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No bail-out for Jet Airways, management needs to run airline smoothly: Minister (Lead)

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New Delhi, Nov 19 (IANS) The Centre on Monday said it would not bail out cash-strapped Jet Airways, stating that it’s the responsibility of the management to implement policies to ensure financial stability and a smooth functioning of the airline.

According to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, the government looks at sector-specific issues in the current deregulated policy environment.

Prabhu was answering questions on a possible bail-out package for the private airline at the launch event of the upgraded version of “AirSewa 2.0 web portal and mobile app” here.

Civil Aviation Secretary R. N. Choubey said the airline wanted some time to pay charges levied by airport operators.

Choubey said the issue had to be sorted out between the airline and airport operators and that the ministry has no role in such commercial deliberations.

Currently, the airline is facing financial troubles due to an increase in jet fuel prices, a weaker rupee, and low fares.

On November 16, Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group firms, said discussions on acquiring a stake in the financially-troubled airline were at a preliminary stage.

On Air India’s financial woes, Choubey said the airline was being given support from “time to time”.

He further said that the airline’s performance was being monitored.

Last month in Hyderabad, the secretary had said that a revival package for the debt-ridden national carrier had nearly been finalised and that the government was providing all support to Air India to ensure that it remained a viable entity.

On August 7, Parliament had approved the gross additional expenditure of Rs 980 crore for equity infusion into the heavily indebted airline.

The Central government had invited an Expression of Interest (EoI) on March 28 this year for disinvestment of Air India, including the national carrier’s shareholding interest in Air India Express Ltd and Air India SATS. But, it received no response till May 31, the closing day.

Despite the lack of buyer interest, the government stated that it was still committed to the idea of Air India’s strategic divestment.

–IANS
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Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones

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CasinoDays India

International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.

Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.

The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.

Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile

The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.

CasinoDays India

The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.

“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.

Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings

Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.

 

CasinoDays India

Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).

Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.

The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.

Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.

Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities

The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.

On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.

Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.

“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.

The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.

 

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