India's economic engine is revving up, but navigating the global headwinds requires sharp strategy. The rupee's recent volatility against the dollar underscores the complexities facing Indian businesses, impacting everything from import-export trade to domestic inflation. This week alone, we've seen significant shifts in the IT sector, with major players announcing restructuring and a renewed focus on AI-driven solutions. Meanwhile, the burgeoning startup ecosystem continues to attract substantial funding, despite a cautious global investor sentiment. The government's recent policy announcements on infrastructure development and digitalization are poised to further shape the business landscape, creating both opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs and established corporations alike. Understanding these market dynamics is crucial for success in today's rapidly evolving Indian economy. Stay informed with Abtak.com for the latest insights and analysis on key sectors including finance, manufacturing, and technology – empowering your business decisions in a dynamic market. Explore the complete business news section now to stay ahead of the curve.
New Delhi, April 7: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has temporarily allowed airlines to extend flight duty time for pilots on long-haul flights as planes have to take longer routes on international flights due to the Iran war, a senior official of the Civil Aviation Ministry said on Tuesday. The easing of the pilot flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norm has been permitted as airlines were facing problems due to the longer flying hours that are now required for flights, as the Middle East countries have shut airspace, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Asangba Chuba Ao told journalists. DGCA introduced new flight duty norms last year to put a limit on the flying time for pilots in order to prevent fatigue, which poses a risk to flight safety. According to the new rules, pilots must be given 48 hours of continuous rest, which was an increase from the 36 hours fixed in the earlier norms. However, due to the Iran war, the flight time to western destinations has been extended on account of long detours that aircraft are forced to take to avoid the Middle East conflict zone. This poses problems for the airlines to function with the limit imposed on flight duty time for pilots. Air India Pulled Up by DGCA After Incorrect Aircraft Deployed on Vancouver Route. The DGCA had given certain relaxations in pilot flight duty time limitations (FDTL) norms earlier, till April 30. Providing the relaxations for the long-haul flights operated with two pilots, the DGCA has extended the Flight Time (FT) by 1.30 hours to 11.30 hours and the Flight Duty Period (FDP) by 1.45 hours to 11.45 hours. Flying time covers the total time taken from the moment an aircraft first moves for the purpose of taking off from the runway until the moment it finally comes to a halt at the end of the flight. Big Relief for Flyers: DGCA Orders Airlines to Provide 60% Seats Free of Cost, Adjacent Seating for Same PNR. DGCA had introduced more robust measures to ensure compliance by airlines with regulations, which include increased monitoring on a weekly and fortnightly basis for critical operations, along with bi-monthly visits to the operator by DGCA's principal point-of-contact inspector. The civil aviation regulator is also more closely monitoring operations of airlines, with particular emphasis on roster integrity, crew availability, buffer adequacy, system robustness and adherence to FDTL requirements.
