Jay Menon

India Correspondent

Delhi, India

Summary

Articles

Jay Menon
The Indian government, which to date has received more questions than serious responses to its foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal, is considering consulting airline operators about amending the two-month-old policy. While private airlines, such as Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet, were elated at the government’s decision to open FDI, no foreign airline has shown any genuine interest or approached the government with a proposal, a civil ministry official said.
Air Transport

Jay Menon
NEW DELHI — The Indian air force (IAF) is likely to start taking delivery of 512 CBU-105 sensor fuzed weapons (SFW) made by Textron Defense Systems in the first half of 2013, a defense ministry official says. Under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales deal, Textron will deliver the SFWs to the U.S. Air Force, which in turn will give them to the IAF, the official says. The SFW will be mounted on the IAF’s Jaguar fighters, and Textron will work closely with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to integrate the weapons, the official says.
Defense

Jay Menon
NEW DELHI — The Indian government plans to sell a 10% stake in state-owned defense aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), according to a senior minister. “The government is aiming to sell HAL’s shares through an initial public offering,” Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Nov. 8. The sale is expected to take place in the next fiscal year, which begins April 1. The government hopes to earn 25 billion rupees ($460 million) from the sale.
Defense