Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Air India has time till mid-July to counter Cairn Energy lawsuit

Air India has time till mid-July to counter Cairn Energy lawsuit

AIR INDIA has time till mid-July to respond to the lawsuit filed by Britain's Cairn Energy PLC in a US court, demanding the airline to pay a $1.26 billion (£905 million) arbitration award.

Cairn Energy had won the arbitration against the Indian government last year.


In December, a three-member international arbitration tribunal overturned levy of retrospective taxes on Cairn and ordered India to refund shares sold, dividend confiscated and tax refunds withheld to recover such taxes.

The tribunal consisted of one judge appointed by India.

In the lawsuit, Cairn urged the US court to hold Air India liable for the arbitration award.

The airline is controlled by the Indian government so much that they are "alter egos", Cairn argued in the US court.

Despite participating in the arbitration proceeding for over four years, the Indian government has not accepted the award and filed a 'setting aside' petition in a court in The Netherlands - the seat of the arbitration.

With Cairn seeking to recover the award from state-owned entities such as Air India, the government has stated it will contest any enforcement.

Cairn has identified $70bn (£50bn) of Indian assets overseas for potential seizure to collect award, which now totals to $1.72bn (£1.2bn) after adding interest and penalty.

The identified assets range from Air India's planes to vessels belonging to the Shipping Corporation of India, and properties owned by state banks to oil and gas cargoes of public sector undertakings.

Cairn plans to move courts in the US and Singapore for seizure of the assets in absence of Indian government's refusal to honour an international arbitration award.

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less