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☆ The Juggernaut promised to revolutionize South Asian news. But insiders say the company's founder misled investors, struggled to raise money, and left workers 'heartbroken.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Katie Warren | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

They were gathered for the inaugural summit of The Juggernaut, a digital South Asian news startup that launched in 2019. The Juggernaut spokesperson told BI that "multiple employees have equity in the company," but BI was unable to identify any such employees. "Twenty years ago, you might've struggled to mention a South Asian actor that you've seen in a movie," he said. As of January, the site had about 10,500 subscribers, Sur told investors in an email viewed by BI. Some feel that the publication has strayed from its mission of delivering "untold, smart South Asian stories and news you won't find anywhere else."

Persons: —, Richa Moorjani, Manish Chandra, Anish Melwani, Sadiq Khan, Amitav Ghosh, Roy Rochlin, Jay Bhattacharya, didn't, Sur, Padma Lakshmi, Moorjani, Mira Nair, Oprah Winfrey, she'd, who've, Josh Benson, Bhattacharya, might've, you've, Dev Patel, Priyanka Chopra, Black millennials, Bhattacharya's, Adam Hansmann, Kevin Lin, Albert Ni, Charles Hudson, Steve Jennings, Sur's, Kyle Stanford, Axios, Stanford, Snigdha, Winfrey, MICHAEL TRAN, hadn't, wouldn't, Fariha Róisín, Meghna Rao, Róisín, Rao, Rao didn't, they'd, she's, it's, Hudson, who'd, Reetu Gupta, Aditi Shah, Sean Gupta, Steven Simione, would've, we're, Brian Morrissey, Morrissey, cofounders, Narendra Modi's, Sneha Mehta Organizations: Spring Studios, Netflix, Business, New Yorker, Harvard Business School, Guardian, American, Old Town Media, Athletic, BI, Indian, Yale, McKinsey, Precursor Ventures, Forbes, Getty, TechCrunch, YouTube's Sustainability, YouTube, Paramount Pictures Studios, Immigration Services, Stanford, Digiday, Gannett Locations: York City, chai, Jean's, hasn't, Sur, New York City, South, Asian, India, Madhya Pradesh, Queens, Sur texted, Indian American, AFP, Róisín, Los Angeles , California, South Asia, Silicon

[1/6] Ola electric scooters are seen outside the Ola Electric Service Centre, in Thane on the outskirts of Mumbai, India, October 25, 2023. Aggarwal's Ola Electric, which he likens to Tesla in the West, is zipping towards a stock-market listing after going from zero to 338,000 e-scooter sales in about two years. But he acknowledged service capacity issues and said Ola was "aggressively" bolstering its service network by adding 100 new centres and hiring more technicians. 'TESLA FOR WEST, OLA FOR REST'Aggarwal often declares, "Tesla is for the West, Ola for the rest", and he's a man in a hurry. "Electric vehicles are new to people so they aren't aware of how to ride the vehicle to maximise optimal output," he said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, it's, Elon Musk, Aggarwal's Ola, Tesla, Ola, Devendra Ghuge, Aggarwal, Ola EVs, Ravi Bhatia, Bhatia, Japan's SoftBank, Ronald Radhakrishnan, Koradia, Riddhima Talwani, Aditi Shah, Rishika Sadam, Sriram, Arpan Chaturvedi, Anushree, Pandya, Francis Mascerehnas, Varun Vyas, Munsif, Jatindra, Saurabh Sharma, Sumit Khanna, Jose Devasia, Aditya Kalra Organizations: Ola Electric Service Centre, REUTERS, Staff, Reuters, JATO Dynamics, WEST, OLA, West, Singapore's Temasek, Industry, Hero Electric, TVS, EV, Ola, Fayaz Bukhari, Thomson Locations: Thane, Mumbai, India, THANE, HYDERABAD, DELHI, MUMBAI, Chennai, Bengaluru, India's, U.S, China, Kochi, New Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jose, Srinagar

