Latest News from Author Sindhu Bhattacharya

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Sindhu Bhattacharya

Air traffic up in May: IndiGo retains top slot, Jet finds every fourth seat empty

Jun 19, 2013

New Delhi: Fare wars and holiday season have turned the tide for domestic airlines in May, the month which saw the highest number of domestic air traffic this calendar year. Domestic airlines together carried 57.1 lakh passengers last month which is in sharp contrast to just 48.92 lakh in February, the #Air traffic #airlines #Aviation #Business #IndiGo #Jet Airways #SpiceJet #WhyNow
100% FDI in telecom: Why is DoT pitching for it now?

Jun 18, 2013

How will removing the cap on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in telecom help the financially weak telcos? Or even the sector itself? One view is that this move will make spectrum auctions more attractive to foreign telcos and another is that it will remove the need for huge investments by an #100% FDI in Telecom #Anand Sharma #DoT #FDI #P. Chidambaram #telecom #WhyNow
Will govt policy flip-flop undo Jet-Etihad stake deal?

Jun 18, 2013

New Delhi: The government is tying itself up in knots over Foreign Direct Investment rules. And this is most evident in the equity deal between Jet Airways and Etihad Airways, the first instance of a foreign airline investing in India after the FDI rules were liberalised last September. So while the #FDI #FDI in Aviation #HowThisWorks #Jet Airways #Jet-Etihad Deal #Naresh Goyal
With Ramadorai on board, Ratan Tata’s AirAsia dream is flying

Jun 17, 2013

S Ramadorai has been appointed as the Chairman of AirAsia India and with Ratan Tata an advisor to the airline's board, it is clear that the new airline will be very close to Tata's heart as well as mind. Heart because he has been wanting to get into the aviation business #AirAsia #Aviation #CompanyWatch #FDI in Aviation #Ratan Tata #S Ramadorai. #Tony Fernandes
Centre to take stock of Telecom Policy 2012 on Monday

Jun 13, 2013

The Telecom Policy 2012 promised abolition of roaming charges within India and nationwide number portability. It is June 2013 and you are still paying roaming charges and no one is even speaking of portability across the country. Norms for Unified Licenses are delayed and the government still has to get #Business #India #number portability #PolicyWatch #Sim Cards #Telecom Policy 2012 #Wi-Fi
There may be no food on some AI flights, even if you’re willing to pay

Jun 9, 2013

London: Air India is planning to go one up on competitors looking to cut costs. As Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) look to cut corners (many have begun charging even for insignificant services like e-ticket printouts and increased cancellation charges significantly) Air India may pull the rug from under their feet by #air india #Air India Express #Aviation #CompanyWatch #IndiGo #low cost carriers #on board meals #Spice jet
Nothing wrong with BlackBerry pricing in India: MD Sunil Lalvani

Jun 6, 2013

BlackBerry is not going to address the low end smartphone market in India. Competitors such as Nokia may have found enough traction in the below Rs 5000 smartphone market through its Asha series but for Blackberry, the market they are targeting is above $100. According to a Wall Street Journal #BlackBerry #BlackBerry India #BlackBerry Q10 #MobileMonitor #Mobiles #Q&A #smartphones #Sunil Lalvani #Technology
Will govt again give in to telcos and cut spectrum price further?

Jun 5, 2013

New Delhi: Spectrum pricing is once again making various arms of the government run around in circles. Are these smoke signals before the price of 900 mhz and 1800 mhz spectrum bands is reduced once again to pander to demands of the powerful telecom operators' lobby? Not only has Telecom Minister Kapil #CAG #DoT #Kapil Sibal #Spectrum price #telecom #TRAI #WhatNext
8.97 cr number portability requests pending, but do telecoms care?

May 29, 2013

The level of dissatisfaction of consumers with their existing mobile operators has surely reached astronomical proportions and grows further. Why else would almost 1.05 crore customers request for number portability in Karnataka alone till February this year and another two lakh get added in March? So as of March 2013, #Bharti Airtel #Mobile number portability #mobile phones #Numbers #Reliance Communication #telecom #TRAI
Confused CAG can’t decide whom to blame for auction failure

May 29, 2013

New Delhi: So did telecom companies form a cartel or did faulty policies of the Department of Telecom lead to failed auctions in 2012 and 2013? The country's leading auditor, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) can't seem to make up its mind. On the one hand, CAG has said in #2G Spectrum #CAG #DoT #Telecom cartel #WhatNext

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New bloggers

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Editor's picks

Lok Sabha polls 2014: Back to basics for Congress and BJP

With the playing field level, from now on it will be a battle of strategies for the Congress and the BJP
Chidu's 'Ferrari' of reforms has an autorickshaw engine

A slew of economic reforms has been promised this month, but one should not expect anything more than fancy footwork from the FM.
From a fed-up, die-hard fan: An open letter to SRK

Forget all this surrogacy business. The reason we love Shah Rukh Khan is that he’s been one of Bollywood’s smarter actors. But of late, SRK’s been a bit disappointing, complains a fed-up, die-hard fan.
Dhoni has Ganguly's touch but with a difference

Rohit, Kohli, Raina, Jadeja, Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh – that’s the core of the Indian team today and perhaps it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are Dhoni’s boys.

