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Ashish Sinha is an experienced business journalist who has covered FMCG, auto, infrastructure, tourism, telecom among several other beats. Ashish has keen interest in the regulatory scenario impacting different sectors. He writes on aviation, railways, post and telegraph, infrastructure, defence, media & entertainment, among a wide variety of other subjects.
Veterans believe that the stalemate with the central government over One Rank One Pension can get over if the government honours its commitment. Is OROP announcement on the anvil or will it get delayed again? Ashish Sinha reports. Since Wednesday (September 2), indications coming from ex-servicemen and those mediating on their behalf was clear. Modalities of One Rank One Pension (OROP) are getting sorted. Which means, the government will soon make an announcement to this effect which will not only provide OROP from April 1, 2014 to over 23 lakh veterans and over 6 lakh widows, but will also have the details on the financial outgo to the government. A contentious demand from ex-servicemen of revising OROP annually has not been accepted by the finance ministry which is insisting of OROP review every five years. But veterans have indicated a middle ground – review OROP every second year. As per definition OROP means uniform pension based on rank and length of service irrespective of the date of retirement. Thursday (September 3) is the 81st day of protest by ex-servicemen in the national capital. Thirteen retired soldiers are on indefinite hunger strike. Relay hunger strikes are taking place in some 60 towns and cities. But the much awaited announcement continues to allude the veterans. Insiders say there are differences in the approach made by ex-officers and those retirees who are below officer’s rank. Also, demand for an annual correction (by some percentage) on the revised pension is doing the rounds as the government is in no mood for an overall revision every year or even every second year. “There may be a cascading effect on pension given to non-defence people. Who can stop some retiree to legally challenge it demanding similar benefits at a later stage,” said a retired bureaucrat who does not wish to be named. The window for announcing OROP is narrowing down with each passing day with the proposed announcement of election dates in Bihar expected by the Election Commission anytime next week. Once the election schedule is announced, the central government cannot make announcements that entails benefits to any section of the voters. “If OROP is delayed now, it will get delayed till November end,” says a veteran. Decoding OROPSet aside the emotions, OROP has been a simmering issue pending administrative action since 1974. Because up till 1973 OROP formed the basis for determining pension and benefits for the defence forces. It was discontinued post the 3rd Pay Commission report in 1973 because of an 'ex-parte' decision states a Rajya Sabha report tabled in December 2011 which recommended OROP. Today, our ex-servicemen are on streets demanding OROP for over 23 lakh retirees and over six lakh widows. The concept of OROP simply means bridging the gap between the rate of pension of the current pensioners and the past pensioners, and also future enhancements in the rate of pension to be automatically passed on to the past pensioners. Contentious IssuesThere are three contentious issues – financial, administrative and legal – due to which the government could not implement it in the past. Perhaps these reasons hold true even today. We will come to the financial implications later. First the administrative constraints. Deposing before the Rajya Sabha panel, officials said passing the benefits to all living ex-servicemen as there is no cut-off date. As per the retention schedule of records of defence pensioners which is kept for 25 years, the manual records of those retiring in 1980s may be difficult to locate. The legal view presented said if pension and emoluments were passed on to somebody who retired 30 years ago, there would be inherent discrimination against the terms and conditions of service or the qualification of service that one was entitled to fulfil (it would go against certain past Supreme Court judgement). The law ministry therefore had opined against OROP, it was submitted. Now the financial implications, as was argued before the Parliamentary panel. Records with the Office of Controller General of Defence Accounts showed if OROP was given in 2011-12 to ex-servicemen who retired before 01 January 2006, it would cost the government an additional burden of Rs 1,300 crore. By 2016-17, the total combined figure for defence personnel’s pension was projected to swell to Rs 10,135 crore (factoring in a 25 per cent increase due to 7th Pay Commission and the 10 per cent annual growth). The finance ministry had argued that the civilian pension, which stood at Rs 7,840 crore in 2011-12 would jump to Rs 62,218 crore by 2016-17 by applying the same principles. Budget documents show, the pension budget for 2015-16 stands at Rs 54,500 crore and covers around four lakh defence civilians (who retire at 58-60 years). In 2006 the defence pension allocations stood at around Rs 20,400 crore. The sharp escalation is attributed to the recommendations of the 6th Pay Commission. Similar trend may present once the 7th Pay Commission gets implemented from next year, the government fears. But the veterans are in no mood to back down. They have long argued that Jawans and persons below officer rank retire at an early age of 35-37 years. They need OROP, it has been argued. As a defence veteran said in a recent television debate, "We are now past rhetoric, reasoning, calculations and financial implications of OROP. A promise was made by the NDA government and the Prime Minister. It has to be honoured. Delays in announcing OROP will only intensify the stir." It appears there are no easy solutions. