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Every time you pick a best seller off the road and not a book store, remember that your action is affecting both the author and publisher. In fact, they are indeed being hit hard. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Motown had a lot to cheer about in July. Not only did passenger car sales climbed at the fastest pace in nearly two-and-a-half years last month at 29%, commercial vehicles (CVs) also reported any growth at all for the first time in nearly one year! And two-wheelers continued their good run too. With an early festival season already having commenced, spirits are likely to remain high across Motown for some time unless hardening commodity prices force a quick price increase. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel lent a patient ear to the airline chiefs who met him on Monday evening. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Are private airlines finally getting some relief? In his second meeting with the Prime Minister in less than a month, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today took up "issues of the aviation sector" besides those related to Air India. Though the minister declined to give any details of his talks with the PM to DNA, it is believed that he may have discussed at some length the issue of high taxation on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) which is the main cause of domestic airlines facing financial troubles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Air India is seeking a guarantee from the government for lowering the interest repayment on Rs 10,000-11,000 crore of high-cost debt, besides a substantial equity infusion to stay afloat. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bharat Forge is gearing up for another challenging year by tweaking its business model even as it continues to increase efficiencies and prune overall costs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bharat Forge is gearing up for another challenging year by tweaking its business model even as it continues to increase efficiencies and prune overall costs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At a time when airport revenues have been falling due to reduced aircraft movement, the government has come out with a plan to corporatise the Airports Authority of India (AAI) by March next year and eventually list it on bourses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Maruti Suzuki India is gearing up to take on competition. From building a direct railway link from its Manesar assembly line to Mundra terminal for hastening exports to increasing spend on research & development, to concentrating on alternate fuel vehicles and hybrids, it is, oh, going full throttle. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

After the Supreme Court refused to stay the full bench order of the High Court quashing the 1994 language policy, 15 Kannada litterateurs filed a PIL in the apex court on July 22. When the petition came up for hearing, Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan said children would not be able to survive in the world should such a policy be enforced. LS Sheshagiri Rao, litterateur and retired professor of English, Bangalore University, and one of the 15 who filed the PIL spoke to Sindhu Murthy about the language policy and other issues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sona Koyo, India's largest steering systems maker, is banking on continued cost reductions, localisation, minimal investment in capacity expansion and an overall growth in car exports from India to improve its financial performance this fiscal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Motown looks well out of the grip of slowdown. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Not happening. That was the message civil aviation minister Praful Patel had for the striking private airlines who, on Friday, threatened to suspend all ground operations on August 18 if their long pending demands with the government are not met. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel talked tough on Saturday to tackle rebellion from private airlines, which have threatened to suspend all flights on August 18 if their long-pending demands with the government are not met. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a move intended to pressurise the government to give in to their demand for lower taxes on jet fuel and reduced airport charges, private airlines on Friday threatened to ground domestic flights on August 18 if no 'bailout' is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Mahindra & Mahindra appears to be banking on new product launches, better rains and continuous cost rationalisation to improve its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

LET'S face the truth. Reality shows, meant to garner television rating points (TRPs), have really begun to bite. Unable to endure the hardships of the jungle, Shwetha Tiwari walked out of Iss Jungle se Mujhe Bachao. On the other hand, Sach ka Samana is gaining currency especially after Samajwadi Party Rajya Sabha member Kamal Akhtar accused the producers of obscenity and said it was a rude intrusion into one's personal life on a public forum. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Higher realisation per motorcycle, a lower tax rate, lower cost of raw materials as a percentage of net sales and cost cuts helped India's largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda Motors, to report its best ever quarterly earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A turnaround in the commercial vehicle industry must surely be around the corner. Why else would Ashok Leyland Ltd announce capacity expansion by 50,000 units this year and talk of investing Rs 700 crore despite witnessing possibly one of the worst quarters ended June 30? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Extending a helping hand to Air India, the government asked the finance ministry to critically examine the "extent of assistance" to be given to the national carrier and the petroleum ministry to extend the credit limit initially for three months. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

SBI Caps, the management consultant appointed to suggest a financial restructuring plan for Air India, has presented the airline with the best case scenario: breakeven only in 2011-12 at current load factors and current revenue structure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Maruti Suzuki India, the country's largest car maker, sold 10% more cars in the domestic market in the June quarter despite the overall car market remaining flat. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Budget carriers such as SpiceJet and Indigo can take heart. The civil aviation ministry has once again got around to the view that the eligibility criterion for allowing domestic carriers to fly abroad should be relaxed to three years. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A comprehensive restructuring plan to retrieve Air India from the current financial mess is expected to be submitted to the Government this week. By July 25th, the airline's management is scheduled to put before the Committee of Secretaries (headed by Cabinet Secretary K Chandrashekhar) a business plan to turn around the nationalcarrier. This plan would mention specific steps AI would take over the next 24 months to cut costs and boost revenues, in a bid to elicit Government support in the form of equity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The All-India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) of Air India employees on Friday sought a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probe into what it termed as the 'Tulsidas era' while offering suggestions on improving the airline's financial status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

