Monday 07 July 2008 An envoy of the Dalai Lama is expressing disappointment over talks with China this week on the status of Tibet. Lodi Gyari was one of two envoys who met with Chinese officials in Beijing for the seventh round of talks that began in 2002. The talks broke off last year but resumed earlier this year. Mr. Gyari believes that the talks are China's tactic to stall for time. He said that Chinese delegates had refused even to make a joint statement committing both sides to the talks. The Dalai Lama has said that he opposes Tibetan independence, but has called for meaningful autonomy for the region. He has also appealed for an end to what he calls widespread human rights violations against Tibetans. Mr. Gyari said that recent violent protest in Tibet clearly demonstrate that Tibetans are discontented with China's rule.
Friday 04 July 2008 Fresh record for Indian inflation
Indian inflation reaches its latest record high as food, fuel, cement and steel prices continue to rise.
Thursday 03 July 2008 NEW DELHI: BLACKBERRY POSES NO SECURITY THREAT
Telecommunications Secretary Siddhartha Behura has told an industry meeting that the Canadian-made BlackBerry email device is not a security threat and that therefore no permission is needed to use it. Indian security agencies have worried that the device made by the Research in Motion firm of Waterloo, ON, could be used by terrorists to communicate and that they would have trouble intercepting and tracing emails sent through BlackBerrys. The Indian authorities have had talks with RIM about those concerns. Industry estimates put the number of BlackBerry users in India at 400,000. India is the world's fastest-growing mobile market.
OTTAWA: CHINA, INDIA SEEN AS RISING POWERS
A poll shows that two-thirds of Canadians think that the influence of China and India will rival that of the U.S. within 10 years. The survey by the Angus Reid pollster shows as well that almost as many people think that the growing importance of India and China is more of an opportunity for Canada than a threat. The poll indicates that 36 per cent believe that China has the best potential for Canadian exports, compared with 28 per cent for the U.S., Canada's biggest trading partner. Only 37 per cent of respondents think that China's human rights situation has improved over the past decade.
VANCOUVER: INDIA PROTESTS IMAGES SHOWN AT LOCAL PARADE
India's consul general, Ashok Kumar, has confirmed reports that his country's government has protested against images of the assassins of a former Indian prime minister that portrayed them as martyrs. Mr. Kumar says that his government is upset with images shown at an ethnic Sikh parade in Surrey on April 12 and hailed the decision of several politicians, including the town's mayor, to stay away from the events staged at the parade. The display in a tent also showed pictures of the founders of several groups officially considered terrorist by the Canadian government. Mr. Kumar calls on Ottawa to denounce the controversial images.
Monday 23 June 2008 In Fertile India, Growth Outstrips Agriculture JALANDHAR, India — With the right technology and policies, India could help feed the world. Instead, it can barely feed itself.
Tuesday 17 June 2008 OTTAWA: CANADA, INDIA BOOST SCIENTIFIC CO-OPERATION
Canada and India have announcement a strengthening of their co-operation in the fields of science and technology in launching 10 new joint projects worth $17 million. Eight of the projects involve research and the two others establish partnerships. The initiatives are within the framework of a scientific accord agreed in 2005.
Wednesday 04 June 2008 India forced to raise fuel prices
India raises prices of petroleum products amid fears of inflation ahead of elections next year.
Thursday 27 March 2008 MONTREAL: CANADIAN RELEASED FROM INDIAN JAIL
A Canadian who had been jailed in India since last May was released on Wednesday. Saul Itzhayek left a prison in northern India and headed to Nepal. The 42-year-old businessman is expected back home in Montreal by next weekend. He was jailed on a visa violation after crossing into India from Nepal. His supporters claimed that Indian police lured him over the border from Nepal and then demanded a bribe. On Tuesday, an Indian court upheld his conviction but reduced his sentence to the jail time already served. Both Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the foreign minister, Mr. Bernier, intervened on his behalf.
Sunday 27 April 2008 Punjab reaps a poisoned harvest
The governments of many poor nations are alarmed at the rise in food prices. There are even problems in the Indian region of Punjab, where science once seemed to have found answers for a hungry world.
The Green Revolution made the Punjab, India's richest farmland
The first thing Satpal Singh sees when he walks out of his bedroom door in the morning is a gleaming tractor, without a speck of mud on it.
It is given pride of place and washed down before being put away for the night in its garage built into the middle of his house.
This is a sign of the wealth that has made this the richest farmland in India.