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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Move to unlock thousands of crore which could fund new highway construction, reports Ashish Sinha In a major move aimed at expediting award and implementation of highway projects by making additional funds available for investment in projects, the central government has allowed road developers to divest 100 per cent equity after 24 months of completion of all infrastructure projects constructed under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) mode. On August 26, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affair made amendments to its earlier approval of 13th May, 2015 . The move is expected to benefit at least 80 odd BOT projects that were awarded prior to 2009. Estimates suggest that the locked equity in such projects may be in excess of Rs 4,300 crore. Some reports suggest the unlocked amount could support at least 1,500 kilometres of new highways. Infrastructure companies like Ashoka Buildcon, IRB Infra, Reliance Infrastructure among others are expected to gain from this policy decision, experts said. In fact, the stocks of IRB Infrastructure Developers and Ashoka Buildcon had witnessed over five per cent gains on August 27, a day after the official announcement was made. Simply put, under BOT mode the developer builds and operates a stretch of road for a stipulated time period and earns through toll revenue or through timely payments from the government. Experts said the CCEA approval will now allow the concessionaire(s)/promoter(s) to use proceeds from the sale of divested equity in one or more of an incomplete National Highway Authority of India projects or any other highway projects. It will also help them retire their debt to financial institutions in any other infrastructure projects. “This will result in physical completion of languishing infrastructure projects. This in turn will bring relief to citizens /travellers in the concerned area,” an official statement issued by the government said. “Consequently, it will facilitate uplifting socio-economic condition of the entire nation due to increased connectivity across the length and breadth of the country. This will also lead to enhanced economic activity,” it added. On May 13, 2015, CCEA had approved the proposal of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, to make applicable mutatis mutandis the provision of Model Concession Agreement (MCA) pertaining to the exit option for selected bidder/consortium members together with their associates. Subsequently, NHAI issued policy circular dated 9th June 2015 with this effect. However, subsequent to the NHAI policy circular, the National Highways Builders Federation (NHBF) made a representation that all developers were not having incomplete highways projects thus were denied of this facility for no fault. NHBF said most developers in the infrastructure sector were carrying highly leveraged balance sheets at their Holding Companies level, as they have been simultaneously supporting various infrastructure Special Purpose Vehicles which were also under severe stress. “These developers can be allowed to utilize funds so generated to reduce their existing corporate debt or for investment in any new infrastructure project that need not alone be highways projects, as most developers have multiple verticals in the infrastructure sector,” NHBF had suggested. NHAI after examining the representation of NHBF is also of the opinion that full benefits of this policy decision/circular can also be leveraged, if certain amendments are made to the above said decision. NHAI has also suggested that the policy circular dated 9th June 2015 may be amended accordingly to make the policy applicable in its true spirit. This was endorsed by the CCEA on August 26. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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Barring Jammu and Kashmir, all states have finalised the names of proposed Smart Cities through competition. Ashish Sinha reportsMaking cities smart will make them engines of economic growth besides giving decent life to the citizens, said Venkaiah Naidu, Union Minister of Urban Development releasing the list of 98 cities that will be part of NDA government’s ambitious Smart Cities project. The list is lead by Uttar Pradesh with 13 cities followed by Tamil Nadu with 12 cities. Other cities include 10 from Maharashtra, seven from Madhya Pradesh, three each from Bihar & Andhra Pradesh. Each smart city would get a Central assistance of Rs 100 crore per year for five years. Of those chosen for the project, 24 are capital cities, 24 are business hubs and 18 are cultural centres. Cities like Patna, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Gurgaon, Thiruvananthapuram and Shimla have failed to make the cut in round one. During the selection process, each state was assigned a specific number of Smart City slots based on urban population among other factors. Earning