SpiceJet, which had a fleet of 74 planes in 2019, is currently operating around 20 aircraft.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

SpiceJet promoter and chairman Ajay Singh may offload more than 10% stake in the struggling carrier as part of the latest funding round that is expected to close by the end of September, according to sources.

The budget carrier — which is grappling with multiple woes, including financial challenges, legal battles and grounding of aircraft — is looking to raise money that will help it meet various obligations.

Also read | SpiceJet vs IndiGo: How pandemic set the two airlines on diverging paths

One of the sources said that Mr. Singh could offload up to a 15% stake in the airline if certain conditions are conducive.

Mr. Singh, who is the Chairman and Managing Director, would be offloading around 10% shareholding in the airline and the quantum could go up, the second source said.

For the proposed QIP (Qualified Institutional Placement), there is already a commitment for up to ₹2,000 crore and the airline is in discussions with potential investors. Meetings with investors have been held in India and overseas, the sources in the know said.

There was no official comment from SpiceJet.

The funding round is expected to be completed by the end of September.

At the end of June 2024, the promoter group had a little over 47% stake in the carrier, as per data available on the BSE.

SpiceJet, which had a fleet of 74 planes in 2019, is currently operating around 20 aircraft.

On Friday, the airline said it plans to mop up ₹3,200 crore through QIP, warrants and capital infusion by the promoter, the airline said in a presentation on Friday.

The funds will be utilised to take back the grounded fleet in operations, liability settlement, new fleet induction and other general purposes.

“Spicejet plans to raise Rs 2,500 crore through QIP and Rs 736 crore through previous warrants and promoter infusion, the airline said in an investor presentation,” it had said in the presentation to investors.

In January, SpiceJet could raise only ₹1,060 crore through preferential issues against its ₹2,250 crore funding plan that was announced in December 2023.

Notetaker bots sit in on conversations like Zoom calls and transcribe participants’ remarks. 
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Even as industries scramble to find ways to incorporate Artificial Intelligence applications into their workflows, one use case has seen particular success: AI notetakers. Notetaker bots sit in on conversations like Zoom calls and transcribe participants’ remarks. Since the generative AI wave took off, such services, like Fireflies.ai and Otter, have seen a surge in their usage.

Fireflies.ai, an early entrant in the market headquartered in California, has seen its business among Indian companies grow eight times in the last year, Krish Ramineni, the firm’s CEO, told The Hindu in an interview. Mr. Ramineni said that over 30,000 firms are using Fireflies to transcribe meetings and summarise multiple conversations to keep managers apprised of developments. The firm has seen rapid growth in recent years, and told The Hindu that it has seen 600% growth globally in the last two years.

The market is competitive — while upstarts like Fireflies and Otter have held their ground, established giants in the office productivity space like Microsoft and Google have worked to integrate similar features into their respective products. Mr. Ramineni said that his company had built an app store to add features on top of Fireflies’s base product, and touted partnerships with ChatGPT developer OpenAI and Anthropic, the competing firm that develops the Claude chatbot. 

Mr. Ramineni said that one category of firms had particularly warmed to notetakers — unicorn start-ups account for a major portion of Fireflies’s customers. The company says over 60% of India’s unicorn start-ups have employees using the product.

Reliance Industries Ltd. announced last month that even Jio would get in on the action, with a product called Jio PhoneCall AI, which would sit in as a conference call participant and take notes on calls automatically.

The use case still has its challenges — the main players still do not offer Indian rupee prices for Indian businesses, and voice recognition models are still not fully capable of handling speakers switching between different languages in the same meeting, or speaking in blends like Hinglish. (Doing so would require far more computational power, Mr. Ramineni explained, but it was something he said his firm was eager to bring to the market.) Mr. Ramineni declined to break out revenue numbers for India.

The notetaker use case’s runaway success comes even as other hues of complete automation haven’t played out yet. Firms focusing on AI have recognised this: Microsoft’s branding of its Copilot product as a companion, as opposed to an autonomous agent running unsupervised. 

The move by Adani Green Energy Limited is in step with its January announcement of a plan to redeem the $750 million worth of notes, eight months ahead of the redemption date.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), the renewable energy arm of the ports-to power conglomerate run by billionaire Gautam Adani, on Monday (September 9, 2024) said it has redeemed $750 million worth of bonds as it deleverages business.