[1/2] India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal takes part at the panel discussion "Trade: Now what?" during the World Economic Forum 2022 (WEF) in the Alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland May 25, 2022. This meeting is to ensure that talks between India and Tesla "are moving in the right direction," the person added. Prime Minister Modi's office held a meeting with various ministries on Monday to expedite the new EV policy, said a third source. Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah and Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Piyush Goyal, Arnd, Elon Musk, Narendra Modi, Tesla, Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah, Shivangi, Chizu Organizations: India's, REUTERS, Tesla, Indian, Reuters, U.S, EV, Thomson Locations: Davos, Switzerland, DELHI, United States, U.S, India

☆ India's aviation watchdog proposes less work, more rest for pilots - draft
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - India's air safety watchdog proposes reduced night work hours and more rest for pilots, among measures to address rising complaints of pilot fatigue, according to draft regulations seen by Reuters on Saturday. The proposal from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation come more than two months after it decided to conduct a review of pilot fatigue data collected during spot checks and surveillance of airlines. The review was launched after an IndiGo (INGL.NS) pilot collapsed and died in August before his flight. Changes would include cutting the maximum flight duty period to 10 hours from 13 hours for pilots operating at night, and increasing the minimum weekly rest period to 48 hours from 36 hours. IndiGo, India's biggest airline, has said the pilot who died had a 27-hour break before duty and was in good health.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Aditi Shah, YP Rajesh, William Mallard Organizations: IndiGo, REUTERS, Reuters, Civil Aviation, Tata, Air, India's, YP, Thomson Locations: Chhatrapati Shivaji International, Mumbai, India, DELHI, Air India

The logo of IndiGo Airlines is pictured on passenger aircraft on the tarmac in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, July 10, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's biggest airline IndiGo said on Friday it would lease new planes and extend agreements on some older ones to offset the disruption from new problems with Pratt & Whitney engines. IndiGo has retained 14 of its older Airbus A320ceo, extended leases on 36 other aircraft, and is taking 11 additional aircraft on lease starting November. The company is in talks with Pratt & Whitney for compensation over engine issues and expected payments to be staggered, he said. Close to 40 IndiGo planes are currently grounded due to older issues with Pratt & Whitney engines and the airline is yet to ascertain the number of groundings from the new problems.

Persons: Regis Duvignau, Pratt & Whitney, IndiGo, Pieter Elbers, Gaurav Negi, Negi, Aditi Shah, Nandan, Shounak Dasgupta, Mark Potter Organizations: IndiGo Airlines, REUTERS, Rights, India's, IndiGo, Pratt & Whitney, Pratt &, Airbus, Thomson Locations: Colomiers, Toulouse, France, India, New Delhi, Bengaluru

[1/2] A miniature airplane is placed on the displayed Air India Express and Akasa Air logos, in this illustration taken October 30, 2023. Akasa did not comment on its communication with Air India, but said the issue of pilot exits was "now behind us ... we are squarely back in growth mode". Air India declined to comment and the two chief executives did not respond to requests for comment. The dispute comes at the time of a hiring spree by Air India, with its arm, Air India Express, seeking to more than triple its fleet to 170 over five years. In recent weeks, Akasa has lost about a tenth of its 450 pilots, who left without serving out notice periods, some to join Air India Express.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Campbell Wilson, Vinay Dube, missive Dube, Akasa, Wilson, Dube, India's Wilson, Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Air India Express, REUTERS, Tata's, India Express, Air, Akasa, Reuters, Air India, Tata Group, Tata, of Indian Pilots, Thomson Locations: India, DELHI, Air India

The Toyota logo is seen on the bonnet of a newly launched Camry Hybrid electric vehicle at a hotel in New Delhi, India, January 18, 2019. India taxes EVs at just 5%, while the levy on hybrids is as high as 43%, just below the 48% imposed on petrol cars. Indian giants Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) and Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.NS) are backing EVs, while Toyota and Honda Motor (7267.T) want support for hybrids. Toyota has begun developing EVs while also championing hydrogen-powered cars, saying a "multi-pathway" approach is needed to solve the climate crisis. In its letter, Toyota also asks India to bring hybrid cars under a government incentive programme that offers discounts to buyers, a scheme now available only for EVs.

