Latest news with #JetAirways
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Two arrested in ₹1.72 cr digital arrest fraud
MUMBAI: The Central Cyber Police on Wednesday arrested two Pune residents for duping a 61-year-old retired teacher of ₹1.72 crore through a digital arrest fraud. The arrested accused were identified as Ajay Sundar Divekar, 40, and Nitin Atmaram More, 41, who received ₹32 lakh out of the defrauded amount, according to the police. The two accused were brought to Mumbai on Wednesday for interrogation, said deputy commissioner of police Datta Nalawade. The police are investigating to find other individuals involved in the fraud. A digital arrest is a type of cyber fraud where criminals impersonate law enforcement officers to coerce victims into paying money under the false pretence of an arrest. According to the police, the cyber fraudsters contacted the woman from an unidentified mobile number, claiming that they were from a courier company. They told her that a case has been registered against her as they found a parcel containing her passport, credit card and MDMA drugs, adding that a senior crime branch officer would question her on a video call. The woman then got a video call from a person claiming to be the senior investigating officer, who told her that their investigation had revealed she was connected to the money-laundering case linked to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. An officer from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) would also question her on a video call, the person said. The woman then got video calls from multiple people claiming to be ED officers, who told her she was allegedly involved in drug trafficking and a few other illegal activities. They eventually coerced the woman to make five transactions amounting to ₹1.72 crore by threatening to arrest her. She was told that the amount would be returned if the agency found her innocent, the police said. After the victim was left with no money to transfer, the fraudsters stopped contacting her. That's when she realised she was duped and approached the Central Cyber police station. A case was registered on March 6. On checking the money trail, the police found that More's bank account was used in one of the transactions. The police said that More was offered a commission of ₹15,000 for renting his bank account to Divekar for carrying out the transaction.
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Time of India
Woman loses Rs 14L in ‘digital arrest' scam in Noida
Noida: A woman allegedly lost over Rs 14 lakh to cybercriminals who placed her under "digital arrest". Nidhi from Sector 50 filed a complaint with Cyber Crime police on Monday, detailing a harrowing experience that began with a phone call from an international number in Jan. In the complaint, she claimed to have received a call from someone claiming to be Ankit Kumar from the telecom department. The scammer threatened her with disconnection, claiming her phone number was linked to 17 FIRs. "Initially, I was confused because the number they mentioned wasn't mine," Nidhi said. "But they insisted it was registered in my name and offered to help me file a complaint." The caller then pretended to transfer her call to a police constable at Mumbai's Andheri police station, who confirmed the bogus claims. The fake constable assured Nidhi that he would connect her to the appropriate department. Nidhi was then contacted via video call by a man identifying himself as Pradip Sawant. He showed his face briefly before turning the camera off, claiming he was "recording her statement." During the call, she heard sirens in the background, and another voice announced that she was now "under digital arrest". According to Nidhi, the scammers began interrogating her, asking personal questions and accusing her of drug use and links to money laundering. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Vuela a Madrid y Tenerife. Plus Ultra Compra ahora Undo "It felt like torture. They scolded and threatened me constantly," she told police. The scammers falsely claimed her name was involved in a money laundering case connected to Naresh Goyal, the founder of Jet Airways. Under pressure and still on a live video call with the scammers, Nidhi was coerced into transferring more than Rs 14 lakh from her bank account. "They told me I was doing something good for the country," she said, recounting how they shifted tone after receiving the money. Still under the scammers' control, Nidhi remained on video call until her mother noticed her distressed behaviour and intervened. It was only then that she realised she had been cheated. A complaint was initially filed on the national cyber crime reporting portal, but the family alleged no action was taken until now. Following a review of the complaint, an FIR was registered under sections 308(2) (extortion), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating), 336(4), 338, and 340 (all related to forgery) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66 and 66D of the Information Technology Act.
