A steep hike in aeronautical fees at one of the busiest airports in India is likely to dent domestic and international operations of the country’s airlines, which are already reeling from a severe cash crunch.

NEW DELHI — Boeing has moved a step closer to delivering the first P-8I aircraft to the Indian navy, with the flight-test program of the long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft now under way. “The Boeing-led team is on track to deliver the first aircraft to the Indian navy in May 2013,” say company officials.

NEW DELHI — India is increasing the budget for its planned defense fiber-optic network by 52.3 billion rupees ($952 million), for a total of 130 billion rupees ($2.3 billion), to keep up with cost growth on the project. “The cost estimate of the project escalated due to [a] change in specifications and other requirements emanating from the users, which includes the network for [the] army, navy and air force,” a government official says.