Persons: Anushree, Narendra Modi's, Modi's, Vikram Gulati, Gulati, Aayog, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Aditi Shah, William Mallard Organizations: Toyota, REUTERS, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Honda, EVs, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, policymaking, Toyota's India

"Most traffic issues occur because of non-line-of-sight scenarios," the government panel said in its 58-page draft, which is being reported for the first time by Reuters. "Most sensors do not work well in these scenarios and V2X fills the gap," it added, referring to the connected car technology commonly known as vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In Europe, the Euro NCAP rules recognise vehicle connectivity as a key milestone in crash avoidance and car ratings, the report added, while China and the United States are among the nations evaluating similar rules to improve safety. "With limitation for growth infrastructure there is a strong need to depend on technology to address challenges," the panel said in its report. The United States estimates introducing V2X connected vehicle technology could prevent at least 600,000 crashes a year.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Bharat, V2X, Munsif, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Reliance, Samsung, Qualcomm, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mahindra, carmakers, United, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, China, Europe, USA, DELHI, Indian, United States, Bengaluru

Companies Reliance Industries Ltd FollowGREATER NOIDA, India, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Indian oil refining giant Reliance Industries showcased its swappable and multipurpose battery storage technology for electric vehicles (EVs) on Wednesday, as it makes a big push on clean energy. Reliance, led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, displayed removable and swappable batteries for EVs that can also be used to power household appliances through an inverter at a renewable energy exhibition. The batteries can be swapped at Reliance's battery swap stations or re-charged by households using rooftop solar panels, which also it plans to sell, the executives added. Development of battery storage solutions is a part of Reliance's bigger $10 billion green push towards clean energy projects. The factory will be set up by 2026 and will make batteries and containerised energy storage solutions.

Persons: Mukesh Ambani, Arpan Chaturvedi, Aditi Shah, Dhwani Pandya, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reliance Industries, Reliance, Electric, Thomson Locations: NOIDA, India

☆ Exclusive: Toyota plans third India plant, new SUV as domestic sales surge, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The plant's proposed initial capacity would expand Toyota's existing manufacturing capacity in India by as much as 30% from 400,000 units currently. A representative for Toyota's India unit declined to comment. Cars originally from Maruti Suzuki's (MRTI.NS) stable such as the Glanza hatchback and Urban Cruiser Hyryder SUV now account for 40% of Toyota's India sales. Toyota, known for its Fortuner SUV and Camry hybrid in India, told Reuters earlier in September it expects record domestic sales in 2023. If Toyota does decide to press ahead with the model, parts would be imported for assembly in India, they said.

Persons: Maruti Suzuki, Suzuki, Aditi Shah, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Toyota, Suzuki, Maruti, Cruiser, Reuters, 340D, Hyryder, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India, Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, Bidadi, Karnataka

CHENNAI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Pegatron temporarily halted iPhone assembly at its facility in south India on Monday after a fire on Sunday night, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Pegatron accounts for 10% of Apple's iPhone production in India, according to research firm Counterpoint. Apple has bet big on India since it began iPhone assembly in the country in 2017 via Wistron (3231.TW) and later Foxconn (2317.TW), as the Indian government pushed for local manufacturing. Pegatron, which started iPhone assembly in India in September last year, is also in talks to open a second Indian contract facility for Apple near the existing one in Tamil Nadu. In February, a fire at a south Indian facility of Foxlink for iPhone charging cables forced it to halt production.

