snapdeal shut down its C2C marketplace Shopo. Let see if these layoffs help Snapdeal tide over the tough times.
With planned layoffs of around 500 to 600 people over the next few days, clouds of uncertainty loom over the future of online marketplace Snapdeal, once India's start-up posterboy. In an official communication to its employees, the founders admitted to some serious flaws in their strategy.
Further, the founders of Snapdeal pledged to take a 100 per cent salary cut. As per the Registrar of Company records, the founders received a compensation of Rs 52.94 crore (as per form 16) each in 2014/15, significantly higher from Rs 1 crore each in the previous fiscal.
The ill health of the company can easily be diagnosed from its mounting losses which significantly jumped over 120 per cent in 2015/16 to Rs (-) 2,960 crore from Rs (-) 1,319 crore in 2014/15.
Its revenues, however, rose 55.3 per cent over the period. Its employees expenses, the next biggest expense head of the company after advertising expenses, shot up around 148 per cent to Rs 911 crore in 2015/16 from Rs 367.19 crore in the previous fiscal.
Clearly, mounting employee expenses, proved to be the Achilles heel for the company.
The company, founded in 2010, has seen 12 rounds of funding, raising a total equity funding of $ 1.7 billion, according to the data from Tracxn. It has been struggling to raise funds fresh funds recently, with $221 million raised in 2016 compared to $ 500 million raised in 2015.
Snapdeal has also suffered a devaluation-valuations went down to $ 4 billion currently from $ 6.5 billion in February 2016 The top-level exits continued at Snapdeal with Anand Chandrasekharan, Chief Product Officer; Tony Navin, Head of Partnerships and Strategic Investments; Abhishek Kumar, responsible for the acquisition of FreeCharge mobile wallet; and Sandeep Komaravelly, head of mobile customer-to-customer marketplace Shopo, leaving the company.
It plans to sell its digital wallet FreeCharge which it acquired in April 2015. Another acquisition which did not pay-off was Exclusively.in, a premium fashion platform which shut down within 18 months of acquiring it. Four years after buying it in 2013, Snapdeal shut down its C2C marketplace Shopo. Let see if these layoffs help Snapdeal tide over the tough times.
ONGC to invest Rs 7,337 crore to boost output
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Oil and Natural Gas Corp, country's top oil and gas explorer, will invest Rs 7,337 crore ($1.10 billion) in five fields to produce about 15 million tonnes of oil and about 3 billion cubic metres (BCM) of gas, it said on Thursday.
India wants to boost its local output to cut dependence on imports from the current 77 percent.
Most of this investment would go into developing the R-Series fields, off west coast, that can produce 8.39 million tonnes of oil and 1.696 BCM of gas.
ONGC will invest about Rs 4100 crore in the fields that will begin oil production during 2018-19. The fields are expected to produce at a peak rate of 14,583 barrels per day (bpd) in 2019-20, it said in a statement.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, country's top oil and gas explorer, will invest Rs 7,337 crore ($1.10 billion) in five fields to produce about 15 million tonnes of oil and about 3 billion cubic metres (BCM) of gas, it said on Thursday.
India wants to boost its local output to cut dependence on imports from the current 77 percent.
Most of this investment would go into developing the R-Series fields, off west coast, that can produce 8.39 million tonnes of oil and 1.696 BCM of gas.
ONGC will invest about Rs 4100 crore in the fields that will begin oil production during 2018-19. The fields are expected to produce at a peak rate of 14,583 barrels per day (bpd) in 2019-20, it said in a statement.
Cheap Chinese steel to bad debt: Six issues Tata Sons chief needs to address
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There is little time for N. Chandrasekaran, the new chairman of Tata Group, to settle down in his new job before getting down to the task at hand. The major issues which needs to addressed immediately:
- Ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry had group executive council (GEC) to guide him and guide the group companies in crucial business decisions. Chandrasekaran will have to create his team. Reports say that he would be building up a team comprising of chief executives of group companies.
- Tata Group committed 1-billion-pound investment in Tata Steel UK over the next 10 years, while seeking support for pension reforms about a couple of weeks back. It is now the responsibility of Chandrasekaran to make the investment and revive the core business, fighting cheap Chinese steel imports.
- It was during Ratan Tata's initial phase as chairman, in 1998, that Tata Motors entered into passenger car manufacturing business with the launch of Indica. Despite launching various hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs, Tata Motors failed to become the lead player in the category. What's going to be the 'big plan' of Chandrasekaran in the passenger car business? One report says that American auto major Ford Motor Company is looking to buy out the passenger vehicles division of Tata Motors; another says that Tata Motors is in talks with Germany's Volkswagen over a possible partnership.
