Akasa Air Receives First B737 Max Jet

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-owned Akasa Air has received the delivery of its first aircraft, a Boeing 737 Max, in Seattle. It has ordered a total of 72 aircraft and aims to get 18 planes by March 2023, according to a statement . “Flying an advanced, environmentally progressive 737 MAX fleet with greater fuel efficiency and lower operating costs will enable Akasa Air to profitably serve the Indian market while passing those savings on to its passengers,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The airline founded by former Jet Airways chief Vinay Dube has already signed up 154 pilots,115 cabin attendants and 14 engineers. Of those, 26 pilots are already on the payroll.

The airline, co-founded by former IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh, is planning its first flight in July. It will shortly be called to operate a proving flight, which is a precursor to getting an air operator’s licence. Once it gets its licence, Akasa will be India’s seventh airline along with IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, SpiceJet, Go Airlines and Jet Airways, which recently got its flying licence back. AirAsia India is being taken over by Tata Group-owned Air India and will become its subsidiary.

Akasa, registered as SNV Aviation, had received the no-objection certificate on October 11.

India successfully test-fires Prithvi-II missile

India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile during night time as part of a user training trial from a test range off the Odisha coast.

An official statement says: “A successful training launch of a Short-Range Ballistic Missile, Prithvi-II was carried out today at approximately 1930 hrs from the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Odisha. ”

Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target, officials said. 

May 2022: Trade deficit at record $24bn

Merchandise exports in May rose by 21% to $38.9 billion, while the trade deficit ballooned to a record $24.3 billion, according to the government data released.

Imports during May 2022 grew by 62.8% to $63.2 billion. The trade deficit stood at $6.5 billion in the same month last year. Cumulative exports in April-May 2022-23 rose by about 25% to $78.7 billion. Imports in April-May 2022-23 increased 45.4% to $123. 4 billion. The trade deficit during the first two months of this fiscal widened to $44.7 billion against $21.8 billion in the year-ago period.

ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said mild sequential dip in non-oil exports amid a sharp jump in gold imports widened India’s merchandise trade deficit to a massive $24 billion in May 2022. 

5G: India’s biggest spectrum auction to kick off on July 26

As India eyes transition to high-speed 5G telephony, the country is set to witness the biggest-ever auction of spectrum with the government putting up 72,000MHz of mobile airwaves on sale — the largest such quantity being sold at one go — adding new frequencies and bands in line with international trends.

The government hopes that the auctions, which will begin on July 26 and have a value of around Rs 4.3 lakh crore just at the reserve price, will prepare India for the next generation of mobile telephony as the world transitions to the era of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, smart factories, remote surgeries, autonomous driving, immersive experiences, intelligent agriculture and education, as well as internet-of-things (IoT).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has time and again stressed on the need for ushering in 5G for an enhanced digital governance, and this has seen the government roll out a liberal bailout package for the beleaguered telecom industry in September last year. The government hopes that companies such as Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea will take a lead in making the transition to 5G telephony, which is likely to have a stronger case in the enterprise segment initially than in the consumer space.

Interestingly, the government has also paved the way for getting in Big Tech companies such as Google, TCS, Cisco and Ericsson into the 5G business, but being confined to captive networks for businesses with no interface into the consumer space. There are some caveats before this becomes a reality, though directionally this will come into force as soon as the rules and guidelines get defined.

“Enterprises setting up captive non-public network may obtain the spectrum directly from the department of telecom and establish their own isolated network. In this regard, DoT will undertake demand studies and thereafter seek Trai recommendations for direct assignment of spectrum to such enterprises,” the notice-inviting applications for spectrum auctions said.

Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the 5G auctions will be the “beginning of a new era for Indian telecom”.

Mumbai’s first travelator planned at Mahalaxmi

Mumbai will get its first travelator that will connect Mahalaxmi railway station on Western Railway with Sant Gadge Maharaja Chowk Monorail station, which is the terminal station of the fully-elevated corridor that runs on a 20km stretch up to Chembur.

At present, travelators are only installed inside the airports which are convenient for air-travellers who also carry luggage. Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas said, “We had thought of extending the monorail up to Mahalaxmi station and upcoming Metro 3 underground station. We are now going ahead with the plans to bridge this distance by travelator. ”

MMRDA will install this travelator at an elevated level. A senior official said, “In future, if we plan to extend the monorail, this travellator will be removed, and a guideway beam placed on which the train can operate. ”

The travelator will be approximately 500m long and will have two tracks of 3m width for bi-direction movement of passengers. A senior official said, “The cost of installing the travellator will be Rs 6 crore compared to Rs 150 crore-Rs 200 crore needed to extend the monorail. ”

Monorail had a ridership of 18,000 before the Covid pandemic though it has the potential to carry two lakh passengers a day, officials said.

Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd is constructing an underground Metro station which will have integration with Mahalaxmi station, leading to an increase in the Monorail footfall. The distance between Sant Ghadge Maharaj Chowk Monorail station and Mahalaxmi Metro station is 700m, and not many people will walk this distance to board the Monorail after coming out of the underground network.

Ahmedabad to get its second airport at Dholera by June 2024

Ahmedabad will get its second airport by June 2024 at Dholera. The PM Modi-headed cabinet committee on economic affairs approved the proposal to develop phase-I of a greenfield airport 80 km from Ahmedabad at an estimated cost of Rs 1,305 crore. Catering to nearby regions too, the airport will get multi modal connectivity through a six-lane expressway, rapid transport system, broad gauge railway line and a dedicated freight corridor under the PM Gati Shakti programme, Union I&B minister Anurag Singh Thakur said Tuesday.

“The project has got environmental and security clearance. The defence and home ministries have also given their nod to the airport that will come up in 1,501 hectares (about 3,709 acres). In the first phase that will be ready in 48 months, the airport will handle 3 lakh passengers and 20,000 tonnes cargo annually. There is adequate land for expansion under second and third phases as well as increasing runway length,” Thakur said.

About 40% of phase one cost will be met via equity and the balance through debt, Thakur said. The project will be implemented by Dholera International Airport Company Ltd, a JV of Airports Authority of India that will have 51% stake in it; government of Gujarat with 33% stake and National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust with the remaining 16% stake.

“The new greenfield airport at Dholera is situated at an aerial distance of 80 km from Ahmedabad Airport. The airport is planned for operationalisation from 2025-26 and initial passenger traffic is estimated to be 3 lakh passengers per annum, expected to grow to 23 lakh over a period of 20 years. The annual cargo traffic is also estimated from the year 2025-26 at 20,000 tonne, which would increase to 2,73,000 tonne over a period of 20 years,” the government statement added.

Dholera Airport is to get Passenger and Cargo traffic from Dholera Special Investment Region and is expected to become a major cargo hub to serve this industrial belt.

CCI Approves AI’s Acquisition of 100% Stake in AirAsia India

The Competition Commission of India approved acquisition of entire shareholding in AirAsia India by Air India. Air India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons while it holds 83.67% stake in Air Asia India.

The remaining 16.33% shareholding in AirAsia India is currently held by AirAsia Investment, part of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group.

Both Air India and Air Asia India are engaged in business of providing domestic and international air passenger services along with domestic cargo services and charter flight services in India.