Nandan Nilekani Commits $ 5 Million To Yale India Initiative: Yale India initiative, an effort to improving studies in South Asian economies, has received a $30-million commitment from Yale and $5 million from Rohini and Mr Nandan Nilekani. The funds would be used to create faculty positions, curricular and scholarly programmes and research — all leading to an increased engagement with India. The university is hoping to raise an additional $20 million from donors, and hopes to see the initiative fully evolved in 3-5 years.
Semiconductor Space Immune To Global Recession : The global economic recession that created a deep dent in consumer confidence has hurt the semiconductor industry as demand plummeted, but Freescale Semiconductor, a maker of embedded semiconductor for the automobile, communications, industrial and consumer electronics sectors, said the dip is temporary.
Mallya Requests Government To Allow Foreign Airlines Pick Up Minority Stake In Domestic Airlines: The Chairman of Kingfisher Airlines, Mr Vijay Mallya has “requested†the Government to allow foreign airlines to pick up a minority stake in domestic airlines. “I have requested the Government to allow foreign airlines to acquire a stake of up to 25 per cent in Indian airlines. I believe aviation should be treated at par with international norms and other industry sectors where strategic investors can invest. This will be a wealth creator and secure the future of Indian aviation,†Mr Mallya said.
Kingfisher Airlines Benches 50 Trainee Co-Pilots : Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines has benched 50 trainee co-pilots asking them to stay at home till further orders. Kingfisher conveyed the decision after it announced an operational tie-up with Jet Airways to battle rising costs on Tuesday. Both airlines had decided to rationalise routes and cut capacities in both domestic and international routes. Within a day, Jet tried to sack 1,900 employees but had to take them back following a nation-wide protest.
Cisco Stops Hiring Including India As The Economic Slowdown Worsens: Global network major Cisco has stopped hiring across operations, including India, due to the current economic slowdown. The company is adopting other cost-cutting measures, including slashing travel costs, to save up to $2 billion in the next three years. The restructuring programme, however, will not include lay-offs.
Unitech In Talks With PE Investors For Its Hotel Projects: Unitech, the country’s second-largest listed real estate company, has put on the block all its six hotel projects under construction. reduce its capital expenditure and raise cash to fund its other ongoing projects. The company is in talks with a few private equity investors to sell all its six properties, being constructed at Gurgaon and Kolkata.Reportedly, Unitech has also scaled down its target for hotel business. Instead of 15 hotels with 2,500 rooms as planned earlier, Unitech has decided not to go beyond the 1,000-room capacity.