✈️ Can India finally build its own commercial aircraft?

Good morning. Nearly the end of the work week - lets get this bread 🍞 💪 

Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• ✈️ Can India finally build its own commercial aircraft?

• 📊 IndusInd insider trading scandal

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 🤖 Boosting India’s AI Ecosystem

  • 🚗 Nissan bets big

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• Indian equities ended lower after a volatile session. The Nifty Midcap100 was nearly flat, and the Nifty Smallcap100 posted modest gains, reflecting mixed sentiment across broader indices.

🌍️ International

• US stocks declined as investors digested a series of earnings reports and the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes while awaiting Nvidia’s quarterly results. Caution prevailed after Tuesday’s rally, with concerns about trade policy and inflation lingering.

INDIAN MANUFACTURING

✈️ Can India finally build its own commercial aircraft?

India is inching closer to a long-cherished ambition: building its own commercial aircraft. Leading this bold charge is the Tata Group, whose recent partnerships with Airbus mark a pivotal moment in the country’s aerospace journey.

The latest move - establishing a helicopter assembly line for Airbus’ H125 in Karnataka - follows last year’s military aircraft facility in Gujarat. Both ventures, led by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), signal more than industrial expansion; they’re stepping stones toward a future where India designs, builds, and flies its own passenger planes.

The stakes are high. Global civil aviation is dominated by a Boeing-Airbus duopoly, and commercial aircraft manufacturing is notoriously complex — requiring scale, cutting-edge technology, international certifications, and billions in capital. Even China, after decades of investment, is still struggling for global recognition with its COMAC C919.

But India isn’t starting from scratch. The country already exports aircraft components, hosts Boeing and Airbus R&D hubs, and boasts growing engineering talent. The Tata-Airbus facilities will help deepen local know-how and supply chains — critical infrastructure for any future aircraft program.

To move beyond parts and into full aircraft manufacturing, the government plans to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), bringing together private players, defence PSUs, and global partners. Civil Aviation Minister K.R. Naidu has hinted that this collaborative effort will be more about nation-building than profitability — an investment in sovereign capability, much like ISRO or India’s nuclear program.

Why now? Demand.

India is projected to need over 2,200 aircraft in the next 20 years as its middle class grows and air travel booms. Supply bottlenecks from Boeing and Airbus have already delayed deliveries worldwide. If India can produce even a fraction of its own needs — and eventually export — it could rewrite the global aviation map.

Still, the challenges are immense. Experts warn that even with strong intent, India must walk before it can fly. First, by mastering component supply chains. Then, by integrating fragmented design and production ecosystems. And finally, by developing an aircraft that meets the world’s highest safety and performance standards.

Read more: Times of India

FINANCE

📊 IndusInd insider trading scandal

SEBI has issued an interim order against five senior executives of IndusInd Bank — including its former CEO, Sumant Kathpalia — over allegations of insider trading.

The capital markets regulator found that these individuals offloaded shares while privy to undisclosed financial troubles tied to the bank’s derivative portfolio, avoiding nearly ₹20 crore in losses.

Here’s what’s happening:

• At the heart of the issue is an estimated ₹1,572 crore hit to IndusInd Bank’s books, stemming from discrepancies in its derivative positions.

• This potential blow, accounting for over 2% of the bank’s net worth, was known internally by December 2023 but only revealed to the public on March 10, 2025.

• When the disclosure was finally made, IndusInd’s stock nosedived by 27% in a single day — wiping out investor wealth and triggering market shockwaves.

SEBI’s investigation uncovered internal emails confirming the management’s awareness of the financial impact well before it was disclosed. During this window of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI), top insiders including Kathpalia and Deputy CEO Arun Khurana sold significant chunks of their holdings - 1.25 lakh and 3.48 lakh shares respectively - without any trading plan on record.

The regulator has frozen their bank and demat accounts to the extent of the gains made and barred them from trading until further notice. SEBI is also requiring full financial disclosures from the individuals involved as the investigation deepens, hinting that more names could surface.

Overall: The fallout could be long-lasting. Investor confidence in private sector banks, already strained by past governance lapses, may take another hit.

For IndusInd Bank, the reputational damage may linger even after the numbers recover. And for India’s capital markets, the case serves as a stark reminder: no executive is above the law when it comes to safeguarding the integrity of public trust.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

🤖 Boosting India’s AI Ecosystem - Microsoft and Yotta Data Services have partnered to deploy Azure AI services on Yotta’s Shakti Cloud, aiming to boost India’s AI ecosystem under the ₹10,372 crore IndiaAI Mission. The collaboration targets enterprises, startups, academia, and government agencies to accelerate AI innovation at scale. Microsoft India head Puneet Chandok said the partnership will help make India an “AI-first nation,” while Yotta CEO Sunil Gupta highlighted its role in driving AI self-reliance. With strong government backing and increasing GPU procurement for AI infrastructure, the alliance seeks to make advanced AI tools accessible to organizations of all sizes across the country.

🚗 Nissan bets big - Despite selling its 51% stake in its Indian plant to Renault, Nissan plans to invest €700 million in India over the next two years. The company will launch three new vehicles, beginning in early 2026, and aims to triple annual sales to 100,000 units by FY27. Nissan will also expand its dealership network to 180 outlets and double exports to 100,000 units, bringing total production to 200,000 from its 480,000-unit capacity in Tamil Nadu. While Renault will own the manufacturing facility, it will contract-produce for Nissan. Both companies will continue co-operating via their joint R&D centre, RNTBCI.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• Opera unveils Neon, a web browser with agentic AI capabilities built in.

• General insurance industry to invest Rs 100 cr annually for next 3-5 yrs in nationwide awareness campaign.

• US Visa Row: How international students make America great.

• Private sector must help achieve 'hunger free' India, says G20 Sherpa.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Vikramaditya Motwane's Black Warrant led by Zahaan Kapoor renewed for Season 2.

• Netflix founder Reed Hastings joins board of AI giant Anthropic.

• The Better Sister review: Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks’ chemistry gets squandered in Amazon’s dull sisterly mystery.