India’s quest for self-reliance in aerospace propulsion has been a story of ambition meeting formidable technical challenges. The Kaveri engine project, launched in the 1980s, struggled for years before being formally delinked from the Tejas fighter program in 2008 . Even state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) 25 kN HTFE-25 turbofan engine, initiated in 2013, remains in active development with its certification timeline now pushed to 2027-2028 . This is the demanding context in which a Hyderabad-based deeptech startup has announced a breakthrough that could rewrite India’s propulsion story.

One97 Communications, the parent entity behind the digital payments giant Paytm, reported a stellar Q1 FY27 performance, marking its fifth consecutive quarter of profitability and posting its highest-ever quarterly EBITDA . However, the stock witnessed a decline as the board decided against proceeding with a proposed bonus share issue . The market’s reaction illustrates the delicate balance between operational excellence and shareholder expectations in India’s competitive fintech ecosystem.