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Air India joins Star Alliance
Time for growth booster, need to restore investor trust, says FM
LPG, kerosene price hike on cards
8 coal mines identified for power sector
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Air India joins Star Alliance
New Delhi, June 24 Announcing the inclusion of Air India into the Star Alliance club, Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati said Air India’s revenue may increase by 5%. He did not give a time frame as to when exactly the cash-strapped carrier will finally start witnessing a financial turnaround. The airline had been through a rough patch and he hoped it would better its performance “in the near future”. As far as privatisation of the national carrier is concerned, the minister refused to divulge anything, including about his recent meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. About the alliance
It is an agreement between member airlines to use each other’s existing routes and facilities. For an Air India passenger it means simpler transit through single booking across multiple airlines to places where the national carrier does not operate. As a member of the Star Alliance, which offers 21,900 daily flights, Air India will be able to code share with 26 other airlines. In other words, if an Air India passenger wants to fly to a place where there is no direct flight he or she can fly on a member airline without going through the hassles of buying additional tickets. The passengers can also earn and use frequent flyer miles on the entire alliance network. Baggage will be taken care of by the airlines. Passengers will be able to collect flying miles on one card, which they can exchange for upgrades/free travel across the other airlines' network. Passengers will also have access to 1,000 lounges of member airlines at airports across the world. For Air India sharing routes with the other airlines means it would be in a better position to compete with carriers, for instance Emirates, which have increased their share of long-distance flights in and out of India. About 13 Star Member airlines operate to 10 destinations in India and account for a total share of 13% of India’s market. The inclusion of Air India in Star would take Alliance to a stronger position with a share of about 30%, officials say. Air India’s entry into the Star Alliance would facilitate its access to a vast global network, offering unmatched reach and connectivity. This is expected to be a game changer for Air India and aviation in India in terms of adoption of global best practices, branding and global visibility. The vast Star Alliance network will enhance Air India’s overseas operations linking it to its extensive domestic network. This will help Air India to provide better connectivity, smooth and on-time service to passengers.Air India was originally accepted as a future member of Star Alliance in December, 2007, but the integration process was suspended around July 2011, to allow it to focus on completing its merger with Indian Airlines before fully integrating it into the alliance network. Star Alliance COO Jeffrey Goh said Star was open to one or more private carriers, including Jet Airways, operating in India provided benefits were mutual. How Air India passengers will benefit
* Simpler transit through single booking across multiple airlines to places where Air India does not operate *
The Alliance offers 21,900 daily flights * If a passenger wants to fly to a place where there is no direct flight, he or she can fly on a member airline without buying additional tickets *
Baggage will be taken care of by the airlines * Passengers will also have access to 1,000 lounges of member airlines at airports across the world *
Star Alliance members jointly own 4,338 aircraft and fly over 640 million passengers a year DGCA to go online
* Civil aviation regulator, Director-General Civil Aviation (DGCA) will soon go completely online as far as its procedures — granting licences and clearances to pilots and aviation companies — are concerned. The aim, the Civil Aviation Minister said, was to bring transparency in DGCA’s procedures. |
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Time for growth booster, need to restore investor trust, says FM
New Delhi, June 24 "With regard to the Finance Ministry, this is a challenging time for it and it is challenging because in the past two years, the economy has moved at a slow pace. Whatever steps have to be taken in this direction, this is the time for it and you will have to wait for this," said Jaitley, who is also Minister for Defence and Corporate Affairs. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a Navy function, Jaitley said the economy grew at a sub-5% rate for two consecutive years, adversely impacting revenue collection. "To make the economy grow at a faster pace and reinstate the trust of investors in it, to make plans for bringing it back on track by holding consultations with stakeholders, I have done that in the past three-four weeks," he said. Jaitley will present the Modi government's maiden Budget on July 10 and has held talks with various stakeholders, including industry and agricultural bodies. In an indication that attracting investments and manufacturing will be a priority, Finance Secretary Arvind Mayaram today said India would prefer the foreign direct investment (FDI) route over foreign institutional investors (FII) inflows if overseas resources need to be generated to spur economic expansion to its potential level. "I believe our potential growth rate is 8%. And to get there, we need to develop resources. And that which we cannot generate domestically must come from outside and if it comes from outside then we prefer it in the form of FDI rather than foreign institutional investment (FII)," Mayaram said. To further attract foreign inflows, the government plans to relax the FDI policy in sectors such as defence, railways and construction activities. Mayaram emphasised the need to bring India back on the growth path to attract investments. "You must remember that investments don't come because of agreements like Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements. Investments come if there are opportunities to make profits. Opportunity to make profits can only happen when growth is higher and when the economy becomes robust," he said.
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LPG, kerosene price hike on cards
New Delhi, June 24 A proposal is under consideration to raise cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene rates in small doses of Rs 5 per cylinder and Rs 0.50-1 a litre every month to wipe out Rs 80,000 crore subsidy on the two cooking fuels. If the proposal comes through, this will be an addition to the tough decisions being taken by the government following the rail fare hike and rise in sugar prices. The government is attacking subsidies to restore fiscal stability. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently that hard decisions are required to restore the economy. The hike may follow the staggered price increase in diesel where prices are hiked by 50 paisa every month. It may find favour as diesel monthly hikes have not met with much opposition as prices rise in small quantity over a period of time. Rising kitchen expenses
* The government proposes to raise LPG and kerosene rates by Rs 5/cylinder and Rs 0.50-1 a litre every month *
At present, subsidy on LPG is Rs 432.71 per cylinder and at Rs 5 per month hike, it will take 7 years to wipe out the subsidy *
As per sources, the ministry is of the view that the monthly increases can be as high as Rs 10 if the political leadership takes a stand.
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8 coal mines identified for power sector
New Delhi, June 24 As the Coal Ministry has identified eight mines to be allocated to power producers across the coal producing states, Coal Minister Piyush Goyal has given CIL six months to not only improve its efficiency but also the quality of coal being produced. Reports said Goyal has given CIL time till December 31, to improve the quality of its coal. The minister has also said that the coal major should pull up its socks and perform in order to avoid restructuring. The move from the Coal Ministry comes within days of its meeting with the private sector power producers, who had given a presentation to Goyal regarding the problems being faced by them, especially in regard to the coal being supplied to them. The ministry had earlier planned to restructure CIL to improve its operational efficiency. CIL, which accounts for over 80% of the domestic coal production, missed its output target of 482 million tonnes in 2013-14 and produced only 462 million tonnes of coal.
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National carrier Air India has joined Star Alliance - a group of 26 (now 27) carriers with as many as 4,338 aircraft flying to 1,328 destinations across 195 countries.