Monday 03 March 2008 India plans to spend more than US$13 million to establish a special ranger force to protect the country's endangered tigers. The funding follows a program priced at US$153 million announced a few weeks ago to create new tiger reserves. New estimates suggest that India's wild tiger population has dropped from nearly 3,600 five years ago to about 1,400.
Sunday 17 February 2008 India and Pakistan have taken a step today toward improving relations. They agreed to more than double the number of commercial flights between their countries. The number will increase from 12 to 28. Islamabad will be opened to Indian flights and the Indian city of Chennai will be opened to Pakistani flights. The number of airlines allowed to operate will increase from one for each country to three. The agreement came about as part of a peace process begun four years ago.
Monday 11 February 2008 Reliance Power falls 17% on debut
Shares in Reliance Power fall 17% on their first day of trading in India's biggest stock market flotation.
Sunday 03 February 2008 TORONTO: TRANSPLANT MASTERMIND MAY BE IN CANADA
The officer in charge of the investigation into an illegal kidney transplant ring in India says the alleged mastermind has family ties to Canada and may have fled to Canada. Police Commissioner Mohinder Lal said Friday Amit Kumar is the primary suspect in the ring and that Canadian authorities have been asked to assist in the investigation. Mr. Lal said Mr. Kumar's wife and two sons are in Canada, but he doesn't know where. The 40-year-old Kumar became the subject of an international manhunt late Thursday after Interpol issued a red notice for his arrest. A second notice, posted on the international policing agency's website, calls for the arrest of 36-year-old Jeevan Rawat. Both doctors are wanted in India on counts of "illegal transplanting of kidneys, cheating and criminal conspiracy." The illegal operation was located in a suburb of New Delhi. Police say kidneys were removed from up to 500 poor labourers and sold to wealthy patients. It has not been established if the victims were paid for their organs.
Thursday 24 January 2008 Health officials in West Bengal state are expressing concern that an outbreak of bird flu might be difficult to control. At least one thousand more veternarians and doctors are needed to help fight the outbreak that began over a week ago. Health officials also admit that they do not have the infrastructure to prevent the spread of the disease. The previous target of slaughtering two million birds had been raised to 2.2 million. Nearly 400-thousand(400,000) birds have already been killed. No human cases have been reported in India despite two previous outbreaks of the strain among birds. Some 219 people worldwide have died of the virus since 2003.
Wednesday 23 January 2008 The government of India plans to go ahead with the slaughter of two million chickens and ducks in attempts to contain the spread of the bird flu virus in West Bengal state. Officials have already confirmed that the flu is the virulent H-5-N-1 strain that has been blamed for the deaths of at least 219 people worldwide since 2003. No human cases have been reported in India despite two previous outbreaks of the strain among birds. The virus has afflicted more than 60 countries, forcing the slaughter of hundreds of millions of birds worldwide.
Tuesday 22 January 2008 India successfully launched an Israeli spy satellite into orbit Monday. The launch is seen as a boost to India's efforts to win a share of the multi-billion-dollar space launch market. The launch of the Tecsar satellite by an Indian-made rocket was carried out from the Sriharikota space station in southern India.
Monday 21 January 2008 Health officials in western India have confirmed new outbreaks of bird flu. Nearly three thousand chickens were found dead of the disease this week in an area that was previously unaffected. Tests are underway to determine whether the strain is the virulent H5N1. Officials have ordered four hundred thousand chickens culled, with the possibility that another two hundred thousand could be killed later. The affected area borders Bangladesh, where local officials confirmed a small outbreak of the H5N1 strain. In eastern Nepal, health officials have banned imports of chicken and eggs from India and Bangladesh as a precaution against the spread of bird flu.
Thursday 17 January 2008 Education Push Yields Little for India’s Poor LAHTORA, India — With the dew just rising from the fields, dozens of children streamed into the two-room school in this small, poor village, tucking used rice sacks under their arms to use as makeshift chairs. So many children streamed in that the newly appointed head teacher, Rashid Hassan, pored through attendance books for the first two hours of class and complained bitterly. He had no idea who belonged in which grade. There was no way he could teach.
Thursday 27 December 2007 Officials said Wednesday Hindu extremists had ransacked and burned eight village churches in eastern India, marring Christmas celebrations in a corner of the country with a history of violence against Christians. One person was killed in the violence. Authorities deployed 450 police and imposed a curfew to quell the violence in the remote district of Orissa state where the churches--most nothing more than mud and thatch houses--were attacked. Six village churches were torched on Christmas Day, and two more were attacked Wednesday along with 10 houses belonging to Christians. The attacks came after a dispute over a holiday cultural program that some Hindus believed encouraged conversion
Monday 24 December 2007 Hindu Radical Is Re-elected in India NEW DELHI — He has been likened to the Emperor Nero, who fiddled while Rome burned. He has been denied entry into the United States for violations of religious freedom, yet praised as a business-friendly politician who has allowed private industry to flourish in his state.
