The Dubai-based airline Flydubai announced the departure of its first flight to its second destination in Syria on Monday. These operations resumed after a 14-year hiatus.
The first flight to Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities, marks the airline's second destination after the capital, Damascus. Earlier this month, the airline announced the launch of a daily direct service to Aleppo International Airport (ALP).
The arrival of the first flight was marked by a ceremonial water cannon salute and an official reception organized by local authorities.
This new route will provide a convenient travel option for over 250,000 residents in the country, especially during the peak summer tourist season. It supplements the three daily flights to Damascus and significantly reduces travel time compared to indirect routes.
This development comes as several regional airlines begin establishing flight networks in the Levant country following the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Previously, Air Arabia added Aleppo to its list of destinations and already flies to Damascus from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Emirates resumed flights between Dubai and Damascus in June 2025. Flydubai also restored service to the Syrian capital in June 2025, demonstrating the airline's commitment to improving connectivity in underserved markets and opening up new opportunities for trade and tourism between the two countries.
Aleppo is the latest addition to Flydubai's growing global network, following recent launches to Bangkok (Thailand) and Benghazi (Libya), and a planned launch of services to Pokhara (Nepal) starting September 23, 2026.
The new route represents an important step in expanding Flydubai's network, strengthening ties between the UAE and Syria and providing passengers with greater flexibility for business, leisure, or visiting relatives. Hamad Obaidallah, Flydubai's Commercial Director, noted that since resuming flights to Damascus last year, the airline has observed high demand between the UAE and Syria.
He stated: 'The start of our daily flights to Aleppo, a city of immense historical and commercial significance, strengthens our presence in Syria and confirms our commitment to connecting Dubai with key regional markets. This new route reflects our long-term confidence in the Syrian market and our readiness to offer passengers more flexible travel options while contributing to the economic and tourism development of the region.'
Every time a household in India receives a fiber optic broadband internet connection, there is a high probability that the equipment routing this signal was created by GX Group. Although its equipment is used in networks belonging to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea's You Broadband, and the state-owned BSNL, most Indians have never heard of this company.
The roots of GX Group lie in a history that explains its unique composition. The company was founded in 2002 under the name Genexis, a producer of European broadband access equipment. A significant milestone for its operations in India came in 2013 when it acquired the end-user equipment business from Ericsson of Sweden and began expanding across India.
In 2018, the company was renamed GX Group. Today, it is an unusual hybrid: a multinational corporation headquartered in the Netherlands, whose CEO, Paritosh Pradjapati, spent a decade transforming India from a sales market into a global design and manufacturing hub.
The product range is far from consumer-friendly: it includes Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) equipment, which enables fiber optic broadband network operation, as well as Wi-Fi routers, enterprise switches, and IoT devices supplied to Asia, Europe, and Africa. Buyers acquire GPON gateways not out of brand loyalty, but because they must function reliably within the infrastructure upon which millions of people depend, remaining unnoticed.
This unassuming approach bore fruit after the launch of the Indian Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for telecommunications equipment manufacturing. In February 2023, GX became the first telecommunications equipment manufacturer to meet PLI targets and receive corresponding incentives. The Department of Telecommunications confirmed that its division in India became the first organization shortlisted for payment, surpassing VVDN Technologies and Commscope India.
Financial figures demonstrate part of this story. In mid-2024, Pradjapati reported that the company demonstrated annual growth of 40% for several consecutive years. He forecasts revenue to increase from 300 crore to 500 crore by the 2026 fiscal year, and production capacity has increased almost fivefold since the establishment of the enterprise. He allocated about 100 crore for a new manufacturing facility and invested in an R&D center in Chennai, expecting a 120% growth in exports to telecom companies in Africa, Europe, and Southeast Asia by shifting from software to hardware exports.
An even more telling move was the acquisition of a European firm in March 2025, something Indian telecom equipment manufacturers rarely do. Ping Communication, a European broadband CPE manufacturer owned by Norway's Heimgard Group, brought with it a twenty-year history, revenue of about $30 million, and established relationships with suppliers from Telmex and America Movil, two of Latin America's largest operators. Pradjapati called this a milestone in the 'Make in India for the World' journey, aiming to achieve $50 million in LATAM revenue by 2026 in a region expected to reach 134 million broadband home connections by 2027. This was followed by signing distribution agreements: with Ingram Micro India in June 2025, with Calculus Networks for Latin America in December, and with Al Jassar Group from Oman for the Middle East.
The clearest sign of ambitions beyond mere assembly was the launch of GX Quantum Photonics Pvt Ltd in October 2025. The goal was to create the first center in India for the development, manufacturing, and research of photonic chips. The first phase, valued at 500 crore, is supported by Invest International from the Netherlands and a partnership with SMART Photonics BV, a Dutch leader in indium phosphide-based photonic integrated semiconductors—components that guide light through optical networks, LiDAR, and quantum devices.
