NEW DELHI — The test launch of India’s heaviest rocket, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk. 3, anticipated to take place in April, has been put off by two months, a senior scientist says. On March 28, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) moved the rocket’s core stage, weighing more than 110 tons, from the Liquid Propulsion Systems Center at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu to the spaceport in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh in south India.

With the Indian navy acquiring advanced warships, the country plans to buy about 12 boom defense systems (BDS) to be used as a means of preventing sabotage and clandestine attacks by surface craft and divers against ships in harbor and anchorage. “We have issued a global tender to buy the BDS, which would also be capable of tangling the running gear of boats entering restricted areas,” a defense ministry official says. The navy also seeks to determine whether the system can foul propellers and rudders on small boats entering restricted waters.

NEW DELHI — India imports nearly three times as many arms as China and Pakistan, a Swedish-based research institute says, firming up its position as the world’s leading buyer of military weapons. India increased its arms imports by 111% over the past five years and now accounts for 14% of the world’s weapons imports, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) says. The second-highest importers, China and Pakistan, each account for 5% of international defense imports.