by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, Economy, News, Politics
Mumbai : In a bid to strengthen aviation infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday inaugurated the extension and strengthening of existing runways of Vijayawada and Rajahmundry airports and laid the foundation stone for linear expansion of the terminal building of Visakhapatnam airport through video conference.
With a motive to meet the growing traffic demands and to facilitate the operations of A-321 type of aircraft at Rajahmundry airport, extension and strengthening of existing runway and associated works at an estimated cost of Rs 182 crore was taken up, the ministry said in a statement. The existing runway has been extended from 1,750 metres to 3,165 metres.
“Similarly, extension and strengthening of existing runway of Vijayawada airport from 2,286 metres to 3,360 metres and associated works have been completed at the cost of Rs 145 crores. The airport will now be able to facilitate operations of wide-bodied aircraft,” it said.
According to a statement, the existing terminal area of 19,800 square metre will be expanded to 29,050 square metre at the cost of Rs 60 crore. After the expansion, the terminal building will be able to handle 1,050 passengers during peak hours.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Governance, Economy, News, Politics
By Arun Kumar Das,
New Delhi : Awaiting the return of normalcy — as well as tourists — in the Kashmir Valley, an indigenously-built vistadome (glass-top) railway coach, though ready to run, has been docked at Badgam station for months.
The 40-seater vistadome coach was announced in June last year by then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and was manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai at an estimated cost of abut Rs 4 crore.
The see-through air-conditioned coach with large glass windows, glass roof, observation lounge and rotatable seats, a first such service in the state, aims to facilitate passengers to experience the breathtakingly beautiful locations and sites en route the 135 km from Banihal to Baramulla.
Keeping tourists in mind the seats are attached with trays similar to those in airplanes for eating and passengers can order light meals to be made available during the journey.
The vistadome coach travelled all the way and was delivered at Badgam this April. It was expected to be made operational in May, allowing visitors to Kashmir to get a delightful view of the picturesque landscape of the Valley.
“The prevailing situation is not right now to press vistadome coach into service. It will be operational once the conditions improve,” a senior Railway Ministry official told IANS, not wishing to be identified.
The specially-designed vistadome coach also has double-wide reclining seats which can be rotated 360 degrees for a panoramic view of the surroundings. It also has glass-domed ceilings, automatic sliding doors, luggage racks, multiple LED screens for entertainment and a GPS-enabled information system.
A step towards boosting tourism, the vistadome coach was first introduced for Araku valley in Vishakapatnam-Kirandul passenger train in April last year, offering a panoramic view of the hills, valleys and an exhilarating experience to tourists as it passes through tunnels.
The second vistadome coach was attached to the Jan Shatabdi between Dadar and Madgaon, on Mumbai-Goa route, in September last year.
(Arun Kumar Das can be contacted at akdas2005@gmail.com)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | News, Politics
Calicut Airport
New Delhi : Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday granted permission to operate wide-bodied aircraft at Calicut airport that will see Saudi Arabian airlines operate direct flights to the Kingdom from the city in Kerala, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
The operation of international flights from Calicut would also likely lead to its becoming an embarkation point from Haj pilgrims, Prabhu told reporters here at a briefing. He was accompanied by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha and Tourism Minister Alphons Kannanthanam.
“The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) has today decided to start operations from Calicut, which will facilitate a large number of people from Kerala who are living abroad,” Prabhu said.
Sinha said that the Saudi Arabian national carrier plans to fly aircraft like A330 and Boeing 777 to Calicut and technical clearance had been given for these wide-bodied planes.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) had suspended wide-bodied aircraft operations at Calicut airport in May 2015 following a directive from the DGCA, citing safety concerns.
“Safety and passenger convenience are our primary concern and we have to ensure that these are not compromised,” Prabhu said.
“AAI has informed us that all mitigation measures (to enable wide-bodied flights) will be in place by August 20,” he said.
Ministry officials said the Saudi Airlines had not intimated a date for starting operations from Calicut.
Work is underway to construct a new international terminal at Calicut which will increase its current passenger handling capacity of 3.5 million people per annum to 5 million when completed, officials said.