In a statement, the firm said it has completed “redemption of all outstanding $750 million 4.375% Holdco Notes due on September 8, 2024.” The move is in step with its January announcement of a plan to redeem the $750 million worth of notes, eight months ahead of the redemption date.

Adani Green Energy Q1 profit up nearly 95% to ₹629 crore

Issued in September 2021, the three-year Holdco Notes supported AGEL’s high-growth objectives. During the period, AGEL’s capacity has increased more than three-fold — from 3.5 gigawatt (GW) to 11.2 GW, registering a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 48%.

The company had in January stated it would pay $169 million from its reserves and internal accruals, and $300 million from the consideration from a joint venture with TotalEnergies Renewables. The remaining $281 million was to come from the initial tranche from a preferential issue of warrants.

That funding was completed with the receipt of the funds under the preferential allotment of ₹9,350 crore ($1.12 billion) to the promoters of the company.

“AGEL’s overall capital management philosophy has remained focussed on long-term value creation through asset development and positioned AGEL as a self-propelled growth engine. It also emphasises the structured approach to accomplish credit metrics akin to investment grade profile for its underlying debt capital raise programme,” the firm said in the statement on Monday (September 9, 2024.)

With this, AGEL is committed to having capital market issuances tailored for long-term infra asset classes supported through the predictable and robust cash flow stream to attain a long curve emulating underlying asset life.

“Over the years, the Capital Management Plan has matured to allow AGEL to have a ‘seasoned’ portfolio with a superior operational asset base supporting the under-construction development. With surplus cash from operating assets augmenting the under-construction projects’ requirement, AGEL’s overall capex programme remains fully funded with such operational assets cash flows and the available construction facility pool,” it said.

In addition, AGEL’s promoters had agreed, in December 2023, to subscribe to a preferential warrant amounting to ₹9,350 crore, out of which, ₹7,013 crore ($835 million equivalent) shall be available with AGEL to fund any accelerated capital expenditure requirements.

“AGEL thanks its investors and lenders for their confidence and its vendor partners, including Adani Infra (India) Limited and Adani Infra Management Services Limited, for their continuous support in achieving the accelerated growth plan, putting AGEL on track to achieve 50 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030,” it added.

AGEL is India’s largest renewable energy company and develops, owns, and operates utility-scale grid-connected solar, wind, hybrid, and hydro-pumped storage renewable power plants. AGEL currently has an operating renewable portfolio of 11.2 GW, the largest in India, spread across 12 States.

The company has set a target of achieving 50 GW by 2030, aligned to India’s decarbonisation goals.

Ratan Tata, one of India’s iconic business leaders and former chairman of the Tata Group, passed away on Wednesday (Octob 9, 2024) at the age of 86.

In a statement confirming the news, N. Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons Chairman, expressed, “On behalf of the entire Tata family, I extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones. His legacy will continue to inspire us as we work to uphold the values he so passionately championed.”

Under Ratan Tata’s visionary leadership, the Tata Group grew into a global powerhouse. His contributions span various sectors, from engineering to technology. The group’s significant global expansion under his leadership stands as a testament to his transformative impact on the Indian industry.

Here is a glimpse into the life and times of Mr. Tata:

Representational image only. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Renewable energy solutions provider Suzlon on Monday (September 9, 2024) said it has bagged India’s largest wind energy order of 1,166 MW from NTPC subsidiary NTPC Green Energy Ltd. for execution in three sites in Gujarat.

“This is also the first major order from a PSU for us in recent times,” said Suzlon Group CEO J.P. Chalasani during an interaction.

He said the project will be executed across three sites in Gujarat and the electricity generated will power three million homes. The first plant will be commissioned by December 2025 and the next two by February 2026, he said while refusing to divulge project costs.

With this win, Suzlon’s cumulative order book stands close to 5 GW as of September 3. About 75% of the current order book is from Commercial and Industrial (C&I) sector and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

Till recently, Suzlon Group could not participate in PSU tenders due to qualification requirements in the balance sheet in terms of net worth and other criteria.

“Our balance sheet is now robust. It is a beginning and we will win many more PSU tenders in the coming days,” he said.

