Jet Airways, SpiceJet also may bid for debt-ridden Air India

News Network
November 30, 2017

Jet Airways and SpiceJet, the two leading private airlines of India, are likely to join the race to bid for debt-ridden Air India, along with Tata Group and IndiGo.

A top government source: "The economics of the game will change completely for whichever airline gets Air India. With its 14% domestic and 17-18% international market share, getting AI will be a paradigm shift for the successful bidder. Other airlines like Jet and possibly even SpiceJet will have no option but to bid for AI".

However, a SpiceJet official said that the airline is "too small" to bid for AI. Decision will be taken on the bidding once the terms are known, the official added. A top Jet honcho acknowledged to the newspaper that the thinking is on.

Jet Airways on Wednesday announced a major partnership with Air France, KLM and Delta and could get their backing to take over Air India. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is also a 24 percent stakeholder in Jet.

IndiGo and Tata Group's interest

In July, IndiGo had openly expressed interest in buying the ailing national carrier's international routes and the Air India Express arm.

In a conference call, IndiGo's management had said that they do not have a desire to take all of Air India's debt and that acquiring all of Air India's subsidiaries is an "impossible task".

Earlier in June, Tata Group chairman N Chandrasekaran had informal talks with the government. Media reports also suggested that the Tatas could get Singapore Airlines on board for a minority stake. Tata Group currently operates two airlines in the country, AirAsia India (a joint venture with Malaysia's Air Asia) and Vistara (joint venture with Singapore Airlines).

The divestment process

The Union Cabinet on June 28 had given an in-principle approval for disinvestment of debt-laden state-run carrier Air India.

Stretched thin by competition from leaner and budget airlines, Air India is reeling under a debt of over Rs 52,000 crore, with about Rs 28,000 crore in working capital debt and about Rs 4,000 crore in interest burden alone. The national carrier has not turned profit in 10 years.

On August 8, the parliamentary panel set up to the divestment process heard views of various stakeholders on the disinvestment of national carrier Air India and Pawan Hans Ltd. The government is yet to announce the final terms for sale of AI.

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News Network
May 27,2020

Kalaburgi, May 27: Karnataka's Kalaburgi district recorded a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, as per information provided by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

In light of the increasing mercury levels, people here were seen consuming sugarcane juice and cold drinks to beat the heat. Animals and birds could also be seen searching for water for relief from the scorching sun.

Locals of the area requested the district administration to take necessary actions such as spraying water on roads, in order to bring down the temperatures.

"We are facing huge heat waves in this district from the past two days, and even the temperature is around 44 to 45 degrees on a daily basis. So, it is a very alarming situation in Kalaburgi. When we move around the city, we are unable to find water and fresh fruit juice, and even if fresh juice is available, we are afraid of getting infected by COVID-19," said one local.

"If we carry cold water, it gets warm within half an hour, and gets unfit for drinking, and it is tough for us. I request the district administration to look into this matter and do the needful such as spraying water on the roads, etc. for slightest relief," he added.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 24,2020

Bengaluru, May 24: With 130 new cases, Karnataka's COVID-19 tally crossed the 2,000-mark on Sunday. Most new cases reported have interstate travel history with 97 coming from Maharashtra. The number of active cases in the state is 1,391 and the deaths reported so far is 42, including 2 for non-COVID reasons.

"Ninety seven of the 130 new patients are returnees from Maharashtra, the worst affected state in the country with 47,190 cases till Saturday," said a state health official. 

"The total number of COVID-19 cases across the state is 2,089, with 130 more testing positive in the past 18 hours," said the official.

Forty six patients were discharged from hospitals on Sunday taking the number of cured persons to 634. Of the 46 discharged, 18 are in Davanagere, 20 in Uttara Kannada, 4 in Chitradurga, 3 in Bagalakote and one in Haveri.

Of the 30 Karnataka districts, Chikkaballapura recorded the highest cases on Sunday at 27, followed by Yadgir (24), Udupi (23), Mandya (15) and Hassan (14).

Chikkaballapura is the home district of Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar, a doctor by profession, who is spearheading the fight against the pandemic.

On Saturday, the state's tally shot up to 1,959 due to 196 new cases, the highest single-day rise, with 195 of them crossing over from Maharashtra through the inter-state border, which was opened up as part of partial relaxation of the lockdown.  

The Karnataka government has imposed institutional quarantine on persons traveling in from outside the state, particularly by flight from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh.

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News Network
June 11,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 11: A love triangle took a violent turn when a final-year engineering student was assaulted by both her current and former lovers. She's now battling for her life in the ICU, police said. 

For the 22-year-old woman, who lives in Sidedahalli, it was a case of fast-changing relationships. She broke up with a fellow student Babith, 21, a few months ago after having dated him for four years. Four months ago, she started seeing another collegemate named Rahul, 22, and everything seemed fine. 

On June 7, she went to Rahul's house, ostensibly for his birthday party, after informing her parents. Babith got wind of it and barged into Rahul's house. The trio got into an argument, and Rahul abused and assaulted her. 

The woman decided to leave him, and went with Babith to his house in Chikkabanavara, North Bengaluru. But things didn't end there. Babith picked an argument with her. Things became so bad that he attacked her with a helmet. 

He then panicked and called her parents, asking them to take her home. When her parents arrived, they found only Babith, his mother and sister in the house. Babith's family directed them to a bedroom where she was lying motionless, with her face being badly wounded. 

When her parents demanded to know what had happened, nobody responded. They took her to a hospital where her condition remains serious. A while later, Babith came to the hospital and gave her parents the key of her scooter. He told them what had happened and allegedly warned them against filing a police complaint. 

Her mother, however, filed a complaint with the jurisdictional Soladevanahalli police. According to her, Babith had fought with her daughter at their house for not taking his phone calls six months ago. 

Shashikumar N, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), said both the men had been arrested and that further investigations are underway. 

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