- Tata Power's Rs 45,000 crore debt is another worry. The company is keen to pare its debt and bring down the debt-equity ratio through the sale of non-core assets in the next five months. Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd in Mundra looks for a compensatory tariff to turn around the project and case is pending at the Supreme Court. Chandrasekaran will have to sit with the management to manage the debt as well as for drawing up future strategy in a surplus power scenario.
- Indian Hotels sold Taj Boston last year for $125 million--- the property was purchased in 2006 at $170 million--- after it started making consecutive losses. Eventually, the overseas business is still a worry for the company. At the same time, it will have to maintain some overseas properties to attract global customers. The company will have to reduce debt and shut down or sell some of the non-lucrative properties.
- Tata Teleservices' joint venture with NTT Docomo is on the verge of a break-up and the issue is pending before the court. At the same time, rumour is that Tata Teleservices is looking for a merger with Reliance Communications. Since Tata Teleservices is a negative networth company, the turn around will be a near impossible task for the new chairman.
There is little time for N. Chandrasekaran, the new chairman of Tata Group, to settle down in his new job before getting down to the task at hand. The major issues which needs to addressed immediately:
- Ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry had group executive council (GEC) to guide him and guide the group companies in crucial business decisions. Chandrasekaran will have to create his team. Reports say that he would be building up a team comprising of chief executives of group companies.
- Tata Group committed 1-billion-pound investment in Tata Steel UK over the next 10 years, while seeking support for pension reforms about a couple of weeks back. It is now the responsibility of Chandrasekaran to make the investment and revive the core business, fighting cheap Chinese steel imports.
- It was during Ratan Tata's initial phase as chairman, in 1998, that Tata Motors entered into passenger car manufacturing business with the launch of Indica. Despite launching various hatchbacks, sedans and SUVs, Tata Motors failed to become the lead player in the category. What's going to be the 'big plan' of Chandrasekaran in the passenger car business? One report says that American auto major Ford Motor Company is looking to buy out the passenger vehicles division of Tata Motors; another says that Tata Motors is in talks with Germany's Volkswagen over a possible partnership.
- Tata Power's Rs 45,000 crore debt is another worry. The company is keen to pare its debt and bring down the debt-equity ratio through the sale of non-core assets in the next five months. Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd in Mundra looks for a compensatory tariff to turn around the project and case is pending at the Supreme Court. Chandrasekaran will have to sit with the management to manage the debt as well as for drawing up future strategy in a surplus power scenario.
- Indian Hotels sold Taj Boston last year for $125 million--- the property was purchased in 2006 at $170 million--- after it started making consecutive losses. Eventually, the overseas business is still a worry for the company. At the same time, it will have to maintain some overseas properties to attract global customers. The company will have to reduce debt and shut down or sell some of the non-lucrative properties.
- Tata Teleservices' joint venture with NTT Docomo is on the verge of a break-up and the issue is pending before the court. At the same time, rumour is that Tata Teleservices is looking for a merger with Reliance Communications. Since Tata Teleservices is a negative networth company, the turn around will be a near impossible task for the new chairman.
UK created maximum jobs in India via FDI: Report
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The UK remains the largest job creator in India via foreign direct investment, seeing off tough competition from Japan, creating one in ten jobs between April 2000 and September 2016, says a report.
However, British investors are eyeing further progress to secure investor protection under the model Bilateral Investment Treaty, greater momentum in reducing corporate tax rates and further improvements in the ease of doing business, according to the CBI's second Sterling Assets India report, supported by PwC and the UK India Business Council.
The CBI is a UK-based business organisation.
"Between 2000 and 2016, British FDI created 371,000 jobs ? 10 per cent of all jobs created by FDI. The total number of people employed by British companies in India currently stands at 788,000-representing 5.3 per cent, or one in twenty, of private sector jobs," according to the report.
Moreover, the UK is the single largest G20 investor in India, and supports close to 800,000 jobs. Between 2000 and 2016, the UK invested USD 24.07 billion in India-increasing its investment by USD 1.87 billion between 2015 and 2016-representing 8 per cent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.
The UK remains the largest of all foreign investors into India after Mauritius and Singapore. In 2016, Japan emerged as a tough competitor for the UK. Japanese firms invested USD 5.46 billion between April 2015 and September 2016.
This has brought the Japanese FDI into India during the 16-year period to USD 23.76 billion, just marginally short of the UK FDI figure.
"As new opportunities spring up in India-from its rapid digitisation to more young people wanting to study at the UK's world leading universities-our firms will be looking to take full advantage. Further reductions in India's corporate tax rates and improvements to the ease of doing business will see the relationship between India and the UK go from strength to strength," Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said.
The chemicals sector receives the lion's share of British investment in India at USD 6.1 billion (25 per cent of UK FDI), followed by drugs and pharmaceuticals at USD 4.1 billion (17 per cent) and food processing at USD 3.2 billion (14).
