TMS Ep295: Air India, Mahesh Babu, Defence-related stocks, Phishing attack

People take flights to cut short the travel time. And that is why on-time performance is one of the main pillars of the airline industry. The country’s largest airline, IndiGo, was the most punctual airline in 10 out of the 12 months last year. But this year, it has been besieged by a set of problems, which affected its on-time performance. While Air India, under the new owner and CEO, is trying hard to make a mark. It has left Indigo behind in punctuality. So how did Air India manage this turnaround? 

Airlines world over are also working to cut the emission. A UN body recently agreed on an aspirational goal for the aviation sector under which emissions will be brought down to net zero by 2050. Meanwhile, efforts are on to cut on-road emissions too. Switch Mobility, the electric vehicle making subsidiary of Ashok Leyland, has been rolling out electric buses for the world market. It also kicked off in India in October last year. Business Standard’s Shine Jacob caught up with its CEO Mahesh Babu to know more about the company’s future plans. 

Not just electric buses, India is also moving towards indigenisation of the defence sector. In a volatile market, defence stocks have witnessed a dream run as most of the counters delivered triple-digit returns in the current fiscal year (FY23). As the government’s indigenisation theme gains steam, will the sector have more legs to rally in the near-term or consolidation is likely?

A recent BBC report claimed that the UK gave a secret package of 6-million-pound to Ukraine to help it fight cyber-attacks, allegedly emanating from Russia. As the war escalates, there is a turf to defend in the virtual world too. The number of cyber-attacks have jumped manifold across the globe. And not just the governments and organisations, people too have been falling prey. And phishing is one of the most common forms of cyber threat. Let's take a peek into the dark world of phishing, and the ways to prevent it in this episode of the podcast.