Ta-ta Vistara! Merger with AI set for Nov 12

 Ta-ta Vistara! Merger with AI set for Nov 12 

Govt Approves ₹2K Cr Singapore Airlines FDI, Foreign Carrier To Hold 25% In JV With Tatas 

Saurabh.Sinha@timesofindia.com 

New Delhi : Vistara will merge into Air India on Nov 12, 2024 and Tata Group patriarch Ratan Tata’s nearly three-decade-old dream of making Air India a world class airline in partnership with Singapore Airlines could soon come true. Govt has approved SIA’s FDI into AI, and the former will have 25.1% stake in the JV by investing Rs 2,059 crore in it.

Starting Sept 3, customers will “progressively no longer be able to make bookings with Vistara for travel on or after Nov 12, 2024. All our flights thereafter will be operated by AI and bookings for them will be redirected to Air India’s website from ours... Our operations continue as usual till Nov 11, 2024,” Vistara said in an internal note to employees on Friday. 

Vistara frequent flyer miles are being merged into the AI programme. Customers already booked on Vistara flights after Nov 12 will have their reservations converted to AI flight numbers. “…This will occur in phases during Sept, and customers will be individually informed when this occurs… even though in nearly all cases the aircraft, schedule and operating crew will be unchanged until early 2025,” 

AI CEO Campbell Wilson said in email to employees on Friday. The merger date was communicated soon after India approved SIA’s FDI. In a statement, SIA, which owned 49% in Vistara, said on Friday: “SIA and Tata Sons are firmly committed to supporting the growth and success of AI Group, which post-merger will have a significant presence in all key Indian airline market segments (full service, low-cost, international, and domestic). This merger will reinforce SIA’s multi-hub strategy and underscore its long-standing commitment to India through a direct stake in this large and rapidly growing aviation market,”  the statement added.

While welcoming Vistara employees into the AI fold, Wilson urged them and AI staffers to “ensure that our collective customers and colleagues experience the smoothest of transitions.” Wilson said: “The joint team looks forward to offering our guests an expanded network, additional flight options an enhanced frequent flyer programme… grateful for the support of our loyal customers through this next phase of building a world class, world scale, global airline with an Indian heart.

Bengal’s new bill seeks death or life in jail till death in rape cases

Bengal’s new bill seeks death or life in jail till death in rape cases

Legislation To Be Tabled On Monday 

Saibal Sen & Srishti Lakhotia TNN 

Kolkata : The stringent anti-rape bill to be tabled by West Bengal’s govt in the assembly on Monday proposes to treat all rape crimes — even if the victim survives — as a murder to be punished with life imprisonment or death, irrespective of the victim’s age. It will also call for a time-bound trial and enhanced compensation or fine to be collected from the guilty. In case of rape-murder, the bill proposes only the death penalty and a hefty fine to be collected from the perpetrator’s family. 

By introducing the “imprison ment for the remainder of natural life” clause along with the death penalty for all rape cases, the proposed bill will try to differ from and avoid the fate of previous such bills passed by other states. The Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019 and Maharashtra Shakti Bill, 2020 had only one penalty — mandatory death — for all rape and gang-rape cases. Both the bills are yet to get the President’s assent. The Supreme Court had in the 1983 Mithu versus State of Punjab case struck down IPC Section 303, which stipulated “mandatory death” for life convicts committing murder, saying it violated the fundamental right of equality before the law (Article 14 of the Constitution) and right to life (Article 21) by not allowing courts to exercise their discretion and, therefore, would result in “unfair, unjust and unreasonable procedure” that could deprive a person of his/her life. “We have researched multiple Supreme Court and high court judgments on this issue. We propose to have both death and rigorous imprisonment for the remainder of a person’s life and fine/compensation for trauma, rehabilitation and treatment of the victim. For rape and murder, the provisions will be death and fine (from kin).

A shorter fixed period for investigation and trial is being proposed. Other legal details are also being discussed threadbare and multiple stakeholders are being consulted,” said Sanjay Basu, senior standing counsel for the Bengal govt in SC.  Medical professionals shout slogans during a protest to condemn the rape and murder of a doctor, amid rainfall in Kolkata on Friday 

Times of India ePaper lucknow - R

Land dispute costs students MBBS seats

Land dispute costs students MBBS seats

Decision To Halt Admission At Kanyakumari College Follows NMC Directive To TN 

PushpaNarayan@timesofindia.com 

Chennai : The Tamil Nadu Medical Selection Committee has withdrawn the provisional MBBS allotments made to students at Kanyakumari Medical Mission Research Centre, a private university, for 2024-25. The decision comes after the National Medical Commission asked the state govt not to admit students during the ongoing counselling till further notice since the permission granted to the univer sity to start the MBBS course with 100 seats has been put on hold. 

The state will accommodate five govt school students who were admitted through the 7.5% quota. The provisional admission given to 95 other students has been with drawn. “We have given appointment orders to five govt school students under the 7.5% govt quota. We will accommodate them in other colleges. The number of seats will be adjusted next year,” he said. The results of round 1 allotment for the remaining 95 seats -under the state quota and management quota -have been cancelled as the committee had offered only provisional admissions, he said. Later in the evening, the state released the revised allotment after withdrawing 100 seats from the seat matrix. 