a Smart City tag requires the city to be in the forefront of service levels, existing infrastructure and track record for coping up with changes. Later in the year, a list of top 20 cities will be short-listed which will then be financed this year. As for the rest of the cities, they will be asked to improve upon their respective deficiencies and gear up for the next round of the competition, experts said. Continuous supply of water and electricity, advanced health facilities, hassle-free transportation system, wi-fi enabled zones, effective garbage collection and treatment of garbage and sewage are some of the essential components of the Smart City project. Uttar Pradesh, the most populous and politically vital state, will get the most number of Smart Cities - 13. The state government has also recommended Congress president Sonia Gandhi's constituency Rae Bareli. The Smart Cities project will impact 13 crore population, or 35 per cent of urban population, across 98 cities. Central government proposes to give financial support to Mission to the extent of Rs 48,000 crore over 5 years. As per the mission directives, the State/UTs and urban local bodies have an important role to play in the implementation of SmartCity Mission. Devendra Kumar Pant, the chief economist of India Ratings & Research said, “Selection of smart cities is first step. Major challenge is to provide quality urban services such as 24X7 water supply, sanitation, drainage, solid waste management, sewage treatment. Looking at finances of urban local bodies, which are far from healthy, provision of these services will be challenging.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the criteria and guidelines for 100 Smart Cities to be selected through city challenge competition in June 25. Barring Jammu and Kashmir, all states have finalised the names of proposed Smart Cities through competition. According to Pradip Bhattacharya, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, Cyber security crime will be a major challenge for the 100 smart cities project. He recently said that it will require replacement of traditional laws with modern ones focusing on crimes related to digital information. "Traditional laws will need to be replaced by modern police laws that will recognise newer crimes and ensure appropriate focus on crimes related to cyber security like information and identity thefts, breach of data privacy and, hacking of websites and networks", Bhattacharya had said at a recent FICCI event. According to another expert, a smart city needs to have an integration of concepts like urban planning, energy conservation, smart traffic management and human management. This means cleaner water supply, 24x7 power supply, better health care, waste management among a whole host of systems and processes. “Smarter cities need to be able to generate employment options. There should be an ease of doing business. It should not be a chaotic city to say the least. But if such a city develops, what systems will be put in place to check the migration of rural poor from neighbouring or far-off states. I don’t think that aspect has been taken into consideration as there may be legal issues too,” said a senior executive of a tech company. Here is a look in detail on which state has which cities in line to become a smart city. Uttar Pradesh leads the pack with 13 cities (Moradabad, Aligarh, Saharanpur, Bareilly, Jhansi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Agra, Rampur) Tamil Nadu has 12 cities figuring in the list - (Tiruchirapalli, Chennai, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Vellore, Salem, Erode, Thanjavur, Tirunelveli, Dindigul, Madurai, Thoothukudi). Next comes Maharashtra with 10 cities (Navi Mumbai, Nashik, Thane, Greater Mumbai, Amravati, Solapur, Nagpur, Kalyan-Dombivali, Aurangabad, Pune). North East had eight cities in Agartala, Namchi, Pasighat, Guwahati, Imphal, Shillong, Aizawl, and Kohima. Madhya Pradesh has seven cities in the list (Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior, Sagar, Satna, Ujjain). Six city states include Gujarat - Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Dahod and Karnataka (Mangaluru, Belagavi, Shivamogga, Hubballi-Dharwad, Tumakuru, Davanegere). Rajasthan has four cities (Jaipur, Udaipur, Kota, Ajmer) so has West Bengal (New Town Kolkata, Bidhannagar, Durgapur, Haldia). Three cities states are Andhra Pradesh (Vishakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kakinada), Bihar (Muzaffarpur, Bhagalpur and Biharsharif), and Punjab (Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar). States with two cities each include Chhattisgarh (Raipur, Bilaspur), Haryana (Karnal, Faridabad), Odisha (Bhubaneshwar, Raurkela) and Telangana (Greater Hyderabad, Greater Warangal). Lone cities include Delhi, Chandigarh, Diu, Port Blair, Kochi, Ranchi, Kavarrati (Lakshadweep), Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli), Panaji, Dharamshala, Oulgaret and Dehradun.
