Page 4 - Jyotiraditya Scindia

Jyotiraditya Scindia looks to reclaim lost glory in former bastion Guna

Jyotiraditya lost to his former aide Krishna Pal Yadav of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by a sizeable margin of over 125,000 votes from Guna in 2019

Will 'last election' appeal work for former MP CM Digvijaya Singh?

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh to contest from Rajhgarh constituency of Madhya Pradesh after a gap of 33 years

Scindia, Digvijaya among candidates in fray for 3rd phase of LS polls in MP

A total of 144 candidates, including those of the ruling BJP and opposition Congress, have filed nominations for the elections to nine Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, where polling is scheduled in the third phase on May 7, a top poll official said. Earlier, polling for only eight seats was scheduled to take place in the third phase, but due to the death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate in Betul (ST), election to this seat in the second phase was postponed. So, a total of nine seats will go to polls in the third phase. Guna, Vidisha and Rajgarh are some of the high-profile seats where polling will be held in the third phase. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan are contesting elections from Guna and Vidisha, respectively, on the BJP tickets. The Congress has fielded former chief minister and its Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh from the Rajgarh seat. Madhya Pradesh's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anupam Rajan said the ...

Vistara working on flight plans beyond May 24, worst is over: CEO

'Challenging start to new financial year', says Vinod Kannan after airline had to cancel 150 flights between March 31 and April 4

Tata group's Vistara could cut flights amid pilot shortage: Report

The cancellations and delays forced India's civil aviation ministry to intervene and monitor the situation, while the aviation regulator has sought daily information on flight disruptions

Congress doubts EVMs only when it faces defeat in polls, says Scindia

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday took a swipe at Congress over the party veteran Digvijaya Singh's demand for holding elections through ballot papers, saying the Grand Old Party raises EVM issue only when it loses the electoral battle. Scindia wondered why Singh didn't raise the issue of Electronic Voting Machines when they were introduced by Congress in the past. Singh, the Congress nominee from Rajgarh Lok Sabha constituency, on Monday, said he was trying to get 400 people to file nominations so that polls will be held through ballot papers. Singh has been demanding the introduction of ballot papers for conducting elections, raising doubts over the credibility of EVMs. "He has a problem with everything. Why didn't he raise questions when Congress introduced EVMs? He has been raising questions on EVMs for the past 10-15 years. No question is asked by Congress (on EVM credibility) when it wins but a lot of doubts are raised when they lose," said Scindia while respondi

AAI planning capex of Rs 30,000 cr in next five years: Jyotiraditya Scindia

AAI Chairman Sanjeev Kumar said the AAI's capex in 2023-24 stood at Rs 5,250 crore. It was a bit higher than the capex of 2022-23, which stood at Rs 5,175 crore

Budget carrier IndiGo forecasts slowdown in capacity growth next year

The carrier aims to add more than one aircraft to its fleet every week next year. As of Feb 29, it operated 366 planes, and had a further 960 on order

Air India Express to operate non-stop flights to Kochi, Imphal from Kolkata

Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, is all set to begin non-stop flights to Imphal and Kochi from Kolkata this April, an airline official said. "The flights to Imphal will operate daily, while those to Kochi will fly six days a week," he said. The flight from Kolkata to Imphal will depart at 7 am and will reach in Manipur capital at 8.05 am. The return flight will depart at 8.35 am and arrive in Kolkata at 10.20 am, he said. The Kolkata-Kochi flight will take off at 11.25am and reach the destination at 2.35pm, while the return flight will leave at 3.05pm and land here at 6.10pm. The airline through route integration will be operating more flights on various domestic routes, sources said. Meanwhile, the airline has recently announced introduction of four fare products - Xpress Lite (cabin baggage only fares), Xpress Value (15 kg check-in bag fares), Xpress Flex (unlimited changes with no change fees), and Xpress Biz (business class seating with complimentary Gourmair meal

DGCA issues license for Ambikapur airport to begin flight operations

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued the aerodrome license for Ambikapur airport in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district to start flight operations, officials said on Saturday. Maa Mahamaya Airport, Ambikapur, has been developed in the 3-C VFR category to expand air services in the state, a public relations department official said. An application, seeking a license to start air services from the airport, was submitted to the DGCA in December 2022. The aviation regulator on Friday granted the license to the state government for Ambikapur Airport, he said. With this, the state now has three licensed airports -- Bilaspur, Jagdalpur and Ambikapur under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), he added. The license has paved the way for the operation of 72-seater flights from Ambikapur, he added. The state government has already been making efforts to start air service from Ambikapur Airport to Raipur, Bilaspur, Lucknow, Patna, and Ranchi. With the commencement of fl

DGCA sticks to June 1 deadline for revised flight duty norms for pilots

Aviation regulator DGCA has decided not to extend the June 1 deadline for implementing the revised flight duty norms for pilots and asked airlines to submit the revised schemes by April 15, according to a communication. The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), comprising Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo, had written at least twice to the regulator seeking more time for implementation of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms were issued on January 8. The new norms, to come into force from June 1, provide for rest time for pilots and seek to alleviate pilot fatigue. In a communication to the FIA, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that airlines have to take all necessary steps to roll out the revised FDTL CAR, with effect from June 1, 2024. Further, the carriers have been asked to ensure that the FDTL schemes in tune with the revised norms are submitted for approval by April 15. The revised norms provide for increased weekly rest time to 48 hours for