The main reasons why UK companies are attracted to India are a growing market, easy talent availability, a stable political system, new business-friendly policies by state and central governments, use of English as the language of business, saturation of western markets and similar legal and educational systems, according to the report.
"India remains something of an investment magnet to British companies. As Asia's third largest economy, India has attracted FDI from the UK into both industry and services sectors between 2000 and 2016," it pointed out.
In 18 months between April 2015 and September 2016, India received FDI from the UK to the tune of USD 1.87 billion while FDI from Mauritius and Singapore was USD 5.85 billion and USD 4.68 billion respectively.
Roughly 38,000 jobs were created by UK FDI in the period. Significantly, between April 2015 and September 2016, nearly a quarter (22.35 per cent) of British investments went to Delhi-National Capital Region. The state of Maharashtra, with Mumbai, attracted the largest share of British investment (USD 7.47 billion) between 2000 and 2016.
The UK remains the largest job creator in India via foreign direct investment, seeing off tough competition from Japan, creating one in ten jobs between April 2000 and September 2016, says a report.
However, British investors are eyeing further progress to secure investor protection under the model Bilateral Investment Treaty, greater momentum in reducing corporate tax rates and further improvements in the ease of doing business, according to the CBI's second Sterling Assets India report, supported by PwC and the UK India Business Council.
The CBI is a UK-based business organisation.
"Between 2000 and 2016, British FDI created 371,000 jobs ? 10 per cent of all jobs created by FDI. The total number of people employed by British companies in India currently stands at 788,000-representing 5.3 per cent, or one in twenty, of private sector jobs," according to the report.
Moreover, the UK is the single largest G20 investor in India, and supports close to 800,000 jobs. Between 2000 and 2016, the UK invested USD 24.07 billion in India-increasing its investment by USD 1.87 billion between 2015 and 2016-representing 8 per cent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country.
The UK remains the largest of all foreign investors into India after Mauritius and Singapore. In 2016, Japan emerged as a tough competitor for the UK. Japanese firms invested USD 5.46 billion between April 2015 and September 2016.
This has brought the Japanese FDI into India during the 16-year period to USD 23.76 billion, just marginally short of the UK FDI figure.
"As new opportunities spring up in India-from its rapid digitisation to more young people wanting to study at the UK's world leading universities-our firms will be looking to take full advantage. Further reductions in India's corporate tax rates and improvements to the ease of doing business will see the relationship between India and the UK go from strength to strength," Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said.
The chemicals sector receives the lion's share of British investment in India at USD 6.1 billion (25 per cent of UK FDI), followed by drugs and pharmaceuticals at USD 4.1 billion (17 per cent) and food processing at USD 3.2 billion (14).
The main reasons why UK companies are attracted to India are a growing market, easy talent availability, a stable political system, new business-friendly policies by state and central governments, use of English as the language of business, saturation of western markets and similar legal and educational systems, according to the report.
"India remains something of an investment magnet to British companies. As Asia's third largest economy, India has attracted FDI from the UK into both industry and services sectors between 2000 and 2016," it pointed out.
In 18 months between April 2015 and September 2016, India received FDI from the UK to the tune of USD 1.87 billion while FDI from Mauritius and Singapore was USD 5.85 billion and USD 4.68 billion respectively.
Roughly 38,000 jobs were created by UK FDI in the period. Significantly, between April 2015 and September 2016, nearly a quarter (22.35 per cent) of British investments went to Delhi-National Capital Region. The state of Maharashtra, with Mumbai, attracted the largest share of British investment (USD 7.47 billion) between 2000 and 2016.
General Awareness
Indian Airways At A Glance
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An airway is defined as the corridor that connects one specified location to another at a specified altitude, along which an aircraft that meets the requirements of the airway may be flown.
First in Airways:
- First commercial civil aviation flight took place between Allahabad and Naini in 1911 – 6 miles .This is considered to be the world’s first airmail service
- First International flight introduced between London -Karachi – Delhi flight in 1912
- First flight flew between Karachi and Bombay by JRD Tata In 1932
- First civil aviation airport was formed in 1928 at Juhu, Mumbai
- India’s first airline is Imperial Airways
- First aircraft the Harlow trainer was rolled out for test flight in 1941
- First Director general of Civil Aviation(DGCA)-Lt.Col. Shelmerdine in 1931
- First International services flight between Bombay and London via Cairo and Geneva started in 1948
- First Civil Helicopter Services introduced in 1953
- East-West Airlines was the first scheduled private airline in 1991
- IC 814 flight of Indian Airlines was hijacked to Kandahar in 1999
- Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was the India’s first licensed pilot in 1929.
