Its founder president, Ashok Chauhan, was charged with fraud in the 1990s by authorities in Germany, where he ran a network of companies. He returned to India and was never extradited. A plastics company in the U.S. also sued Chauhan in 1995 for failing to pay $20 million in debts. "They are a subsidiary of a conglomerate of companies," said Barmak Nassirian of the American Association of State College and Universities. "This is by no means reassuring, if you ask me."   read more

Anti-establishment Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) crushed both the BJP and Congress in the Delhi assembly election on Tuesday, ending an aura of invincibility built around Prime Minister Narendra Modi since he swept to power last year. With the vote of the main national opposition Congress party collapsing, the AAP was the main beneficiary, capturing 67 of the 70 seats in the capital.   read more

In a major embarrassment for Indian account holders in HSBC Switzerland, a trove of secret documents has been published that reveals their names and account balances. Labelled Swiss Leaks, the investigation has revealed 1,195 Indian customers, roughly double the 628 names that French authorities gave to India in 2010. The total balance of Rs. 25,000 crore ($4.03 billion) in accounts held by Indians is also staggering and is bound to increase the pressure on the government.   read more

The BJP took out full-page newspaper advertisements extolling the achievements of the Narendra Modi government in the past 8 months and calling on the people of Delhi to vote for the party in the assembly election. The only problem: this was on Friday, one day before polling, and technically within the EC's ‘cooling-off’ period. Apparently there is a little-known loophole in the law – it does not cover the print medium.   read more

India could start installing 20,000 MW of solar power capacity by April, with several international companies keen to support the government's drive for clean energy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to make the country one of the world's largest renewable energy markets, targeting 100,000 MW of output by 2022 from just 3,000 MW currently.   read more

Indian women armed with smartphones are using social media to fight sexual harassment by filming and publicly shaming the men who allegedly molest them. In the latest incident, a young woman used her mobile phone to confront the man sitting behind her on an airline flight who tried to grope her between the seats.   read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cracked the whip over Home Secretary Anil Goswami’s alleged attempt to stall the arrest of Saradha scam accused Matang Sinh, a former Congress minister. Following media reports that Goswami had tried to prevent CBI officers from arresting Sinh last weekend, the government asked the home secretary to step down.   read more

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been put on the defensive just days before the Delhi assembly election, with a breakway group of AAP accusing the anti-corruption party of dubious funding. The group – AAP Volunteer Action Group – provided details to the media of four cheques totalling Rs. 2 crores ($325,000) that were allegedly received by AAP in April last year from four companies.   read more

Rajasthan has implemented key labour reforms that are being keenly watched by other states as well as in Delhi. Last November it became the first state to alter the archaic laws that have led more than 98 per cent of businesses to deliberately avoid expanding beyond nine employees. Small entrepreneurs say the rigid regulations make it nearly impossible to fire workers or close a business.   read more

The Maharashtra state government has announced its permission for open field trials in genetically modified (GM) strains of rice, chana (chickpeas), maize, brinjal and cotton. Maharashtra is now the fourth state after Punjab, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh to approve open field trials. At 11.6 million hectares, India is seeing an upsurge in the area covered by GM crops.   read more

The government has upturned the normally staid ministry of external affairs by replacing Sujatha Singh about seven months before her tenure as foreign secretary was to end. Dr S. Jaishankar has been appointed in her place, having impressed in his role in rebuilding India-U.S. ties as ambassador to the U.S.   read more

The Election Commission has been forced to warn Arvind Kejriwal of “stern action” after the Aam Aadmi Party leader ignored its earlier directive to be more circumspect in his public utterances. Kejriwal has reportedly been exhorting voters in his election speeches for the Delhi assembly election to take bribes if offered by the BJP and Congress but to vote for his party.   read more

U.S. President Barack Obama ended his landmark visit to India with a pledge of $4 billion in investments and loans, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to slash the country's notorious red tape and make it one of the world's easiest places for business.   read more

U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to India was expected to be largely symbolic. The first U.S. president to be the chief guest at a Republic Day parade, most observers expected plenty of hype with little chance of any ‘big bang’ agreement. The reality has turned out quite different. The ‘lame duck’ U.S. president and his host Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Sunday that they would reset the civilian nuclear deal that has hung fire for 7 years.   read more

There has been an imperceptible shift in India’s approach to dealing with China's recent expansion into South Asia. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has pushed back against China in the region with a new robust diplomacy, which Modi calls "Act East". The biggest diplomatic victory for India so far has been the unexpected defeat of pro-China Mahinda Rajapaksa in Sri Lanka's election this month.   read more

India has worked out a bilateral tax agreement with the United States, which could be signed during U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit, that would boost foreign investment and ease investors’ concerns raised by high profile cases against Vodafone and Shell.   read more

The government will transfer welfare benefits worth at least Rs. 33,000 crore ($5.35 billion) directly into the banks accounts of beneficiaries in the next six months, Financial Services Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told reporters. This is aimed at plugging the leakage of welfare benefits by cutting out frauds who siphon crores of rupees from welfare schemes. This is expected to reduce the fiscal deficit over the medium term.   read more