Reliance Jio approaches DoT for in-flight connectivity licence: Report

Company News

Reliance Jio Infocomm has approached the telecom department for in-flight connectivity licence, that allows service providers to offer connectivity and data services to Indian and foreign airlines, according to sources.

Besides Jio, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has also received a clutch of other applications including those from Ortus Communications, Station Satcom and Cloud Cast Digital, sources privy to the development told PTI.

Reliance Jio, however, declined to comment on a questionnaire sent in this regard.

Sources, meanwhile, said that in some of the cases including that of Ortus Communications, the DoT has sought some clarification on the application submitted.

After the government notified rules for in-flight and maritime mobile phone services in December last year, a number of companies including Bharti Airtel, Hughes Communications India, and Tatanet Services queued up for the said licence.

In February this year, Hughes Communications India (HCIL) became the the first company to be granted the in-flight and maritime connectivity licence in the country. The following month, Tatanet Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nelco, announced that it had obtained in-flight, maritime connectivity licence from the government.

Most recently, the DoT issued a 10-year licence to Bharti Airtel subsidiary Indo Teleports Ltd to provide such services.


According to Euroconsult, over 23,000 commercial aircraft will offer connectivity to their passengers by 2027, up from 7,400 aircraft in 2017.

Trump promoted strategic India-US relations in sustained manner: Report

International News

The Trump administration has worked to make India a more prominent part of its regional strategy, a top American think-tank has said in a report, lauding President Donald Trump for promoting strategic ties with India in a "sustained manner".

Asserting that the Trump administration has maintained the success story of US-India relations initiated by George W Bush, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in its report gives the US President a high B+ grade when it comes to America's ties with India.

The CFR in its special report Trump's Foreign Policy are Better Than They Seem said President Trump "deserves credit for promoting strategic ties with India in a sustained manner".

The Trump administration has worked to make India a more prominent part of its regional strategy. After changing the name of US Pacific Command to US Indo-Pacific Command in May 2018, the United States is now planning its first tri-service exercise with the Indian military, said the report authored by former US Ambassador to India, Robert Blackwill.

President Trump's inclinations, as conveyed through his South Asia strategy, which accords primacy to India; his release of advanced weapons systems, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, for sale to New Delhi; and his decision to treat India on par with NATO allies where strategic technology release is concerned are all viewed as favourable toward India, it said.


The report said that New Delhi has accordingly responded with bold initiatives of its own."Although it has not entirely endorsed the Trump administration's Indo-Pacific strategy, it has applauded the strategy's declared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific regiona concept first articulated by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, with whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi enjoys an exceptionally close relationship," the CFR said.

Drought-hit Gujarat has water for factories, but no water for Kutch farmers

Current Affairs

Bhavanbhai Patel stood facing his farm, as dry and cracked as his farming hands. The 65-year-old farmer lives in Dayapur village in Lakhpat taluka of southern Kutch, which has been receiving erratic rainfall since 2003. His farm comprises a few hectares of green, bright amid the sunburnt fields all around. “The rest belongs to my family, but now only I’m left here out of 10 brothers. Everyone else has gone,” he told IndiaSpend in early February.

Lakhpat is one of 10 talukas in Kutch, the least populated taluka of India’s largest district spanning 45,674 sq km, covering 22% of Gujarat (196,024 sq km). Lakhpat residents keep leaving because, as Patel said, “there is no way to make a living here”. He said his was a basti (hamlet) of 20,000 that is now down to 1,500 people.

“In places like Lakhpat, there is no water. Not even underground water is left that we could pull out and farm with,” said Patel, weary after working for six hours.

Dayapur is 520 km from the Narmada Main Canal, but has not received any water from the canal in the 71 years since its foundation stone was laid, promising to bring the waters of the Narmada river to the parched Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat regions of the state. Already facing years of drought, these regions have seen no rainfall so far in 2019. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded that Kutch saw a 99% departure from normal climate conditions, while other regions’ rainfall deficit is 100%.


This is the third story in our series on drought that is affecting more than 40% of India’s land area. This story examines the situation in Gujarat’s worst-hit Kutch region, where scanty rainfall and rising temperatures have exacerbated competition for scarce water between farms on the one hand and cities and industries on the other, while raising questions over why the Narmada Valley Project’s raison d’etre--to irrigate farms in Kutch, Saurashtra and North Gujarat--remains unfulfilled 71 years on...Read More

Jet board meet, Kwid EV debut, Rahul in Kerala & more: Top news today

Current Affairs

Before you start the day, let's take a quick look at some of the major events in the country that are likely to make headlines today. From Jet Airways board meeting to Rahul Gandhi's rally in Kerala, here are some of the most important news events scheduled for today that will be keenly watched.

1. Polycab India will make a debut on bourses

Wires and cables manufacturer Polycab India will make a debut on bourses on April 16 after a overwhelming response to its public issue last week. The final issue price is fixed at higher end of price band of Rs 533-538 per share.

2. Jet board meets today as lenders refuse funds

India’s first private airline Jet Airways is headed towards a total grounding and a decision could be taken as early as Tuesday after a meeting of its board of directors.