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Domestic carriers say any changes to 5/20 rule under proposed new civil aviation policy will distort level-playing field reports Ashish Sinha With the Prime Minister Office expecting the final draft of the upcoming New Civil Aviation Policy to be finalised soon, older domestic airlines – IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir – under the helm of the Federation of Indian Airlines have approached the Prime Minister Narendra Modi directly stating that any changes made to the new policy, particularly to the 5/20 rule, may create an imbalance in the industry. The proposed new civil aviation policy, among many changes, is expected to do away with the current mandatory requirement of Indian carriers owning a fleet at least 20 aircrafts and mandatory operations for five years before being eligible to fly abroad. Older aviation players have often alleged that doing away with the 5/20 rule will favour the new airlines like Vistara, Air Asia and others who have recently started their operations. According to sources, the FIA has written a letter in which it said that it was disheartening to see that the Indian government might be planning to take steps that favour new entrants established and controlled by foreign airlines. The letter stated that it was because of the 5/20 rule and the route dispersal guidelines that Indian domestic aviation market has shown rapid growth. “…the removal of these rules will vitiate the level playing field that exists in Indian civil aviation, and tectonically shift it in favour of foreign airline controlled new entrants, who have shown, at best, peripheral interest in serving the Indian domestic market…at least one of the two new entrants has stopped its expansion in the domestic market beyond the mandatory requirement of five aircraft,” the letter said. Meanwhile, official sources said that aviation secretary RN Choubey made a presentation to the Prime Minister on the draft policy which is expected to be put up for another public consultation next month. Last week, the civil aviation Secretary had told reporters that the revised draft policy would be put up for public comments by September first week. The first draft of the proposed new civil aviation policy was put up in November 2014. However, it was opposed by a number of domestic players. Choubey, who took charge in June this year, has re-drafted the policy. The draft policy talks about rationalisation of airport costs, enhancing regional air connectivity, promoting air cargo, maintenance, repair and operations and helicopter operations and improving passenger facilitation among other area in the civil aviation sector. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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Crocs Inc, the iconic footwear brand will expand its retail presence in India via Metro Shoes which will open 100 exclusive stores, reports Ashish Sinha Mumbai-based Metro Shoes, the Rs 1,000- crore (2015-16) Indian footwear brand which recently signed a retail partnership agreement with US-based iconic footwear firm Crocs Inc, is aiming to generate over Rs 100 crore in sales from exclusive Crocs outlet within next 36 months. As part of the tie-up, Metro Shoes will open 100 Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs) of Crocs and invest Rs 40 crore over next three years in opening and stocking the stores. Speaking to BW Businessworld about the deal, Rafique Malik, Chairman, Metro Shoes said: “Crocs will bring in their colourful product range and their expertise in merchandising whereas Metro Shoes will bring in their expertise in opening and operating stores across India, knowledge of regional preferences and excellent customer service. We opened our first EBOs at the Saharaganj Mall in Lucknow, Elante Mall Chandigarh and Viviana Mall Thane in the month of August. We have plans of opening approximately 100 EBOs of Crocs in the next 3 years, all over the nation.” According to Malik, Metro Shoes is confident of reaching Rs 18 crore in profitable sales in the first year of operations of Crocs-Metro tie-up. Independently, Metro Shoes also plans to expand its store presence in India. “Metro is planning to open 50 shops in FY 2015-16 and will continue to grow on a parallel track,” Malik said. When asked about any fund raising exercise for expanding the retail network of either Metro Shoes or the tie-up with Crocs Inc, Malik said that Metro is a “debt free” company. “There is no requirement to raise funds for the expansion of Crocs as well as our own brand,” he said. Speaking about the retail strategy for Crocs, Malik said Metro Shoes will use the data of Crocs sales through its own in-store sales to prioritize new locations. “Initially we will be targeting metros but stores will open based on real estate opportunities,” Malik said. According to industry estimates, the size of the footwear industry in India is pegged at around Rs 32,000 crore of which share of organized sector is 30 per cent. As per Malik, the footwear industry is growing at 9-10 per cent annually, whereas the organized sector is growing at 15 per cent. The top 5 players would be Bata, Relaxo, Woodland, Mirza International and Metro.Metro Shoes Expects To Cross Rs 1000-cr Turnover This YearInterview with Rafique Malik, Chairman, Metro Shoes.Edited Excerpts: Please expand on the deal with Crocs Inc.Crocs has signed a retail partnership agreement with Metro Shoes for expansion in Indian market. Metro Shoes will be opening Exclusive Brand Outlets of Crocs footwear across India. What about pushing Crocs, Metro shoes through e-commerce?Metro is growing its e-commerce business aggressively. Currently it retails on its own website as well as via Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon, Jabong and Snapdeal. Soon we will also be active on Paytm & Tata portal. Online sales are currently growing at 100 per cent over the same period last year. Engagement on Facebook & other social media portals has also grown significantly. Crocs are currently handling their ecommerce independently although they are available on our website. How has been your financial performance? What are your targets for next three years?Metro is targeting annual growth of 20 per cent in the next 3 years, overall Rs 1,500 crore sales. Although we continue our efforts to top the order, our focus will be more on profitability. The company has been growing at a CAGR of 24 per cent during the last 5 years and expects to cross a turnover of Rs 1000 crore during the current year while maintaining profitability. