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MUMBAI: A revival of Go First Airlines is set to get prolonged with creditors to the bankrupt airline likely to seek a third extension to the resolution timeline beyond the April 4 deadline even as formal negotiations with two final bidders are yet to commence.Both bidders had increased their bids earlier this month after initial scrutiny by lenders, necessitating an extension to complete negotiations, people familiar with the process said."The committee of creditors (CoC) will meet either this week or early next week to finalise the extension of the timeline since a few more days will be needed to scrutinise and finally decide on the bids that are currently on the table," said a person aware of the process.To be sure, a fresh extension will take the timeline beyond the outer deadline of the bankruptcy code of 330 days, but lenders say more time is needed to complete the process.Sharjah-based aviation company Sky One helmed by Jaideep Mirchandani, and domestic airline SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh along with an entity called Busy Bee Airways, which is owned by Nishant Pitti - owner of online travel portal EaseMyTrip, are the two bidders in the fray.Resolution professional Shailendra Ajmera and lead lender Central Bank of India did not respond to emails seeking comment.Both bidders have included future arbitration claims from Go First's proceedings against engine maker Pratt & Whitney (P&W) in their respective resolution plans. "Sky has offered Rs 735 crore upfront in cash and up to 20% of arbitration claims in the future while Ajay Singh has offered to pay Rs 650 crore over 12 months and 10% of arbitration claims," said a second person cited above.Both bidders had increased their cash component earlier this month after initial talks with lenders. The Ajay Singh-led consortium had earlier proposed to pay Rs 290 crore in cash while Sky One had initially offered Rs 410 crore upfront to lenders, according to media reports."Lenders will prefer a higher proportion of upfront cash and mostly paid immediately than an elongated payment schedule. There is uncertainty over how the arbitration proceedings will go which is a big part of both the bids. Also, the company has a land parcel which has been kept as collateral with banks whose value has also been appropriated by bidders. All these issues will have to be clarified if the process has to go forward," said the first person cited above.

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Wednesday said as nations increasingly rely on space-based assets for building strategic advantage, "militarisation and weaponisation" of space have become the "inevitable reality". He said this in his address at a seminar on "Aerospace Power in Future Conflicts" at Subroto Park here. "Through the annals of human history, the skies have often been regarded as realms of wonder and exploration, where dreams take flight and boundaries dissolve into the vast blue expanse," he said. Yet, beneath this calmness lies a domain "fraught with competition where contest for aerial superiority" has shaped the destiny of many nations and decided the outcome of many wars, the chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF) said. "As we navigate these uncharted skies, air power being a key component of national power, would undoubtedly play a pivotal role and also serve as a symbol of national strength, a tool for peace and cooperation," he said. Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said over the last few decades, understanding of the military operational environment has "significantly transformed" from primarily a force, time and space-driven battlefield to an arrangement of systems capable of simultaneous and independent operations across multiple domains. "We all need to acknowledge that the wars of the future will be fought differently," he said. Future conflicts will be characterised by a blend of simultaneous application of kinetic and non-kinetic forces, high-levels of battle space transparency, multi-domain operations, a high-degree of precision, enhanced lethality, a compressed sensor-to-shooter cycle, and of course, all under intense media scrutiny, he also said. In his address on Wednesday, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari added that space has also emerged as a "critical domain for conduct of military operations", wherein seamless communication, navigation and surveillance capabilities would enhance survivability of modern military forces. "As nations increasingly rely on space-based assets for building strategic advantage, militarisation and weaponisation of space has become an inevitable reality," he said. Air and space control along with denial capabilities "will prove to be decisive" for furtherance of all operations. For that to happen, "we would need to gain and maintain not only information superiority but also decision superiority", he said. "Emerging technologies like CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensors, smart decision support matrices, manned-unmanned teaming and robust and redundant C2 networks are critical capabilities that need to be developed," the IAF chief added.

Nifty on Wednesday ended 119 points higher to form a green candle on the daily chart. The index surpassed the hurdle of short-term moving average i.e. 20-DEMA but needs sustainability above 22,200 to extend the rebound.Daily and hourly momentum indicators are providing divergent signals, which can lead to a consolidation and hence in case of a dip towards 22,100 – 22,060 it should be used as a buying opportunity for a target of 22,215 - 22,250, said Jatin Gedia of Sharekhan.Analysis of the Open Interest (OI) data revealed the highest OI on the call side at the 22,400 strike price, followed by the 22,500 strike price. On the put side, the highest OI was observed at the 22,000 strike price.Thursday’s session will mark the end of the March derivative series as well as the end of the financial year 2023-24 for traders as the market will remain shut on Friday on account of the Good Friday holiday.What should traders do? Here’s what analysts said:Rupak De, LKP SecuritiesThe short-term momentum appears positive, supported by a crossover in the RSI (14) indicator. The trend is likely to remain positive as long as it stays above 22,000. On the higher end, it could potentially move towards 22,300 and beyond in the short term.Tejas Shah, Technical Research, JM Financial & BlinkXNifty is facing stiff resistance around 22,200 to 22,250 levels on an immediate basis and we believe that the index would further outperform only if it decisively closes above this resistance zone or else consolidation is likely to continue in the range of 21,800 to 22,200 levels. Support for the index is now seen at 22,000 and 21,800-850 levels. On the higher side, the immediate resistance zone for Nifty is at 22,200-250 levels and the next crucial resistance is at 22,500-550 levels. Overall, buying weakness and selling strength continue to work in the current set-up.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

India's gold imports are set to plunge by more than 90% in March from the previous month to hit their lowest level since the COVID pandemic as banks cut imports after record-high prices hit demand, a government official and two bank dealers told Reuters. Lower imports by India, the world's second biggest consumer of the precious metal, could limit a rally in global prices that hit a record high earlier this month on expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year. The drop in imports could also help India narrow its trade deficit and support the rupee. India's gold imports are likely to fall to 10 to 11 metric tons in March from 110 metric tons in February, said a government official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media. Gold imports in March 2024 are expected to be the lowest since the COVID pandemic, when air traffic restrictions limited imports and lockdowns led to the closure of jewellery shops. "A negligible quantity of gold is being cleared from customs this month after paying duty. There has been a sharp drop in gold imports compared to last month," the government official said. Two Mumbai-based bullion dealers from two leading gold-importing banks said they imported very little gold in March due to weak demand. "Jewellers weren't buying even with a discount exceeding $35 per ounce. No reason to import the metal at a record high price and wait for demand," one of the bullion dealers said. In India, domestic prices rose to a record 66,943 rupees per 10 grams earlier this month. This prompted dealers to offer discounts of about $38 an ounce over official domestic prices, including 15% import tax and 3% sales levies, the highest since March 2023. Gold demand usually stays strong in March as jewellers stock up for the Indian wedding season which is already in full swing and where gold is an intrinsic part. Also, customers are exchanging old jewellery for new because of the high prices, so jewellers have stopped buying gold from banks, the dealer said. Refiners have almost stopped imports of gold dore, a semi-pure alloy, because of their inability to offer steep discounts, said Harshad Ajmera, the proprietor of JJ Gold House, a wholesaler in the eastern city of Kolkata. India's duty on gold dore imports is 0.65% lower than the import tax on refined gold, but the market discount was more than 1%, making refining unviable, Ajmera said.