Adani-owned Mangaluru International Airport seeks hike in user development fee
Mangaluru, Aug 22: The Adani Airports-owned Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has sought an immediate increase of Rs 100 in user development fee (UDF) on domestic passengers to facilitate development activities.
It has also requested permission to levy the fee on both arriving and departing passengers.
The airport, in its latest tariff filing, has sought to levy a UDF of Rs 250 on domestic passengers starting this October, and gradually increasing it to Rs 725 by March 31, 2026.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), the tariff-fixing body, is in the process of fixing tariff for Mangaluru airport for the period of April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026.
For international passengers, it has sought to levy UDF of Rs 525 and increase it to Rs 1,200 by March 2026.
The users fee will be charged on both departing and arriving passengers if the AERA agrees to it. Currently, the UDF is Rs 150 for domestic and Rs 825 for international passengers, but is charged only on departing passengers.
The Adani Group took over the operations of the international airport in the Karnataka port city on October 31, 2020.
In its filing with the pricing regulator, the airport said no tariff revision had taken place since 2010. The modernisation plan of the airport is also underway. The cumulative impact of these considerations will have a consequential impact on the tariff, it said.
The proposed developmental projects, including recarpeting of the runway, and construction of a new terminal building and cargo terminal, is estimated to cost about Rs 5,200 crore. The airport said it will fund these through debt and equity from parent Adani Enterprise.
The airport has also sought increase in landing and parking charges for airlines. The AERA has sought comment from airlines, passenger associations and business jet operators.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
