India’s low-cost airline SpiceJet Ltd. and Singapore’s largest budget carrier Tigerair have signed a three-year connectivity agreement, in a major boost for business travel and tourism between the two countries. As part of the inter-line agreement, in which each carrier will issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the other partner, SpiceJet travelers across 14 Indian cities will have uninterrupted connection to Singapore-bound flights of Tigerair via Hyderabad airport in south India.

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia Group will initially import 10 aircraft for its India-based operations, which are likely to begin in March. AirAsia, which has already won approval for its joint venture airline in India, was initially planning to begin operations in the country in December with three Airbus A320 aircraft, and then add 10 Airbus aircraft each year to expand its operations in the country.

NEW DELHI — A squeeze in India’s defense budget will hinder all future research and development projects, the chief of the state-run Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) says. “We need to make sure that R&D funding is not just maintained but enhanced,” says Avinash Chander, who is also the scientific adviser to the defense minister. “We may be able to meet the present requirement, but any squeeze will keep us out of next-generation products such as multi-static radars, which require high investments.”