SpiceJet ramps up Boeing 737 leases ahead of winter travel surge

Chennai:

SpiceJet will add five more Boeing 737 aircraft to its fleet in October under short-term lease agreements, doubling the number of jets it had already planned to induct ahead of the busy winter travel season.

The Gurugram-based low-cost carrier said most of the planes will arrive in early October 2025, with a few joining the fleet by late September. All will operate under damp lease arrangements and remain in service until May 2026, covering both the peak winter period and the run-up to next summer.

The move builds on last month’s announcement that SpiceJet would bring in five Boeing 737s from another operator, taking total confirmed additions to 10. The airline is in talks to secure further capacity before the winter schedule begins.

India’s domestic aviation sector typically experiences a sharp rise in demand during the year-end holiday period, followed by sustained traffic through the spring festival season. The capacity boost comes as competition intensifies among carriers, with rivals also shoring up fleets to capture seasonal demand.

“SpiceJet is fully geared to meet the surge in travel demand for the upcoming winter and early summer seasons,” said Debojo Maharshi, the airline’s chief business officer. “With the induction of these additional Boeing 737s, we are ensuring that our passengers have more choices, greater connectivity, and a reliable, on-time travel experience.”

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro Rail Limited commissions consultancy...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro Rail Limited commissions consultancy...: CHENNAI: Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has initiated consultancy contracts to develop Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for two significan...

Chennai Metro Rail Limited commissions consultancy for major corridor extensions

CHENNAI:
Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has initiated consultancy contracts to develop Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for two significant extensions aimed at expanding the city’s metro network and boosting urban mobility.

The first project focuses on a roughly 7-kilometre extension of Corridor 4, stretching from Lighthouse to the High Court. This expansion is expected to enhance connectivity along the iconic Marina Beach and provide improved access to key government offices, including the Secretariat. The extension aims to cater to daily commuters as well as tourists, addressing the growing demand for seamless transit options in Chennai’s densely populated areas.

Meanwhile, the second project envisions a new 21-kilometre corridor linking Tambaram, Medavakkam, Pallikaranai, and Velachery with Guindy Metro Station on Corridor 1. Designed to integrate Chennai’s southern suburbs with the existing network, this corridor promises enhanced multimodal connectivity at key hubs such as Tambaram, Medavakkam, Velachery, and Guindy, facilitating smoother transfers across transit modes.

CMRL has appointed Systra MVA Consulting India Pvt Ltd to prepare the DPRs for both corridors, awarding contracts worth INR 38.2 lakh and INR 96.2 lakh for both the extensions respectively. The consultancy work is scheduled to be completed within 120 days.

The agreements were formalised in a signing ceremony attended by M.A. Siddique, Managing Director of CMRL; T Archunan, Director (Projects); and Parveen Kumar, Senior Vice President at Systra MVA Consulting.

The DPRs will conduct a comprehensive assessment covering alignment options, ridership projections, multimodal integration potential, and technical feasibility. These reports will form the critical groundwork for informed decision-making on project execution and funding, a release stated.

Tamil Nadu tightens scrutiny on property deals, Registration department orders mandatory reporting of cash payments above ₹20,000

C Shivakumar @ CHENNAI:
Tamil Nadu has stepped up efforts to curb unaccounted cash in property transactions by issuing a directive that requires all cash payments exceeding ₹20,000 during registration to be reported to the Income Tax Department.

This circular, released on August 1, 2025, lowers the state’s internal vigilance threshold well below the ₹2 lakh limit stipulated under Sections 269SS and 269ST of the Income Tax Act, reflecting a more stringent approach to tackling tax evasion in real estate.

The order also warns registration officers of disciplinary action for failing to comply, underscoring the government’s intent to hold officials accountable for enforcement lapses. It follows a recent Supreme Court judgment that criticised weak enforcement of existing tax provisions and emphasised that ignorance of the law would not be accepted as a defence.

According to the circular, all registering officers must verify whether cash payments above ₹20,000 appear anywhere in the transaction documents and report such cases to the relevant income tax authorities. The directive requires courts to notify the tax department if a civil suit involves claims of cash payments of ₹2 lakh or more, and registration officials must escalate any information from any source indicating cash transactions above this limit. However, the most notable change is the requirement for routine reporting of cash payments above ₹20,000, even if only mentioned briefly in documents.

While Tamil Nadu already mandates digital payments for stamp duty and registration fees, these rules do not cover the transaction’s consideration amount, where much of the unaccounted cash is typically hidden. The new order aims to plug this gap by bringing greater scrutiny to the sale price and discouraging under-the-table payments, sources said.