“Calicut is likely to be an embarkation point for the Haj pilgrimage from next year,” Sinha said.
It was also announced that Kerala’s fourth international airport at Kannur will start commercial flight operations in October.
“It is rare that a new greenfleld airport like Kannur starts with operating international flights,” Prabhu said.
Kerala will also soon start twin-engine sea-plane operations following the DGCA’s issuing of the regulatory framework for such aircraft and the waterdrome certification, the Minister announced.
“Operators can now apply for the licence to ply sea-planes on specified routes. Other possible destinations for such services can be island areas like Lakshadweep and Andamans,” Sinha said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Business Summit, Corporate, Corporate Buzz, Economy, Emerging Businesses, Events, Investing, Large Enterprise, News
Suresh Prabhu
New Delhi : The Indian government on Monday invited Omani companies to invest in India and benefit from Make in India programme aimed to encourage manufacturing, an official statement said.
The invitation was made by Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu during the 8th India-Oman Joint Commission meeting in Muscat, where he highlighted several steps taken by the government to promote an investment-friendly environment in India, the Commerce Ministry statement said.
“India has launched several investment friendly programmes like Make in India with a trillion dollar business opportunity in the country,” he said, according to the statement.
“Participated in the India Oman Joint Commission Meeting today (Monday). Had very positive discussions on areas of mutual cooperation and growth like space, renewable energy, Startups, SMEs, Food security, tourism and services sector,” Prabhu tweeted.
“The Sultanate of Oman is a strategic partner of India in the Gulf. India’s major exports to Oman include petroleum (crude & products),basmati rice, iron and steel, ceramics, electronic components, etc. and it imports petroleum products, spacecraft & parts,bulk minerals, ores etc,” he said in another tweet.
Bilateral trade between India and Oman has increased to $6.7 billion in 2017-18 from $4.13 billion in 2014-15.
Indian financial institutions such as the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, HDFC and ICICI Securities, as well as public sector undertakings like Air India, Life Insurance Corporation, Telecommunications Consultants India, Engineers India and National Building Construction Company (NBCC) have their presence in Oman.
“India-Oman Joint Investment Fund, a joint venture between State Bank of India and State General Reserve Fund of Oman, a special purpose vehicle to invest in India, has been operational and the initial corpus of $100 million has been fully utilized,” the ministry said.
The joint investment fund has raised another $220 million in the second tranche which is being invested, it added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business Ideas, Economy, Entrepreneurship, News, Politics, Startup Basics, Your Business Plan
Suresh Prabhu
Kolkata : New India should have an economy driven by entrepreneurship and innovation, Union Commerce and Industries Minister Suresh Prabhu said here on Saturday, cautioning that the debate between public and private sectors should be judged solely by national interest and not by ideological considerations.
“In new India, we must make sure India should be the dominant economy of the world, India must be a model economy of the world, it must have a model industry… India must have an economy driven by entrepreneurship and innovation,” Prabhu said here.
Addressing students of National University of Juridical Sciences, the Union Minister said one needs to find out whether the public or the private sector or both together best serve India’s interests in a given field, time and situation.
“We should not just be swayed by ideology. We should not say public sector will solve all the problems nor should we say public sector will not exist. We must find out what is good for India. And that what is good for India will change from time to time,” Prabhu said speaking on the topic “Privatising Public sector: The Lessons Learnt and Way Ahead”.
Turning to 1956, when Parliament passed the Industrial Policy Resolution that stressed on state control of the economy, Prabhu said: “There is no point in now saying whether it was right or wrong. May be it was right. But just because it was right in 1956, one should not assume it will be right in 2018.
“We have to keep evaluating the situation, and take right decisions. Future of public sector is not as important as future of India. What is important is future of India,” he said.
He said in a changing world, one needs to be flexible with ideas about the development of the country.
“What is necessary for India will keep on changing because the world is changing. So if we just take one idea and say we won’t look at any other idea as our idea is the best, that will be akin to an ostrich mentality.”
Without naming any country, he said the nations which did not change with time were now struggling, “trying to come out of the shell, and make new friends, just to integrate into the new economy”.
—IANS
