Latest news with #PawanHans
NDTV
11-05-2025
- NDTV
In Kasar Devi, Uttarakhand: A Luxury Boutique Hotel That Dissolves Into The Landscape
"Would you like a Shih Tzu puppy?" asked the affable young man working for Pawan Hans upon my arrival at Dehradun Airport — he was overwhelmed with a litter of five-week-old puppies. (Pawan Hans, a government-run helicopter service, operates flights to remote parts of India.) The offer was unusual, but since I already live with three dogs, I declined. Besides, my mind was more on the Kasar Devi Temple. I was reaching it by chopper to a band-aid-sized airport at Almora, the closest town. Lifting from Dehradun, fields and forests unfurled beneath me, silver rivers wreathed through scattered villages. Hills rose and folded into deep green valleys, terraced with gold and dusty emerald shades of leaf cover. Near Almora, pines thickened, the air sharpened, snow-hatted mountains appeared like joinery between earth and sky. A dirt track led me to The Kumaon, a ten-bedroom luxury boutique hotel founded by Dr Vikrom Mathur, an eminent environmentalist with a doctorate from Oxford University; he helms Transitions Research, a cutting-edge think tank in North Goa. Mathur and his business partners commissioned Colombo-based Zowa Architects, the studio co-founded by Jineshi Samaraweera and Pradeep Kodikara, to create a property — also my home through my visit — that is a masterclass in sensitive, site-responsive architecture. Special to The Kumaon is how its form dissolves into the landscape. Low-key luxe rooms with private terraces overlook layered natural courtyards, the creation palette chiefly locally sourced stone, bamboo — and poured concrete. Rooms and galleries effortlessly frame glorious views of Himalayan caps. Kodikara and Samaraweera ran with the baton of Sri Lanka modernism and pitched camp in the Himalayas to create a design language that is its own singular thing. On my evening walk, through oaks and myrtles, the terrain burned with a powerful, noble quality. A leopard had recently attacked a cow, which the villagers had buried where it was found. A few stones marked the gravesite; even at a site of loss, sacred air persisted. In the distance, rhododendrons bloomed — red, wild, and true — and a scent of lichen, rain-soaked earth, dry leaves; something timeless. *** Driving through narrow, circuitous roads to the temple, I passed stores stocked with local honey and nettle tea, boutiques that worked with women's collectives to make woollen toys for children, and cafés with million-dollar views but ugly furniture, selling sad slices of apple crumble. A renaissance on the slopes brought in Russian and Israeli tourists by the truckload (quite literally — big groups rattling along in open trucks). Dr Mathur accompanied me to Kasar Devi, telling me how he first came here as a child, enchanted by the small town of Almora and the decency of the locals, but mostly by the jungle further up, surrounding the ancient temples of Jageshwar. Here cedars stand in tall stillness, like monks absorbed in prayer; the hill fox urges cries of panic among ghostly-looking langurs. A Himalayan whistling thrush propels a song, a silvery question in the cold. The Kumaon had been his long-cherished dream — to create a refuge here for his children, and in doing so, he had created an elegant haven for other explorers as well. Presently, the car pulled up before a few food stalls at the base of Kasar Devi. The ascension to the temple — a long, high path — is flanked with pines, and it feels as if they are carrying you away from the familiar world. Now Dr Mathur pointed to a cave where Swami Vivekananda once sat in meditation. It was under the main temple, and here the great sage had experienced currents of power he described as "rare and potent." DH Lawrence came not long after, chasing the hard, clean light that might cauterise his fevers. I imagined Allen Ginsberg standing on a nearby promontory, verse foaming in his mind. Lama Anagarika Govinda wrote of this village in The Way of the White Clouds — less a settlement and more a flame that burned down the unnecessary to hold the essential. Long before scientists discovered that the ridge falls within a rare electromagnetic field — an energetic equal only to Stonehenge and Machu Picchu — the sages had already intuited what instruments would later confirm: that some places are more awake than others. You experience it here not in grand visions but in subtle adjustments of the body — the mind opening, as a window might to a gust; sediment in the heart settles. The temple does not ask to be entered. It enters you, quietly, before you notice, to remake you from within. At one point, I wondered — what was my story here? Man Visits Temple! But seekers before me had come not because Kasar Devi was their destination. They had come here, as I had — because we had been lost. But none of us imagined that this might be a homecoming. On a clear day, the Himalayan caps from The Kumaon. Photo: The Kumaon Below the temple, a rock appears suspended in the air. I sat there to gaze at the setting sun. A scorpion emerged from the dirt. In Egypt, the scorpion was never a threat; it was a sentinel, associated with the goddess Serqet; it stood at the crossroads of breath and afterlife, shielding souls from poison and secret harm. According to Jung, it represented the shadow self — to meet a scorpion was to encounter what was buried: hunger, fear, doubt, the terrible lusts. As the scorpion disappeared, my eye met the horizon, which seemed to have no end. I wondered if someone was going to adopt that Shih Tzu puppy. May I should have? That, perhaps, would have been the story.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
