NEW DELHI — With NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory having just touched down at Gale Crater on Mars, the Indian government now has given the final green light for its first orbiter mission to the red planet in November 2013. In December 2011, India’s Space Commission gave its approval for the project, which is estimated to cost around 4.5 billion rupees ($80.7 million). The government has allocated 1.25 billion rupees for the initial phase of the mission for India’s current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2013.

NEW DELHI — India will penalize foreign military firms that fail to fulfill their defense offset requirements within the set time frame under revised guidelines. According to the amended defense offset policy, the “overall cap on penalty will be 20% of the total offset obligations during the period of the main procurement contract,” a defense official says. But there will be “no cap on penalty” if an international vendor falls short of meeting its obligations within two years of the main procurement contract, he adds.

NEW DELHI — The Indian navy has delayed by another six months a tender to buy 16 multi-role helicopters, even as it plans to issue another request for proposals to procure more than 75 similar aircraft, a senior defense ministry official says. The defense ministry official didn’t give any reasons for delaying the tender, which was initially released in September 2008. NH Industries (NHI) with its NH-90 and Sikorsky with its S-70 have bid for the program, which could expand by an additional 44 units and reach $1 billion.