Monday 17 December 2007 Asia's three biggest countries want to work harder to improve their trade relations. That was the message after a meeting on Saturday in New Delhi involving trade and government officials from Russia, China and India. It was the first meeting of its kind. China's delegate, Bu Jian Guo, said that efforts need to be made to increase China's trade with the other two nations. Russia's ambassador to India, Vyacheslav Trubnikov, said that Russia looks forward to supplying Asia's energy needs. India's delegate, Nalin Surie, called the three nations' trade ties 'insignificant,' and urged the creation of a three-way business partnership. The three nations will hold their next trade conference in China in 2009.
Wednesday 26 September 2007 Outsourcing Works So Well, India Is Exporting Jobs
By ANAND GIRIDHARADAS
Indian outsourcing companies are hiring workers and opening offices in other developing countries.
MYSORE, India — Thousands of Indians report to Infosys Technologies’ campus here to learn the finer points of programming. Lately, though, packs of foreigners have been roaming the manicured lawns, too.
Saturday 22 September 2007 Visiting in Luxury, With Money Left for Philanthropy
MUMBAI didn't give me a headache, but it sure didn't help. My skull was already throbbing when I arrived in the city once known as Bombay, but as I strolled around Colaba, the shopping and night-life district at the city's southern tip, the hyperactive horns, the Friday-afternoon heat, the rollercoaster sidewalks, the indefatigable vendors and the children pleading for change all made me want to sprint back to my overly air-conditioned hotel room and hide under the covers.
Wednesday 05 September 2007 Lessons from India
Air Canada recently announced that its flights to India would
be cancelled and aircraft redeployed to China. Today, an Indian
private-sector airline, ...
Thursday 09 August 2007 Canada's missing out in India: Tata
Top executive of one of India's biggest companies says Canadian businesses aren't taking advantage of boom
... "frankly, puzzled" why Canadian companies have not jumped to take advantage of the boom in India's economy, which has begun to register growth rates almost as dramatic as China's.
Monday 30 July 2007 India talks about tackling climate change PERHAPS it was the prospect of monsoon flooding of the kind that has left 800 dead on the Indian subcontinent this month. Or maybe the push came from another of the recent dire predictions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)—for example, that the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus could become seasonal rivers by 2035. Whatever the reason, India has decided to formulate a policy on climate change.
Monday 21 May 2007 Electricity Crisis Hobbles an India Eager to Ascend GURGAON, India — This suburb south of New Delhi is where the fruits of India’s economic advance are on full display: sprawling malls, skyscrapers housing India’s acclaimed software companies, condominiums with names as fanciful as Nirvana Country.
Wed1310
[Editor's note: It has been announced that Alcan Inc. is pulling out of the controversial Utkal project in India, suggesting plans for the bauxite mine and alumina refinery are too risky for Alcan, considering its lack of control over the venture. Some reports suggest that one reason for the withdrawal is Alcan's inability to obtain the environmental impact studies that indicate possible major population displacements and the project's lack of fit with Alcan's approach to sustainability Alcan pulling out of Utkal project in India]
Thursday 18 January 2007 Britain's finance minister, Gordon Brown, expressed strong support Wednesday for India's bid to join the United Nations Security Council. India says that it deserves a permanent seat because of its growing economic might and its contributions to UN peacekeeping missions. In a speech to industry leaders in Bangalore, Mr. Brown said that it is time to recognize a new emerging world order. He said that the UN as well as the Group of Seven most-industrialized countries that includes Canada should acknowledge the change.
Friday 12 January 2007 1 A massive government crackdown has begun against separatist rebels in northeastern India. Thousands of troops are seeking rebels blamed for killing more than 70 Hindi-speaking migrant workers in the past week. The attacks were the worst in three years. The government has vowed to do whatever is necessary to stop the rebels in the province of Assam and two neighbouring states. So far, four rebels were reported killed and about a dozen others were captured. The rebels of the United Liberation Front of Asom want a separate Assam state, an area rich in oil and tea plantations.