Pune Airport is set to boost international travel with new daily flights to Dubai and bi-weekly flights to Bangkok, starting October 27. Pune is gearing up to enhance its international flight connectivity with the launch of new routes beginning October 27.The city will soon have a daily flight to Dubai and a bi-weekly service to Bangkok. This announcement was made on Thursday by Murlidhar Mohol, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation. Currently, Pune airport caters to two international destinations. A prominent route from Pune is the well-established Dubai flight, currently operated by Spi ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Axiom-4 crew members, including Shubhanshu Shukla, were welcomed with hugs and drinks as they stepped into the International Space Station on Thursday. The newly launched spacecraft -- the fifth in the Dragon series and named Grace -- successfully completed a soft docking with the International Space Station at 4.01pm while orbiting above the North Atlantic Ocean."At 6:31 am EDT (4:01 IST) on Thursday, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station for the fourth private astronaut mission to the orbiting laboratory, Axiom Mission 4," the National Aeronautics ...Read More >
Mumbai: Air India has issued a statement explaining the reason behind the delay in the take off of the Bangkok-bound Air India Flight AI 2354, on June 25. The flight was delayed for more than 5 hours after hay was discovered lodged beneath the left wing of the aircraft, the airline confirmed in a statement. Reportedly, Flight AI 2354, operated by an Airbus A320Neo, was scheduled to depart Mumbai at 7:45 AM but took off only around 1:00 PM. The airline's immediate action in the matter resulted in the quick removal of the hay, stated the airline. The aircraft was subsequently deemed fit for ope ...Read More >
New Delhi: As the investigation into the tragic crash of Air India Flight AI-171 continues, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol has confirmed that "possible sabotage" is one of the aspects under scrutiny. His statement follows the launch of a comprehensive investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which is currently analysing data from the aircraft's black boxes. The crash occurred on June 12, shortly after the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner took off from Ahmedabad, resulting in the deaths of 241 of the 242 people on board. The final death toll now stands a ...Read More >
New Delhi, May 22 (SocialNews.XYZ) The pilots of the IndiGo plane, which was damaged in rough weather en route to Srinagar, were denied permission by the Lahore ATC to venture briefly into Pakistan airspace to escape the hailstorm, in complete violation of humanitarian norms. India's civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, said the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of approximately 36,000 feet near Punjab's Pathankot when it ran into a thunderstorm and hailstorm. Experiencing severe turbulence, the crew first requested the Northern ATC of the Indian Air Force to allow the flight to deviate to ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, June 3 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile attendance at a global airlines conference this week underscores how much India is banking on a boom in aviation to support wider development goals, but headwinds to its ambitions are gathering force. Undeterred by the uncertainty gripping the aviation sector globally due to trade tensions and shaky consumer confidence, India's biggest airlines are ploughing ahead with orders for new planes, following record deals two year ...Read More >
Kolkata: After three days of severe disruption, flight schedules to Europe and the United States via the major hubs in the Middle East were restored on Thursday. This disruption occurred when the airspace over Qatar was shut down following Iran's missile launch on the Al Udeid Air Base in the country.All onward flights from the region, including Qatar Airways, Emirates, and Etihad, which carry a bulk of west-bound passengers from Kolkata, were suspended for three days. This left thousands of flyers stranded at airports there and relatives in Kolkata anxious.Airport officials said the Qatar Air ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 27 (ANI): A non-specific security alert was detected on one of Air India's aircraft on Friday. The aircraft was cleared for the next flight after standard security procedures, the Air India spokesperson said. A statement issued by the Air India spokesperson said, "A non-specific security alert was detected on one of our aircraft. Standard security procedures were duly carried out, and the aircraft has been cleared for the next flight. Air India accords top priority to the safety and security of its passengers and crew." Also Read | Shimla Shocker: Private School Princ ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is probing from all angles, including sabotage, in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 274 people on board and on the ground last month, Minister of State (MoS) For Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said. Mohol said the black box of the Air India flight AI 171 that has been recovered is in AAIB's custody and will not be outside the country for a thorough assessment. The MoS was speaking at the Pune chapter of the Emerging Business Conclave. "It (plane crash) was an unfortunate incident. The AAIB has begun a full investig ...Read More >
