Highlights of the day: IndiGo eyes lesser-known international destinations for next growth phase

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IndiGo to focus its next phase of international expansion on lesser-known destinations while increasing its presence in popular markets such as Singapore and Dubai, its CEO told Reuters on Monday. The budget carrier made a successful push into central Asia last year with flights to less-frequented cities like Baku, Almaty, Tashkent and Tbilisi, opening travel destinations void of major competition. As more Indians take to international skies and as IndiGo prepares to take delivery of its longer-range planes next year - the Airbus A321XLR - the airline hopes to build on its strategy, CEO Pieter Elbers said during an interview in Dubai. 

Four coaches of the Shan-E-Punjab Express train caught fire in Delhi's Sarita Vihar today, according to a report by news agency PTI.

Following a security alert onboard, A Delhi-Mumbai Akasa Air flight was diverted to Ahmedabad on Monday morning. The plane safely landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at around 10.13 am.

At least 13 people, including four children, were killed and 15 others injured when their tractor-trolley overturned at 8 pm on Sunday night in Piplodi in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district, an official said.  The victims were part of a a marriage party who were travelling from Motipura village in Rajasthan to Kulampur in Rajgarh.Thirteen of the injured have been admitted in the district hospital while two have been rushed to Bhopal for advanced care due to wounds to the head and chest, Rajgarh Collector Harsh Dikshit said. The death count is unlikely to go up since the two severely injured persons are out of danger, he added. Senior officials, including the collector and the superintendent of police, rushed to the accident site which is situated about 30 km from Rajgarh district headquarters. The tractor-trolley lost control and overturned near Piplodi village. The wedding party included 40 to 50 people.

The intense heatwave conditions in northwestern, central and eastern parts of  India are likely to recede over the next three days with rainfall predicted in these regions, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The maximum temperatures on Sunday dropped by 3-4 degrees Celsius in some parts of eastern Madhya Pradesh, by 2-3 degrees Celsius in some parts of  Odisha, Vidarbha and Punjab.

The rate of Amul milk across all variants has been raised by Rs 2 per litre. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), the parent organisation of Amul,  has said that the prices of Amul milk have been hiked because the increase in the overall cost of operations and production. The price hike will be effective from today.

9:49 PM

Key LeT commander among 2 terrorists killed in Pulwama encounter

In a major breakthrough, two terrorists of banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), including a self-styled 'commander' who had been operating for the longest period, were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

 

The anti-terror operation started at 11.45 PM on Sunday when Jammu and Kashmir Police along with the army and paramilitary forces laid a cordon around a house in the Nihama area of Pulwama district following intelligence input about the presence of terrorists, they said.

8:42 PM

Major ports cargo traffic rises over 3% to 72.04 million tones in May

Cargo traffic across 12 major ports in the country increased by 3.75 per cent year-on-year in May to 72.04 million tones (MT) from 69.43 MT handled in the corresponding month of 2023 with nine such ports showing positive growth.

Visakhapatnam Port registered the maximum cargo growth in cargo handling at 22.05 per cent during the reporting month followed by Chennai Port with 9.10 per cent, Cochin Port with 7.78 per cent and Mumbai Port with 5.89 per cent, according to data released by the major ports' apex body, Indian Ports Association (IPA).

8:12 PM

Gold firms on Fed rate cut hopes; investors await more US data

Gold prices edged higher on Monday as signs of cooling US inflation lifted hopes for interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year, while traders awaited a slew of US economic data due this week.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $2,331.84 per ounce as of 09:49 a.m. ET (1349 GMT), after posting a 2% gain last month. Prices hit an all-time high of $2,449.89 on May 20.

7:54 PM

India coal production rises 10% to 83.91 MT in May

The country's coal production rose by 10.15 per cent to 83.91 million tonnes (MT) in May compared to 76.18 MT in the year-ago period.

Coal production by state-owned CIL rose by 7.46 per cent to 64.40 MT in May compared to 59.93 MT in the year-ago period, according to the Coal Ministry's provisional data.

