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New Delhi: From loud crackers and zon guns along runways to neem oil, India's largest airports deploy all kinds of tools-some high-tech, some deadly and some just noisemakers-to scare away birds, which are increasingly posing a threat to flight safety.Authorities in South Korea are investigating whether a bird hit brought down the Jeju Air jet that crashed at the Muan airport on Sunday, killing 179 of the 181 people on board. India has recorded a significant increase in bird hit incidents in the past two years, often causing pilots to return the plane to the airport or abort take-off. According to civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), bird hit incidents increased to 9.68 per 10,000 flights in September 2024 from 4.26 two years earlier. 116925521In one of the latest incidents, an Air India flight aborted its take-off at Goa's Dabolim airport in August after smoke started emanating from the plane's engine after a bird hit.A senior DGCA official said airports have been asked to reassess their threat and mitigation measures for bird hits following the Jeju Air crash. "As cities become denser, habitation near airports is also increasing, thereby increasing leftovers of food or animal carcasses which attract big birds like vultures. All airports have been sensitised about the threat and to review their preparedness," said the official. 'Bird Strike' Testing "Regulation prohibits dumping of garbage and slaughter of animals that may attract wildlife within 10 km of airport."Aircraft engineers said all modern commercial airplane engines are required to pass a "bird strike" test before they can be certified for use. The engines are revved to full power inside a test facility and absorb various kinds of birds, with the size of sparrows to that of herons. Still, a bird hit could pose serious damage to the aircraft and become deadly.Creating awarenessWhile the Delhi airport, India's busiest, reported 169 bird hits in 2023, Bengaluru has not seen any such incidents in the past three years. "The impact of these incidents was minimal and there were no major disruptions in operations at the airport," a Delhi airport spokesperson said.The airport is trying to tackle the issue scientifically. It has formed a wildlife hazard management team of 14 members, half of them biologists, besides employing the usual tactics of trimming grass and scaring away birds with scarecrows.It also holds camps for communities staying in the approach path of the runways, sensitising them on garbage management and hygiene to reduce bird strike. Promotional materials such as bottles, bags, and caps with awareness messages are distributed in those camps, the spokesperson said.A Bengaluru airport spokesperson attributed its record of no bird-hit incidents to "proactive measures implemented by our dedicated bird control team, who continuously monitor critical areas of the airport to deter bird activity".Mapping activitiesIn Mumbai, the airport maps wildlife and bird activities and their behaviour is assessed while within the premises. "Tolerable species are not targeted while the hazardous species are identified, and all mitigation measures are implemented to keep the aerodrome environment sterile from birds and wildlife in the best interest of aircraft and passenger safety," an airport spokesperson said.

Capital Infra Trust, an infrastructure investment trust sponsored by Gawar Construction Ltd, on Friday said it has fixed a price band of Rs 99-100 per unit for its Rs 1,578-crore initial public offering (IPO). The IPO that opens for public subscription on January 7, will conclude on January 9, the company said in a statement. The public issue of Capital Infra Trust (formerly National Infrastructure Trust) is set to become the first InvIT IPO of 2025. The IPO comprises a fresh issue of units aggregating up to Rs 1,077 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of units valued up to Rs 501 crore by the sponsor selling unitholder, according to the red herring prospectus filed on December 27. The net proceeds from the fresh issue will be utilised by the company towards providing loans to the project special purpose vehicles (SPVs) for repayment/pre-payment of external borrowings, in part or in full, from the financial lenders and loans to the project SPVs for repayment of unsecured loans availed by the project SPVs from the sponsor. The sponsor, Gawar Construction, is primarily engaged in the construction of road and highway projects across 19 states in India for various government/semi-government bodies and statutory authorities, including NHAI, Ministry of Road Transport & Highway, Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) and Central Public Works Department (CPWD). Since 2008, the company has undertaken more than 100 road construction projects. According to the RHP, the company's sponsor has a portfolio of 26 road projects on a hybrid annuity mode (HAM) with NHAI, of which 11 are completed projects, including the five acquired assets, which were erstwhile owned by Sadbhav Infrastructure Project Ltd, and 15 under-construction projects. Capital Infra Trust (formerly National Infrastructure Trust) was established in September 2023 and registered with Sebi in March 2024 with the objective to acquire, manage and invest in a portfolio of infrastructure assets in the country. SBI Capital Markets Ltd, HDFC Bank are the book-running lead managers, while KFin Technologies is the registrar to the issue. Axis Trustee Services has been appointed as the sole trustee of the trust. The units of the company are proposed to be listed on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Ace investor Dolly Khanna added smallcap stock Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys (IMFA) to her portfolio in the quarter ended December 31, 2024. She picked up a 1.16% stake representing 6,23,464 shares in the company. Shares of Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys have rallied nearly 80% in the past 12 months, outperforming the Nifty whose returns in this period is around 12%.Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys on Friday ended at Rs 901.30 on the BSE, down by Rs 9.20 or 1.01% over Thursday’s closing price.The stock is currently trading above its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages (SMAs) of Rs 821 and Rs 729, respectively. However, the stock has been quite volatile with a 1-year beta of 1.5 according to Trendlyne data.It has a market capitalisation of Rs 4,862.88 crore.It hit its 52-week high of Rs 998.40 on December 9, 2024, while its 52-week low was Rs 472 hit on Decemeber 18, 2024.Established in 1961 in the eastern state of Odisha known for its rich natural resources, IMFA is an integrated producer of value-added ferro chrome with 190 MVA installed furnace capacity backed up by 204.55 MW captive power generation capacity (including 4.55 MW solar) and extensive chrome ore mining tracts.Dolly Khanna is a Chennai-based large investor who has been investing in the stock markets since 1996. Her portfolio is managed by her husband Rajiv Khanna. Her portfolio comprises stocks in manufacturing, textile, chemicals and sugar stocks. As per the latest corporate shareholdings compiled by Trendlyne, she publicly holds 19 stocks with a net worth of over Rs 469.6 crore.Among other stocks held by her are Chennai Petroleum, 20 Microns, Emkay Global, J Kumar Infraprojects, Nitin Spinners, Prakash Industries and Repco Home Finance.Another ace investor Mukul Mahvir Agrawal also holds 1.11% in the company.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)