BMC plans to appoint Pawan Hans for Worli jetty helipad feasibility study
Mumbai: The BMC's Coastal Road department has proposed appointing Pawan Hans Ltd , a govt of India enterprise, as a consultant to conduct a feasibility study for constructing a helipad at Worli Jetty. This is part of a multimodal transportation plan under the Mumbai Coastal Road project. TOI was the first to report about the helipad plans in March when deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde asked the BMC to consider setting it up along the Coastal Road. A BMC official said, "As it's a govt undertaking, it has been proposed to directly appoint Pawan Hans as a consultant for the project. Permission from the administrator is being sought for the same." The plans are to set up a helipad on a temporary jetty that was made for the Coastal Road project opposite Worli Dairy. There were initially two jetties, one near Amarsons Garden that was dismantled and the other at Worli. The Worli jetty was not proposed to be dismantled as coastal police sought some space for surveillance. This area is large enough to allow helicopter landing, civic officials said. The civic body will pay Pawan Hans a consultancy fee of Rs 5 lakh. — Richa Pinto
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive-India to ditch privatisation plans, pour billions in state-run firms, sources say
By Nikunj Ohri and Sarita Chaganti Singh NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pouring billions into ailing state-run firms after slowing ambitious divestment plans that were intended to reduce the role of the state in business, according to government sources and a document reviewed by Reuters. Less than a month into 2025, New Delhi has plans to invest about $1.5 billion in financial rescue packages for two state-owned firms after failing to sell them to private companies. It has also decided to put in "abeyance" privatisation of at least nine state-owned units after opposition from relevant ministries, according to a document that detailed recommendations of a government panel set up to identify privatisation candidates. The document, reviewed by Reuters, did not cite reasons for the decision. The nine companies include Madras Fertilizers, Fertilizer Corp of India, MMTC and NBCC (India), the document showed. Housing and Urban Development Corp, that was also identified for privatisation, has now been 'exempted' implying it will not be sold, according to the document. Among the state-owned companies being revived with government funding is helicopter operator Pawan Hans. The government is planning to infuse around $230 million-$350 million in Pawan Hans to modernise its aging fleet of helicopters after four failed attempts to sell the company, two government sources said. The amount of infusion is still being finalised as the options being considered for fleet modernisation include both outright acquisition and leasing, one of the sources said. The sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. India's finance and civil aviation ministries did not immediately reply to e-mails seeking comment on the privatisation plans or on the Pawan Hans investment. The fund infusion in Pawan Hans and plans to halt the privatisation of nine firms have not been previously reported. In 2021, Modi's government announced a major programme to privatise most of India's state-run companies. The plan was so drastic that even in the four sectors that India sees as sensitive, such as telecoms and banking, it wanted to keep only a minimum presence, while exiting from all other sectors. But now it is planning rescue and revival plans for companies even outside the sensitive sectors. Last week, the government announced a $1.3 billion plan to revive debt-laden steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL). The government has also allocated 80 billion rupees in 2024/25 for bond repayments of state-run telco MTNL that has seen a series of defaults lately, according to budget documents for the current year. PRIVATISATION SLOWDOWN Four years since the privatisation policy was announced, the Modi government has had only three successes, out of which Air India's sale to the Tata Group was the largest. The other two were indirect holdings in steel-maker Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd to Tata Steel and Ferro Scrap Nigam to Konoike Transport Co. Other large sales have either been deferred or delayed. The U-turn in policy was partly driven by the expectation that some large state-owned firms could be overhauled and made more profitable, helping the government earn dividend income, Reuters has reported previously. Political pressures on Modi have increased after he came back to power in mid-2024 only with