Indian startup Air Mantra, which is part of charter operator Religare Voyages Ltd., is scheduled to launch July 23 with daily flights between Amritsar and Chandigarh, cities in the country’s north. The first airline to be launched in the country in the past five years, Air Mantra will start with a fleet of two 17-seat Beechcraft 1900Ds previously operated on charter service. But Religare Voyages CEO Sandeep Bhatt says the airline intends to add larger turboprops, with ATRs and Bombardier Q400s likely candidates.

ISRO officials say a significant amount of work on the mission has been completed and scientific payloads have been shortlisted.

The newly appointed head of India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation Prashant Sukul has scheduled a July 14 meeting with all major airlines to discuss safety issues arising from an audit conducted between November and January. The announcement comes ­after the government abruptly dismissed E.K. Bharat Bhushan as DGCA chief last week, although he had received a six-month extension by the cabinet’s Appointments Committee. The federal aviation ministry has refused to reveal why Bhushan was ousted.