Air India may register Rs. 2,636 crore losses in FY16
The Dollar Business Bureau The Government of India on Thursday announced that Air India’s losses have reduced to almost half to Rs.2,636 crore in 2015-16 fiscal when compared to Rs.5,859.91 crore in 2014-15. According to the Civil Aviation Minister Mahesh Sharma, Air India has been reporting losses for the last few years due to various reasons. These being, high interest costs, stiff competition from budget airlines and variations in the exchange rate due to a weak rupee. To keep it from sinking further, in 2012, the finance ministry under the UPA-led government provided Rs.30,231 crore to the carrier under a turnaround plan (TAP) for a period of nine years. This infusion of equity included financial support to repay the principal as well as the interest accrued, on ...
Growth of 1024.4% in e-Tourist Visas during January-May 2015
Source: PIB, Government of India The Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma chairing the Joint Commission Meeting for East Asia and the Pacific & the UNWTO Commission for South Asia, in Maldives on June 04, 2015. (Photo source: CNR :68897 Photo ID :66221; PIB, Government of India) The Government of India launched Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVoA) enabled by Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA), presently known as e-Tourist Visa scheme, on 27th November 2014 for 43 countries. The Government extended this Scheme to the citizens of Guyana and Sri Lanka in January, 2015 and April, 2015, respectively. The e-Tourist Visa facility is extended to the nationals of 31 countries in May, ...
Visa on Arrival to be extended to tourists from 150 countries
Vanita Peter D’souza| The Dollar Business In what could be a game changer for Indian tourism, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has extended the ‘visa on arrival’ facility to citizens of 150 countries. “After the success of VISAs on arrival issued to travelers of 43 countries, I propose to increase the countries covered to 150, in stages,” Jaitley said while presenting the first full budget of Modi Sarkar on Saturday. According to data released by Ministry of Tourism, those availing Tourist Visa on Arriva (TVoA) saw a stupendous jump of 1,214.9% (YoY) in January 2015, as 25,023 foreign tourists made use of this convenience. Reacting to this budget announcement, a delighted Dr. Mahesh Sharma, MoS for Tourism, said, “It’s a ...