State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Tuesday said it has placed an order of Rs 5,375 crore for 99 F404-GE-IN20 engines and support services with GE Aviation, USA to power the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. The contract was signed here today at HAL Corporate Office, the company said in a release.

"This is the largest ever deal and the purchase order placed by HAL for LCA," R Madhavan, CMD, HAL said.

The Company is working closely with GE for its support to pursue the export potential of LCA and also to supply spares to the global supply chain of GE 404 engines, he said.

Accusing the UPA of “trickery”, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the Modi government was paying for the Rs 2.5 lakh crore liability of oil bonds.

“If I did not have the burden to service the oil bonds, I would have been in a position to reduce excise duty on fuel… Previous government has made our job difficult by issuing oil bonds,” the minister told reporters, adding that when the NDA came to power in 2014, it should have released a white paper on the liabilities inherited by it.

While many saw the FM’s comment as an indication of the Centre’s inability to pare taxes on petrol and diesel, at least for the time being, Sitharaman maintained that she was “not suggesting anything” on changing the levies.

Bengaluru-based start-up Simple Energy has finally unveiled its first electric scooter on India’s 75th Independence Day. It’s named the Simple One, and follows hot on the heels of the just-launched Ola Electric S1 scooter. However, the Simple One promises to one-up the Ola S1 on the range front, with Simple Energy saying the e-scooter will have a range of up to 236 km on the Indian Driving Cycle (IDC), which is significantly higher than the Ola’s claimed range of 181 kilometres. Those interested in the Simple One can now place an order on the start-up's website, with the reservation amount set at Rs 1,947.

The Simple One packs a removable 4.8 kWh lithium-ion battery pack, which powers an electric motor that has a base output of 4.5 kW, peak output 7 kW and 72 Nm of torque. The Simple One has four ride modes (Eco, Ride, Dash and Sonic), is said to accelerate from 0-40 kph in just 3.05 seconds and has a top speed of 105 kph. It rides on 12-inch wheels, has 30 litres of under-seat storage capacity and weighs in at 110 kg.

Recalling how the industry used to face "hardships" in securing permissions and "harassment from bureaucrats" 50 years ago, chairman of the city-based vaccine maker Serum Institute of India (SII), Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, on Friday hailed the Modi government saying that red-tapism and licence raj have come down under its rule. He also said that in the past, he had to "fall at the feet" of bureaucrats and drug controllers in order to get permissions, and added that the situation has changed now, which resulted in quick launch of SII's COVID-19 vaccine – Covishield. Poonawalla was speaking at the event where he received the Lokmanyat Tilak National Award instituted by the Lokmanya Tilak Trust here.

Tata Steel on Thursday reported robust numbers for the quarter ended June 30 as its net profit soared on the back of a global rally in steel prices and improved performance in the European business. The company beat Bloomberg’s consensus estimates as it reported a record consolidated net profit of Rs 9,768 crore during the quarter versus the highest-ever consolidated net loss of Rs 4,609 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The profits were higher than the full-year profits reported by Tata Steel for FY21.

Net sales more than doubled to Rs 53,372 crore on a year-on-year basis and remained above analyst estimates. Steel deliveries, which were severely impacted due to the national lockdown around the same time last year, recovered well and were up 33% y-o-y at 7.11 million tonne. However, the impact of the second wave led to a fall of 9% in deliveries on a quarter-on-quarter basis.