Top headlines: Philanthropy by India's rich falls, airlines step up hiring

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Philanthropy by India's super rich falls by a third in FY22, says report

Philanthropic contributions made by India’s ultra high networth individuals (net wealth of over Rs 1,000 crore), also known as UHNIs, have fallen sharply to Rs 4,230 crore in FY22, from Rs 11,821 crore the previous financial year, according to the India Philanthropy Report 2023 by Dasra and Bain & Co, which was released on Wednesday.

The report says that the dramatic fall, almost by a third, was due to the fact that contributions by the Azim Premji Foundation dropped by Rs 9,000 crore due to a share buyback of Wipro, which helped the foundation to access liquidity directly. Read more

DoT to call OTT players, telcos to discuss usage charges, revenue sharing

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will invite telecom companies and communication apps for a joint discussion on the proposal of imposing interconnect usage charge or revenue sharing, officials said. Industry representations on the matter have so far been separate and sporadic, with each side arguing against the other.

Consensus on the issue may lead to a formal mechanism by which the extent of such charges can be decided, officials added. Read more

Airlines step up hiring to drive growth as demand recovers, costs ease

Domestic airlines are stepping up hiring as they continue to expand networks within India and overseas.

IndiGo, India’s largest domestic airline plans to hire 5,000-6,000 employees in FY 2024 while six-month Akasa Air will add about 1,000 staff on its rolls in the coming fiscal. Last week Air India said it will recruit 5,100 staff including 900 pilots and 4,200 trainee crew.

The ramp up in recruitment comes in the backdrop of a strong recovery in passenger demand, easing cost pressure and favourable growth outlook. Read more

Why streaming video players need to make some housekeeping changes

More than nine in 10 consumers in India (95 per cent) want an all-in-one platform that simplifies their entertainment experience across streaming, fantasy sports, social media, e-commerce et al. The country is not an outlier either. In 10 of the largest consumer markets across the world, 72 per cent consumers have difficulty finding something to watch online. More than 55 per cent are overwhelmed by the choice there is and about 26 per cent spend more than 10 minutes looking for things to watch. More than three-fourths of consumers use cross-service search engines. About 35 per cent unsubscribed from at least one of the big five streaming video services in the last 12 months. And 26 per cent plan to cut one or more in the next 12 months. Read more

In the fast lane: At 335,269 units, car sales create a February record

The domestic passenger vehicle (PV) industry remained on a steady growth path in February, recording a 10.6 per cent year-on-year (YoY) rise in sales. The wholesale figure of 335,269 units was the best ever for the month of February; it was 303,213 units a year ago.

At the retail level, too, the industry posted 9.6 per cent YoY growth, indicating that strong consumer demand continued in February. Read more