Recent News

Mumbai, 04 May 2023: Vistara operated for the first time in India commercial domestic flight on a wide-body aircraft using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). This flight was operated on Vistara’s brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, between Delhi to Mumbai using a blend of 17% SAF with 83% conventional jet fuel. On this flight, Vistara was able to reduce approximately 10,000 pounds of CO₂ emissions. Last month, Vistara operated a wide-body aircraft on a long-haul international route using sustainable aviation fuel, first time for an Indian airline. A blend of 30% SAF and 70% conventional jet fuel was used on a ferry flight between Charleston International Airport, South Carolina to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, which resulted in the reduction of approximately 1,50,000 pounds of CO2 emissions over the fuel’s life cycle. On this occasion, Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We have always been committed to driving sustainability and innovation in aviation, and are delighted to carry out yet another industry-first initiative of operating a commercial flight on a wide-body using SAF. We are thankful to our partners and the relevant authorities for their support.” Vistara, along with other airline companies of the TATA group, has been working extensively towards reduction of carbon emissions through use of sustainable technologies. Last year, they had signed an MoU with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Indian Institute of Petroleum to collaborate on the research, development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs). Vistara is also working through the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), to lower CO2 emissions for international flights and to curb the industry’s impact on climate change.

New Delhi, 20 April 2023: BLS International, a global provider of visa outsourcing and technologically backed consular service management, has signed a significant contract with the Royal Thai Embassy to handle visa processing for South Africa and surrounding jurisdictions. The contract expands BLS International’s market share and reinforces its position as a leading provider of visa outsourcing solutions. Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director of BLS International, said, “We are honored and excited to have been awarded the contract by the Royal Thai Embassy for visa outsourcing in South Africa and its surrounding jurisdictions, and we are all on board to continue delivering impeccable services by bringing technology into the fold. This increase in our market share is a testament to our established competence and capabilities in successfully handling large-scale visa processing operations, especially with the increased 30% travel demand this season.” The contract encompasses visa processing for several countries, including Angola, Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. BLS International will establish and operate visa processing centers in key cities, including Pretoria, Cape town, and Durban, leveraging its well-equipped facilities and experienced personnel to cater to the visa processing requirements of these jurisdictions. BLS International, India’s leading unicorn company, is dedicated to delivering efficient and dependable visa and passport outsourcing services on a global scale. With its state-of-the-art visa processing centers and advanced technology solutions, BLS International is well-equipped to effectively address the heightened demand for visa services in South Africa, where post-pandemic travel has witnessed a notable 30% increase in visa applications compared to last year’s travel season. The business is well positioned to effectively handle the increase in visa processing requirements and provide a flawless experience for applicants because of its robust infrastructure and multiple skill management end-to-end.

New Delhi, 19th April 2023: At the invitation of Government of Thailand, Special Secretary, Ministry of Defence Nivedita Shukla Verma will pay an official visit to Bangkok between April 20-21, 2023. During the visit, the Special Secretary will co-chair the 8th meeting of India-Thailand Defence Dialogue with Deputy Permanent Secretary for Defence of Ministry of Defence, Thailand General Nuchit Sribunsong on April 20, 2023. During the dialogue, the co-chairs will review the defence cooperation between the two countries and explore new initiatives to further strengthen bilateral engagements. Both sides will also exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest. As part of her visit, the Special Secretary will also call on Permanent Secretary for Defence of the Ministry of Defence, Thailand General Sanitchanog Sangkachantra. India & Thailand share a strategic partnership and defence is a key pillar of this cooperation. The bilateral defence engagements have expanded over a period of time to include wide ranging contacts between the two countries including Defence Dialogue meeting, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes and bilateral exercises.