As part of the agreement, Suzlon will supply the wind turbines and execute the project, including erection and commissioning, undertake operations and maintenance (O&M) services post‐commissioning. The O&M is for 10 years.

Suzlon will install a total of 370 wind turbine generators of S144 equipped with a Hybrid Lattice Tubular tower and a rated capacity of 3.15 MW each.

“This strategic collaboration between Suzlon and NTPC will showcase the success of the ‘Make in India’ initiative by advancing local manufacturing and sustainable energy solutions,” said Mr. Chalasani.

A press statement by the company said, “Upon completion, it will set a new benchmark for future projects, substantially, contributing to India’s energy self-sufficiency, economic prosperity and NGEL’s ambitious target of adding 60 GW renewable energy capacity by 2032.”

(With inputs from PTI)

Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini is greeted by BJP leader Naveen Jindal and others after the former won the Assembly elections from Ladwa constituency at Ladwa in Kurukshetra district on October 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Haryana Assembly election highlighted a significant rural-urban divide in voting patterns, underscoring the deep-rooted socio-economic differences across the State. Haryana, known for its predominantly rural population, exhibited distinct voting preferences between rural and urban voters, shaping the electoral outcome in important ways.

The CSDS-Lokniti survey reveals a clear divergence in voting behaviour between rural and urban voters. The Bharatiya Janata Party garnered substantial support among urban voters, securing 46% of the urban vote, while the Congress managed only 34% — a critical 12 point lead. However, in rural areas, where the majority of Haryana’s population resides, the Congress outperformed the BJP, winning 42% of the rural vote, compared with the BJP’s 37%, giving the Congress a five-point lead. Smaller parties, including the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Indian National Lok Dal, received limited support, capturing 7% of the rural vote and 3% of the urban vote, respectively.

Diverging issues

The rural-urban divide is also evident in the key issues influencing voter behaviour. Unemployment emerged as the most important issue overall, but it was a much larger concern for rural voters (50%) compared with urban voters (30%). Price rise, agricultural concerns, and the Agnipath recruitment scheme were also significant issues for rural voters, while urban voters expressed more concern about corruption, price rise, and women’s safety. These differences in priorities highlight the divergent challenges faced by rural and urban communities in Haryana (Table 2).

This divide also extends to perceptions of which government has contributed more to the development of Haryana. A greater percentage of urban voters credited the BJP government (51%) for the State’s development between 2014 and 2024, while rural voters were slightly less convinced, with 47% attributing the development to the BJP.

On the other hand, 45% of rural voters credited the Congress government (2004–2014) for development, compared with 39% of urban voters. This division underscores different experiences and expectations of rural and urban communities regarding governance and development.

The 2024 Haryana Assembly election has brought the State’s rural-urban divide into sharp focus. With rural voters tilting slightly in favour of the Congress and urban voters leaning strongly towards the BJP, the election results reflect the socio-economic differences that continue to shape Haryana’s political landscape.

The authors are researchers at Lokniti-CSDS

Former Haryana Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda speaks with the media in Rohtak on October 8, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

For months, discussions surrounding the Haryana Assembly election revolved around the mobilisation of the Jats by the Congress and non-Jats by the BJP.

The findings from the CSDS-Lokniti survey indicate that the two main rival parties mobilised what they believed to be their core supporters. Among the numerically significant and socially dominant Jats, a little over a half (53%) voted for the Congress, while one in three (28%) supported the BJP — marking it a limited consolidation for the Congress. The BJP primarily targeted non-Jat and OBC voters and appeared to be successful in this strategy. Additionally, the BJP led over the Congress among Brahmins, Punjabi Khatris, Yadavs, and non-Jatav Dalits, contributing to the party’s third successive victory in the Haryana Assembly election (Table 1).

The Congress successfully mobilised a significant number of Jatav votes, a community to which Congress leader Kumari Selja belongs, along with support from the Gujjar community, Muslims, and Sikhs, who constitute 7% and 4% of total voters, respectively (Table 1). The mobilisation of Jats and OBCs in favour of the Congress and the BJP can be attributed to organised community meetings held prior to the election. Among Jats, six in 10 (60%) mentioned that members of their community had organised meetings to decide which party or candidate to vote for, while nearly the same fraction (57%) of other OBC voters indicated the same. Voters from other caste communities also mentioned such community meetings before the election, but their prevalence was notably lower compared with those of Jats and other OBCs (Table 2).

