Indian Navy conducts successful landing test of LCA on INS Vikrant; EV startups raised $1.66 bln in 2022

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The naval version of India’s light combat aircraft made a successful landing on the INS Vikrant, India’s indigenous aircraft carrier, the ministry of defence said in a press release yesterday. Separately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yesterday, opened India’s largest helicopter factory at Tumakuru, near Bengaluru. The facility, established by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, will initially make light utility helicopters. Also in this brief, India is cracking down on gambling apps and unauthorised loan apps.

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The Indian Navy carried out a successful landing and takeoff of the naval version of India’s light combat aircraft on the INS Vikrant, India’s indigenous aircraft carrier, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release yesterday.

The navy also successfully tested the landing and takeoff of the Russian-made MIG-29K on the aircraft carrier, which marks the integration of the fighter aircraft with India’s first indigenous carrier. The carrier was commissioned in September last year.

India is also developing a twin-engine deck-based fighter based on the LCA, which is a single-engine aircraft, The Hindu reported yesterday. That aircraft is projected to be ready by 2031, according to the report.

Separately, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, yesterday, opened India’s largest helicopter factory at Tumakuru, near Bengaluru. The manufacturing facility, established by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, will initially produce light utility helicopters, according to a government statement.

The helicopter is an indigenously designed and developed three-ton class, single-engine multipurpose utility aircraft. Initially, this factory will produce around 30 helicopters a year which can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner, according to the release.

Fintech startups Kissht and PayU’s LazyPay are among the apps that India’s IT Ministry blocked yesterday, in an ongoing crackdown on the misuse of consumer data, TechCrunch reported.

Over the last two years, India has blocked hundreds of apps and sites for their links to China, as border tensions escalated with the powerful neighbour and concerns over cybersecurity ratcheted up. In the case of the loan apps, concerns have mounted that several operators of such apps have been predatory in their practices.

India now has clear rules on how fintech app providers are to operate, including telling consumers upfront what the total cost of their loans will be.

In the latest crackdown, India is in the process of blocking 232 apps, some with links to China, that offer betting and loan services, according to TechCrunch. Nearly 140 of these apps are in the betting and gambling category, whereas over 90 provide unauthorised loan services.

India’s electric vehicle sector is now the third largest in the world, by the number of companies and startups, behind the US and China, according to a report on the sector from Tracxn, a private-markets intelligence provider.

In terms of funding, the Indian EV space is the fourth biggest after the US, China and Sweden, according to the report, which was released yesterday. India reached the milestone of 1 million EVs sold in 2022, with electric 2-wheelers being the biggest segment.

In 2022, The EV space recorded its highest-ever total funding in a decade. Total funding into EV startups in India jumped 117 percent to $1.66 billion in 2022, compared with $766 million in 2021.