Air India’s entry into Star Alliance has been delayed indefinitely after the airline alliance put on hold the Indian flag carrier’s application for a membership. The final decision on suspending Air India’s integration into the 27-airline alliance was made by Star’s executive board at a meeting July 31 in Frankfurt. A seemingly baffled Air India says it fulfilled all conditions of membership, but that is not how Star saw it.

Buoyed by the success of their first lunar probe three years back, India's space scientists are planning an ambitious sequel in 2013 that may establish the groundwork for a future robotic mission to Mars. Drawing on Russia's long experience exploring planetary surfaces, including the upcoming mission to the Martian moon Phobos, India's second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, will consist of a domestic spacecraft and rover, with a Russian landing platform that underscores the international aspect of India's budding planetary exploration program.

Mahindra Aerospace and Mahindra Satyam, the aerospace manufacturing and engineering units of India’s Mahindra Group, last week signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a partnership with Eurocopter and its Indian subsidiary, Eurocopter India. The partnership will focus on manufacturing of subassemblies, engineering and customization of civil helicopters, and the joint development of products for specific market segments. Details of the partnership will be decided in the coming months, a Mahindra official says.