NEW DELHI — India has started price negotiations with France’s Dassault Aviation on the 126-fighter Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program. A contract is expected to be signed after six months, Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. India announced early February that the French Rafale had won the $11 billion deal, beating the Eurofighter Typhoon on price.

India’s government has relaxed restrictions to international route authorities once preserved rights for state-owned Air India, a move that now gives domestic carriers such as Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Indigo, and SpiceJet greater access to foreign destinations. The civil aviation ministry’s decision last week also revokes an unofficial ban on international flying imposed last year that only granted privately owned operators access to international routes when Air India formally rejected the rights.

NEW DELHI – India’s largest company by market capitalization, Reliance Industries Ltd., and France’s Dassault Aviation have signed an initial pact to work together in the Indian defense and homeland security sector, a Reliance official says. The agreement comes less than two weeks after Dassault emerged as the lowest bidder for a multibillion-dollar order to supply 126 Rafale fighters to the Indian air force. Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony said it was a long process and the deal was not expected to be signed in the current financial year.