Why exporters are cutting jobs, Mumbai airport breaks a world record, and more trending news

India's cash-starved exporters are cutting jobs, thanks to delayed GST refunds to the tune of ?500 billion, Bloomberg reports. About 10,000 workers have lost their jobs just at the Tirupur export hub, according to A Sakthivel, regional chairman of the Federation of Indian Exporters Organisation. Unorganised businesses, especially in the textiles and jewelry sectors, are the most affected, he said. India’s exports – which now stand at $23 billion — recently fell for the first time in over a year, by 1.1%.

The Mumbai International Airport has set a new world record. It operated 969 flights in a 24-hour period on Friday, the most for a single-runway airport, Times of India reports. Twice on Friday, the runway handled 50 movements in 60 minutes, as against its declared capacity of 46 per hour. The soaring demand for air travel coupled with a land shortage for expansion is compelling authorities to operate the MIAL beyond peak capacity. Construction of a second airport near Mumbai is expected to start in January 2018, 20 years after it was first mooted.

Battle lines are drawn in the Indian e-commerce war: Amazon dominates in Delhi, Mumbai and other metros while Flipkart leads its American rival in tier II and tier III cities, according to the latest RedSeer E-tailing Leadership Index. But at an aggregate level, it’s a nip and tuck battle — both e-tailers were tied with an ELI score of 92 for the last quarter — a metric which aggregates 30+ parameters like sale volumes, brand recall and customer satisfaction. Redseer researchers attribute Amazon’s urban clout to its Prime membership programme, which has improved perceptions around delivery. Flipkart is also planning to launch a loyalty programme to rival Amazon Prime.

Telcos have collectively written off investments worth $50 billion, Bharti Airtel chief Sunil Mittal told Economic Times. And that’s because Jio turned the sector upside down with its “long, free promotional period” — all operators were compelled to match the company’s aggressive pricing after Jio entered the fray last year. Jio’s moves have also triggered a consolidation wave in the industry: Bharti Mittal acquired a piece of Tata Teleservices and Idea Cellular agreed to merge with Vodafone India. Mittal says consolidation will help his company become stronger. The telco is open to acquire smaller rival Aircel, which recently pulled out of negotiations to merge with the debt-ridden Reliance Communication.

Meredith Corporation will acquire Time for roughly $2.8 billion. The all-cash deal is backed by a $600 million equity investment by the billionaire Koch brothers, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. It’s not the first time the publisher of Family Circle has made a play for Time, which will give Meredith greater national reach amid the industry’s declining circulation and print advertising revenues.

Idea of the day: If work isn’t going the way you expected, your body language could be to blame, says best-selling author Bernard Marr. Non-verbal actions communicate 55% of your message — so it’s important to practice.

“Ask a trusted mentor or colleague for honest feedback, practice dialogue in front of the mirror or video yourself to see opportunities you have for improvement.”

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— Nirajita Banerjee Share this using #DailyRundown