This divided support for the Congress and the BJP stems from voters’ perceptions of how effectively the BJP addressed the interests of their caste communities. Survey findings clearly indicate that a significant number of Jats believed their community’s interests had been neglected — a sentiment that is understandable given the BJP selected both its Chief Ministers over the past 10 years from non-Jat communities in a State where Jats have historically played a dominant role in politics. Similar sentiments were expressed by voters belonging to the Jatav and Muslim communities, albeit to varying degrees (Table 3). Yet one notices that there was a limit to the Jat consolidation by the Congress as the regional players as well as the BJP garnered a substantive chunk of Jat votes.

Overall, the 2024 Haryana Assembly election results underscore the pivotal role of caste dynamics in voter mobilisation, with both the Congress and the BJP drawing on their respective caste bases. The Congress’s success in mobilising Jats, Jatavs, and minority communities had its limits. The BJP’s appeal to non-Jat upper castes and OBC voters highlights the fractured nature of caste politics in Haryana and provides an explanation for the BJP’s success.

The author is professor and co-director, Lokniti-CSDS

GMR Group’s airport business arm GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd (GIL) on Monday said it has entered into a share purchase agreement with Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide for acquiring the latter’s 10 per cent holding in Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) for USD 126 million.

After completion of the deal, GIL’s stake in the joint venture will rise to 74 per cent from the current 64 per cent, the GMR Group said.

Public airports company Airports Authority of India (AAI) will continue to hold a 26 per cent stake in the venture, it said.

“GMR Airports Infrastructure Ltd (GIL) has entered into a share purchase agreement with Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide (“Fraport”), towards acquisition by GIL from Fraport, of their current minority 10 per cent equity stake in Delhi International Airport Ltd.

“The said acquisition would be for a negotiated aggregate consideration of USD 126 million,” the company said in a release.

DIAL is a subsidiary of GIL.

“The acquisition of additional stake in DIAL is in line with our objective of consolidating our presence in core assets of the group and signifies the importance of Delhi airport in the overall Group portfolio,” G Kiran Kumar Grandhi, Corporate Chairman of GMR Group, said.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the AAI and GIL shareholders.

The deal is expected to be concluded within 180 days from the date of execution of the share purchase agreement, the company said.

“Fraport has been one of the original shareholders and have been our partners in airport (business) journey. They have extended significant technical support to Delhi Airport as per their role of airport operator,” said B S Raju, Business Chairman for Airports) at the GMR Group.

“Fraport being a holder of 10 per cent equity stake in DIAL, will be a related party to DIAL and accordingly in terms of Sebi Regulations, the proposed transaction is a related party transaction for GIL and meets the requisite RPT norms,” the company said.

DIAL is a subsidiary of GIL. Other than the direct shareholding of the company and the indirect shareholding by its promoters, GMR Enterprise Pvt Ltd and Aeroports de Paris SA, in DIAL, the promoters or promoter group do not have any other interest in DIAL, it added.

नई दिल्ली. साल 2024 राघव जुयाल के करियर के लिए बेहतर साबित हुआ. उनकी फिल्म ‘किल’ और ‘ग्यारह ग्यारह’ सीरीज ऑडियंस को खूब पसंद आईं. हालांकि, पिछले महीने रिलीज हुई ‘युध्रा’ बॉक्स ऑफिस पर कमाल नहीं दिखा पाई. फिल्म में राघव जुयाल ने खलनायक का रोल निभाया था. वहीं, फिल्म में सिद्धांत चतुर्वेदी हीरो के रोल में दिखे थे. अब ‘युध्रा’ के बॉक्स ऑफिस फेलियर पर राघव जुयाल ने रिएक्ट किया है.

हिंदुस्तान टाइम्स की रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, राघव जुयाल ने कहा कि ‘नहीं पसंद आई होगी लोगों को, तो नहीं देखने गए होंगे. अब कोई जबरदस्ती तो नहीं है. अगर युध्रा पहले आई होती, तो शायद मैं निराश हो जाता. लेकिन किल और ग्यारह ग्यारह पहले आईं और लोगों ने मुझमें एक एक्टर को पहचाना. यहां तक कि युध्रा में भी में मेरी एक्टिंग की लोगों ने तारीफ की.’

