NEW DELHI — The Indian navy received the first of eight Boeing P-8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft on May 15. “The induction of the P-8I aircraft into the navy will greatly enhance India’s maritime surveillance capability in the Indian Ocean region,” an Indian navy spokesman said after the aircraft, a variant of the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon, landed at INS Rajali, a naval base at Arakonam near the southern city of Chennai.

India has approved a wide-ranging policy to create international and regional aviation hubs to encourage the development of local airlines and airports. With the policy, an inter-ministerial committee will be established to suggest measures to “remove bottlenecks to the coordination and promotion of the tourism sector, like issuing visas on arrival, currency exchange rules, immigration, and security checks,” says government Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari.

NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) has invited eight global aerospace companies to bid for co-producing 56 medium transport aircraft to replace its aging fleet of Hawker Siddeley HS 748s originally built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). The deal mandates that the first 16 aircraft will be directly procured in flyaway condition from the chosen vendor, which will then have to partner with an Indian company that will manufacture the remaining 40. Out of those 40, 16 must comprise 30% indigenous components, while 24 must contain 60%.