- Sarla Thakral. Sarla Thakralwas the first Indian woman pilot license in 1936
- First Boeing all-women crew flight commanded by Captain Saudamini Deshmukh on September 1989
- First youngest pilot Captain Nivedita Bhasin(26) of Indian Airlines in 1990
- First woman commercial pilot Prem Mathur flying for Deccan Airways in 1948
- First Asian airline Boeing 707–420(Gauri Shankar) inducted a jet aircraft in its flee in 1960
- First national level private airline East West Airlines to operate in the country after 37 years in 1990
Some Important facts :
India crowned world’s fastest growing aviation market in 2015 by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
- India is the ninth largest civil aviation market in the world with a market size of $16 billion and aims to become the 3rd largest market by 2020
- Bangalore is the aviation manufacturing hub in India(65%)
- Three largest airline in India in terms of passengers – IndiGo, Jet Airways and Indian Airlines
- Air Corporations Act was passed by Indian Parliament in 1953
- International Airports Authority of India (IAAI) was constituted in 1972
- National Airports Authority was constituted in 1986.
- Eight companies were in service within and outside the country at the time of independence, namely Tata Airlines, Indian National Airways, Air service of India, Deccan Airways, Ambica Airways, Bharat Airways and Mistry Airwa
- Air India is commended in the Guinnes Book of World Records for the largest evacuation effort by a civil before the first Gulf War in 1990
- India’s first ever budget airline Air Deccan begins operations on 25th August. The first flight is from Bangalore to Mangalore.
- Indian Airlines was rebranded as Indian in 2005
- The Regional Airlines Policy was announced in 2007
- The path breaking Greenfield Airport Policy of the Government was announced in 2008
- AERA was established to regulate the economic aspects of airports. It is an autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament in 2009
- Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal (AERAAT) was established in 2010
- The real ‘Airlift’: Air India’s rescue mission in Kuwait won it a place in Guinness Records in 2016
List of Hijackings:
- Indian Airlines plane Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft named Ganga on its way from Srinagar to Jammu was hijacked by Hashim Quereshi and Ashraf Quereshi of the JKLF on 1971 January 30
- Delhi-Jaipur-Mumbai flight (IC 491) was commandeered and taken to Lahore where the hijackers were overpowered on September 10,1976.
- Devendra Nath Pandey and Bhola Nath Pandey hijacked Indian Airlinesflight IC-410 as it flew over Aligarh, to protest the imprisonment of Indira Gandhi by the Janata Party government on December 20, 1978.
- An Indian airlines plane Jetliner (Boeing 737) on flight from Srinagar to Delhi is hijacked by Sikh Terrorists and taken to Lahore on September 29, 1981
- Boeing 737 a scheduled flight from Bombay to New Delhi hijacked on August 22, 1982
- An Indian Airlines flight from Jodhpur to Delhi was hijacked. The hijacked plane landed at Amritsar in 1982
- 1984 July 6 – An Indian Airlines jet carrying 255 passengers and a crew of nine on flight from Srinagar to New Delhi was hijacked and forced to land in Lahore, Pakistan.The hijackers were reported to be armed with pistols, daggers and explosives. The hijackers’ surrender to Pakistan authorities ended a 17- hour ordeal for the plane’s passengers and crew, who remained aboard the A-300 Airbus in suffocating heat, with little food and water.
- An Indian Airlines flight IC 405 from Pathankot to Lahore was hijacked between Srinagar and Mumbai on July 1984
- Seven young hijackers demanded an Indian Airlines jetliner, on a domestic flight from Chandigarh to Srinagar to be flown to the United States. The plane was taken to Lahore and then to Karachi and finally to Dubai where the defense minister of UAE negotiated the release of the passengers on 1984 August 24
- TheAir India 182 Kanishka from Toronto via Montreal and London to New Delhi exploded off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985 by Inderjit Singh Reyat
- A Patna-Lucknow-Delh iIndian Airlines flight IC-810 was hijacked by Satish Chandra Pandey on Jan 22, 1993
- Indian Airlines Flight IC427 hijacked between April 24 and April 25, 1993. Commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG) by Mohammed Yousuf Shah. The rescue was code-named Operation Ashwamedh.
- Indian Airlines Lucknow-Delhi Flight IC-436 was hijacked by four college students of the Lucknow Arts College seeking to postpone their college exams in April 1993
- A Delhi – ChennaiAir India Airbus 320 was hijacked by a man who wanted Marathwada University to be renamed after Dr B R Ambedkar on January 13th, 1994.
