Rains swamp India's financial capital Mumbai as monsoon season arrives early
Record-breaking rainfall hit India's financial capital on May 26, flooding parts of the city and disrupting flights and train services. Weather officials say the huge downpours broke a record that had stood for more than a century. The monsoon rains started lashing the coast of the southern state of Kerala on May 24, before reaching parts of the state of Maharashtra on May 25. It marks the earliest arrival of the annual weather event in 16 years. Rebecca Bundhun has more from Mumbai.
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CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
Commentary: India market shines amid cloudy outlook for global aviation
NEW DELHI: India was a fitting host of the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general meeting in New Delhi last week. The country has emerged in recent years as a leader in the aviation sector, as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarked in a keynote address. While IATA now includes more than 350 airlines, with 31 joining over the last year, its Indian members have captured the most attention with rapid growth and massive aircraft orders. IndiGo, which has become one of the world's largest and fastest growing airlines, announced another 10 new international destinations and four domestic destinations for a total of 50 and 95 respectively. IndiGo also used the IATA meeting, which it hosted with unusual fanfare for a low-cost carrier, to announce another 30 orders for A350-900 widebody aircraft. IndiGo now has nearly 1,000 aircraft on order while the Air India group has nearly 600 on order with reported plans for another 200. Air India adopted a much lower profile at the IATA meeting despite its new branding and service improvements. MASSIVE GROWTH POTENTIAL IN INDIA India has become the world's third largest air transport market after the United States and China, reaching 174 million passengers in 2024. IATA forecasts passenger traffic in India will triple over the next 20 years. The country has massive growth potential as it is still relatively underserved. China now has a smaller population than India, but has more than four times the number of passengers and more than five times the number of commercial aircraft. IATA pointed out that India accounts for slightly over 4 per cent of the world's passenger traffic but almost 18 per cent of the global population. India's middle class is growing rapidly along with discretionary income, fuelling soaring demand for both domestic and international travel. Its air transport market has emerged in the post-pandemic era as the next China, which boomed in the decade before COVID-19, particularly for outbound international travel. However, India faces a few geopolitical challenges. The IATA meeting took place just three weeks after the ceasefire to a military conflict between India and Pakistan – a conflict that could have derailed India's first time hosting the meeting since 1983. Pakistan airspace remains closed to Indian carriers, which are now bracing for at least several more months of no access, putting them at a competitive disadvantage to foreign airlines. CHALLENGING MARKET CONDITIONS ACROSS ASIA Geopolitical issues, trade tensions and economic uncertainty are clouding the overall outlook for the global aviation industry. Airline profitability remains low, making the industry vulnerable to shocks. IATA expects airlines will generate US$36 billion in profits on US$979 billion in revenues in 2025, which equates to only a 3.7 per cent net margin or a profit of just US$7.20 per passenger. In 2024, the net profit margin was 3.4 per cent despite relatively buoyant demand and significantly higher air fares compared to pre-COVID levels. In Asia, market conditions remain challenging, despite the growth expectations. Asia Pacific carriers are expected to only account for US$4.9 billion or 13.6 per cent of the global profits this year. This equates to a net margin of less than 2 per cent. When excluding a handful of highly profitable airlines, the industry in this region is collectively only breaking even. Competition is intense and yields or air fares on many regional routes are not sufficient to cover higher costs. Some markets have still not yet fully recovered from the pandemic. Several airlines in Asia are now in a precarious financial position and will likely need to restructure to survive. India's market is exceptional in that it is significantly larger than pre-COVID levels and continues to grow rapidly, but only IndiGo is profitable. Other airlines are unprofitable from several longstanding issues including high taxation and excessive regulation. AIRLINES ARE NOTORIOUSLY RESILIENT The airline industry has never been easy. However, airline executives have never had to navigate such a challenging and complicated environment. In addition to the difficult geopolitical and economic environment, supply chain issues are expected to persist until at least the end of this decade. IATA director general Willie Walsh put pressure on aircraft and engine manufacturers 'to sort this mess out'. Sustainability also comes with an increasingly hefty price tag. The industry is starting to raise concerns about meeting net zero goals with Walsh acknowledging that it does not see new technology playing a significant part in the abatement of carbon emissions before 2050. Nevertheless, the mood last week in New Delhi was still upbeat. Airlines are notoriously resilient and steadfast about long-term growth prospects. India is an undeniable driver for global growth and its leaders are rightly proud of recent aviation achievements.
CNA
2 days ago
- CNA
Heatwave returns to North India with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius
Northern India is in the grips of another intense heatwave, with the temperature hitting 42 degrees Celsius on Jun 9, and it could get worse. The India Meteorological Department says it may get even hotter over the next three days, warning the mercury could rise past 45 degrees Celsius. Neha Poonia reports.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Straits Times
T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings
Cricket - Fifth T20 International - India v England - Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, India - February 2, 2025 India players lift the trophy and celebrate after winning the t20 series REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis Cricket - ICC T20 World Cup 2024 - Final - India v South Africa - Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados - June 29, 2024 General view of India fans in the stands before the match REUTERS/Ash Allen T20 can be US craze like yoga and Bollywood weddings Indian-American businessman Sanjay Govil is convinced Twenty20 cricket can be the next big cultural import into the United States, following a trail blazed by yoga and Bollywood-style weddings. Previous investors have held similar dreams of breaking into the U.S. sports league market, only to be thwarted by the nation's obsession with baseball, basketball and American football. IT entrepreneur Govil, however, is confident that along with Microsoft's India-born CEO Satya Nadella and Silicon Valley's Anand Rajaraman and Venky Harinarayan he can embed the short, jazzy version of cricket deeply into the U.S. sporting landscape "T20 leagues are the future," Govil, who owns Washington Freedom, one of the six franchises in the Major League Cricket (MLC), told Reuters. "Like Yoga, like Bollywood weddings, things from India and it's crazy here. "People here just love Indian wedding. When we have weddings in hotels, people just stop and watch. It's a spectacle, right?" Although cricket originated in England, India is now its financial engine with a cash cow in named the Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 competition, which has a brand value of $12 billion. IPL franchises with deep pockets also own teams in leagues in England, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, West Indies and the United States. The U.S. featured in the first international cricket match, against Canada, in New York in 1844, but cricket remains very much a niche sport in the country. RAISED PROFILE The introduction of the MLC in 2023 and staging matches in last year's T20 World Cup have raised the game's profile. Cricket returning to Olympics after a gap of 128 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Games will be "another big impetus", said Govil, who was born in Canada but grew up in New Delhi before moving to the U.S. Govil, who also owns 50% stake in the Welsh Fire franchise of The Hundred tournament in England, said MLC franchises learned a lot from their interaction with IPL counterparts. "One of the IPL owners came to my house and he educated me on how to build a team," he said. The presence of India's marquee players in the MLC would have been the icing on the cake but Govil respects the Indian board's policy of not allowing its players to take part in leagues abroad. "I'm sure they have some logic behind why they're doing what they're doing, and I respect that," he said. "I have to succeed in the cards which are dealt to me." Govil knows that cricket in the U.S. cannot rely only on the Indian market or south Asian diasporas in order to be successful. "We want to grow domestic talent. We cannot just rely on international players," he said. "We also have to create our own market here, because we cannot just rely on Indian eyeballs watching our matches." "We are in this for a long haul," Govil added. "We are making a lot of investments. We all have to have our own stadiums. "Once we have like eight or nine stadiums, that's when you're going to really see cricket growing in the U.S." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