Coal India Ltd (CIL) accounts for over 80 per cent of domestic coal output.

7:36 PM

DGTR for continuation of anti-dumping duty on Chinese, Korean thermoplastic material

The commerce ministry's investigation arm DGTR has recommended for continuation of anti-dumping duty on a kind of thermoplastic material coming from China and Korea for five more years with a view to guarding domestic players against cheap imports.

In a notification, the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has said that there is a likelihood of continuation/recurrence of dumping and injury to the domestic players if the existing duty on 'Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride (CPVC) - whether or not further processed into compound' are allowed to cease.

7:17 PM

NCLT begins insolvency proceedings for Jaiprakash Associates on ICICI plea

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday directed to initiate insolvency proceedings against debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, admitting the plea filed by private lender ICICI Bank.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), which is the flagship firm of Jaypee Group, is mainly into construction, cement and hospitality businesses. JAL has sold many cement plants in the last few years to reduce its debt.

6:53 PM

Delhi Police issues traffic advisory ahead of counting of votes

The Delhi Police has issued an advisory regarding the traffic arrangements which are being made in the national capital on Tuesday in view of counting of votes of general elections, officials said. The 2024 general elections were held in seven phases between April 19 to June 1. Counting of votes will be taken up on June 4.

6:42 PM

Delhi excise policy case: SC to hear Sisodia's bail appeal on June 4

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's verdict dismissing his bail pleas in cases lodged by the ED and CBI in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam.

 

As per the cause list uploaded on the apex court website, a vacation bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Sandeep Mehta is scheduled to hear Sisodia's pleas on Tuesday.

5:25 PM

Badrinath pollution: NGT seeks new report from UKPCB

The National Green Tribunal has sought a fresh report from the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board (UKPCB) regarding solid and liquid waste management in the pilgrim city of Badrinath, including the complete sewage network and its carrying capacity.

 

The NGT was hearing a matter regarding the improper functioning of the sewage treatment plant (STP) in Badrinath and the discharge of untreated sewage in the Alaknanda river.

4:59 PM

Villager killed after IED allegedly planted by CPI (Maoist) explodes in Telangana

A 55-year-old man died after an IED (improvised explosive device), allegedly planted by a member of the banned CPI (Maoist), exploded in a forest area of Mulugu district of Telangana on Monday, police said.The man was killed instantaneously when he stepped on the IED near Kongal village of Wazeedu mandal of the district, they said.

4:59 PM

Emergent meeting of UYRB be held on June 5 to address water scarcity in Delhi: Supreme Court

As Delhi grapples with water crisis amid the unrelenting summer heat, the Supreme Court today ordered an emergent meeting of the Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB) on June 5 to address the issue. The UYRB was set up in 1995 with one of its main functions being to regulate the allocation of available flows amongst the beneficiary states 

4:51 PM

NHAI's revised toll rates come to effect across highways

The revised toll charges for motorists on national highways across the country have come to effect from Monday, an official said. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has hiked the toll charges by an average of 5 per cent. The hike is part of NHAI's annual exercise where the state-owned body calculates new rates factoring in several parameters, a senior NHAI official said.

4:25 PM

Supreme Court to hear AAP leader Manish Sisodia's bail plea In Delhi liquor policy case on Tuesday

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's bail petition in the alleged excise policy scam will come up for hearing in the Supreme Court tomorrow - on the day the results for the Lok Sabha polls 2024 will be announced.

 

3:42 PM

Supreme Court stays till further orders premature release of gangster Arun Gawli in murder case

The Supreme Court today stayed till further orders the premature release of gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli, who is serving life imprisonment in a murder case. A vacation bench stayed the operation of the April 5 order of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court which ordered the state authorities to consider Gawli's application for premature release under the 2006 remission policy.

 

3:21 PM

Delhi High Court seeks ED’s response on Arun Pillai’s bail plea

The Delhi High Court today sought the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) response on Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramachandran Pillai’s petition seeking interim bail for eight weeks on medical grounds in connection with the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.