- Indian Airlines Flight 814 known as IC 814 was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, hijacked on 24 December 1999 by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
International Airports of India
Name of the Airport City State Veer Savarkar International Airport Port Blair Andaman and Nicobar Islands Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport Guwahati Assam Gaya Airport Gaya Bihar Indira Gandhi International Airport New Delhi Delhi Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport Ahmedabad Gujarat Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru Karnataka Mangalore Airport Mangalore Karnataka Cochin International Airport Kochi Kerala Calicut International Airport Kozhikode Kerala Trivandrum International Airport Thiruvananthapuram Kerala Raja Bhoj Airport Bhopal Madhya Pradesh Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport Indore Madhya Pradesh Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Mumbai Maharashtra Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport Nagpur Maharashtra Pune Airport Pune Maharashtra Zaruki International Airport Shillong Meghalaya Biju Patnaik International Airport Bhubaneshwar Odisha Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport Amristar Punjab Jaipur International Airport Jaipur Rajasthan Chennai International Airport Chennai Tamil Nadu Civil Aerodrome Coimbatore Tamil Nadu Tiruchirapalli International Airport Tiruchirappalli Tamil Nadu Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad Telangana Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport Lucknow Uttar Pradesh Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport Varanasi Uttar Pradesh Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport Kolkata West Bengal
Domestic Airports
Airport City State Donakonda Airport Donakonda Andhra Pradesh Cuddapah Airport Kadapa Andhra Pradesh Daporijo Airport Daporijo Arunachal Pradesh Tezu Airport Tezu Arunachal Pradesh Dibrugarh Airport Dibrugarh Assam Rupsi Airport Dhubri Assam Tezpur Airport Tezpur Assam Jogbani Airport Jogbani Bihar Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport Patna Bihar Jagdalpur Airport Jagdalpur Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekananda Airport Raipur Chhattisgarh Diu Airport Diu Daman and Diu Vadodara Airport Vadodara Gujarat Kandla Airport Kandla Gujarat Bhavnagar Airport Bhavnagar Gujarat Keshod Airport Keshod Gujarat Porbandar Airport Porbandar Gujarat Rajkot Airport Rajkot Gujarat Surat Airport Surat Gujarat Gaggal Airport Kangra Himachal Pradesh Shimla Airport Shimla Himachal Pradesh Bhuntar Airport Kullu Himachal Pradesh Jammu Airport Jammu Jammu & Kashmir Dhanbad Airport Dhanbad Jharkhand Sonari Airport Jamshedpur Jharkhand Birsa Munda Airport Ranchi Jharkhand Belgaum Airport Belgaum Karnataka Hubli Airport Hubli Karnataka Mysore Airport Mysore Karnataka Vidyanagar Airport Toranagallu Karnataka Agatti Aerodrome Agatti Lakshadweep Gwalior Airport Gwalior Madhya Pradesh Jabalpur Airport Jabalpur Madhya Pradesh Khajuraho Airport Khajuraho Madhya Pradesh Khandwa Airport Khandwa Madhya Pradesh Akola Airport Akola Maharashtra Aurangabad Airport Aurangabad Maharashtra Jalgaon Airport Jalgaon Maharashtra Kolhapur Airport Kolhapur Maharashtra Nanded Airport Nanded Maharashtra Gandhinagar Airport Nashik Maharashtra Ozar Airport Nashik Maharashtra Ratnagiri Airport Ratnagiri Maharashtra Solapur Airport Solapur Maharashtra Tulihal Airport Imphal Manipur Lengpui Airport Aizawl Mizoram Dimapur Airport Dimapur Nagaland Biju Patnaik Airport Bhubaneswar Orissa Jharsuguda Airport Jharsuguda Orissa Berhampur Airport Berhampur Orissa Jeypore Airport Jeypore Orissa Hirakud Airport Hirakud Orissa Nuagaon Airport Nuagaon Orissa Utkela Airport Utkela Orissa Madurai Airport Madurai Tamil Nadu Salem Airport Salem Tamil Nadu Tuticorin Airport Tuticorin Tamil Nadu Agartala Airport Agartala Tripura Kailashahar Airport Kailashahar Tripura Khowai Airport Khowai Tripura Jolly Grant Airport Dehradun Uttrakhand Pantnagar Airport Pantnagar Uttrakhand Balurghat Airport Balurghat West Bengal Cooch Behar Airport Cooch Behar West Bengal
Future Airports
Airport City State Warangal Airport Warangal Andhra Pradesh Bijapur Airport Bijapur Karnataka Karwar Airport Karwar Karnataka Shimoga Airport Shimoga Karnataka Gulbarga Airport Gulbarga Karnataka Hassan Airport Hassan Karnataka Bidar Airport Bidar Karnataka Kannur International Airport Kannur Kerala Navi Mumbai International Airport Navi Mumbai Maharashtra Yavatmal Airport Yavatmal Maharashtra Naini Saini Airport Pithoragarh Uttrakhand Malda Airport Malda West Bengal
Two types of fund provided by GOI
GREEN INVESTMENT
- Fresh Investment i.e. to build up airport from scratch
- Bangalore & Hyderabad Airports
BROWN INVESTMENT
- Renovation of old Airports
- Delhi & Mumbai Airports
Awards & Recognitions received by Indian Airports:
- World’s largest ‘charkha’ displaye at IGI airport
- Mangaluru Airport conferred as best in the country
- Cochin International Airport become India’s first green airport -world’s first solar powered airport
- Indira Gandhi International adjudged as world’s best airport in 2015
- Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has won three international awards for 2015 year given by the Airports Council International (ACI).
- Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has been named as the world’s number 1 position for the second consecutive year in 25-40 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) category
Indira Gandhi International Airport to get India’s first body scanner
- Airports in Jaipur and Lucknow which are managed by the Airports Authority of India, have won the first and second place of the 2015 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards
- Golden Peacock National Quality Award 2015 for Delhi Airport
- Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore is India’s First to Receive Green Co Platinum Rating
Important Persons to know
- Guruprasad Mohapatra – Chairman of Airports Authority of India
- Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju – Union Minister for Civil Aviation
An airway is defined as the corridor that connects one specified location to another at a specified altitude, along which an aircraft that meets the requirements of the airway may be flown.
First in Airways:
- First commercial civil aviation flight took place between Allahabad and Naini in 1911 – 6 miles .This is considered to be the world’s first airmail service
- First International flight introduced between London -Karachi – Delhi flight in 1912
- First flight flew between Karachi and Bombay by JRD Tata In 1932
- First civil aviation airport was formed in 1928 at Juhu, Mumbai
- India’s first airline is Imperial Airways
- First aircraft the Harlow trainer was rolled out for test flight in 1941
- First Director general of Civil Aviation(DGCA)-Lt.Col. Shelmerdine in 1931
- First International services flight between Bombay and London via Cairo and Geneva started in 1948
- First Civil Helicopter Services introduced in 1953
- East-West Airlines was the first scheduled private airline in 1991
- IC 814 flight of Indian Airlines was hijacked to Kandahar in 1999
- Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata was the India’s first licensed pilot in 1929.
- Sarla Thakral. Sarla Thakralwas the first Indian woman pilot license in 1936
- First Boeing all-women crew flight commanded by Captain Saudamini Deshmukh on September 1989
- First youngest pilot Captain Nivedita Bhasin(26) of Indian Airlines in 1990
- First woman commercial pilot Prem Mathur flying for Deccan Airways in 1948
- First Asian airline Boeing 707–420(Gauri Shankar) inducted a jet aircraft in its flee in 1960
- First national level private airline East West Airlines to operate in the country after 37 years in 1990
Some Important facts :
India crowned world’s fastest growing aviation market in 2015 by the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
- India is the ninth largest civil aviation market in the world with a market size of $16 billion and aims to become the 3rd largest market by 2020
- Bangalore is the aviation manufacturing hub in India(65%)
- Three largest airline in India in terms of passengers – IndiGo, Jet Airways and Indian Airlines
- Air Corporations Act was passed by Indian Parliament in 1953
- International Airports Authority of India (IAAI) was constituted in 1972
- National Airports Authority was constituted in 1986.
- Eight companies were in service within and outside the country at the time of independence, namely Tata Airlines, Indian National Airways, Air service of India, Deccan Airways, Ambica Airways, Bharat Airways and Mistry Airwa
- Air India is commended in the Guinnes Book of World Records for the largest evacuation effort by a civil before the first Gulf War in 1990
- India’s first ever budget airline Air Deccan begins operations on 25th August. The first flight is from Bangalore to Mangalore.
- Indian Airlines was rebranded as Indian in 2005
- The Regional Airlines Policy was announced in 2007
- The path breaking Greenfield Airport Policy of the Government was announced in 2008
- AERA was established to regulate the economic aspects of airports. It is an autonomous body set up by an Act of Parliament in 2009
- Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Appellate Tribunal (AERAAT) was established in 2010
- The real ‘Airlift’: Air India’s rescue mission in Kuwait won it a place in Guinness Records in 2016
List of Hijackings:
- Indian Airlines plane Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft named Ganga on its way from Srinagar to Jammu was hijacked by Hashim Quereshi and Ashraf Quereshi of the JKLF on 1971 January 30
- Delhi-Jaipur-Mumbai flight (IC 491) was commandeered and taken to Lahore where the hijackers were overpowered on September 10,1976.
- Devendra Nath Pandey and Bhola Nath Pandey hijacked Indian Airlinesflight IC-410 as it flew over Aligarh, to protest the imprisonment of Indira Gandhi by the Janata Party government on December 20, 1978.