Vajpayee, Advani, Modi: Every leader has given Hindutva a twist

From Vajpayee to Advani to Modi –the Sangh Parivar has come a long way, presenting before India every few years a Hindutva face rendered presentable through a shrewd makeover
Why Nitish 'really' dumped the Modi-led BJP

While prima facie it might seem to be a clash of two strong personalities i.e. Modi and Kumar, there is much more to the split than that.
3 Indias at war: Sensex India, Maoist India, and Bharat

The current tensions in India can directly be traced to three visions of India – one of which will involve breaking the country
Last man standing: Why it's easy to feel sorry for Misbah

Sympathy for a Pakistani cricketer, especially a batsman, is a novel emotion for those of us coming from the 90s.

Fear of the unknown grips the BJP in Bihar

Although the party is maintaining a brave face, the eventuality of a split has left many leaders on tenterhooks.
In Mamata's Bengal: Zero tolerance for rape or protesting against rape?

Bengal tops the list in violence against women. There have been several reports of gang rape in the past few weeks. The Mamata government has taken quick and stern action – against the women protesting the rapes in front of the CM’s residence.
Food security: For poor’s sake, jholawalas must speak up

The subsidy to the rich accounts for more than 7 percent of the GDP while that for the poor, with the food security act, would account for 1.1 percent.
Patients get HIV in Assam hospital after blood transfusion, panic spreads

Many patients who were administered blood from the same blood bank fear the worst.

Why a BJP-JD(U) split will be good for India

Neither UPA nor NDA is an alliance. And the BJP and JD(U) were mere power-sharers, not allies. To grow, alliances have to be built around principles not just power-sharing
Chidu takes comfort in Fitch upgrade, but where are real reforms?

At a press conference, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, however, did not reveal any concrete steps but promised more reforms by August. He said the rupee’s decline is in line with that of the currencies of other countries with high current account deficit like India.
Why cutting interest rates will have little impact on industrial production

The index of industrial production (IIP), a measure of the industrial activity in the country, grew by a meagre 2% in April 2013, in comparison to the same period during 2012. The index was expected to grow by around 2.4% (source: India: Weak growth and sticky retail inflation. Sonal Varma and Aman Mohunta, Nomura). In [...]
Why 'Sir' Ravindra Jadeja is a people's genius

If one was simply to go by numbers, young and jolly Jadeja is on course to be a great. That’s not overrating him — it’s the simple logic of statistics one cannot argue against.

The Aurangzeb factor: 5 lessons from Modi-Advani tussle

Political parties need to have a process for electing leaders. This problem relates more to cadre-based parties such as BJP and CPM.
Why 55-60 to the dollar may be the new normal for rupee

A drop in the US dollar index does not seem to help the rupee; this shows that the Indian currency seems to be marching to its own gloomy beat.
Critics split on Apple iOS 7: Hideous, unoriginal or a thing of pure beauty?

The new design has sparked debates over whether Apple stole the design from Android or Windows 8 or just created an unholy union of the two. We take a look at what the critics are saying:
Is Putin the Salman Khan of international politics?

Is Vladimir Putin the Salman Khan of world politics? Our new columnist, stand-up comedian Gursimran Khamba pontificates.

Advani wins: No free hand for Narendra Modi just yet

What was the senior leader’s specific problem? Well, one is the indecent hurry in which Modi’s is being shoved down the throats of other leaders in the party.
Obama's second innings? As a junior engineer in govt service in India

Is Barack Obama about to sit for an exam for a junior level engineer in India? A man in Rajasthan says he’s got an admit card with Obama’s picture on it from the Staff Selection Commission. Actually on second thought that might not be such a bad second career for the President.
How US industries are trying to use 'treaties' to arm twist India

US companies are blatantly violating international agreements or purely lying, when they accuse India of using TRIPS flexibilities. Americans have spoken the same language against other countries such as Brazil and Thailand, but failed.