Persons: TW, Pegatron, Ben Blanchard, Praveen, Munsif Vengattil, Aditi Shah, Sarah Wu, Toby Chopra, Susan Fenton, Mark Potter Organizations: Apple, Pegatron, Reuters, Local, Thomson Locations: CHENNAI, India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Wistron, Indian

JSW held talks with senior LGES executives in Korea earlier this month, proposing a partnership to manufacture battery cells in India for EVs and energy storage, one of the people with direct knowledge of the discussions said. "Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

Persons: Danish Siddiqui, JSW, LGES, China's CATL, Sajjan Jindal, CATL, Narendra Modi's, JSW's, Ola, Aditi Shah, Neha Arora, Heekyong Yang, Daniel Leussink, Miho Uranaka, Zhang Yan, Alexander Smith Organizations: REUTERS, Danish, Korea's LG Energy, Panasonic, Toshiba, JSW's, Tesla, General Motors, China's, HK, Reuters, JSW, Tata Motors, TVS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, Korea, Korean, India's, New Delhi, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai

[1/2] The Tesla Energy Powerwall Home Battery is unveiled by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk during an event in Hawthorne, California April 30, 2015. Although Tesla sought a number of incentives to set up a battery storage factory, Indian officials conveyed these would not be available, one of the sources said. It is largely dependent on coal-based power generation as storage technologies are expensive and not yet widespread. With incentives, Powerwall costs more than $5,500 in California, with additional costs for solar panels. It is eligible for U.S. federal tax credits and local state and utility incentives for solar and energy storage.

Persons: Elon Musk, India's Modi, Tesla, Narendra Modi, company's, Musk, Modi, Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Sudarshan, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Tesla Energy, Tesla Motors, Elon, Thomson Locations: Hawthorne , California, India, DELHI, New Delhi, Tesla's California, California, Houston, Dallas, Texas

"Due diligence wise JSW is talking to a lot of people because it needs an ecosystem for an EV. JSW's billionaire chairman Sajjan Jindal has publicly aired his desire to build EVs and its talks to buy a stake in China's MG Motor (600104.SS). Toshiba said it is not able to confirm "at this point" if it is in talks with JSW for a partnership to build battery cells. All three sources declined to be identified as the talks are still ongoing and a final decision has not been made. Tesla is also eyeing India and is in talks with the government to build EVs and batteries there.

Akasa told the court it cancelled 600 flights in August and would be forced to cancel up to 700 more in September if the resignations continue, the person added. Akasa has dragged the pilots, many of whom have joined rival Air India Express, to court and initiated legal proceedings against the aviation regulator to enforce the notice period. The notice period ranges between 6-12 months, depending on the pilot's rank, according to the aviation regulator. "All our actions are aimed at creating a durable and reliable airline for the long run," Akasa said in a statement. "Akasa is a well-run airline with strong finances and a solid plan," he said.

Persons: Vinay Dube, Akasa, Dube, Aditya Ghosh, Aditi Shah, Varun Vyas, Aditya Kalra, Louise Heavens, Christian Schmollinger, Kim Coghill, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Akasa, Air India Express, IndiGo, country's, Tata, Air India, Go Air, Boeing, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Delhi

REUTERS/VarunVyas Hebbalalu/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Sept 20 (Reuters) - India's Ola Electric plans to file regulatory papers for its up to $700 million IPO before the end of October as the e-scooter maker fast-tracks its listing move, three people with direct knowledge said. Backed by investors including Singapore's Temasek and Japan's SoftBank (9984.T), Ola Electric was valued at $5.4 billion in a recent fund raising. Ola Electric and Kotak did not respond to a request for comment while the other three banks declined to comment. Ola Electric is targeting IPO roadshows for early January or February, said one of the sources. Ola Electric, though, still makes losses.

