In 2008 the Supreme Court of India revoked the 2G spectrum licences issued to many local and international companies because of major violations in the granting procedure by the Telecom Ministry. One of the worst affected companies was Norway's Telenor communications company, which was involved with a local company in a joint venture, Uninor, which had all of its licences cancelled. The case provides students an opportunity to assess and understand the implications of the political as well as legal risks involved in entering uncertain markets, such as India's, and to devise appropriate coping strategies to establish and successfully operate in such markets. The case drives home the significance of political and legal business environmental factors that have an impact on the successful conduct of business. Multinational companies tend to be vulnerable to political risks, and the case suggests to students how to handle such situations.

This case discusses the emergence of low-cost carriers (LCCs) in India in relation to the growth of the Indian aviation industry and the subsequent fall of the LCCs into financial loss. The LCCs became important for value-adding and cost-cutting alternatives in corporate business travel. Before the 2008 global economic crisis, domestic air traffic LCCs recorded a compound annual passenger growth rate of 18 per cent. Among the many low-cost airlines in India, SpiceJet had been one of the most popular, with the lowest airfares and highest customer value. Though SpiceJet had a net profit of INR 1.01 billion (US$20.2 million) in fiscal year 2010-2011, the results following the financial year indicated that the company had also joined the ranks of loss-making airlines in India. A host of issues - such as rising debt, increasing cost to revenue ratios, growing management challenges, complicated flight operations, and rising oil prices - were threatening the survival of airline companies, especially LCCs. SpiceJet was no exception.