As Air India prepares to be inducted into one of the largest airline alliances in the world, the new Indian government has indicated that it is not averse to the idea of privatizing the money-losing national carrier. “We are examining and trying to formulate our views ... I am not close to any idea,” says new Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, referring to proposals for privatizing the state-run carrier. But there will be no hasty decision on privatization, the minister said after taking office on May 29.

NEW DELHI — An Indian air force (IAF) MiG-21 fighter crashed May 27 in the Himalayan border state of Jammu and Kashmir, killing the pilot. The latest crash has once again highlighted India’s urgent need to replace its aging fleet of the Soviet-era fighters. The accident took place near Awantipur airbase in the south of the state, at 10:48 a.m. local time, while the single-seater MiG-21 Bison was on a routine training sortie after taking off from the Technical Airport in Srinagar city, a senior IAF official says.

NEW DELHI — India’s new right-wing government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has appointed seasoned politician and leading corporate lawyer Arun Jaitley as its joint finance and defense minister. Taking charge at the defense ministry on May 27, a few hours after assuming office at the finance ministry, Jaitley assures that “speeding up the [purchase of] equipment required for their support are going to be priority areas as far as our government is concerned.”