‘जनता को पसंद नहीं आई होगी’
मालूम हो कि ‘युध्रा’ कोविड से भी पहले अनाउंस हुई थी और इसकी रिलीज में 5 साल का वक्त लगा. राघव जुयाल से पूछा गया क्या रिलीज में लंबे गैप की वजह से फिल्म नहीं चली? इस पर एक्टर ने कहा, ‘मुझे ऐसा नहीं लगता. जनता को फिल्म पसंद नहीं आई होगी, इसलिए वे थिएटर नहीं गए. यह बिल्कुल सिंपल सी बात है.’

The Indian automotive industry has crossed ₹20 lakh crore mark in FY24 and now contributes 14-15% of the total GST collected in the country, SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said on Monday (September 9, 2024).

The auto sector also contributes significantly to the direct and indirect employment generation in the country, he said while speaking at the 64th annual ACMA session here.

“The Indian automotive industry has crossed a landmark figure of Rs 20 lakh crore (around USD 240 million) in FY24…we are contributing almost 14-15 per cent of the total GST collected in the country,” Aggarwal said.

The auto industry will contribute more and more to the GDP of the country from the current level of around 6.8%, he noted.

It is not just the growth numbers, but equally important is the transformation in the technology, he added.

Aggarwal stated that globally also the standing Indian auto industry has risen.

“We have become the third largest passenger vehicle market, the largest two and three wheeler market and third largest commercial vehicle market as the country marches towards Viksit Bharat by 2047,” he noted.

The automotive industry is poised to grow even faster and contribute immensely to the growth of the country, Aggarwal said.

He stated that the auto industry has identified 50 critical components for local production in order to reduce import dependence.

Aggarwal said SIAM along with ACMA started the journey of enhancing indigenous manufacturing and has voluntarily set targets for increasing localisation.

“It was committed to reduce import content by 60 per cent to 20 per cent by 2025 from the base 2019-20 levels, thereby targeting the reduced reports to the tune of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 crore in five years. We have very well achieved the first phase of import reduction of 5.8 per cent in first two years,” Aggarwal said at the ACMA annual session here.

In order to go to the next level and commence manufacturing of high tech critical items for which the industry has been dependent on imports, the industry has now identified a list of 50 critical components.

“We are encouraging ACMA members to commence manufacturing them in India to enable the vehicle OEMs to source these items locally,” Aggarwal said.

Since most of these items are electrical or electronics, there is a need to develop capabilities and capacities in India for such high tech items, he added.

Besides, having expertise in the conventional internal combustion engine technologies such as gasoline and diesel, the industry has now developed strong capabilities in multiple powertrains such as CNG and electrified vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrids, Aggarwal said.

The industry is also developing hydrogen and fuel cell based technologies, he added.

” Going forward, as the aspirations of the country grow we have to focus more and more aggressively on cleaner and safer vehicles,” Aggarwal said.

“We are also thankful to the Ministry of Heavy Industries for identifying the need to develop the third automotive mission plan from 2024 to 2047 which will lay down the broad controls of how the industry is expected to grow over these years in three distinct phases, from now to 2030 from 2030 to 2037 and finally, 2037 to 2047,” he said.

The automatic mission plan will become a guiding document, not only for the entire automobile and the auto component industry for committing and planning the investments in the country, but will also serve as a ready reckoner for all the line ministries of the government of India, and also to many state governments for framing suitable policy measures that need to align with the growth and research for the auto sector, he noted.

“We look forward to the final document on the automotive mission plan,” Aggarwal said.

Speaking at the session, Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) President Shradha Suri Marwah said the industry is looking forward to the third version of the automotive mission plan.

She noted that the industry faces various challenges particularly in addressing the skill gap and maintaining international quality standards.

“Therefore, collaboration with educational institutions and investment in skill development is essential. Besides, industry collaboration is equally vital,” Marwah said.

She also noted that the growing demand for electronic components and semiconductor chips underscores the need for strategic alliances.