Air India received nine notices for safety violations in six months, Indian minister says
The notices were related to five safety violations, Mohol added, without giving any details on the violations.
"Enforcement action has been completed in respect of one violation," he said.
Air India has come under scrutiny after a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed in the Indian city of Ahmedabad last month, killing 260 people.
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Indian firm says it shipped non-military explosives to Russia
NEW DELHI, July 26 (Reuters) - An Indian firm that shipped $1.4 million worth of an explosive compound with military uses to Russia in December said on Saturday it complies with Indian rules and the substance it had shipped was for civilian industrial purposes. Reuters reported on July 24 that Ideal Detonators Private Limited shipped the compound, known as HMX or octogen, to two Russian explosives manufacturers despite U.S. threats to impose sanctions on any entity supporting Russia's Ukraine war effort. One of the Russian companies listed in Indian customs data as receiving the compound is the explosives manufacturer Promsintez. An official at Ukraine's SBU security service has said the Russian company has ties to the military and that Ukraine launched a drone attack in April against a Promsintez-owned factory. Promsintez did not respond to a request for comment. Ideal Detonators said in an emailed response to Reuters that the material it shipped was not military grade. "The shipment ... is for industrial activity and it's a civil explosive," the company said. The U.S. government has identified HMX as "critical for Russia's war effort" and has warned financial institutions against facilitating any sales of the substance to Moscow. The U.S. Treasury Department has the authority to sanction those who sell HMX and similar substances to Russia, sanctions lawyers have said. HMX is widely used in missile and torpedo warheads, rocket motors, exploding projectiles and plastic-bonded explosives for advanced military systems, according to the Pentagon's Defense Technical Information Center and related defense research programs. The compound also has some limited civilian applications in mining and other industrial activities.
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MUMBAI, July 26 (Reuters) - Kotak Mahindra Bank ( opens new tab, India's third-largest private lender by market capitalisation, reported a drop in first-quarter profit on Saturday, as it set aside more funds for potential bad loans and saw a contraction in lending margins. The bank's standalone net profit fell 47.5% to 32.81 billion indian rupees ($379.42 million) for the quarter ended June 30, down from year-earlier 62.5 billion rupees ($722.75 million), which included a 27.3 billion rupee gain on a stake sale of its insurance subsidiary to Zurich Insurance (ZURN.S), opens new tab last year. On average, analysts had expected a profit of 35.82 billion rupees, according to data compiled by LSEG. The lender's net interest margin, a key gauge of profitability, fell to 4.65%, from 5.02% a year earlier, reflecting the impact of the Reserve Bank of India's recent interest rate cuts. When rates are lowered, banks typically pass on the benefits to borrowers first and only later reduce deposit rates, which can temporarily squeeze margins. Meanwhile, Kotak Mahindra Bank's asset quality deteriorated, with the gross non-performing assets ratio at 1.48% at the end of June, versus 1.39% a year earlier. Indian lenders have kept a tight lid on unsecured lending after grappling with higher bad loans in that segment, a move that has helped support asset quality. The bank's provisions for bad loans more than doubled year-on-year to 12.08 billion rupees. Net interest income grew 6% to 72.59 billion rupees in the first quarter. While credit growth has slowed across the industry, Kotak Mahindra Bank's loan book expanded 13%, driven mainly by a 16% rise in loans to retail consumers. ($1 = 86.4750 Indian rupees)
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14 hours ago
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The 747 has disappeared from Europe, with the exception of one airline