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, June 27: Nearly two weeks after it made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport, the UK F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet will be moved to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility at the airport as it awaits repairs, the British High Commission stated on Friday. "A UK F-35B aircraft is awaiting repairs at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport after developing an engineering issue. The UK has accepted an offer to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility at the airport. The aircraft will be moved to the hangar onc ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 28 (PTI) Airport security and adminstration authorities are mulling integration of facial recognition technology and CCTV for staffers apart from deploying other technology tools for faster security checks and reducing queues at these facilities. These measures along with synchronising automatic number plate recognition and FASTag for vehicles was discussed during a "functional workshop of airport sector" organised by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in Delhi on June 27. Also Read | Aurangabad Shocker: Woman Kills Husband With Help of Lover in Bihar; Wife Arrested, ...Read More >
Delhi's Artificial Rain Through Cloud Seeding: To combat air pollution, Delhi is set to witness the first trial of artificial rain, with cloud seeding operations between July 4 and 11. Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the flight plan has been submitted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Pune. He said the current weather conditions are not suitable for cloud seeding until July 3, but a tentative flight window has been proposed between July 4 and 11. He added that a proposal has also been sent to the Directorat ...Read More >
New Delhi: Union minister of state for civil aviation Murlidhar Mohol on Sunday said the investigating agencies were examining all angles in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, and this included the possibility of sabotage. He said that CCTV footage and passports of passengers were being scrutinised as part of this probe. He added the crash was a rare case and noted that both engines shutting down simultaneously was unprecedented. He said the AAIB had commenced an investigation into the crash on June 12 that claimed 260 lives in all. "Once the report comes, we will be able to ascertain if ...Read More >
Kolkata, Dec 6 (PTI) Air India Express, the budget-carrier arm of Air India, is embarking on a significant expansion by increasing its fleet size and introducing new routes, as passenger growth remains robust. The airline, however, has deferred plans to launch direct flights between Kolkata and Dhaka, citing the ongoing political crisis in Bangladesh. "You would recall we had announced our operational plan for Dhaka, which is a new and significant market for us. But because of the situation there, we have deferred those plans," Aloke Singh, Managing Director of Air India Express, said. "As ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 26: India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has begun the critical analysis of the black boxes recovered from the wreckage of Air India Flight AI-171, which crashed earlier this month. The Civil Aviation Ministry confirmed that all investigation steps are being carried out as per international norms laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As a signatory to the ICAO's 1944 Chicago Convention, India investigates aircraft accidents in line with ICAO's Annex 13 and under the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017. Th ...Read More >
NEW DELHI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government said on Thursday that the black box data of crashed Air India Flight AI-171 has been downloaded to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to its crash recently in the western Indian state of Gujarat. According to India's federal civil aviation ministry, the analysis of Cockpit Voice Recorders (CVR) and Flight Data Recorders (FDR) data was underway. The ministry said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau promptly initiated an investigation and constituted a multidisciplinary team on June 13 in accordance with international norms an ...Read More >
Mumbai: Recurring aircraft defects, unserviceable ground handling gear, and faded runway markings are among a range of safety lapses discovered by the civil aviation regulator after an intensive survey of key airports including Delhi and Mumbai. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered airport operators and airlines to address these safety concerns within a week. The inspections come on the heels of the June 12 crash of an Air India plane in Ahmedabad, killing 241 people on ...Read More >
New Delhi: Alleging "blatant misuse" of agencies to defame its leaders, AAP on Thursday questioned why the first information report filed against former Delhi ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain was being kept under wraps and "selective" press notes were being leaked to the media.Bharadwaj, who is Delhi AAP convener, alleged that only two former ministers were named in the case without any reasonable cause while all the officers of the health and public works departments, who were actually responsible for executing the hospital projects, were spared. "Is the FIR so baseless that BJP ...Read More >
MUMBAI -- Investigators have recovered flight recorder data from the Air India crash earlier this month, the civil aviation ministry has confirmed, marking a key step in the probe. At least 270 people were killed when the London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed less than a minute after taking off on 12 June from Ahmedabad airport in western India. Investigators had earlier recovered both sets of Enhanced Airborne Flight Recorders (EAFRs) - the "black boxes" - from the Boeing 787 crash site on 13 and 16 June - one from a rooftop, the other from the debris. It could be several weeks befo ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday attacked the Centre and Rajasthan governments over the reported plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve for the reactivation of over 50 mining operations, saying the move would be "ecologically devastating". The opposition party also said that with the Rajasthan and Union environment ministers both being from Alwar, this "double engine" cannot be supporting such a move. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that a plan to redraw the boundaries of Rajasthan's ...Read More >
