Tag: India

Blue Dart calls for dedicated cargo space in top airports

Posted by | Sep 12, 2007 | |

Courier major Blue Dart Express is in talks with airport operators in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata for dedicated cargo space to be shared with its international parent company, the DHL Group.

In these major airports, the express company is looking at taking around 15,000-30,000 sq metre of space while in smaller ones like Kolkata, the space requirement would be below 5,000 sq metre.

The move will help cut down on turnaround time for loading and unloading cargo and courier in airports, Blue Dart managing director Anil Khanna told ET.

We are keen on dedicated cargo space in major airports with access to both air and city sides. The private airport operators are receptive to our needs, Mr Khanna added. While Delhi and Mumbai airports are getting upgraded and modernised, Bangalore and Hyderabad will have new greenfield airports by middle of next year.

Blue Dart already has some dedicated space in the Delhi airport but company executives said there is a need to expand this further with growing demand from the air expresss business. The turnaround time at airports is key to our business, Mr Khanna said. Most of the metro airports currently undergoing upgradation, including greenfield projects in Bangalore and Hyderabad, plan to have dedicated cargo terminal.

The courier and package distribution major has chalked out plans to invest about Rs 1,000 crore over five to eight years to expand its infrastructure and ground services.

This will be funded through our internal accruals, Mr Khanna said. Blue Dart plans to expand aircraft fleet, ramp up group handling facilities and double warehousing capacity from the current one million sq ft. Its ground express service would cover 17,500 locations around the country from around 14,600 at present over the next five years. We plan to have 20 pct market share of the ground segment by 2015, he added.

The size of organized ground handling segment is pegged at around Rs 1,200 crore, which is just about 30 pct of the total market. The remaining market is dominated by local players. Blue Dart has over 40 pct market share of the domestic air express segment.

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Blue Dart on the Fast Lane

Posted by | Sep 11, 2007 | |

Blue Dart Express Limited, South Asia’s largest integrated express courier and package Distribution Company, today announced the launch of its ground express service, SURFACELINE, in the country.

Blue Dart has already established its market leadership in the domestic air express segment with a market share of 41.7 pct and continues to be the only player offering an unrivalled domestic air payload of 300 tones per night. Blue Dart has been continually investing in building a sustainable and robust infrastructure ahead of the curve to support its business, and help facilitate the trade and commerce of this country. It reaches out to 14,600 locations with its current air express network, and the new ground infrastructure will augment its capability through expansion to 17,500 locations. This new initiative will enable Blue Dart to extend its leadership position in air express to the ground express segment over the next five years.

Blue Dart differentiates itself through innovation, which it has been at the forefront of the company’s activities for more than two decades.

Building to meet tomorrow’s needs:
• Expansion to over 17,500 locations
• Addition of over 1 mn Sq ft of warehousing space
• Extension of network and reach pan India
• 58 warehouses to across India by 2010
• Increase in Workforce
• Appointment of Express Sales Associates (ESA) to support roll-out of the new service

Technology:
• Technology will play a key role in providing customer peace of mind
• GPS enabled vehicles to ensure:
o Real-time tracking of vehicles
o Monitoring enroute stoppages, deviations
o Alert to destinations of vehicle arrivals
• Network Control at Mumbai Headquarters
• Network Control Centre at Mumbai Headquarters.

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India Post: Finance Ministry rejects postal deposit rate hike move

Posted by | Sep 6, 2007 | |

The primary reason behind the finance ministry’s rejection is that an increase in interest rates would result in a proportional increase in the on-lending rate to states.

In a move that will disappoint millions of Indians who have small savings deposits in post offices, the finance ministry has rejected the demand by the postal department to increase the interest rates on deposits and small savings schemes.

At present, those who utilize the small savings schemes of the postal department get an interest of 9.5 pct; the rate has been constant for the past 25 years.

The primary reason behind the finance ministry’s rejection is that an increase in interest rates would result in a proportional increase in the on-lending rate to states. Additionally, all states have indicated to the ministry that they didn’t want an increase in their cost of borrowing from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF).

The finance ministry, in its response to the postal department, said, “Interest rates of small savings schemes are benchmarked to the average yields on g-g-secs of comparable maturity in the secondary market as recommended by the expert committee on administrated interest rates under the chairmanship of the deputy governor of RBI, and reviewed from time to time. At present, there is no proposal under consideration of the government to increase the interest rates on small savings schemes.”

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Reliance Money partners Western Union

Posted by | Sep 2, 2007 | |

Reliance Money, part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, on Saturday announced its new brand TRavelmate Services, combining the company’s money transfer business in association with Western Union.

The Director and CEO of Reliance Money, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, told reporters that “India is the single largest recipient of global remittances of USD 27 billion annually, more than ten per cent share of the total global remittances estimated at USD 240 billion. This is continuously increasing due to labour migration and increasing wages in most countries where Indians work”.

Reliance Money transfer business currently handled close to one lakh transactions a month with a daily inward remittance equal to USD 1.4 million, he said. The forex and currency exchange business in India was around USD 7 billion annually and growing at a CAGR of 20 per cent and Travelmate Services expected to garner a good share in the next two years.

In addition to its outlets in 800 cities and towns, plans were on for opening 10,000 standalone kiosks reaching the Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns. “In money transfer, we are now second after Indian Posts and may overtake them in two or three years,” he added. Christina Gold, President and Worldwide CEO of the USD 4.5 billion Western Union, said their association with Reliance was from 1993 and India was a large and growing market for remittances from overseas.

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