Mint
23-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Twenty years of SpiceJet: The no-frills airline's journey through many highs and lows
SpiceJet marks its 20th anniversary on May 24, 2025. From its modest beginnings in 2005 to becoming a household name in Indian aviation, the airline's journey has been nothing short of turbulent — filled with rapid growth, intense competition, financial turbulence, and resilience. However, the fact that SpiceJet started earlier than IndiGo, and IndiGo is now over 12 times its size, speaks a lot about the missed opportunities of SpiceJet. On the other hand, SpiceJet is one of the two carriers (the other being IndiGo) which has managed to survive as many years with the likes of Air Deccan, Sahara, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Go Air not able to sustain the Indian aviation landscape, apart from many other smaller players. SpiceJet took to the skies on May 23, 2005, with its first flight from Delhi to Ahmedabad. The airline was quick to expand and look for routes, both non-stop and one-stop, which were immensely popular. Its catchy tagline, ' set the tone for a bold and energetic brand in the making. It held some prime spots at major airports and offered competitive fares. The airline grew rapidly in the late 2000s, expanding its fleet and adding new routes across India. However, like many carriers in the fiercely competitive Indian aviation sector, SpiceJet faced its share of headwinds — rising fuel costs, regulatory hurdles, and price wars took a toll. In 2010, it changed hands from Ajay Singh to Kalanidhi Maran of the Sun Group. The expansion saw the airline focus on Chennai, move from a single fleet type to dual class, with the Bombardier Q400 turboprops being inducted. The airline was at the cusp of a major expansion, planning expansion with Blue Ocean Strategy. However, a debt-free company in 2011, the airline piled up debt quickly due to rising oil prices and market headwinds, coming to a near standstill in December 2014, grounding its fleet and alarming investors and passengers alike. Ajay Singh returned to the helm as white knight, orchestrating a dramatic turnaround. Under his leadership, the airline renegotiated leases, cut costs, and refocused on profitable routes. SpiceJet began to stabilise and even diversify, venturing into cargo (SpiceXpress) and regional connectivity under the UDAN scheme, which was announced in 2016. The tailwinds looked favourable once more with the airline placing an order for the MAX aircraft with Boeing and being the second in India to take delivery. This would have set the airline on a different course with fleet renewal firmly in place and an MoU with none other than Emirates as a codeshare partner. Its regional arm helped connect underserved Tier-II and Tier-III cities, in alignment with the government's vision for accessible air travel. The fall of Jet Airways was a high point of sorts for the airline, which saw an immediate opportunity to scale back to 2014 levels and go beyond in due course of time. With Jet Airways planes grounded in India, the lessors found a white knight again in the form of SpiceJet, which took 30 of former Jet Airways planes, along with pilots. This was followed by Vistara adding these former Jet Airways planes and crew. It became a win-win situation for everyone, the lessors, the staff and the airports. The government linked slots of Jet Airways to additional capacity, and by the end of 2019, within months of the fall of Jet Airways, the Indian skies were buzzing again with planes still showing remnants of Jet Airways livery and crisscrossing the country. This also coincided with the grounding of MAX after two deadly crashes. What seemed like a masterstroke became the backbreaker for SpiceJet. It clearly was trying to gulp more than it can chew but was the opportunity which was presented. However, less than a year after the fall of Jet Airways and SpiceJet taking as much liability in the form of new planes and additional staff, the pandemic hit which grounded aviation in India and across the world. The airline hardly managed to come out of this hit, with the financials being even worse than what 2014 had in store for the airline. The airline was hit by court cases along with liquidation petitions filed by lessors and others. The airline has recovered partially by monetising SpiceXpress, the cargo arm, and attracting investments worth INR 3,000 crore last year from multiple investors. However, its market share has remained below 5 per cent in a market which has more than doubled since 2014, when it hit its first major setback. New entrants like Akasa Air have managed to have a larger presence at key airports. The newly raised funding has helped the airline retire some debt, but it is still struggling to get the capacity in the air as it had once thought and committed it would. Sustenance has been the first goal for the airline, and it would hope that the base remains strong to build on it without any external shocks this time around.
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
IndiGo's first ever route connecting Mumbai to Manchester
MUMBAI: IndiGo has announced its first-ever long-haul route connecting Mumbai with Manchester, United Kingdom, on July 1 and Mumbai to Amsterdam, Netherlands, from July 2. The airline will use its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to operate three weekly flights on the route. This will make IndiGo the only airline offering direct connectivity between India and the Northern UK. Erstwhile Jet Airways operated the Boeing 777 on Mumbai to Manchester route before its operations were shut down in 2019. At present, the passengers must break their journey. The Mumbai to Manchester flights will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. The Mumbai to Amsterdam flights will operate on Wednesday Friday, and Sunday. Pieter Elbers, chief executive officer of IndiGo, said the airline's long-haul foray marks a pivotal moment in their global expansion journey. 'The Netherlands and India share a strong and thriving bilateral relationship, and this new non-stop, thrice-weekly service between Mumbai and Amsterdam will only deepen the growing ties between the two nations. We are closely working with Schiphol Airport to provide customers with our quintessential seamless and hassle-free travel experience.' This service by IndiGo will thereby further enhance connectivity between India and the UK, fostering stronger economic, educational, and cultural ties. Beyond supporting the growing Indian diaspora in the region, these direct flights are expected to boost two-way tourism, and ease travel for students, professionals, and leisure travellers. It will also unlock new avenues for bilateral trade and collaboration between the two countries, said a spokesperson. Manchester Airport's managing director, Chris Woodroofe, said, 'This route makes us the only Northern airport with a direct connection to India and cements our position as one of Europe's best-connected airports.'