Left with no cash, a seven-plane fleet and fuel to run operations only till Tuesday afternoon, the end is imminent, said sources close to the development. “Jet cannot be saved now. It’s on the ground,” another source in the know said.

This follows Monday’s no-consensus emergency meeting of the lenders’ consortium, led by State Bank of India, to decide on infusion of Rs 1,000 crore immediately. Soon after, the suspension of the international operations was extended till at least April 18.

3. PM Modi to hold roadshow in Bhubaneswar today


 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roadshow in Bhubaneswar during his visit to Odisha on April 16. He is also scheduled to address two rallies in Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur on the same day...Read More

Jet, once India's biggest carrier, fights to keep flying

Company News

Jet Airways India Ltd.’s fleet has shrunk by almost 90 per cent as the cash-strapped airline struggles to find funds to operate, forcing the nation’s oldest surviving private airline to drastically curtail its scheduled flights amid a hunt for a new investor.

The carrier, once India’s biggest by market capitalisation, was forced to ground 10 more jets after it failed to pay lease rentals on time, Jet said in a stock exchange filing Thursday. That means the carrier is now operating fewer than 20 planes, compared with a fleet of 124 as recently as January.
Jet Airways, which broke into the monopoly of state-run Air India Ltd. in the early 1990s, had successfully managed to hold its own in a tough market before a slew of budget airlines started offering ultra-low fares about a decade back. The airline has since lost market share, piled up a debt load of more than $1 billion, and fallen behind payments to banks, staff and leasing companies.

The company suspended the traditionally lucrative, west-bound, long-haul international flights until Friday morning, a spokeswoman said late on Thursday. It had already stopped operations to several domestic and overseas destinations including Singapore. The spokeswoman didn’t respond to a call and a text message on Friday.


 Jet Airways’ creditors have extended a deadline for potential buyers to declare their interest in purchasing a controlling stake until Friday evening. Finding a buyer for Jet Airways is crucial to the legacy of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he faces an election that began April 11 after holding power for five years.India’s aviation minister Suresh Prabhu has asked the top bureaucrat in his ministry to review issues related to the airline and take necessary steps to minimize passenger inconvenience and ensure safety, according to a Twitter post.

Factbox: How Uber and Lyft compare on key financial metrics

Company News
Uber Technologies Inc's initial public offering filing on Thursday contains data that will be key to selling itself to investors. The share sale follows a public offering by rival ride-sharing service Lyft Inc last month, whose shares have dropped to about $61 from an IPO price of $72.
Here are how the two companies compare on key metrics from Uber's filing

REVENUE

Uber had $11.3 billion in 2018 vs Lyft $2.2 billion.Uber's growth has been slowing relative to Lyft due to scandals and aggressive discounting by Lyft.Lyft's revenue more than doubled between 2017 and 2018 while Uber's grew around 41 percent.

MARKET SHARE

Uber has lost market share but remains the leader.Uber has 65 percent share in North America while Lyft says it has 39 percent in the United States.

ADJUSTED EBITDA

Both Uber and Lyft lose money though Uber has trimmed its losses in recent years.Uber's adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation was just over $1.8 billion in 2018 compared to $2.6 billion in 2017.Lyft lost $950 million in 2018 on the same basis.

MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS


 Uber has 91 million monthly active users compared to Lyft's 18.6 million.Uber's number includes customers of additional services beyond ride sharing.(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Boeing says 737 Max 8 is 'not suitable' for challenging airports

Company News
Before last month’s crash of a flight that began in Ethiopia, Boeing Co. said in a legal document that large, upgraded 737s “cannot be used at what are referred to as ‘high/hot’ airports."

At an elevation of 7,657 feet -- or more than a mile high -- Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport falls into that category. High elevations require longer runways and faster speeds for takeoff. The Ethiopian airport’s altitude hasn’t been cited as a factor in the downing of Flight 302 and likely didn’t cause the crash. But it could have exacerbated the situation because an airplane’s performance degrades at higher altitudes, said a 737 pilot who flies into high-elevation airports such as Denver and agreed to speak on background since he’s not authorized to talk with the media.

Data released last week from the Ethiopian Airlines flight indicated the pilots didn’t cut the 737 Max 8 airplane’s speed after takeoff when they should have. The preliminary report on the disaster said the plane’s anti-stall system pushed the nose of the plane down less than two minutes into the flight because of a malfunctioning sensor. The pilots struggled to control the plane as it hurtled toward the ground at 575 miles per hour.

“The faster the airplane is going, the more force of air there is on its wings and control surfaces which requires more force on the pilots’ part to pull the control” column, said Robert Mark, a commercial pilot and senior editor with Flying Magazine.


 Boeing cited the performance of the 737 Max 8 in a case brought before the US International Trade Commission in 2017. Boeing charged that unfair competition from Bombardier -- which beat out Boeing for a large order from Delta Air Lines -- threatened its 737-700 and Max 7, the smallest of its upgraded single-aisle jets. By pointing out the limitations of the Max 8, the planemaker sought to preserve market share for the 700 and Max 7.