Persons: Ola, VarunVyas, Japan's SoftBank, Ola Electric, Goldman Sachs, Bhavish Aggarwal, Tesla, Sriram, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Singapore's Temasek, Japan's, Ola, ICICI, Bank of America, West, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Pochampalli, Tamil Nadu, India, Rights MUMBAI

☆ Indian e-scooter maker Ather readies new models and exports after subsidy cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ather electric scooters are seen outside the showroom in Mumbai, India, January 28, 2022. India's electric scooter market is small but growing, with e-models accounting for 5% of total scooter and motorcycle sales in the last fiscal year against a government target of 70% by 2030. "The transition to electric vehicles could have been faster if not for the (subsidy) change but even then, there will be no major impact in the mid to long term," he said. Valued at around $750 million, Ather will raise more money before the end of 2023 to back its growth plans, he said, without giving more details. "India will not only be the largest market in the world for electric two-wheelers but also the largest exporter," he said.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Tarun Mehta, Mehta, Ather, Electric, Hero MotoCorp, Aditi Shah, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Ather, Reuters, Softbank, TVS, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India

☆ Tata Motors tests export markets for EVs, to roll out EV-only dealerships in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Tata Motors' Nexon and Nexon.ev cars are seen parked for display outside a hotel ahead of its launch in New Delhi, India, September 14, 2023. Chandra said it was too early to discuss details of the export markets and there would be more clarity next year. Sales of EVs globally have been growing as tighter emission regulations push carmakers to increase the share of electric cars in their portfolio. Growing sales and the new Nexon EV have become the catalyst for its plan to launch EV-only dealerships, Chandra said. Tata has a country-wide dealership network for its gasoline and diesel cars through which it currently also sells its EVs.

Persons: Anushree, Shailesh Chandra, Chandra, Tata, Tesla, Aditi Shah, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Tata Motors, REUTERS, India EV, Reuters, Tata, China's, Mahindra, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, BYD, Mumbai

☆ Tesla plans to nearly double India component sourcing to $1.9 bln - minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The company logo is pictured on a Tesla Model X electric car in Berlin, Germany, November 13, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Tesla Inc FollowNEW DELHI, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) plans to source components worth $1.7-$1.9 billion from India this year, the commerce minister said on Wednesday, amid plans by the electric vehicle maker to set up a factory in the country. "Tesla last year already bought $1 billion worth of components from India... this year their target is $1.7-$1.9 billion," Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said at an auto conference. "I am convinced that this (EVs) is the future. Reporting by Aditi Shah, writing by Tanvi Mehta; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, Tesla, Piyush Goyal, Aditi Shah, Tanvi Mehta, Jason Neely Organizations: Tesla, REUTERS, Tesla Inc, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, DELHI, India

Petrol vehicles have been the top sellers in recent years - increasing their market share to around 68.4% in January-July 2023 from 42.5% in 2014, according to data from automotive market intelligence provider JATO Dynamics. Cost-conscious Indians are preferring to buy petrol cars as they are cheaper than diesel, even though diesel cars offer better fuel efficiency. DIESEL VEHICLES:Tuesday's warning from minister Nitin Gadkari targeted diesel carmakers, whose market share has seen a steady decline to nearly 18% of passenger vehicles in January-July this year from 47.9% in 2014. But when it comes to luxury cars, diesel variants remain in vogue, with their market share rising to 33% so far this year from 31% in 2021. Among automakers, Mahindra and Mahindra (MAHM.NS) has the highest diesel car market share with 47% of unit sales so far this year, up from 28% in 2021.