the help of regional allies, making it more difficult to overcome opposition to privatisation by employee unions fearing job losses. The sale of state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp was rolled back in 2022 after failing to get suitors. The ongoing privatisation of Shipping Corp of India and BEML has been stuck for years due to complications over transfer of land holdings. The government has also been dragging its feet on the sale of a majority stake in IDBI Bank. In previous years, privatisation formed an important part of the government's plan to reduce its budget gap. But with the federal fiscal deficit seen falling to a more comfortable 4.9% of GDP in the 2024-25 year, the fiscal push for divestment has waned. New Delhi is expected to miss its internal stake sale target of 180 billion to 200 billion rupees in 2024-25 (April-March) for the sixth straight year. As of January, government has mopped up 86.25 billion rupees via stake sales in 2024/25. ($1 = 86.4250 Indian rupees) Sign in to access your portfolio
Zawya
27-01-2025
- Business
- Zawya
India to ditch privatisation plans, pour billions in state-run firms, sources say
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pouring billions into ailing state-run firms after slowing ambitious divestment plans that were intended to reduce the role of the state in business, according to government sources and a document reviewed by Reuters. Less than a month into 2025, New Delhi has plans to invest about $1.5 billion in financial rescue packages for two state-owned firms after failing to sell them to private companies. It has also decided to put in "abeyance" privatisation of at least nine state-owned units after opposition from relevant ministries, according to a document that detailed recommendations of a government panel set up to identify privatisation candidates. The document, reviewed by Reuters, did not cite reasons for the decision. The nine companies include Madras Fertilizers, Fertilizer Corp of India, MMTC and NBCC (India), the document showed. Housing and Urban Development Corp, that was also identified for privatisation, has now been 'exempted' implying it will not be sold, according to the document. Among the state-owned companies being revived with government funding is helicopter operator Pawan Hans. The government is planning to infuse around $230 million-$350 million in Pawan Hans to modernise its aging fleet of helicopters after four failed attempts to sell the company, two government sources said. The amount of infusion is still being finalised as the options being considered for fleet modernisation include both outright acquisition and leasing, one of the sources said. The sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. India's finance and civil aviation ministries did not immediately reply to e-mails seeking comment on the privatisation plans or on the Pawan Hans investment. The fund infusion in Pawan Hans and plans to halt the privatisation of nine firms have not been previously reported. In 2021, Modi's government announced a major programme to privatise most of India's state-run companies. The plan was so drastic that even in the four sectors that India sees as sensitive, such as telecoms and banking, it wanted to keep only a minimum presence, while exiting from all other sectors. But now it is planning rescue and revival plans for companies even outside the sensitive sectors. Last week, the government announced a $1.3 billion plan to revive debt-laden steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL). The government has also allocated 80 billion rupees in 2024/25 for bond repayments of state-run telco MTNL that has seen a series of defaults lately, according to budget documents for the current year. PRIVATISATION SLOWDOWN Four years since the privatisation policy was announced, the Modi government has had only three successes, out of which Air India's sale to the Tata Group was the largest. The other two were indirect holdings in steel-maker Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd to Tata Steel and Ferro Scrap Nigam to Konoike Transport Co. Other large sales have either been deferred or delayed. The U-turn in policy was partly driven by the expectation that some large state-owned firms could be overhauled and made more profitable, helping the government earn dividend income, Reuters has reported previously. Political pressures on Modi have increased after he came back to power in mid-2024 only with the help of regional allies, making it more difficult to overcome opposition to privatisation by employee unions fearing job losses. The sale of state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp was rolled back in 2022 after failing to get suitors. The ongoing privatisation of Shipping Corp of India and BEML has been stuck for years due to complications over transfer of land holdings. The government has also been dragging its feet on the sale of a majority stake in IDBI Bank . In previous years, privatisation formed an important part of the government's plan to reduce its budget gap. But with the federal fiscal deficit seen falling to a more comfortable 4.9% of GDP in the 2024-25 year, the fiscal push for divestment has waned. New Delhi is expected to miss its internal stake sale target of 180 billion to 200 billion rupees in 2024-25 (April-March) for the sixth straight year. As of January, government has mopped up 86.25 billion rupees via stake sales in 2024/25. ($1 = 86.4250 Indian rupees)