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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Bidders are fighting it out for lone slot in Delhi and Bangalore and two slots in Mumbai where bids have passed Rs 100 crore mark, reports Ashish Sinha Based on the provisional winning bids generated in the ongoing e-auctions of FM stations, just seven stations (out of 135 participating stations) have accounted for around half of the overall provisional winning bids at the end of 19th day of FM radio auctions. These seven stations are located across Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Jaipur. Together, the provisional winning bids in these seven stations stood at around Rs 505 crore out of a total of Rs 1,128 crore winning price arrived at the end of 19th day of clock-based e-auctions on August 20. Experts said the trends in e-auctions demonstrate that bigger cities is where most operators are interested to own a FM stations. “The provisional winning price for Delhi is around Rs 170 crore, a whopping six times the reserve price fixed. This is insane. Whoever wins it will find the arithmetic of running the business at such high costs very challenging,” said a senior executive of a radio firm. While Delhi’s lone vacant station leads the pack, next is Mumbai (Rs 124 crore; two vacant stations), Bangalore (Rs 110 crore; 01 vacant station). Then comes Chennai, Jaipur and Chandigarh. The e-auctions is still continuing and will continue till the bids are received for any of the 135 channels. According to the ministry of information and broadcasting, at the close of the 19th day of bidding, 94channels in 56 cities became provisional winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of about Rs 1,128 crore. As earlier reported by BW Businessworld, at the end of 40 rounds (end of 10th day of e-auctions), over four dozen stations in 28 cities were sitting on their reserve price. Experts pointed to the high reserve prices as one of the main reasons for a lack of interest from the bidders. Then the FM-III policy itself had put a cap on any single FM operator owning more than 15 per cent of the total channels available. “Take for example the reserve price of channel in Kozhikode at Rs 7.02 crore. Money can’t be made by anyone even if this is the winning bid. Similar is the plight in Tirupati where the reserve price in Rs 4.5 crore. If only about half the channels are won by operators at the end of this first round of auctions, then the government should review its FM-III policy. No one is here to do charity,” said a technical expert on FM radio stations who advices leading players. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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This full service carrier is changing its menu every sixth day whereas others do that every other quarter and sometimes once a year reports Ashish Sinha Aiming to create an unparalleled dining experience so as to make its in-flight hospitality truly memorable, the newest full-service carrier Vistara has bet big on on-board dining. Vistara is offering the widest choices in every meal on its flights for the business, premium economy and economy passengers. “In-flight meals and its importance was very clear to us even before we launched our services this January. In our surveys, the passenger feedback was quite evident that most airlines were paying less attention to meal choices, diversity of menu, etc. We at Vistara strive to give the best personalised dining experience with artful presentation of freshly prepared food,” said Giam Ming Toh, the Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Vistara. Vistara offers 16 business class seats, 4 rows in 2-2 configuration, in its 148-seater A320 fleet. The business travellers gets to choose from two vegetarian and two non-vegetarian starters as well as the main course. For Premium business passengers, Vistara offers a choice from two vegetarian and a non-vegetarian cuisine. The menu cycle is kept very flexible so that it rotates every six days. “The menu of no two meals are similar on any of our flights,” says Giam Ming Toh, CCO, Vistara. Speaking about the challenges of catering to Vistara, Arun Batra, Executive Chef at Taj SATS Air Catering Ltd said: “We do 22,000 meals daily from Delhi and cater to over 65 airlines apart from corporate catering. The main challenge of a dynamic meal menu is keeping it fresh and relevant for the passengers. Keeping the food moist and tasty is in itself a challenge when serving at such heights. Our breakfast menu is light where we offer several choices from Indian to continental. The food is kept light for the business traveller. However, the dinner menus are designed as a wholesome food for those returning the same day.” A typical business class breakfast menu on Vistara includes a choice between Egg Soufflé with zucchini and peppers