Air India will on Friday seal half of an order worth billions of dollars for some 495 jets with Boeing and engine suppliers General Electric and CFM International, two industry sources said, as its new owner seeks to revive the airline and compete with much larger rivals.

After months of closely-guarded, tough negotiations, Air India is set to place an order for 190 Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody planes as well as some 20 Boeing 787s and 10 Boeing 777X on a day marking one year since Tata Group took control of the former state-run carrier, the sources told Reuters.

The ruling BJP in Karnataka on Wednesday alleged that the Congress has a history of having links with terrorism.

The retort, in a series of social media posts, comes in the wake of Opposition leader Siddaramaiah's recent claim that Congress opposes terrorism in all its forms.

Shares in Adani Group companies fell after well-known US activist investor Hindenburg Research LLC said it was shorting the empire’s stocks and accused firms owned by Asia’s richest man of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud.

Billionaire Gautam Adani’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd. and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd. dropped as much as 2.5% and 5% respectively on Tuesday after Hindenburg, an US-based investment research firm that specializes in activist short-selling, made wide-ranging allegations of corporate malpractice following a two-year investigation into the tycoon’s companies.

In the wake of multiple untoward incidents on its flights,Air India has modified its in-flight alcohol service policy wherein cabin crew have beentold to tactfully refuse further serving of alcohol if needed.

According to the revised policy, 'Alcoholic beverages must be served in an appropriate and safe manner. This also includes refusing to serve alcohol (further) to the guests." Air India said in a statement on Tuesday.

Shares of food aggregator platform Zomato plunged 15 per cent, hitting almost six-month low of Rs 44.35, on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade amid heavy volumes. The stock was trading at its lowest level since July 28, 2022. It had hit all-time low of Rs 40.55 on July 27, 2022.

At 10:53 AM, Zomato was quoting 7 per cent lower at Rs 48.65, as compared to 1.04 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

Short-seller Hindenburg Research said on Wednesday it holds short positions in India's Adani Group companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.

The seven listed companies of the Adani group, which is controlled by world's third richest man Gautam Adani, have an 85% downside on a fundamental basis due to sky-high valuations, Hindenburg said in the report.

Blackstone is in talks to sell around half of its stake in India's largest real estate investment trust Embassy Office Parks to private equity firm Bain Capital, two sources said, in a deal worth up to $480 million at current prices.

A deal would mark US-based Bain's first REIT investment in India where office space is drawing in investors as many workers have returned to offices with the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

India saw a single-day rise of 89 coronavirus infections, while the active case count came down by three to stand at 1,931, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

The total tally of Covid cases was recorded at 4.46 crore (4,46,82,104).

Landeed, a startup for property records in India, has raised $8.3 million in a funding round led by Draper Associates, Y Combinator, and Bayhouse Capital.

Landeed said it will use the funding to hire people and improve its technological infrastructure as it builds a comprehensive property title search engine and become a hub for real estate transactions.

Maruti Suzuki India is probing allegations of fraud and wrongdoing by some company executives in its purchase department, a report by The Economic Times said. It is being done based on a complaint filed by a whistleblower.

"After a thorough investigation, the company will take strict action if required," a person aware of developments told ET.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.