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.

GE Aviation will provide technical support to air navigation service provider Airports Authority of India (AAI) to speed deployment of Required Navigation Performance (RNP) flight paths throughout India. “India has more than 50 mid-sized airports which could benefit immediately with track-mile and fuel savings from RNP,” says Giovanni Spitale, general manager of GE Aviation’s Flight Efficiency Services.

AirAsia India, the country’s new no-frills carrier, received its first Airbus A320, inching closer to launching its operation in the domestic sector to help connect smaller Indian cities. A joint venture between Malaysia’s low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd and local investors the Tata Group and Arun Bhatia’s Telestra Tradeplace, the airline got permission from the Indian government late last year to import 10 aircraft.