Little is known about FGM in India where the ritual is carried out in great secrecy by the close-knit Dawoodi Bohra community, thought to number over 1 million. Masooma Ranalvi has launched an online petition in which she describes how she was cut as a seven-year-old in Mumbai. "The shock and trauma of that day are still with me," she said. "What makes me really angry is that this continues today... Why are we doing this to young girls even now? Someone has to speak up and we have to stop this."   read more

The patties — cow poop mixed with hay and dried in the sun, made mainly by women in rural areas and used to fuel fires — have long been available in India's villages. But online retailers including Amazon and eBay are now reaching out to the country's ever-increasing urban population, feeding into the desire of older city folks to harken back to their childhood in the village. Some retailers say they're offering discounts for large orders. Some customers are asking for gift wrapping.   read more

A tradition of Jains starving themselves to death is an essential part of religious freedom, a petition told the Supreme Court on Tuesday, as the community protested its voluntary custom of ‘santhara’ being declared illegal by the Rajasthan High Court.   read more

The RBI has provisionally cleared 11 entities to set up new 'payments banks'. These include India Post, private business groups such as Reliance Industries and the Aditya Birla Group, telecom giants like Airtel and Vodafone, and several tech and finance companies.   read more

The Supreme Court has prevented the government from making the Aadhaar card mandatory for availing social benefit schemes. The court also ruled on Tuesday that no personal information of the cardholders should be shared by any government authority.   read more

The government has blocked over 850 adult websites to prevent pornography becoming “a social nuisance”, despite the Supreme Court not supporting an outright ban last month. India’s first big crackdown on internet porn has sparked an online debate about censorship and freedom in the world's largest democracy.   read more

Uber Technologies Inc plans to invest $1 billion in India in the next nine months, as the U.S. online taxi-hailing company looks to expand its services beyond the 18 Indian cities where it now operates. Its investment in India is now on a par with its investment in China, and signals an escalation of Uber’s rivalry with domestic rival Ola.   read more

The proposed changes in the Indian Financial Code (IFC) have been criticised by Moody’s, which believes that giving the government a veto over interest rates will curb the RBI’s independence and dent its performance in tackling inflation.   read more

Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam died as he lived: in the public eye and inspiring young students. The 83-year-old collapsed on Monday while giving a lecture on sustainable development at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). A rocket scientist who rose to become India’s 11th president, he will be remembered most for being the people’s President, an inspirational figure who revolutionised the top office by connecting with the youth and pushing for an innovative new India.   read more

Indian guest workers are in demand at construction sites across the world, from the Middle East to the U.S. But they often exploited by their employers and have to make do with poor living standards. This could change with the $20 million settlement that 200 Indian workers have received from a U.S. company that defrauded and exploited them.   read more

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a list of 21 fake universities for the benefit of students, saying these “self-styled and unrecognized institutions, functioning under the contravention of the UGC Act are declared as fake, and are not entitled to confer any degrees.” According to the list, six of these fake universities are in Delhi, while Uttar Pradesh topped with nine.   read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched India Digital Week to boost e-governance and strengthen the country’s digital infrastructure. Several companies have pledged Rs. 4.5 trillion ($70 billion) for electronics manufacturing and reducing imports by 2020. However, India will have to overcome a number of challenges before it can achieve its ambitions.   read more

With the world’s attention focussed on the unfolding Greek drama, India could remain relatively unscathed, with little direct exposure to the turmoil, though Indian software and engineering exports are expected to take a hit. The country may also face larger capital outflows due to a weaker euro, industry and government officials warned on Monday.   read more

The Delhi Police has unearthed an admission racket in which income certificates were forged to help well-off students get into schools under the quota reserved for children from the economically weaker sections (EWS) - families with annual income less than Rs 1 lakh ($1,600). But according to media reports, one such ‘EWS student’ commutes to school in a Jaguar, while others are children of businessmen, traders and factory owners.   read more

The admissions of 630,000 students could be delayed after the All India Pre-Medical Test was scrapped by the Supreme Court on Monday following large-scale irregularities. The CBSE said it was not possible to re-conduct the AIPMT within a month and has sought three months’ time instead. But with technology becoming ever smaller and innovative, candidates often seem to be one step ahead of the authorities.   read more

The ban on Maggi instant noodles due to allegedly high levels of lead may have woken consumers up to the poor safety standards of processed food in India. But according to a Wall Street Journal report, U.S. food-safety inspectors have already rejected many made-in-India snacks as unfit for sale in America. These include some of Haldiram’s salty mixes that allegedly contained pesticides.   read more