NEW DELHI — India will carry out a test launch of the heaviest variant of its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), the Mk. 3, in April. “The rocket will have a passive cryogenic engine,” Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman K. Radhakrishnan says. The Mk. 3, an advanced version of the GSLV, is designed to launch communications satellites weighing more than 4 metric tons (8,800 lb.). The chief objective of the mission “will be to study the aerodynamics and stability of the rocket,” Radhakrishnan says.

India’s bankers have accorded aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul operations infrastructure status to facilitate easier borrowing from overseas, the country’s central bank says. “On a review, it has been decided that, for the purpose of External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) will also be treated as a part of airport infrastructure,” the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) says.

India’s ambitious initiative to design and develop a regional transport aircraft finally seems to have taken wings with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) inviting enginemakers worldwide to offer data on their engines and integrated propulsive systems (IPS) for developing a 70-100 seater airplane.