However, the effectiveness of the order hinges on implementation, as many real estate deals involve informal arrangements and undisclosed payments that may never appear in official documents. By shifting the burden of vigilance to registration officers, the government hopes to deter cash transactions in property sales and strengthen the fight against black money in real estate. Whether this initiative will succeed in transforming entrenched practices remains to be seen.

Indian Army launches ‘Agnishodh’ tech cell at IIT Madras to fast-track battlefield innovation

CHENNAI:

In a strategic move to tighten the link between India’s academic research ecosystem and military modernisation efforts, the Indian Army has inaugurated Agnishodh, a dedicated defence research cell housed at the IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP).

The initiative, formally launched in the presence of Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, marks a new chapter in the military’s pursuit of technological self-reliance under its broader transformation roadmap. Positioned as a key component of the Army’s Five Pillars of Transformation, the Agnishodh cell is expected to accelerate the infusion of frontier technologies into India’s defence apparatus.

Located within one of the country’s foremost deep-tech hubs, Agnishodh aims to serve as a live interface between operational military challenges and emerging research in areas such as additive manufacturing, quantum computing, wireless communications, and unmanned systems.

It also opens a new pathway for capacity-building within the Army itself — with plans to upskill personnel in next-generation technologies and foster greater institutional collaboration with academia and industry.

For IIT Madras and its research park, the partnership underscores a growing alignment between India’s academic institutions and national security imperatives. “We are honoured to support our armed forces in strengthening indigenous defence capabilities,” the institution said adding that Agnishodh reflects IITMRP’s broader mandate to channel deep-tech R&D into real-world impact.

The move comes amid renewed policy and budgetary push for Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence manufacturing and procurement — with the government increasingly looking to leverage the country’s research talent and start-up ecosystem to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers.

writingonblog uncensored: IIT-Madras spinout TuTr Hyperloop and BEML to co-d...

writingonblog uncensored: IIT-Madras spinout TuTr Hyperloop and BEML to co-d...:  CHENNAI: IT Madras–incubated TuTr Hyperloop has partnered with state-owned engineering major BEML Ltd to develop the country’s first full-s...

IIT-Madras spinout TuTr Hyperloop and BEML to co-develop India’s first full-scale hyperloop pod

 CHENNAI:
IT Madras–incubated TuTr Hyperloop has partnered with state-owned engineering major BEML Ltd to develop the country’s first full-scale hyperloop passenger and cargo pod, marking a significant step forward for high-speed transport in India.

The partnership, formalised at a ceremony ihere on August 4, marks a major milestone in India’s high-speed transport roadmap. Under the agreement, BEML will serve as the principal manufacturing partner, lending its industrial scale and precision engineering capabilities to the prototype Hyperloop pod.

TuTr Hyperloop, founded by a team of engineers and researchers from IIT Madras, is among a handful of startups globally working to commercialise Hyperloop technology—a system where pods glide through low-pressure tubes using magnetic levitation (Maglev) and linear induction motors, potentially reaching speeds upwards of 1,000 km/h.

“This partnership is a leap forward for India’s aspirations in high-speed, clean transportation,” said Shantanu Roy, chairman and managing director of BEML. “It supports the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and Atmanirbhar Bharat by turning futuristic mobility into reality, powered by Indian innovation and engineering.”

The project aims to develop a full-scale prototype of the pod at IIT Madras, combining TuTr’s advanced R&D in propulsion and levitation with BEML’s legacy in manufacturing complex transport systems. If successful, the collaboration could position India as a global contender in next-generation mobility solutions.

“We’re translating scientific research into tangible transport technologies,” said Prof V Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras. “With BEML’s support, we can now build at scale and precision, accelerating the journey from lab to market.”

While Hyperloop remains untested at commercial scale, the technology has captured the imagination of both policymakers and transport planners for its potential to dramatically cut travel times while reducing environmental impact. The BEML-TuTr initiative is expected to address some of the engineering and manufacturing challenges associated with deploying such systems in the Indian context.

Industry observers view the tie-up as a significant endorsement of Hyperloop’s feasibility—especially given BEML’s decades-long experience supplying critical infrastructure for metro rail, defence, and aerospace.

The collaboration adds to a growing number of university–industry partnerships that seek to move frontier technologies from concept to construction. For TuTr, the alliance offers a path to scale up its modular pod systems, eventually targeting deployment corridors across high-traffic freight and passenger routes.

Whether India’s first Hyperloop pod hits the track in time for its 2047 aspirations remains to be seen. But with this partnership, the country is inching closer to turning its sci-fi transit dreams into steel-and-composite reality.