Reuters
27-01-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: India to ditch privatisation plans, pour billions in state-run firms, sources say
Summary Companies India planning to pour in $230-350 mln in ailing Pawan Hans, sources say Government announced $1.3 bln plan to revive steel producer Privatisation plans of 9 state-run firms on hold, according to document Government mopped up $998 million via stake sales in 2024/25 NEW DELHI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is pouring billions into ailing state-run firms after slowing ambitious divestment plans that were intended to reduce the role of the state in business, according to government sources and a document reviewed by Reuters. Less than a month into 2025, New Delhi has plans to invest about $1.5 billion in financial rescue packages for two state-owned firms after failing to sell them to private companies. It has also decided to put in "abeyance" privatisation of at least nine state-owned units after opposition from relevant ministries, according to a document that detailed recommendations of a government panel set up to identify privatisation candidates. The document, reviewed by Reuters, did not cite reasons for the decision. The nine companies include Madras Fertilizers ( opens new tab, Fertilizer Corp of India, MMTC ( opens new tab and NBCC (India) ( opens new tab, the document showed. Housing and Urban Development Corp ( opens new tab, that was also identified for privatisation, has now been 'exempted' implying it will not be sold, according to the document. Among the state-owned companies being revived with government funding is helicopter operator Pawan Hans. The government is planning to infuse around $230 million-$350 million in Pawan Hans to modernise its aging fleet of helicopters after four failed attempts to sell the company, two government sources said. The amount of infusion is still being finalised as the options being considered for fleet modernisation include both outright acquisition and leasing, one of the sources said. The sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue. India's finance and civil aviation ministries did not immediately reply to e-mails seeking comment on the privatisation plans or on the Pawan Hans investment. The fund infusion in Pawan Hans and plans to halt the privatisation of nine firms have not been previously reported. In 2021, Modi's government announced a major programme to privatise most of India's state-run companies. The plan was so drastic that even in the four sectors that India sees as sensitive, such as telecoms and banking, it wanted to keep only a minimum presence, while exiting from all other sectors. But now it is planning rescue and revival plans for companies even outside the sensitive sectors. Last week, the government announced a $1.3 billion plan to revive debt-laden steel producer Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL). The government has also allocated 80 billion rupees in 2024/25 for bond repayments of state-run telco MTNL that has seen a series of defaults lately, according to budget documents for the current year. PRIVATISATION SLOWDOWN Four years since the privatisation policy was announced, the Modi government has had only three successes, out of which Air India's sale to the Tata Group was the largest. The other two were indirect holdings in steel-maker Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd to Tata Steel ( opens new tab and Ferro Scrap Nigam to Konoike Transport Co (9025.T), opens new tab. Other large sales have either been deferred or delayed. The U-turn in policy was partly driven by the expectation that some large state-owned firms could be overhauled and made more profitable, helping the government earn dividend income, Reuters has reported previously. Political pressures on Modi have increased after he came back to power in mid-2024 only with the help of regional allies, making it more difficult to overcome opposition to privatisation by employee unions fearing job losses. The sale of state refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp ( opens new tab was rolled back in 2022 after failing to get suitors. The ongoing privatisation of Shipping Corp of India ( opens new tab and BEML ( opens new tab has been stuck for years due to complications over transfer of land holdings. The government has also been dragging its feet on the sale of a majority stake in IDBI Bank ( opens new tab. In previous years, privatisation formed an important part of the government's plan to reduce its budget gap. But with the federal fiscal deficit seen falling to a more comfortable 4.9% of GDP in the 2024-25 year, the fiscal push for divestment has waned. New Delhi is expected to miss its internal stake sale target of 180 billion to 200 billion rupees in 2024-25 (April-March) for the sixth straight year. As of January, government has mopped up 86.25 billion rupees via stake sales in 2024/25. ($1 = 86.4250 Indian rupees)