Persons: Maruti Suzuki, Nitin, Tesla, Aditi Shah, Aditya Kalra, Mark Potter Organizations: Maruti, Tata Motors, Volkswagen, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, JATO Dynamics, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Mahindra, Hyundai, Kia, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, China, United States, India

☆ India minister to propose higher diesel vehicle tax, warns automakers
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Aditi Shah | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A worker switches on a fuel pump before filling a car with diesel at a fuel station in New Delhi September 13, 2012. REUTERS/Mansi Thapliyal/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 12 (Reuters) - India's road transport minister, Nitin Gadkari, on Tuesday said he will propose an additional 10% tax on diesel vehicles and warned automakers of even higher levies to cripple their ability to sell such high-polluting vehicles. Gadkari said he will later in the day ask the finance minister for an "additional 10%" goods and services tax on diesel vehicles to tackle problems related to pollution. The Indian government currently imposes a 28% tax on diesel cars and an additional so-called "cess" is levied depending on the vehicles' engine capacity. Shares in Indian automakers Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Ashok Leyland (ASOK.NS), and Eicher Motors (EICH.NS) fell between 1.5% and 4.5%.

Persons: Mansi, Nitin Gadkari, Gadkari, Maruti Suzuki, Ashok Leyland, Aditi Shah, Tanvi Mehta, Christian Schmollinger, Tom Hogue Organizations: REUTERS, New, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Maruti, Volkswagen, automakers Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, DELHI, India

A SpiceJet passenger aircraft taxis on the tarmac at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, India, May 29, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 11 (Reuters) - India's SpiceJet said on Monday it would pay $1.5 million to Credit Suisse as demanded by the country's top court. If SpiceJet fails to pay, the Supreme Court will take "drastic action" at the next hearing on Sept. 22, it said. The airline had previously said the Credit Suisse debt was an old one that predated the tenure of its current management. In that case, also heard on Monday at a Delhi High Court, SpiceJet said it had deposited 625 million rupees of that amount.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, India's SpiceJet, SpiceJet, dally, Ajay Singh, Singh, Kalanithi Maran, Maran, Arpan Chaturvedi, Aditi Shah, Yagnoseni Das, Aditya Kalra, Himani Sarkar, Miral Fahmy, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Credit Suisse, India's, Madras, Court, Thomson Locations: Chhatrapati Shivaji, Mumbai, India, DELHI, SpiceJet

Ola Electric's S1 Air e-scooters are pictured inside its manufacturing facility in Pochampalli in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/VarunVyas Hebbalalu/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Singapore's investment firm Temasek led a $140 million funding round in India's Ola Electric at a valuation of $5.4 billion, two sources with the direct knowledge said, the latest funding for the e-scooter maker before its initial public offering. Ola did not respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Temasek, which is an existing investor in Ola Electric, declined to comment. Ola Electric, founded by Bhavish Aggarwal and backed by Japan's SoftBank Group (9984.T), has become India's e-scooter market leader with a 32% share, competing with Ather Energy as well as companies such as TVS Motor (TVSM.NS) and Hero Electric. Valued at $5 billion last year, Ola sold around 95,000 e-scooters during April-August 2023, industry data showed.

Persons: Ola, VarunVyas, Ola Electric, Bhavish Aggarwal, Japan's, Aditya Kalra, Aditi Shah, Yantoultra Ngui, Dhwani Pandya, Rashmi Organizations: REUTERS, Temasek, Japan's SoftBank, Ather Energy, TVS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Pochampalli, Tamil Nadu, India, DELHI, India's, Temasek, Ola

Go First has been locked in legal disputes with many of its foreign lessors since being granted bankruptcy protection in India in May. Bankruptcy froze its assets and has prohibited the recovery of more than 50 grounded Airbus (AIR.PA) planes. Go First, whose lessors also include Standard Chartered's Pembroke Aircraft Leasing, SMBC Aviation and BOC Aviation, did not respond to a request for comment. The world's second-largest aircraft lessor, SMBC, warned in May that India's decision to block leasing firms from reclaiming Go planes would jolt the market and spark a confidence crisis. Reporting by Aditi Shah and Arpan Chaturvedi in New Delhi; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, ACG, lessors, Aditi Shah, Arpan Chaturvedi, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Go, Airbus, Court, Reuters, ACG Aircraft Leasing, Bankruptcy, Pembroke Aircraft Leasing, SMBC Aviation, BOC Aviation, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Ireland, Delhi

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