Hundreds of soldiers and policemen raided insurgent hideouts in jungles of India's northeastern state of Assam on Sunday. The government action came after separatist rebels killed at least 57 people in two days of coordinated strikes. Police blamed the attacks on the United Liberation Front of Assam, which has been fighting for the independence of Assamese people in an insurgency over the past 30 years that has killed thousands of people.
2006
Friday 15 December 2006 A major labour strike is disrupting services across India. Airports and seaports are shut down. Many banks and insurance companies and some parts of the manufacturing sector are closed. Hundreds of thousands of workers are protesting the government's plans to privatize state-run companies and to open India's banking system to foreign investment. The protesters are demanding new laws for workers unprotected under current labour laws. Labour organizers say that the strike might eventually involve millions of workers.
Audio Slide Show: Tibet, Now A high-speed train and new upscale hotels are attracting crowds to a once inaccessible destination. Joshua Kurlantzick explains.
• Related Article
Emerging markets
The new titans
Growth has risen to an annual 12% in China and they are trying to get it down to 10%. India, the second fastest-growing economy, is the same, yet different. There has been an over correction in emerging countries, making them extremely attractive to investors. In the 90’s, the emerging markets were mainly exporting economies with limited consumption within their countries. This has changed; the younger population is becoming much more highly educated and consuming more. Emerging countries now represent 12% of the world capitalization compared with Canada at 2%. Very few people have been investing in the emerging markets (often defined as BRIC – Brazil, Russia India and China, but not limited to those four), thus making opportunities readily available with very favourable returns; for the uninitiated one way to approach investment is through closed-end funds.
Jason Kirby, Financial Post Tuesday, September 26, 2006
It seems everyone wants a piece of India these days. In late August the country's Minister of Commerce, Kamal Nath, attended a meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations in Malaysia, where he backed a plan by Japan to form a Pan-Asia trade block of 16 nations, including India, China, South Korea and Australia. Before that Mr. Nath was in Washington to discuss an initiative to double trade between India and the U.S. by 2009. Yet while there have been calls for Ottawa to step up economic ties to India -- or even engage in some form of free trade talks -- Canada's trade and investment with India is meager. The Financial Post's Jason Kirby, who recently traveled to India as part of a media fellowship from the Asia Pacific Foundation, spoke with Mr. Nath at his office in Delhi about where Canada fits into India's economic plans.
- - -
Q Canada's foreign direct investment in India is quite small, at about $180-million a year, while the value of trade between the two countries is still just $2-billion [compared with more than $30-billion between Canada and China.] What do you think of this?
A India and Canada's economic engagement, both in terms of trade and investment has a huge untapped potential, even though Canada has done well in exporting to India. Canada's exports to India have increased close to 21%, and we seem to be building up the momentum. The challenge is in sustaining this moment. I believe, in the last 20 months, we've had some very encouraging engagements between India and Canada to push things along.
We've had the visits here of my friend [former Minister of International Trade] Jim Peterson, my friend Jean Charest, and also of former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. Now, with this changing economic architecture, the shift is taking place to economic activity in East Asia. India has huge skilled manpower, and Canada has technology and capital. They form a very good fit.
Q So then what does Canada need to do to make that fit work?
A I think now we've got to see that investment from Canada assumes a different objective, the objective being to utilize India's young demographic, its age profile, which is a win-win for both countries. If you're going to look at the demographics over the next 15 years, you start now and take action now. So where Canada's limited workforce is concerned, versus India's abundant workforce, this is where investment needs to be pushed.
Q But how?
A Both governments need to be stimulating and nudging the Canadian small and medium enterprise sectors into this. It's not just the big corporates, like Bombardier or Nortel, that should be here. It's the smaller ones who need to come into India.
Q You have begun to focus on a Pan-Asia trade deal with other nations in the region, what's driving that?
A What you're talking about is the east Asia common market. There are already similar markets with the NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement], SAFTA [South Asian Free Trade Agreement] and the European Union. I don't see why not here. India must also engage in that process in the large economy in East Asia. This only makes sense.
Q With so many people knocking on India's door, is there any appetite for free trade talks with Canada?
A We should certainly study things like this, such as economic co-operation, which includes goods, services and investment. In doing this there is no contradiction to the multilateral system. This would supplement it. You've got to do a lot of out-of-the-box thinking. The centre of gravity is changing, that's what needs to be recognized. You don't wait for that, you act. You read the writing on the wall.
Q Canadian companies don't seem to be doing that with India.
A Canada has been more oriented elsewhere in the past. There's also a lack of information about the changes taking place in India. That's one big reason. There is a large NRI [non-resident Indian] population in Canada, which can act as a bridge of understanding. They can facilitate a comprehension of issues.
