Spicejet Turns Around, Wants To Raise Funds: Your Top India Headlines

Spicejet is looking to raise money. After coming dangerously close to bankruptcy and grounding 1800 flights just six months ago, the low-cost airline, under its new management appears to have made a quick recovery. It is now talking to bankers to raise $150 million to use as working capital and to repay old dues. It’s good to see that this airline didn’t go the way of Kingfisher, which was grounded two years ago when it faced a cash crunch. Spicejet is a far more interesting story, with the founder Ajay Singh stepping back in to rescue it from mismanagement.  

 IT service companies are trying to find their mojo again and Infosys seems to be leading the way. CEO Vishal Sikka has outlined his plan, which is to focus on the top 200 accounts and to put a greater emphasis on sales. Infosys will assign a consulting partner to the sales leader for these accounts to deepen their engagement and stay abreast of latest technology changes, the one thing Indian IT companies failed to do. Sikka, who had talked about his vision to become a $20 billion company by 2020, also outlined the exact break up of this strategy. You can read about it here.

 E-commerce companies are facing a new challenge – their delivery boys. They are the essential cogs in a logistics-driven business. At the moment, there is a shortage of delivery boys and e-commerce companies are grappling with a high attrition rate and rising salaries. Startups in logistics and ecommerce are vying with each other to offer more attractive perks, which includes even housing in some cases. Just a sign of how important this last mile asset is to the business, both for customer experience and for meeting deadlines. In fact, Google India, during its annual shopping festival, had released this ad honoring delivery boys.

 Tata Motors is unveiling its new GenX Nano today. The Nano, former chairman Ratan Tata’s pet project, was launched as a “people’s car” – a basic model targeted at first-time buyers at a price slightly higher than a motorcycle. It had a shaky start when it was launched in 2009 and Tata has since upgraded its features. This third model will be its biggest intervention yet, officials say. With this move, the Nano will directly compete with other hatchbacks, rather than as an entry-level car, and will offer a wider choice of variants to customers. Good luck TaMo.

 Aruna Shanbag, the face of India’s euthanasia debate, has died. She spent four decades in a vegetative state, as a result of a brutal attack in 1973. She was cared for by the staff of KEM Hospital in Mumbai, where she worked as a nurse, when her family said it was too poor to afford the sophisticated care she required. About six years ago, Pinki Virani, an author who wrote a book about her sought euthanasia for Aruna. It was bitterly opposed by the hospital staff caring for her. The Supreme Court denied the plea, but did issue a landmark ruling supporting passive euthanasia. RIP Aruna.

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