"Students have been allotted seats based on their merit in NEET and the rule of reservation," officials said. On Friday, NMC told the state govt that the private university, which submitted its application for the establishment of a new medical college, was granted permission on Aug 10 for 100 seats, NMC, in a communication to the state, said. In the meantime, the apex body has received a writ  petition filed by M/s. Michael Builders and Developers Pvt. Ltd. before the Delhi High Court contesting the college's claim to the land. The company has attached a district court order too. The NMC said it had put the “letter of permission” granted to the college for 100 MBBS seats on hold

Vande Bharat meets a long-pending demand of train users in Tiruchi

Vande Bharat meets a long-pending demand of train users in Tiruchi

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Madurai-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday.

The Hindu Bureau

TIRUCHI  31.08.2024 

Rail passengers in Tiruchi will get a daytime train service to Bengaluru with the introduction of the Vande Bharat Express between Madurai and Bengaluru Cantonment via Tiruchi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the train along with the Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil Vande Bharat inaugural specialsthrough video conference on Saturday.

The Madurai-Bengaluru Cantonment Vande Bharat inaugural special will leave Madurai at 12.30 p.m. and reach Tiruchi at 2.05 p.m on Saturday.

The Tiruchi Railway Division has planned a grand reception for the new train. The train will leave Tiruchi at 2.10 p.m. and reach Bengaluru Cantonment at 9.30 p.m. via Karur, Namakkal, Salem and Krishnarajapuram.

The regular service of the Madurai-Bengaluru Cantonment-Madurai Vande Bharat Express (20671/20672) will begin from September 2 for six days a week except Tuesdays.

The train (20671) will leave Madurai at 5.15 a.m. and reach Tiruchi at 6.50 a.m. It will depart Tiruchi at 6.55 a.m. and reach Bengaluru Cantonment at 1 p.m. with stops at Karur, Namakkal, Salem and Krishnarajapuram. In the return direction, the train (20672) will leave Bengaluru at 1.30 p.m. and reach Tiruchi at 7.20 p.m. It will depart Tiruchi at 7.25 p.m. to reach Madurai at 9.45 p.m.

The regular service of the Chennai Egmore-Nagercoil -Chennai Egmore Vande Bharat Express (20627/20628) will be operated from September 2 for six days a week except Wednesday.

The train (20627) will leave Chennai Egmore at 5 a.m. and reach Tiruchi Junction at 8.55 a.m. It will depart Tiruchi at 9 a.m. to reach Nagercoil at 1.50 p.m with stops at Dindigul, Madurai, Kovilpatti and Tirunelveli. In the return direction, the train (20628) will leave Nagercoil at 2.20 p.m. and reachTiruchi Junction at 6.45 p.m. It will leave Tiruchi at 6.50 p.m. to reach Chennai Egmore at 11 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Consumer Protection Council, Tamil Nadu secretary S. Pushpavanam has welcomed the introduction of Vande Bharat between Madurai and Bengaluru via Tiruchi and thanked Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for meeting a felt need of the railway users. The council has reiterated its demand for one more night train from Tiruchi to Bengaluru to meet the growing demand.

Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov. 12

Vistara to merge with Air India from Nov. 12

The Hindu Bureau

NEW DELHI  3.08.2024

The sun will set on Vistara on November 12 when the airline will move to the Air India brand with its flights carrying the ‘AI’ flight code instead of its ‘UK’ designator, and flight bookings too, moving to the latter’s web portal thereby completing the merger between the airlines.

Starting September 3, passengers will no longer be able to book tickets with Vistara for travel on or after November 12. Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights as usual till November 11.

The merger was announced by Vistara and AI soon after Singapore International Airlines (SIA) said the Indian government approved the plan for foreign direct investment in AI.

SIA, which held a 49% stake in Vistara along with Tata Sons, will now hold 25.1% in the combined entity in return for an investment of ₹2,058.5 crore.

NEWS 30.08.2024

 

Father cannot demand return of divorcee daughter’s ‘stridhan’ from her in-laws:

Father cannot demand return of divorcee daughter’s ‘stridhan’ from her in-laws: 

SC WOMAN IS THE SOLE OWNER OF HER ASSET

 Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesofindia.com 

New Delhi : Supreme Court Thursday ruled that a woman is the sole owner of her ‘stridhan’, the gold ornaments and other articles given by her parents at the time of marriage, and said that after divorce, her father has no authority to demand return of those gifts from her erstwhile in-laws. P Veerabhadra Rao’s daughter was married in Dec 1999 and the couple migrated to the US. After 16 years of marriage, the daughter filed for divorce. 

A Louis county circuit court in Missouri granted divorce by mutual possessions, material and financial, were settled between the parties through a separation agreement. She remarried in May 2018. Three years later, Rao filed an FIR against his daughter’s erstwhile in-laws in Hyderabad seeking return of her ‘stridhan’. 

The erstwhile in-laws unsuccessfully moved Telangana HC for quashing of the FIR. Then they appealed against HC order in SC. 

A bench of Justices quashed the case against the in-laws and said the father had no locus standi to seek return of his daughter’s ‘stridhan’ as that belonged solely to her.