Virgin Atlantic President Richard Branson, announcing the resumption of London-Mumbai flights after a three-year hiatus, says he is open to investment opportunities in Indian carriers. “Now foreign companies have been allowed to pick up 49%, so we are keeping our eyes open. It’s a brave battle going on in the Indian aviation space now. Everybody is bleeding. There will be a right time, and we will watch,” Branson says.

Employees at India’s beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines yesterday ended their weeks-long strike after management ensured payment of months of unpaid salaries by the end of this year. “The airline’s protesting pilots and engineers have agreed to resume duty from Oct. 26, having accepted management’s proposal to disburse salary for the month of March in 24 hours and for April by Oct. 30. The salary for the month of May will be paid by Nov. 13,” says CEO Sanjay Aggarwal in a statement.

NEW DELHI — An internal audit by India’s defense ministry has concluded that violations of procurement rules by the Indian army has resulted in the loss of more than 1 billion rupees ($18.6 million) in public funds during the two fiscal years since April 1, 2009. According to the 118-page audit report, equipment such as bulletproof jackets, night vision devices and parachutes were procured by the Northern Army commander between 2009-2011 from “unlisted and unregistered” vendors.