- An Indian airlines plane Jetliner (Boeing 737) on flight from Srinagar to Delhi is hijacked by Sikh Terrorists and taken to Lahore on September 29, 1981
- Boeing 737 a scheduled flight from Bombay to New Delhi hijacked on August 22, 1982
- An Indian Airlines flight from Jodhpur to Delhi was hijacked. The hijacked plane landed at Amritsar in 1982
- 1984 July 6 – An Indian Airlines jet carrying 255 passengers and a crew of nine on flight from Srinagar to New Delhi was hijacked and forced to land in Lahore, Pakistan.The hijackers were reported to be armed with pistols, daggers and explosives. The hijackers’ surrender to Pakistan authorities ended a 17- hour ordeal for the plane’s passengers and crew, who remained aboard the A-300 Airbus in suffocating heat, with little food and water.
- An Indian Airlines flight IC 405 from Pathankot to Lahore was hijacked between Srinagar and Mumbai on July 1984
- Seven young hijackers demanded an Indian Airlines jetliner, on a domestic flight from Chandigarh to Srinagar to be flown to the United States. The plane was taken to Lahore and then to Karachi and finally to Dubai where the defense minister of UAE negotiated the release of the passengers on 1984 August 24
- TheAir India 182 Kanishka from Toronto via Montreal and London to New Delhi exploded off the coast of Ireland on June 23, 1985 by Inderjit Singh Reyat
- A Patna-Lucknow-Delh iIndian Airlines flight IC-810 was hijacked by Satish Chandra Pandey on Jan 22, 1993
- Indian Airlines Flight IC427 hijacked between April 24 and April 25, 1993. Commandos from the National Security Guard (NSG) by Mohammed Yousuf Shah. The rescue was code-named Operation Ashwamedh.
- Indian Airlines Lucknow-Delhi Flight IC-436 was hijacked by four college students of the Lucknow Arts College seeking to postpone their college exams in April 1993
- A Delhi – ChennaiAir India Airbus 320 was hijacked by a man who wanted Marathwada University to be renamed after Dr B R Ambedkar on January 13th, 1994.
- Indian Airlines Flight 814 known as IC 814 was an Indian Airlines Airbus A300 en route from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, hijacked on 24 December 1999 by Harkat-ul-Mujahideen
International Airports of India
| Name of the Airport | City | State |
| Veer Savarkar International Airport | Port Blair | Andaman and Nicobar Islands |
| Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport | Guwahati | Assam |
| Gaya Airport | Gaya | Bihar |
| Indira Gandhi International Airport | New Delhi | Delhi |
| Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport | Ahmedabad | Gujarat |
| Kempegowda International Airport | Bengaluru | Karnataka |
| Mangalore Airport | Mangalore | Karnataka |
| Cochin International Airport | Kochi | Kerala |
| Calicut International Airport | Kozhikode | Kerala |
| Trivandrum International Airport | Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala |
| Raja Bhoj Airport | Bhopal | Madhya Pradesh |
| Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport | Indore | Madhya Pradesh |
| Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport | Mumbai | Maharashtra |
| Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport | Nagpur | Maharashtra |
| Pune Airport | Pune | Maharashtra |
| Zaruki International Airport | Shillong | Meghalaya |
| Biju Patnaik International Airport | Bhubaneshwar | Odisha |
| Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport | Amristar | Punjab |
| Jaipur International Airport | Jaipur | Rajasthan |
| Chennai International Airport | Chennai | Tamil Nadu |
| Civil Aerodrome | Coimbatore | Tamil Nadu |
| Tiruchirapalli International Airport | Tiruchirappalli | Tamil Nadu |
| Rajiv Gandhi International Airport | Hyderabad | Telangana |
| Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport | Lucknow | Uttar Pradesh |
| Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport | Varanasi | Uttar Pradesh |
| Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport | Kolkata | West Bengal |
Domestic Airports
| Airport | City | State |
| Donakonda Airport | Donakonda | Andhra Pradesh |
| Cuddapah Airport | Kadapa | Andhra Pradesh |
| Daporijo Airport | Daporijo | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Tezu Airport | Tezu | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Dibrugarh Airport | Dibrugarh | Assam |
| Rupsi Airport | Dhubri | Assam |
| Tezpur Airport | Tezpur | Assam |
| Jogbani Airport | Jogbani | Bihar |
| Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport | Patna | Bihar |
