Top headlines: 5-6 PSUs to get privatised in FY22; Akasa inks engine deal

Business Standard brings you the top headlines on Wednesday

Govt to invite financial bids for privatisation of 5-6 PSUs by Dec-Jan

The government will invite financial bids for privatisation of five to six public sector undertakings (PSUs) in December-January, and close these transactions in the current financial year, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.

After 19 years, privatisation of five to six PSUs will take place this year itself, Pandey said at the Global Economic Policy Summit. Read more

Akasa Air signs $4.5-bn deal with engine maker CFM International

Indian low-cost airline Akasa Air said on Wednesday it signed an agreement with CFM International for its LEAP-1B engines in a deal valued at nearly $4.5 billion at list price to power the 737 MAX airplanes it recently bought.

Billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air had placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX jets on Tuesday, valued at nearly $9 billion at list prices. Read more

IndiGo weighs charging fliers for check-in baggage as market heats up

IndiGo, one of Asia’s biggest budget carriers, is mulling charging passengers for checked-in luggage as the airline prepares for a potentially fierce price war in India’s cutthroat air travel market, which is showing signs of recovery following the worst of Covid.

IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., didn’t implement the so-called unbundling of fares in February -- just before a deadly wave of the pandemic hit the South Asian nation -- even as India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation ruled that carriers can start offering zero baggage and no check-in baggage fares. Read more

'Bureaucracy has developed inertia': SC on Delhi pollution

The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed the Centre and state governments for their inability to present a crystal-clear way forward to combat the menace of air pollution in the national capital.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Surya Kant, after hearing submissions of counsel of the Delhi government and Central government, said it needs clear answers on steps to curb air pollution in the capital, which has become a yearly phenomenon for the past several years. Read more