Latest News from Author Sindhu Bhattacharya

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Friday, May 24th 09:17 PM IST

Sindhu Bhattacharya

Air India beats IndiGo on load factor in March, traffic falls

Apr 25, 2013

The month of March has been significant in domestic aviation business for two reasons. Not only has air travel demand picked up after 11 continuous months of decline last month, Air India has managed to surpass IndiGo in seat factor (which means number of occupied seats in an aircraft), also #air india #CompanyWatch #IndiGo #Jet Airways #SpiceJet
Jet strikes jackpot but what will happen to Air India?

Apr 25, 2013

New Delhi: Is Air India going to perish because Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has gone ahead and opened up the Indian market to Etihad, an airline with deep pockets and much muscle? Opinion is divided but it is obvious that the largest impact of Singh's largess to Etihad Airways will #Abu Dhabi #air india #Civil aviation #Etihad Airways #Jet Airways #WhatNext
Jet-Etihad deal: 4-fold jump in India-Abu Dhabi seats & other sweeteners

Apr 25, 2013

New Delhi: Ignoring unprecedented political opposition and fears of other domestic carriers such as Air India, India is believed to have agreed to enhance seat entitlements to and from Abu Dhabi multiple times. According to sources, the present weekly entitlement (which means how many seats designated carriers of each airline can #Abu Dhabi #air india #Etihad Airways #Jet Airways #NewsTracker
How an unrealistic DoT is stonewalling growth of 3G

Apr 23, 2013

New Delhi: Does the Department of Telecom (DoT) have any vision at all for propagating 3G services? Nothing is evident as of now. The DoT is already fighting a long battle against telcos which entered into roaming pacts for 3G to offer services in those circles where they themselves do not #3G #Bharti #DoT #Spectrum prices #ToWhatEffect #Vodafone
2G scam according to Raja: I’m the hero, not villain

Apr 23, 2013

Who is responsible for the 2G telecom scam with multiple zeros, billed as the largest in independent India? No one. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the then External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and Finance Minister P Chidamabaram - all these heavyweights have already allegedly been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Joint #2G scam #A Raja #JPC #Raja's Letter
Jet-Etihad deal: MPs join chorus against Abu Dhabi bilateral

Apr 20, 2013

By now much water has flown under the bridge over the move of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to grant more flying rights and seats to Abu Dhabi. Almost all the stakeholders - airport operators at Delhi and Mumbai, airlines like Air India and other private carriers and even some #Abu Dhabi #Etihad Airways #Indian aviation #Jet Airways #WhyNow
Disaster awaits Indian carriers if govt gives in to Etihad’s lobby via Jet

Apr 18, 2013

New Delhi: If Abu Dhabi is pushing for more flights into India, can Dubai be far behind? Now that the Ministry of Civil Aviation is preparing to revise (and indeed increase) seat entitlements with Abu Dhabi, in the backdrop of the emirate's flagship carrier Etihad's interest in picking up an #Abu Dhabi #Dubai #Emirates #Etihad #Indian Airlines #Indian aviation #Jet #WhyNow
Honda launches its first diesel model, Amaze at Rs 5.99 lakh

Apr 11, 2013

Honda has made the first move in plugging a huge gap in its portfolio in India with the launch of Amaze, its first diesel offering. The pricing is also quite competitive: Amaze begins at Rs 5.99 lakh for the base diesel, going up to Rs 6.24 lakh, Rs 6.67 lakh #diesel car #Honda Amaze #Maruti Dzire #ProductLaunch
Montek bats for telcos on spectrum price, will DoT follow?

Apr 8, 2013

New Delhi: Till last week, senior officials in the Department of Telecom (DoT) were saying that there is no reason for the Government to further lower price of spectrum and it was for the telcos to decide if they want to come forward and participate in any future auction. They #Kapil Sibal #Montek Singh Ahluwalia #telecom #TheySaidIt
Now, procedural grind: AirAsia set to apply for NoC

Apr 5, 2013

New Delhi: AirAsia's Indian dreams could take wing soon, with the airline preparing to apply for what is known as an "initial NoC" to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. "This NoC application would be submitted anytime now," a person close to developments on AirAsia's proposed new airline told Firstpost. He said #Air Asia #Aviation #CorporateStrategy #DGCA #NoC #Tata

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Does a disrupted Parliament mean electoral reforms are in the offing?

Sep 7, 2012
Was Arsenal’s win over Chelsea down to sheer luck?