| Jagdalpur Airport | Jagdalpur | Chhattisgarh |
| Swami Vivekananda Airport | Raipur | Chhattisgarh |
| Diu Airport | Diu | Daman and Diu |
| Vadodara Airport | Vadodara | Gujarat |
| Kandla Airport | Kandla | Gujarat |
| Bhavnagar Airport | Bhavnagar | Gujarat |
| Keshod Airport | Keshod | Gujarat |
| Porbandar Airport | Porbandar | Gujarat |
| Rajkot Airport | Rajkot | Gujarat |
| Surat Airport | Surat | Gujarat |
| Gaggal Airport | Kangra | Himachal Pradesh |
| Shimla Airport | Shimla | Himachal Pradesh |
| Bhuntar Airport | Kullu | Himachal Pradesh |
| Jammu Airport | Jammu | Jammu & Kashmir |
| Dhanbad Airport | Dhanbad | Jharkhand |
| Sonari Airport | Jamshedpur | Jharkhand |
| Birsa Munda Airport | Ranchi | Jharkhand |
| Belgaum Airport | Belgaum | Karnataka |
| Hubli Airport | Hubli | Karnataka |
| Mysore Airport | Mysore | Karnataka |
| Vidyanagar Airport | Toranagallu | Karnataka |
| Agatti Aerodrome | Agatti | Lakshadweep |
| Gwalior Airport | Gwalior | Madhya Pradesh |
| Jabalpur Airport | Jabalpur | Madhya Pradesh |
| Khajuraho Airport | Khajuraho | Madhya Pradesh |
| Khandwa Airport | Khandwa | Madhya Pradesh |
| Akola Airport | Akola | Maharashtra |
| Aurangabad Airport | Aurangabad | Maharashtra |
| Jalgaon Airport | Jalgaon | Maharashtra |
| Kolhapur Airport | Kolhapur | Maharashtra |
| Nanded Airport | Nanded | Maharashtra |
| Gandhinagar Airport | Nashik | Maharashtra |
| Ozar Airport | Nashik | Maharashtra |
| Ratnagiri Airport | Ratnagiri | Maharashtra |
| Solapur Airport | Solapur | Maharashtra |
| Tulihal Airport | Imphal | Manipur |
| Lengpui Airport | Aizawl | Mizoram |
| Dimapur Airport | Dimapur | Nagaland |
| Biju Patnaik Airport | Bhubaneswar | Orissa |
| Jharsuguda Airport | Jharsuguda | Orissa |
| Berhampur Airport | Berhampur | Orissa |
| Jeypore Airport | Jeypore | Orissa |
| Hirakud Airport | Hirakud | Orissa |
| Nuagaon Airport | Nuagaon | Orissa |
| Utkela Airport | Utkela | Orissa |
| Madurai Airport | Madurai | Tamil Nadu |
| Salem Airport | Salem | Tamil Nadu |
| Tuticorin Airport | Tuticorin | Tamil Nadu |
| Agartala Airport | Agartala | Tripura |
| Kailashahar Airport | Kailashahar | Tripura |
| Khowai Airport | Khowai | Tripura |
| Jolly Grant Airport | Dehradun | Uttrakhand |
| Pantnagar Airport | Pantnagar | Uttrakhand |
| Balurghat Airport | Balurghat | West Bengal |
| Cooch Behar Airport | Cooch Behar | West Bengal |
Future Airports
| Airport | City | State |
| Warangal Airport | Warangal | Andhra Pradesh |
| Bijapur Airport | Bijapur | Karnataka |
| Karwar Airport | Karwar | Karnataka |
| Shimoga Airport | Shimoga | Karnataka |
| Gulbarga Airport | Gulbarga | Karnataka |
| Hassan Airport | Hassan | Karnataka |
| Bidar Airport | Bidar | Karnataka |
| Kannur International Airport | Kannur | Kerala |
| Navi Mumbai International Airport | Navi Mumbai | Maharashtra |
| Yavatmal Airport | Yavatmal | Maharashtra |
| Naini Saini Airport | Pithoragarh | Uttrakhand |
| Malda Airport | Malda | West Bengal |
Two types of fund provided by GOI
GREEN INVESTMENT
- Fresh Investment i.e. to build up airport from scratch
- Bangalore & Hyderabad Airports
BROWN INVESTMENT
- Renovation of old Airports
- Delhi & Mumbai Airports
Awards & Recognitions received by Indian Airports:
- World’s largest ‘charkha’ displaye at IGI airport
- Mangaluru Airport conferred as best in the country
- Cochin International Airport become India’s first green airport -world’s first solar powered airport
- Indira Gandhi International adjudged as world’s best airport in 2015
- Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has won three international awards for 2015 year given by the Airports Council International (ACI).
- Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has been named as the world’s number 1 position for the second consecutive year in 25-40 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) category
Indira Gandhi International Airport to get India’s first body scanner - Airports in Jaipur and Lucknow which are managed by the Airports Authority of India, have won the first and second place of the 2015 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards
- Golden Peacock National Quality Award 2015 for Delhi Airport
- Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore is India’s First to Receive Green Co Platinum Rating
Important Persons to know
- Guruprasad Mohapatra – Chairman of Airports Authority of India
- Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju – Union Minister for Civil Aviation
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