New Delhi: Aviation watchdog DGCA will soon come out with streamlined regulations for wet-leasing of planes by Indian airlines that will also entail enhanced oversight of the aircraft, amid airlines looking to operate more planes to meet rising travel demand. With persisting supply chain woes, there is a delay in aircraft deliveries and to meet the near-term needs, carriers are opting for planes on dry and wet leases. A senior official in the know told PTI that the efforts are on to streamline the regulations for wet-leasing of planes to assist in the growth of the aviation. "Realities of the ...Read More >
Silchar: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday visited the flood-ravaged districts of Hailakandi and Sribhumi in the Barak Valley. He assured affected residents of providing timely disbursement of rehabilitation grants and swift repair of damaged infrastructure.This marks Sarma's second visit to the flood-hit region within four days, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Speaking to the media in Sribhumi after inspecting multiple relief camps, the CM said, "Flood-related problems may persist till July. I will return before Durga Puja to ensure that roads and infrastructure ar ...Read More >
Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand) [India], June 7 (ANI): A helicopter carrying five devotees en route to Kedarnath Dham made an emergency landing on a national highway near Bharasu in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district on Saturday, temporarily disrupting traffic in the region, officials said. According to officials, the chopper - an AW119 operated by Kestrel Aviation Private Limited - developed a sudden technical fault during takeoff, prompting the pilot to carry out a hard but controlled landing on the nearby road. Also Read | ICU Horror at ESIC Medical College in Rajasthan: 32-Year-Old Woman Alleg ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >
June 25 (Rtrs) - India would not allow a UN investigator to join a probe of a crashed Air India jet that some safety experts had criticized for delays in analysis of crucial black box data, two senior sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Earlier this week, the United Nations aviation agency took the unusual step of offering India one of its investigators to provide assistance following the Boeing (BA.N), opens new tab 787-8 Dreamliner crash killing 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12. ...Read More >
Mumbai, Jun 27 (PTI) Maharashtra on Friday recorded 13 new cases of COVID-19, which took the tally of infections to 2,462, and one death, the health department said. A 65-year-old woman suffering from comorbidities, including rheumatoid arthritis, died in Kolhapur, an official said. Also Read | Ahmedabad Plane Crash Probe: Parliamentary Committee To Grill Boeing and Air India Executives, DGCA Officials; Sources Say 'Multiple Shortcomings' Matter of Concern. Since January 1, the state has recorded 2,462 COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths, the department said. Also Read | Did 21-Year-Old Muslim Ma ...Read More >
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Following public backlash over a video showing Air India SATS executives partying in their Gurugram office shortly after the June 12 Air India flight 171 crash, Tata Group has taken disciplinary action against several people.Four senior officials were suspended from Air India SATS, while multiple others were issued a warning, the company said on Friday.The video, which garnered over 3.8 million views on X, captured several executives dancing with loud music playing during a cele ...Read More >
Gangtok: Sikkim's sole Lok Sabha MP, Indra Hang Subba, on Monday met Sanjay Kumar Jha, Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, and submitted a representation urging urgent intervention to restore flight services at Pakyong airport and improve road connectivity in the northern parts of the State. According to a statement from the MP's office, Subba briefed the committee chief on the challenges faced by residents and tourism stakeholders in North Sikkim, following successive natural disasters -- including the Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) on O ...Read More >
Pune: Civil aviation experts sought more action against rampant and illegal construction activities near Lohegaon airport, citing that flights' funnel zone was at risk of being compromised.Referring to the Pune Municipal Corporation's action this week against illegal under-construction buildings in the vicinity of the airport, the experts said too little was being done too late. An Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran, requesting anonymity, said rampant construction around airports couldn't have happened without collusion."This is a huge problem. No one is speaking about it. Collusion between law en ...Read More >
New Delhi, June 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) Air India SATS (AISATS) has sacked four senior officials after a video of an office party in Gurugram went viral, triggering widespread shock and outrage over the callous attitude of the staffers as the nation mourns the death of 270 people in the tragic Ahmedabad plane crash. The video, which featured AISATS Chief Operating Officer Abraham Zachariah and other officials dancing to blaring music, was widely condemned on social media. AISATS is a company that provides airport ground services. It is a joint venture, owned equally (50-50) by two companies -- A ...Read More >