The plan is very specific: headquarters in Manesar, a manufacturing plant in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, R&D expansion in Chennai, and over 300 direct jobs in a company with about 250 employees in India. Operations are set to begin in the first quarter of the 2027 fiscal year, and locally produced chips are targeted for the market by October 2026, targeting a $50 billion market encompassing AI data centers, 5G/6G, automotive LiDAR, and quantum communication. If the schedule is met, GX will be able to produce photonic chips in India months before most leading semiconductor fabs release anything.
GX Group challenges the conventional Indian narrative of cheap labor, low margins, and assembly under foreign brands. The company started by acquiring a business that Ericsson no longer wanted, leveraged the PLI scheme better than anyone, and is now changing the typical technological flow: by acquiring European firms and bringing Indian hardware to Latin American markets through Swiss channels. Most people do not think about the origin of a GPON gateway. However, along the fiber optic connections from Bengaluru to Mexico City, it is highly likely that GX assembled the box, and by October, it may contain Indian chips.
Stock market indices Sensex and Nifty opened in the red on Wednesday. The decline was triggered by renewed threats of tariffs on the pharmaceutical sector from US President Trump, as well as a sharp rise in oil prices amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the West Asia region.
The BSE Sensex index began the trading session with a drop of nearly 388 points, representing 0.50 percent from a level of 77,081. The index reached a low of 76,722.21, losing 748 points or 0.96 percent. Similarly, the Nifty 50 index fell by 90 points or 0.37 percent, opening at 24,097. This index, comprising 50 stocks, showed a minimum of 23,973.70, dropping by 214 points or 0.88 percent.
By 10:50 AM, both key indices were trading close to their daily lows: Sensex showed 76,832.77, indicating a decrease of 637 points or 0.82 percent, while Nifty was at 24,009.30, down 178 points or 0.74 percent.
At the sectoral level, the Nifty Pharma and Realty indices declined by more than 1.5 percent each. Declines were also observed in the Nifty PSU Bank, Financial Services, IT, Metal, and Oil & Gas indices. The only exception was Nifty Auto, which demonstrated a growth of almost 1 percent during the day.
In the broader market context, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 traded down by 0.65 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the India VIX index rose to 12.94, increasing by more than 2.5 percent, signaling increased caution and volatility in the near term.
The Nifty Pharma and healthcare indices became the main laggards among the components of Nifty, leading to a nearly one percent drop in the main index. The fall occurred after US President Donald Trump announced a proposal to introduce a phased tariff regime on imported generic drugs aimed at stimulating domestic pharmaceutical production within the United States. The Nifty Pharma index dropped by 1.7 percent, reaching 25,639.70 during intraday trading.
Tushar Manudhane, Senior Vice President of Healthcare Institutional Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services, noted that '90 percent of prescription generics are imported into the US, which effectively increases the tariff for everyone supplying the US market, and this is not specific to India.'
The rise in oil prices also contributed to the downturn in the domestic stock market. On Wednesday, prices rose by more than 1.57 percent, pushing Brent crude futures above $92.58 per barrel, while WTI crude futures increased by 1.34 percent, trading at $85.68 per barrel.
OMC stocks, representing state-owned oil companies including Bharat Petroleum Corporation, fell by 1.52 percent to 314 rupees per share, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation decreased by 2.13 percent to 398 rupees per share, and Indian Oil Corporation lost 0.77 percent, settling at 142 rupees on Wednesday after Brent crude prices jumped to $92 per barrel.
On Wednesday, the rupee opened weaker against the US dollar. The national currency weakened by 10 paise against the US dollar, reaching 96.34 compared to Tuesday's close at 94.24 per dollar.
Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury at Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, stated that 'traders continue to monitor the participation of the Reserve Bank of India through public sector banks to smooth out volatility. The central bank seems to allow gradual adjustment, preventing erratic movements.'
V. K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investment, believes that the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran and the rise in Brent crude prices will put pressure on markets, despite positive news in other areas. He added that 'market declines create opportunities to buy fundamentally sound stocks. Broader market superiority may continue in the short term.'
Rajesh Palvia, Head of Research at Axis Direct, noted that technically the market continues to trade cautiously below the 24,300 mark. He added: 'Sustainable growth above this level could revive momentum towards 24,500–24,550, while immediate support is at 24,100. A decisive break below this level could trigger further weakness towards 23,950. Any easing in crude oil prices would significantly improve market sentiment and serve as a trigger for a stronger recovery.'