It was easy to spot the aviation geeks walking past gate B32 at Frankfurt Airport. Each slowed from their purposeful stride, or stopped entirely, transfixed. For parked on the apron in the near darkness, with twinkling navigation lights suggesting imminent distant adventures, was a Boeing 747-8. Huge, majestic – and very rare. There are 25,000 blue whales, an animal to which the jumbo jet is frequently compared, navigating the planet, but now only around 50 747s in active passenger service, the vast majority of top-tier carriers having retired them in favour of newer models. Their decline has been long and drawn out, but was hastened by the Covid pandemic, which saw hundreds sold to cargo airlines or simply scrapped. It seems this four-engine behemoth, first flown commercially in 1970, is no longer financially viable in an era of increasingly-efficient twin-engined jets. The final passenger-configured jumbo was delivered eight years ago, and Boeing has no plans to restart the production line. But one European airline hasn't turned its back on the 747 just yet. Germany's Lufthansa, perceived by many to be aviation's kings of efficiency, still operates 27 jumbo jets – 19 of the newer 747-8s, and eight older, slightly smaller 747-400s – and is even upgrading some jumbo jet interiors with swanky new Allegris seats at a cost of $2bn. Why the lingering attachment? Part of the reason is simple and unromantic economics. According to aviation analysts, operations out of its Frankfurt and Munich hubs are each at take-off slot capacity. So, with flight numbers capped, Lufthansa really needs its biggest aircraft, and the 364-seat 747s-8s drop neatly between the Airbus A350 (293 seats) and A380 (455 seats). Furthermore, jumbos, despite their age, have a cracking range of up to 8,000 miles and remain among the fastest passenger jets in the sky (reaching speeds of up to 706mph). 'It's a very good aircraft for very long range, and with a load of 35 tonnes of cargo it makes the 747-8 very economic for us, especially for long-range flights to cities like Buenos Aires and Tokyo, and 'hot and high' airports like Mexico City and Johannesburg [heat adversely affects take-off and landing performance],' said Captain Sebastian Stockhoff, a chief pilot who flies 747s and 787s for Lufthansa. 'That's especially so because [the 747] has eight first-class seats, 80 business-class seats and 32 premium economy [plus 244 economy]. So on routes like New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo, the aircraft is not just very reliable, it's for us very economical because of the higher-class products we have in big volume. 'For flights of around 13 or 14 hours… especially now with the political issues, where you cannot fly across Russia and with rerouting around some Middle Eastern areas, [the 747 means] you can still fly non-stop with some cargo loads [...] it's the perfect aircraft.' But there's another, less tangible factor. Lufthansa recognises that the public, from aviation geeks to ordinary travellers, have plenty of love for the 'Queen of the Skies'. Indeed, affection for the 747 is clearly evident amongst passengers, according to Stockhoff. At Newark Airport, he said, the Lufthansa 747 parks with its nose close to the window, right beside the boarding gate. 'It's quite funny; it takes a while until the passengers are on board the aircraft because they all want to take a photo of the 747,' he explained. Surprisingly agile, very fast Pilots also love the jumbo jet, said Stockhoff, whose first 747 flight was into Orlando in 2015. 'It's very logical [to operate]. There are not so many computers, so you feel more connected to the aircraft.' Cabin crew, he added, love its huge galleys. Bruce Dickinson, lead singer with rock band Iron Maiden, is a former airline pilot, and flew the band's 747-400 tour plane 'Ed Force One', named after the band's mascot, 'Ed', back in 2013-2014. In 2023, he told Flight Global: 'On the ground it's quite stately. In the air it's surprisingly agile, and very fast.' Plane-spotting king Jerry Dyer of Big Jet TV is equally admiring: 'Her design and profile mean she's more majestic in flight than any other aircraft, particularly during a bank. Plus, she has history.' My first 747 flight, in the early 1980s, was on a Lufthansa jet. The plane hadn't been visible from the boarding gate, so entering the cabin was a bit of a Tardis moment. When you're used to narrow-bodied planes, it is surreal stepping inside. My last was on a Virgin Atlantic flight to Mexico. Nine hours in, the 747 ticked up to 41,500 feet – it felt like an effortless demonstration that she still had it. That the landing was, as fans say, a real 'greaser', followed by a cruise-liner-like docking at the terminal, confirmed its majesty.
