Corporate buzz

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries, India’s largest listed company, has forayed into the aviation space as a “strategic investor” by acquiring over 26 per cent stake in Captain Gopinath-founded cargo airline Deccan 360. While the companies did not disclose the quantum of invest- ment, RIL said that a wholly-owned subsidiary would provide “growth capital” for the new cargo airline. RIL’s stake would be over 26 per cent, but below 50 per cent, Gopinath said.
Deccan 360 is the first logistics company in India to adopt and develop a hub and spoke model. It has appointed national service providers on a franchisee model and has already set up over 80 service centers and eight surface hubs to service the operations. It has currently deployed eight freighter aircrafts, covering 15 airports, with a fleet of over 300 trucks and 850 vehicles nationwide. It has a capacity of more than 300 tonnes per night by air, with over 60 warehousing hubs, delivering overnight services to 50 cities, all driven by over 60 franchisees nationwide. Deccan 360 has integrated a multi modal capability ensuring clock-work precision in its operations and offers a never before reach.
The core of Deccan 360’s hub and spoke model is the state-of-the-art hub being developed across a total area of 50 acres at MIHAN, Nagpur. This central hub in Nagpur will form an extensive state-of-the-art multimodal (surface and air) storage, transportation and delivery network bringing connectivity to every corner of the country. To ensure enhanced customer service, a central call centre has been set up in Bangalore.
Deccan 360’s pan India air and surface transportation network supports an extensive service portfolio catering to differentiated express transportation needs of various industry verticals —pharmaceuticals, machinery, manufacturing, retail, electronics, textiles and banking depending on the time and value criticality of the products they ship.
Gopinath is credited with pioneering low-cost passenger airline service in India and had previously founded Air Deccan, the country’s first budget air carrier that he later sold to Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines.
Meanwhile Mahindra and Mahindra has bought out Renault's 49% stake in Mahindra Renault Pvt Ltd. M&M will be responsible for the management of the Logan in the Indian market. The Renault name and logo will continue to be used on the Logan till the end of this calendar year.