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

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to rejuvenate ties with neighbours, Myanmar is once again on India's radar. Seen as a gateway between India’s landlocked Northeast region and Southeast Asia, transport links with Myanmar are being upgraded, with a weekly bus service expected in October. The focus on upgrading bilateral ties has come at a time when reports indicate that Myanmar may buy fighter jets made by India's rivals China and Pakistan.   read more

The Modi administration may have stood its ground in the face of protests by opposition parties against its hike in train fares, but was forced to partially roll back its massive hike in suburban commuter fares after regional ally Shiv Sena warned it could affect public support in a state election later this year. The partial rollback highlights the political realities facing the Modi administration as it tries to cut subsidies that had ballooned under the previous administration.   read more

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has jolted India’s bureaucrats into action to implement his pledge of 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance'. With investment projects worth $230 billion awaiting permits, the new administration has sought to expedite decision-making. India’s bureaucracy has long been ranked the worst among 12 Asian countries, but under Modi bureaucrats are now even showing up for work on weekends.   read more

The Modi administration's emphasis on tackling tax evasion has received support from Swiss authorities who are reportedly ready to share details of Indians suspected to have Swiss bank accounts. India was one of the few countries in 2013 where the outflow to Switzerland actually increased, rising by 43 per cent to 140 billion rupees ($2.3 billion).   read more

The new NDA administration has got off to a rocky start in its attempt to purge all institutions of political appointees from the previous UPA administration. Seven state governors appointed by the UPA have been informally asked to resign. But by following the practice begun by the UPA when it came to power in 2004, the NDA risks undermining the institution of governor itself.   read more

The Modi government has sparked off a linguistic confrontation with its directive to use Hindi on social media and in official correspondence instead of English. English and Hindi are both the official languages of the Indian government, but the new emphasis on Hindi is being seen by southern politicians as the “imposition of Hindi”.   read more

40 Indian construction workers are taken hostage in Mosul, a group of Indian nurses remains holed up in their hospital in Tikrit, and the spectre of oil hitting $120 a barrel – the Iraq crisis has snowballed into the first major challenge for the Modi administration.   read more

Inflation hit a five-month high of 6.01% in May, complicating the Indian government’s plan to revive growth. The Finance Minister has blamed "speculative hoarding", but the biggest food hoarder is the Food Corporation of India (FCI), the government’s procurement arm. It currently has four times more buffer stocks than required.   read more

The gloves have come off in the political rivalry in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state. Five BJP members have been murdered or attacked in 9 days. This may well be the fallout of the party’s success in the recent general election, with its political rivals rattled enough to try any means to slow its juggernaut in the state.   read more

A speech in Bhutan’s parliament, a reception by the King and Queen, and a state banquet hosted by the Bhutanese Prime Minister – Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a red carpet welcome in Thimphu on his first foreign visit after taking office. By reinforcing the strong ties between their two countries, he may have single-handedly swung Bhutan’s focus back to India.   read more

The elected representatives of Goa planning a junket to the FIFA World Cup 2014 using 8.9 million rupees ($148,000) of public funds have been forced to spend their own money following public criticism. The state administration had earlier claimed the six politicians would visit Brazil to study “traffic management”.   read more

Another young woman was found hanging from a tree in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, the latest grisly attack on women in India’s most populous state. The complicated patchwork of castes and sub-castes in Uttar Pradesh has created fault-lines for centuries, but young women seem to be increasingly paying the price as their aspirations clash with a conservative society.   read more

A confrontation may be brewing between the Indian government and foreign-funded NGOs. A report by the country's internal intelligence agency alleged that Greenpeace and other lobby groups were hurting the country’s economic progress by campaigning against power projects and mining. Greenpeace denied it was trying to block economic growth and alleged the report was an attempt to silence dissent.   read more