NEW DELHI — AgustaWestland has invoked its contractual right to arbitration over the bribery scandal that tainted its sale of AW101 helicopters to India for VIP transport. India has suspended payments on the €560 million ($762.91 million) contract to buy 12 AW101s and has threatened to cancel the purchase of the helicopters if the charges of bribery to middlemen both in India and abroad are proven. AgustaWestland asserts such a move would violate the terms of the 2010 contract.

India’s cabinet has approved the sale of a 24% stake in Jet Airways to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, paving the way for the first deal between a local and a foreign carrier since last year’s change to the country’s airline ownership laws. The Indian government decided in September 2012 to allow foreign airlines to acquire up to 49% in domestic carriers.

NEW DELHI — India’s defense research agency is preparing to test, for the first time, a high-altitude interceptor missile in November, a senior scientist says. The exo-atmospheric test is “part of the developmental trials” for the first phase of India’s ballistic missile defense (BMD) system, an official at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) says. “Critical simulation tests” are under way to prepare for the flight. “The major trial will be held in the last week of November,” the DRDO official says.