India’s business aircraft operators recently formed a new organization, the Business Aircraft Operators’ Association (BAOA), to position the industry for what they believe will be exponential growth over the next decade. “The business aviation industry is growing at an encouraging rate, and India is all set to be the third largest aviation market by 2020,” says Rohit Kapur, president of the new association and managing director of Arrow Aircraft, which sells Gulfstream aircraft in India.

New Delhi – The U.S. is set to win some big-ticket defense equipment deals from India after the downselect of two of its fighters from the $11 billion competition to supply 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) to the Indian air force. Apparently in a bid to compensate for the MMRCA downselect, India, which is a strategic partner of the U.S., plans to award deals worth more than $10 billion for combat, military transport and reconnaissance aircraft.

India’s government will review the financial situation of the state-run Air India Oct. 28 and decide on the future of several aircraft purchase orders. A panel of federal ministers, led by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, was scheduled to meet yesterday, according to an official at the civil aviation ministry.