Al Hind Air and FlyExpress head to the skies

India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation has cleared two new carriers for operation — Al Hind Air and FlyExpress — as part of efforts to break the duopoly in the aviation sector and expand competition following flight disruptions at IndiGo earlier this month, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu said in a post on X.

Why now? The approvals follow an operational setback at IndiGo — India’s largest airline with 60% of the domestic market — that triggered nationwide cancellations between 1-9 December and highlighted the pitfall of a duopoly in the sector. Naidu told parliament that India “needs to have five big airlines” to keep pace with demand and protect continuity in the event of future disruptions.

What’s next: Both airlines must still obtain the remaining approvals — including securing Air Operator Certificates from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation — and meet safety, fleet, and financial requirements before launch. No investment figures or confirmed start dates have been reported so far.

Warburg, Bharti to buy 49% of Haier India

US private equity firm Warburg Pincus and Indian conglomerate Bharti Enterprises will jointly acquire a 49% stake in Chinese appliance maker Haier India, Reuters reported last week. Following the transaction, Haier Group will retain a 49% stake, while Haier India employees will hold the remaining 2%. Bharati Enterprises boasts a strong presence in the Gulf and Africa regions — it recently incorporated its subsidiary Indus Towers in the UAE and plans to list its stepdown subsidiary Airtel Money in the Emirates.

Tata Steel faces collective action over emissions

Dutch nonprofit Stichting Frisse Wind.nu has filed a collective action seeking INR 133 bn (USD 1.6 bn) from Tata Steel for alleged environmental and health impacts, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The claim is linked to emissions from the firm’s Netherlands operations in Velsen-Noord. Dutch regulators last year threatened nearly INR 2.8 bn (USD 31.6 mn) in fines and warned they could shut a coke plant in IJmuiden if toxic emissions were not reduced, while prosecutors opened a 2022 investigation into whether the company had engaged in deliberate environmental contamination.

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