Domestic air traffic rises 4.8% to 12.64 mn in Feb, 155K faced delays

Domestic air traffic rose 4.8 per cent on an annual basis to 126.48 lakh in February, while more than 1.55 lakh passengers were affected by flight delays during the same period, according to official data released on Friday. In February, Air India's market share rose to 12.8 per cent from 12.2 per cent while that of IndiGo marginally dipped to 60.1 per cent from 60.2 per cent in January. The domestic air traffic climbed to 126.48 lakh in February compared to 120.69 lakh in the year-ago period, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. However, the traffic was less than 1.31 crore reported in January. "Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January - February 2024 were 257.78 lakh, as against 246.11 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 4.74 per cent and monthly growth of 4.80 per cent," DGCA said. As many as 1,55,387 passengers were affected due to flight delays in February and scheduled carriers shel

Goa-based airline FLY91 to start commercial services from March 18

Regional airline FLY91 will start commercial services from March 18, with flights connecting Goa to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Besides, it will have flights to Sindhudurg from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The Goa-based carrier plans to start flights to Lakshadweep from April, its chief Manoj Chacko said on Tuesday. The airline received its air operator permit from aviation regulator DGCA on March 6. At a briefing at the Mopa airport, FLY91 MD and CEO Manoj Chacko said the airline will have a total of six ATR 72-600 planes in six months. Currently, there are two aircraft in its fleet. "We aim to connect Bharat," Chacko said and added that initially, it will connect 13 city pairs. The carrier plans to start flights to Lakshadweep from April. In the next five years, FLY91 plans to have around 35 planes, connect 50 cities and 6 bases, Chacko said. The carrier, operated by Just Udo Aviation Pvt Ltd, seeks to enhance air connectivity across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Chacko said the airli

Several team members resigned as part of strategic restructuring: SpiceJet

SpiceJet on Tuesday said several members of its commercial team have resigned with immediate effect, as part of a strategic restructuring at the airline. On Monday, sources said the airline's Chief Operating Officer Arun Kashyap and Chief Commercial Officer Shilpa Bhatia have put in their papers. "As part of SpiceJet's strategic restructuring, several members of the commercial team including the Chief Commercial Officer have left the company with immediate effect," an airline spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday. With the recent fundraise, the spokesperson said it is speeding up the process of resolution of all past disputes, and continues to see significant growth in revenue and load factor.

MP to provide Rs 40k aid to labourers for purchasing e-scooters: CM Yadav

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Sunday announced that the state would provide financial assistance of Rs 40,000 to labourers buying electric scooters. The CM made the announcement while speaking before the inauguration of the airport terminal in Gwalior earlier in the day. We have raised the financial assistance amount to Rs 4 lakh from the current Rs 1 lakh in case of death of labourers or (them suffering) physical disabilities, he said. Workers will be provided with an assistance of Rs 40,000 to buy e-scooters, he said, also announcing a hike in the wages of labourers of various categories. The monthly wages of unskilled labourers are being increased to Rs 11,450, semi-skilled to Rs 12,446 and agricultural labourers to Rs 9,160, the CM said. Earlier, Yadav unveiled the statue of Vijayaraje Scindia, one of the founders of the ruling BJP, along with Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and other leaders.

PM Narendra Modi likely to inaugurate 15 airport projects on Sunday

The PM is likely to lay the foundation of new terminals in Hubli, Kadappa, Belgavi in Karnataka, Adampur in Punjab, and Pune in Maharashtra

Air India deboards female passenger at IGI after argument with crew members

A female business class passenger on an Air India flight to London was deboarded at the Delhi airport following an argument with cabin crew members this week. The incident happened on flight AI 161 on March 5 and the passenger involved was a senior corporate executive, according to sources in the know. In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said a passenger travelling in business class was off boarded on the advice of the captain following some argument with members of the crew before the scheduled pushback. "Following the off boarding, flight AI 161 departed after a delay of about an hour. The passenger who was off boarded was travelling for some compelling reasons and was accommodated on a subsequent flight following a written assurance," the spokesperson said. Further details about the incident could not be immediately ascertained. As many as 894 passengers were denied boarding by Air India in January and around Rs 98 lakh was spent by the airline on facilitation/ compensati

Scindia inaugurates Jindal Stainless' first green hydrogen project in India

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia on Monday inaugurated the country's first green hydrogen project of the stainless steel sector in Hisar, Haryana set up by Jindal Stainless Ltd. The green hydrogen facility, which has been set up by JSL in collaboration with Hygenco, aims to reduce carbon emissions by around 2,700 metric tonnes per annum and 54,000 tonnes of CO2 emission over 20 years. "JSL has been at the forefront of innovation...I commend JSL and Hygenco for the first hydrogen-based steel facility with both rooftop and floating," said Steel and Civil Aviation Minister Scindia while virtually inaugurating the project in presence of Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha, Jindal Stainless Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal, and other senior officials. The waterbody inside the facility has floating solar panels which will also help in reducing water evaporation, the minister said. In his address, Jindal said green hydrogen is an essential element of stainless steel manufacturing an

Scindia to inaugurate Jindal Stainless' 1st green hydrogen plant on Feb 27

Union Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia will on Tuesday inaugurate the stainless steel industry's first green hydrogen project set up by Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL). The Union Steel Minister will virtually inaugurate the company's green hydrogen project, according to officials. With the inauguration, JSL will become India's first stainless steel company to install such kind of plant on a commercial scale, the officials said. "This project is a state-of-the-art green hydrogen facility with a target to reduce carbon emissions considerably by around 2,700 metric tonne per annum and 54,000 tonne Co2 emissions over 20 years," one of the officials said without divulging more information. In August 2022, the country's largest stainless steel player had announced a partnership with Hygenco India Private Limited to set up a green hydrogen plant at Hisar, Haryana. "As a first, the green hydrogen plant will catalyze our transition from thermal to clean energy in the Indian manufacturing space.

Deliver baggage within 30 minutes of landing, BCAS tells airlines

The aviation security regulator gives February 26 deadline for compliance