Mint
14-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Company Outsider: Titan's succession planning ensures continuity and evokes confidence
By naming Ajoy Chawla as its next managing director a full seven months before the incumbent, C.K. Venkataraman, is scheduled to retire, Titan has once again shown the way to smooth leadership transition. Chawla will be only the fourth MD of the company in the last 40 years since it was founded, a tribute to its succession planning. For context, Wipro has had that many CEOs in just the last 10 years while Jet Airways, before it shut down in 2019, saw six CEO changes in the previous 14 years. By contrast, Titan's only three CEOs before Chawla have enjoyed long and uninterrupted tenures. Xerxes Desai, who laid the company's foundations, held the reins for 16 years. Bhaskar Bhat, his successor, steered Titan for the next 17 through an inherited crisis to eventual triumph, and finally Venkataraman who took over in 2019 and will end up with a six-year tenure at the top. While that's shorter than that of his predecessors, it is on par with global standards. Leadership consultant Russel Reynolds, in the latest report of its quarterly Global CEO Turnover Index says that the average tenure for outgoing CEOs is about 6.8 years. Each of Titan's leaders has left a distinct mark on the company, embodying what transformational leadership theory calls inspiring change through vision. Desai, despite his outward appearance of an Oxford don, was a tough business leader who didn't shy from taking hard calls like axing a faltering five-year-old joint venture with Timex in 1997. Bhat, who took over in 2002, faced down an existential crisis when a failed European push in the late 1990s left Titan reeling, and steered the company to bumper growth and profits. That's when it caught the eye of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, who was convinced of its potential to be a multi-bagger. Typical of the ace investor, much of his confidence stemmed from his faith in the company's leadership. Bhat lived up to his faith with a long-term vision that turned Titan from a watchmaker into a lifestyle juggernaut. Similarly, Venkataraman, in his six-year-long stint, has supercharged the jewellery segment, now the company's primary growth driver. Management theory backs Titan's emphasis on leadership planning. The resource-based view argues that internal talent, when nurtured, becomes a competitive edge. But Titan doesn't pick its leaders out of a hat; it grooms them assiduously. As part of the company's rotational policy, Chawla was earlier responsible for driving the domestic and international watch business before moving on to handle new businesses including Fragrances and Indian Ethnic Women's Wear. Subsequently, he took charge of the jewellery division in 2019, the very year that Venkataraman became MD & CEO. All of it is a part of the well-honed process of placing the best of the company's next generation of leaders in critical positions to gauge their strengths and weaknesses. With sales and profits of the jewellery division growing 2.5 times under his watch, Chawla earned his recent appointment. In the process of grooming him for the top job, the company also built bench strength in the form of other contenders like Suparna Mitra, head of watches and wearables, and Saumen Bhaumik, who heads the eyewear business. Contingency theory tells us that leadership must fit the moment, and Titan's choices reflect this. Desai built, Bhat diversified and Venkataraman scaled. Chawla will be tested not just to carry this legacy forward but to leave his own footprint. At 58, he will have just 6-7 years at the most to leave his mark before he reaches the Tata Group's superannuation age. Titan's stability at the top breeds confidence not just for shareholders, who've reaped stellar returns, but for a workforce that knows the ship won't lurch with every storm. It isn't surprising that the company is consistently rated as a top performer among Indian companies with a CAGR of 35% over the last 20 years. Starting out as a watchmaker, it is now a titan of jewellery, eyewear, and wearables, having navigated challenges that would've sunk lesser firms. The 1998, European misadventure could've been fatal; yet Bhat's steady hand—and the board's faith in him—saw Titan through. In a world obsessed with disruption, Titan's story is a reminder that foresight and planning can be real game changers. Its succession planning, rooted in nurturing talent and aligning leaders with strategy, offers a blueprint for other companies. As Chawla prepares to take over, Titan isn't just passing on the baton, it's showing the world how to run a relay race that never falters. The Company Outsider newsletter will be on a temporary break as the author is on leave until 18 June.