Oct 31, 2011

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Editor's picks

The Big Mac of sports: Why we love IPL and its scandals

The average IPL fan isn’t outraged by the spot-fixing scandal. It merely confirms what we already suspected about the junk food of sports.
Nine years of UPA: What makes Sonia Gandhi the real hero

Not burdened by the baggage of caste or dogma, Sonia Gandhi has the opportunity and capacity to make a real difference to Indian society.
Sex charge against Phaneesh Murthy may be settled out of court

If the three can’t thrash out an out of court settlement, the sexual harassment case is likely to result in long litigation in the full glare of the media.
Why Preity Zinta stands for all that is wrong with the IPL

Preity Zinta embodies a lot of what is wrong with the IPL – irresponsibility and compromising the dignity of cricket as a sport.

Money, sleaze take the sheen off imperious Chennai Super Kings

Given the huge legal, moral and ethical stakes, Srinvasan and Meiyappan should have voluntarily clarified their position and should have offered to face an investigation.
How the Woolwich terror attack will harm Britain's Muslim community more

For Muslims in Britain, there comes one thing after another to get defensive about, and at quite short intervals. The Muslim community will be cornered into paying a price for the brutality of these two killers.
Explainer: Why Sensex has fallen over 300 points today

Chidambaram ‘s soothsaying may not work when the markets are driven largely by foreign institutional investors (FIIs)
PM carrying out responsibility with great dignity, says Sonia

Rejecting the talk about two power centres and differences between them, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said there is “collective leadership” between her and Manmohan Singh and “we all stand by” the Prime Minister who will complete his term.

Why India is concerned about supplying arms to Afghanistan

From across the Hindu Kush, a plea for Indian help. Hamid Karzai wants New Delhi to provide artillery and military transport aircraft. It won’t cost India much—but New Delhi is worried about upsetting Pakistan, and wary of making commitments before it becomes clear which way the political wind is blowing in Kabul.
Sreesanth and IPL spot fixing: Why history makes it so hard to believe the police

With the glut of information regarding the IPL spot fixing scandal and the three cricketers how much of it can we really trust?
Phaneesh Murthy admits to relationship with employee

This is the second time the IT industry veteran has been involved in a sex scandal.
Despite BJP edge over Cong, both NDA and UPA are conjectures

Opinion polls show the BJP and the NDA ahead of the Congress and UPA. But it is the regional parties that are likely to make the biggest gains. NDA and UPA are post-poll creatures

Not just niceties, China and India need to focus on thorny issues

India’s discourse with China has traditionally been trapped in the Mao-ist maze that defines how “friends” ought to conduct themselves. But Chinese statecraft has evolved, and India too must up its diplomatic game.
Why the Indian media gives a damn about poverty

In that sense the poverty line of India is cruel. It is merciless and doesn’t allow the majority of Indians any money for shelter or access to education or healthcare or sanitation or anything else that civilised nations would consider as essential as food.
Goa meet: Will the BJP finally find a way out of its troubles?

Can the party resolve internal discord and take a call on Modi’s PM candidature?
Why Dhoni, Tendulkar can't distance themselves from spot fixing

Try following a game on twitter or with friends or at the ground. At every step of the way, the spot-fixing question raises itself.

Movie Review: 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist' leaves you dissatisfied

If you forget the politics and just look at the film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist doesn’t fare much better. It’s a thriller that lacks tension and suspense.
Here's how the Delhi Police stumbled upon spot-fixing in IPL

After monitoring a phone call, the investigation had virtually turned pan-India with some of the bookies based in Gujarat and Mumbai.
Ex-Citi CEO Vikram Pandit, JM Financial join hands for banking foray in India

JM Financial will nominate Pandit as the non-executive chairman of the proposed bank. Pandit and Aiyar will have the right to purchase shares up to the amount prescribed by the RBI in this entity.
Movie Review: The Great Gatsby is the most Bollywood of Baz Luhrmann's films

The great American dream is an integral part of America. It’s ‘great’ in that it symbolises not truth, but hope when the truth is disillusioning; it symbolises not facts, but ideals when facts are unnerving; it symbolises not likelihood, but promise when likelihood is all but bleak.

Google I/O 2013 keynote: New Maps, Search, Plus, and S4 with 'pure' Android

We’re tracking the Google I/O conference 2013 live – what will be unveiled?
Hero worshipped in Kerala, Sreesanth still innocent in his state

The summary of the response in his Sreesanth’s home turf is that of incredulity. They are unwilling to believe that the pacer is guilty.
Why return of Dreamliners won't change Air India's fortunes

The original promise of the Dreamliner has failed to materiallise due to limitations in its flying range. Will Air India continue to pay a price for this?
Did Indira abolish bonded labour or Sonia? NREGA's tall claims

The UPA ads eulogising MGNREGA as a a huge success needs to be taken with bags of salt. The scheme did make a difference, but not as is claimed.