19th April 2023, New Delhi: Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal for bringing in industry-friendly reform related to Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP). The AHSP is the authority which is responsible for generating, maintaining, updating or declaring obsolete the entire history and technical information of defence products. So far, Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) was the AHSP for majority of defence items designed, developed and manufactured by various DPSUs and Private Industries.Under the existing procedure, certain bottlenecks were experienced by the industry to bring timely improvements in their products and technologies in line with changing times. Therefore, the Ministry has decided now to liberalise the AHSP procedures and make it industry-friendly. The Indian defence companies, which have developed products, systems, subsystems, components on their own indigenous capabilities (except critical stores), will now be allowed to own and account for their final designs and specification as AHSP. In case of any change in the sealed particulars, a simplified mechanism representing all the concerned stakeholders, including the industry, will take a decision. The DGQA will notify the detailed procedure in this regard within two months. The DGQA has also been asked to examine all AHSPs with them and rationalise the entire list within two months.They have been, further, advised to transfer the AHSP to the industry at the earliest. It will be another significant step of the Government to further encourage Ease of Doing Business.

19 April 2023, India: Air France and KLM (AFKL) and Verteil, NDC technology provider for 40+ global airlines announced that AFKL’s offers are now live on Verteil Direct Connect. This integration will allow travel sellers to access AFKL’s advanced NDC contents directly through NDC based comprehensive booking engine portal & universal NDC APIs. Verteil’s customers will have access to end-to-end NDC capabilities, including shopping, booking, fully automated servicing, and private / negotiated fares for multiple segments and market-specific requirements, through AFKL’s NDC channel. Additionally, customers will get access to the latest AFKL’s innovations supported via NDC, which includes features like continuous pricing, extra services, and personalized options. Air France and KLM will also keep improving these features over time. Apart from the superior and real time content, bookings via Air France and KLM’s NDC channel, will not be surcharged as compared to legacy GDS channels. Jerrin Jos, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Verteil Technologies, said: ”We are delighted to facilitate Air France and KLM’s NDC content to our global travel seller base who are using Verteil NDC platform. We fully support Air France and KLM in their exciting journey, offering travel sellers differentiated content and innovative product offerings via the unconstrained and technologically superior NDC channel. Our ongoing transformational journey in the airline distribution space is progressing significantly. We are currently implementing changes with several airline partners and investing heavily in building product capabilities to support advanced functionality for travel sellers’ diverse business models. Stéphane Ormand, VP Distribution, Air France and KLM, said: “With Verteil we expand the choice for our travel agent partners to access our offers via the NDC technology. Thanks to Verteil NDC platform, travel agents can now promote and sell cheaper Air France and KLM’s offers, thanks to additional price points, exclusive promotional fares and dynamic pricing for seats selection. As of next June, our “Light” fares in Economy cabin, with a minimum stay condition, for all mid-hauls and French domestic routes, will be phased out from the legacy GDS/Edifact. This is a new step in our distribution strategy and Verteil will enable their users to continue selling Air France and KLM full range of offers.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States of America has communicated to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that India’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) category will continue to be published as Category 1. FAA, under its IASA program, conducted an audit of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), India from 25th to 29th October 2021 in the areas covering aircraft operations, airworthiness, and personnel licensing. The IASA assessment was followed by final consultations on 25th – 26th April 2022 and further review by the FAA in July 2022 and September 2022. Based on the positive outcomes of the assessment and follow-ups, the FAA informed DGCA on 12th April 2023 that India meets the international standards for aviation safety oversight of the Chicago Convention & its Annexes and continues to retain FAA IASA Category 1 status which was the last assessed in July 2018. The FAA has appreciated the DGCA stating that DGCA has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring the effective safety oversight of India’s aviation system. India’s Category 1 determination has come at a time when the Indian aviation is on a high growth trajectory and air carriers in India have major capacity induction and expansion plans. Air carriers of Category 1 countries are permitted to operate/ expand their services to destinations in the USA and codeshare with US air carriers. India in the recent ICAO audit in November 2022 has scored an Effective Implementation (EI) of 85.65% from the previous EI of 69.95% thereby enhancing its global ranking significantly. The assessment by ICAO as well as FAA is a testimony to India’s commitment to having an effective safety oversight for its civil aviation system. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the USA, under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, determines whether a country’s oversight of its air carriers that operate, or seek to operate, into the U.S., or codeshare with a U.S. air carrier, complies with safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The IASA program focuses on a country’s ability to adhere to international aviation Safety Standards and Recommended Practices contained in Annex 1 (Personnel Licensing), Annex 6 (Operation of Aircraft), and Annex 8 (Airworthiness of Aircraft) to the International Convention on Civil Aviation “Chicago Convention”.