served with cheesy potatoes and chicken sausage or spicy scrambled eggs with English muffin. Vistara also serves fresh cut fruits, cereals, choice of bread, fresh juice among others. Similar choices for lunch and dinner are available where a passenger gets to choose from Indian, Continental and South East Asian cuisine. According to a senior Vistara executive, moving away from tray-based on-board catering to box-based catering has helped save 30 per cent weight per meal. “A typical on-board meal served on trays in plastic containers typically weighs 450 grams. Through our eco-friendly boxes, our average meal weighs 300-330 grams. It’s a big innovation,” the executive said. Apart from innovative and diversified dining options, Vistara is beaming content directly to passenger's personal electronic devices (tablet and smart phones) through one-way Wi-Fi connection on board. For business class passenger the airline provides pre-loaded tablets as an interim solution. Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, commenced operations on 9 January 2015 with its inaugural flight between Delhi and Mumbai. As of August, the airline operates 243 weekly scheduled passenger service across 10 domestic destinations within India with a fleet of 6 Airbus A320 aircraft. Vistara is the first airline to introduce premium economy seats on domestic routes in India. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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All app-based taxi services to come under the scheme minus Black & Yellow cabs and those having All India Tourist Permit reports Ashish Sinha May be the Delhi Government will get third time lucky with its constant tune up of policy framework for city taxi services. After having launched two unsuccessful Cab schemes – Radio Taxi Scheme (2006, amended in December 2014) and Economy Taxi Scheme (2010) – the Delhi Government has announced a new “City Taxi Scheme” for all App (mobile application) based taxi companies including Ola and Uber. A detailed policy framework for the new scheme is still awaited, here are the salient features of City Taxi Scheme: Ø All App-based taxi services to come under this one scheme Ø Affordability is centre to City Taxi Scheme Ø The scheme to include small cars like Reva and Nano Ø Permits to be issued to vehicles having engine capacity of 600cc- 749cc too Ø Such Taxis to charge Rs10 per km Ø There will be a cap of 2,500 taxis per operator Ø Mandatory panic buttons and hooters inside all taxies Ø Operators to follow government-decided fare structure Ø Cab companies like Ola, Uber, could float subsidiary firms to align with 2,500 taxies per operator The City Taxi Scheme, experts say, may just provide a lifeline to much discussed App-based cab firms like Ola and Uber who otherwise are staring at an uncertain future because on January 1, the Delhi government had banned the operation of app-based cab services till they complied with the guidelines of the Radio Taxi Scheme of 2006, amended on December 26, 2014. The Delhi HC has once again sought status report from Delhi Police and the state government on why Ola and Uber continue to operate in Delhi despite the ban. The ban imposed by the Delhi Government on January 1, 2015 was upheld by the Delhi High Court earlier this month when it had dismissed a petition filed by Ola who had challenged the ban. In its August 11 order, the Delhi High Court had made it clear that all diesel taxis were barred from making point-to-point metered rides within the capital including the diesel cabs with DLY numbers (registered as tourist vehicles). However, vehicles heading to Gurgaon or Noida would not be prosecuted as the order is applicable only to Delhi. “The new proposal of the Delhi Government allows all cab services to come under a legal framework. It looks like cab services like Ola, Uber, Taxi For Sure, others have limited options,” said a senior executive in a leading consultancy firm looking after the transportation sector. According to Delhi Government’s transport minister Gopal Rai, the older version of the ‘radio taxi’ scheme – under license of which Uber had resumed operations in January – will be merged with the new scheme. “The rules this time have been fine-tuned and improved upon for all taxi service providers. The scheme should be operational soon,” a senior official said. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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Co-produced by actor Tom Cruise, Mission Impossible had the best opening in 27 out of 40 markets where it was released, says Ashish Sinha The 53-year-old Hollywood actor Tom Cruise is laughing away to the bank. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation has globally grossed over $ 300 million (around Rs 2,000 crore). In India, it was the fourth highest Hollywood grosser for the opening weekend (August 7-9) generating Rs 42 crore in three days. After seven days of running, this spy thriller is expected to gross around Rs 80 crore making it the third Hollywood film released in India which may soon gross over Rs 100 crore in collections. According to film trade pundits, the film may cross Rs 100 crore by the time it hits the third week. So far only, four Bollywood movies released in 2015 (January onwards) have generated Rs 100 crore at the Box Office, the pack being led by Salman Khan’s co-produced film Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation has had the best first week behind Fast and Furious 7, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Jurassic World. Wide scale release across 1000-plus screens including its dubbed version in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu has helped it rake in the big money despite other Bollywood films running simultaneously in multiplexes. For Tom Cruise, this fifth edition of the Mission Impossible franchisee has been the top grosser in the first week in 27 out of 40 markets where it got released. Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation grabbed the top spots based on the box-office collections in South Korea, United Kingdom, Russia, Mexico, Australia, Spain, and Argentina. In India, Taiwan and Hong Kong among other countries, this fast-paced action thriller has got the best openings for its distributor Paramount Pictures. “2015 has been very good for Hollywood releases in India. One month ago, Colin Trevorrow directorial film Jurassic World crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the Indian box office grossing Rs 140 crore. Furious 7 had grossed around Rs 160 crore in April-May period. Even Avengers did very well for a Hollywood film,” says a Mumbai-based film trade analyst. Hollywood studio Universal Pictures has had the best year in India too with both its Hollywood releases – Fast and Furious 7 and Jurassic World – raking in over Rs 300 crore collectively. Jurassic World’s success in India is also being attributed to the plum role bagged by Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan. Jurassic World was released in India across 2,000-plus screens and was dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages as well. What Next? Critics say SPECTRE, the next film in the James Bond franchisee is expected to break all records when it gets released in November. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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Uninor inks network expansion deal with Huawei worth Rs 1,200 crore, says Ashish Sinha Uninor, the Indian arm of Norway-based telecom giant Telenor has done a big-bang deal to expand its network across its area of operations. Uninor or Wednesday (August 12, 2015) signed a a three-year 2G network expansion and transformation contract worth about Rs 1,200 crore with Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei. The contract will enable Uninor to offer its existing network for 4G operations across the six circles - Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Bihar (including Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. "We have extended our partnership with Huawei to modernise our network by making it future ready as well as manage it. We will be investing Rs 1,200 crore in this project," Telewings Communications Services CEO Vivek Sood said. Huawei has been tasked to transform around 24,000 sites of Uninor in these six major circles. Experts said the equipment supplied by Huawei will be able to transform Uninor’s 2G network into 4G ready network with some technical tweaks and upgrades, said a technical expert familiar with telecom equipment. Market analysts see this as a major shift in the stance of Telenor who otherwise was working with Finland-based Nokia Networks for its 2G services. Nokia Networks currently deploying networks for Uninor's Assam circle, which is likely to start operations anytime this year. “This is the largest deal of its kind in the Indian telecom industry and also within the Telenor Group. Our managed services function will move to Huawei by the end of this year. With this initiative, Uninor prepares for future to offer advanced internet services to the mass market customers," Telewings COO Tanveer Mohammad said. He said the project is starting this year with modernisation of 5,000 sites and the rest 19,000 mobile tower sites will be modernised in 2016. "By 2017, we will move completely to IP network and will be ready to embrace big data era. Through our network we will be able to figure real time need of customers," Mohammad said. Under the project, Uninor will install small mobile sites closer to customers to reduce gap in its network coverage. When asked if the company is looking to roll out 4G services, Sood said that it is still focusing on customers who need basic network and decision to roll out 4G will be taken when need arises. According to Sood, Uninor is looking at expanding services in other parts of the country but the final decision will depend on spectrum price and market scenario. "As of now, we have plans for expansion within Bihar where we will increase mobile sites by 20% to improve outdoor coverage," Sood added. Uninor has already been reported as saying it may introduce sophisticated services using 4G LTE technology. Under the unified licence regime, Uninor can offer 4G services using the existing spectrum in the 1800 MHz band as the unified licence allows airwaves to be used for offering any technology — 2G, 3G or 4G. Uninor currently provides its services to over 46 million subscribers using 2G technology. It added 1.3 million subscribers during the second quarter ended June 30, and said the subscription base was 22% higher than the same quarter last year, reports said. The company has already made it public that 26 per cent of its customers are active data users and it is targeting to convert half of its customer base into Internet users in next two years. ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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