The government will underwrite a £1.5bn loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in a bid to support its suppliers as a cyber attack continues to halt production at the car maker.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said the loan, from a commercial bank, would protect jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and across the UK.

The manufacturer has been forced to suspend production for weeks after being targeted by hackers at the end of August.

There have been growing concerns some suppliers, mostly small businesses, could go bust due to the prolonged shutdown. The company operates the largest supply chain in the UK automotive sector, employing around 150,000 people.

It is hoped the loan will give suppliers some certainty as the shutdown continues.

The government will underwrite the loan through the Export Development Guarantee (EDG), a financial support mechanism aimed at helping UK companies who sell overseas.

The loan will be paid back by JLR over five years, in an effort to boost the firm’s cash reserves as it makes a “backlog of payments” to its suppliers.

No cars have been built this month, and the company has stopped placing orders with its 700 suppliers.

A parliamentary committee said some small suppliers had told them they had, at most, one week left before they ran out of cash.

The halt in operations is thought to be costing JLR itself at least £50m per week.

The manufacturer, owned by India’s Tata Motors, typically builds about 1,000 cars a day at its three factories in Solihull and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, and Halewood in Merseyside.

Kyle said: “Following our decisive action, this loan guarantee will help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and throughout the UK.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “Today we are protecting thousands of those jobs with up to £1.5bn in additional private finance, helping them support their supply chain and protect a vital part of the British car industry.”

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith welcomed the government’s support but said it “took too long to get there” and called on Labour to form a cyber reinsurance scheme to protect British businesses from state-backed actors.

Liberal Democrat business spokesperson Sarah Olney also praised the move but said the government had been “too slow to act”, adding it should also be prepared to provide a furlough scheme for affected workers if required.

Union Unite, representing thousands at JLR and in the supply chain, described the government support as an “important first step”.

“The money provided must now be used to ensure job guarantees and to also protect skills and pay in JLR and its supply chain,” said general secretary Sharon Graham.

JLR was hit by a cyber-attack on 31 August. A group calling itself Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters has claimed responsibility for the hack.

It was also behind a number of high-profile attacks on retailers earlier this year, including Marks & Spencer and Co-op.

JLR workers have been told to stay home since 1 September, with no firm return date provided.

About 30,000 people are directly employed at the company’s plants.

A JLR spokesperson said: “Our teams continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the NCSC and law enforcement to ensure we restart in a safe and secure manner.

“The foundational work of our recovery programme is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide regular updates to our colleagues, retailers and suppliers.”

New Delhi: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) welcomed over 5 million international passengers between January 2025 and August 2025. Over the past three years, international arrivals at the airport have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21 per cent, highlighting Mumbai’s ever-burgeoning prominence on the global travel map.

According to a media release, with direct connectivity to 55 international destinations, CSMIA has solidified its position as one of the most globally connected airports in the region. The UAE remains CSMIA’s largest source market, contributing 1.5 million arriving passengers between January and August 2025. England and Thailand follow with 0.38 million and 0.32 million arriving passengers, respectively.

“CSMIA’s growing connectivity is also reflected in the seven new international routes added between April 2024 and 2025, linking Mumbai with Al-Fujairah, Tashkent, Krabi, Almaty, Amman, Manchester, and Tbilisi. Meanwhile, emerging destinations such as Colombo (0.17 million arriving passengers), Kuwait (0.16 million), and Dammam (0.16 million) have become significant contributors to passenger volumes in 2025, highlighting evolving travel trends through Mumbai. This expansion demonstrates CSMIA’s growing global connectivity and its role in supporting both business and tourism,” the release said.

Between January and August 2025, arrivals rose steadily to over 5 million, compared with 4.8 million during the same period in 2024 and 4.1 million in 2023. The release also stated that between August 2024 and August 2025, the airport handled 8.24 million international arriving passengers.

January 2025 emerged as a milestone month, with 0.69 million international arrivals, marking a 415 per cent increase compared to January 2022, when post-COVID travel recovery had just begun.

Beyond being a transit hub, CSMIA offers a uniquely local experience, ensuring that every traveller’s journey begins with a taste of Mumbai’s spirit, warmth, and hospitality. “By combining international connectivity with these distinctly local experiences, the airport ensures that every passenger’s journey starts with a sense of Mumbai’s culture, heritage, and charm, reinforcing the city’s role on the global travel map — a fitting reflection of the spirit celebrated on World Tourism Day,” the release concluded.

India, Brazil and South Africa have raised concerns over unilateral tariffs and other coercive trade measures, saying such steps risk destabilising global markets and undermining the World Trade Organisation (WTO).At a meeting under the IBSA framework (India, Brazil, South Africa), the three nations described these measures as “discriminatory” and “inconsistent” with WTO rules.The meeting was attended by external affairs minister S Jaishankar, Brazilian foreign minister Mauro Vieira, and South African minister Sindisiwe Chikunga.

The ministers had also urged for urgent reforms to the UN security council, Jaishankar said.In a statement, IBSA stressed the importance of a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial global trading system.It added, “They (the ministers) reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen the centrality of the rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, fair, equitable, open, and inclusive multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core and its role in promoting predictability, stability, legal certainty and a level playing field for international trade.”Last month, the US imposed 50% tariffs on India and Brazil, raising tensions further.The ministers expressed “serious concern over the imposition of unilateral tariff and other discriminatory and protectionist measures, particularly measures used as a means of coercion, noting that such actions are inconsistent with the WTO and risk undermining the rules-based multilateral trading system as well as destabilising world markets fostering greater fragmentation and instability.”The three countries also highlighted their commitment to reforming and strengthening the multilateral trading system. The statement also noted disappointment that the WTO’s commitment to a fully functioning dispute settlement system by December 2024 has not been met. The ministers stressed the need to urgently restore an effective two-tier WTO dispute settlement system.Agricultural trade was another key focus. The ministers said it must remain free from unilateral, protectionist measures. “Transparent, open, reliable, non-discriminatory, and uninterrupted international trade in agriculture and its inputs is one of the important avenues to address the global food security crisis,” the statement said.“The ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening even further agricultural cooperation among IBSA, including within multilateral organisations,” it added.