PSA Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second biggest carmaker, is inching closer to firming up plans for India. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The accumulated losses of National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, were in the region of Rs 7,200 crore till March this year, civil aviation minister Praful Patel told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Though the standalone losses figure in 2008-09 for Nacil is only Rs 5,000 crore, this is almost 10 times the losses Air India posted in 2006-07 before merging with the erstwhile Indian Airlines! [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Public sector units under the ministry of civil aviation have together lost Rs 74.06 crore on account of various lapses last fiscal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The government and the automobile industry's efforts to develop environmentally friendly technologies could turn even greens green with envy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Ailing national carrier Air India has come in for sharp criticism from the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India on two counts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An incremental Rs 20,000 crore investment is expected in the Indian automobile sector in the next 18-22 months. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The government has decided to set up an 'international advisory board' to help Air India out of its current financial mess. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The complete overhaul of Air India seems to have begun in right earnest. Not only has the government decided to completely restructure the board by bringing in persons of international repute as independent directors, five separate strategic business units (SBUs) are also being activated to further streamline the airline's functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Union Budget 2009 gave every individual tax payer a sureshot reason to pat the UPA on its back. The annual minimum amount not taxable has been marginally increased from Rs1.5 lakh to Rs1.6 lakh. For women, this limit has increased from Rs1.8 lakh to Rs 1.9 lakh, making them a happy lot. "This shows pro-women policies of the UPA government at the centre," smiled Pallavi Shetty, an executive with a BPO. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There were tremendous expectations from individual assessees of the finance minister's Union Budget-2009. The complete removal of the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) provisions, that were considered to be an administrative burden by corporates and the income tax department alike, is a welcome change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The government could look at inducting as many as five independent directors on the board of Air India as part of its plan to restructure the airline. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has already indicated the government's resolve to "professionalise" the board and some eminent people from within and outside the aviation industry could be roped in on the AI board. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The frequent grouse of some Indian carriers that a liberal bilateral regime has hurt their load factors on international routes is borne out by statistics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

June brought cheer to vehicle makers, with sales of almost all car and two-wheeler companies rising. People went out and bought vehicles, defying the logic that purchases dip just before the Budget. Analysts point out that this time, there is widespread apprehension of the Budget actually bringing back the four percentage point excise duty cut announced a few months back and this could lead to vehicle prices rising. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a country where 80% of the passenger car market rests with the top three manufacturers and a majority of vehicle servicing and used-vehicle business is done in the unorganised sector, this could be a welcome change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Sona Koyo Steering Systems (SKSSL) believes that the worst is over, at least for the company. Having achieved significant cost reduction through building in efficiencies and putting further capacity expansion on hold, India's largest steering systems maker is now looking forward to improved performance in the next few quarters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The non-metro airport development project appears to have hit another snag. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bajaj Auto recorded a steep decline in domestic sales of entry-level bikes last fiscal and this led to the company's overall sales falling, too. In the third quarter of 2008-09, sales in the entry level fell from a monthly average of 49,807 units to 17,147 units - a 66% decline over two successive quarters. Though the executive and deluxe segment sales also declined in Q3, the fall was nowhere as sharp as in the entry level segment. Chairman Rahul Bajaj says in the company's latest Annual Report, "the silver lining is that since Platina is a low-margin product, this substantial fall in growth has not proportionately reduced Bajaj Auto's operating Ebidta margins...With financing support from Bajaj Auto Finance, we expect to at least hold on to the average monthly volumes of 2008-09 in the entry level." [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bajaj Auto is looking at new product launches and improvement in the overall market sentiment for two-wheelers to stage a sales recovery this year. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The centre is "committed" to bail Air India out of its financial mess, provided the airline does comprehensive restructuring and becomes a leaner, trimmer organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto, appears to have quietly steered the company away from the "commuter" bike segment and is hoping that the renewed focus on technologically-superior products should generate not only better profitability, but also increase sales volumes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Financially in the doldrums, Air India is aiming for a Rs500 crore reduction in employee costs. The annual wage bill for the national carrier is about Rs3,000 crore, of which close to Rs1,400 crore is towardsPerformance Linked Incentives (PLI). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent events indicate that Air India, like many other players in the global aviation industry, is surviving on a wing and a prayer. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Is the worst over for the commercial vehicles industry? [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]