Q China has grabbed far more attention from Canadian companies than India so far. Do you see that as a problem?
A China and India are two different models. Each has its own genius. India is a country with institutions. We have democracy. It is more akin to Canada. But China has its own genius of doing things their way, and it has worked. Really, India's economy is domestically-driven, while China's is export-driven. They are two different models. Our trade with China is going up very sharply, plus we see the Indian model works with China also. The two countries complement each other.
Monday 11 September 2006 Three explosions killed at least 32 people in a town in western India today. About 70 others were wounded. The blasts occurred in Malegaon, in the state of Maharashtra, about 200 kilometres from Mumbai. One bomb tied to a parked bicycle went off outside a mosque where hundreds of Muslims were attending Friday prayers. Two other bombs exploded near a cemetery on a day when large numbers of people gathered to remember their dead relatives. Police declared a high alert and imposed a curfew in the town. No one has claimed responsibility for the explosions, but the area has long seen violence between Hindus and Muslims.
Monday 14 August 2006 India has raised security to its highest levels in years for this week's independence day anniversary. The celebrations on Tuesday mark independence from British rule in 1947. The U.S. embassy in India has warned of a likely al-Qaeda attack in Mumbai or Delhi. Thousands of police and soldiers are in poistions across cities and sites considered to be possible targets. In the northeast intelligence officials say that heavily armed guerrillas had infiltrated the region in small groups from neighbouring Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Saturday 15 July 2006 India’s Prime Minister Scolds Pakistan
Manmohan Singh scolded Pakistan for failing to rein in terrorism, a marked shift in relations between the countries.
Monday 10 July 2006 India Reports a Long-Range Missile Test It was unclear if the test was successful, with at least one report saying that the missile had failed in its flight
Monday, July 03, 2006 rci India fears China will use reopened route to spy
Calcutta—As India and China prepare to reopen a Himalayan pass on the legendary Silk Road trade route between East and West this week, some Indian military experts warn China could use the pass to extend its spy network deep into India.
Saturday Jun 24, 2006 rci India could jeopardize a landmark nuclear deal with the United States if it keeps siding with nonaligned states in backing Iran's nuclear ambitions. A leading American politician, Representative Tom Lantos of California, says approval of the deal could be at risk if India does not act "responsibly". The agreement grants India access to U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors for the first time in 30 years. But India recently endorsed a statement on the Iran situation by the 114 members of the Non-aligned Movement that is diametrically opposed to the position taken by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. The statement emphasizes the right of all states, without discrimination, to nuclear research and energy production.
Thursday Apr 20, 2006 ts Wombs for rent in India ANAND, INDIA?As temp jobs go, Saroj Mehli has landed what she feels is a pretty sweet deal. It's a nine-month gig, no special skills needed and the only real labour comes at the end ? when she gives birth.
Sunday Mar 19, 2006 rci Tibetans in India's northern city of Dharamsala voted on Saturday to elect a prime minister and members of the Tibetan parliament in exile. About 80 per cent of eligible voters took part. Turnout results for other Tibetan settlements in India would be made available on Sunday. The 46-member Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies has its headquarters in Dharamsala, where Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, settled in 1959. The election was held at 53 poll stations in India as well as in Bhutan, Nepal, Europe and North America. The final round of voting for a prime minister is scheduled to take place on June 3 with results expected a month later. As Tibetans voted, India's Foreign Secretary, Shyam Saran, arrived in Dharamsala for talks with the Dalai Lama. Mr. Saran described his meeting, his second with the Dalai Lama in eight months, as a "courtesy call." Accompanying foreign ministry officials said that the talks aimed at reviewing the resumed contacts between the Tibetans and China. Last month, China and envoys of the Dalai Lama held their fifth round of talks since contacts resumed in 2002.
Saturday Mar 18, 2006 rci Russia today received formal thanks for agreeing to supply India's nuclear reactors with urgently needed uranium. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed his thanks at a joint news conference in New Delhi with Russia's visiting prime minister, Mikhail Fradkov. Earlier this week, Russia said that it would supply uranium to India's Tarapur 1 and Tarapur 2 nuclear plants. The offer can after the United States declined because India is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Both Tarapur plants were built by an American company before the United States imposed its ban on nuclear exports to India. U.S. President George W. Bush is seeking to lift the ban.
Tuesday Mar 7, 2006 ts Signs of the new India
Step out into the street of any city in India and you will be surrounded by huge, colourful billboards advertising a new Bollywood movie, toothpaste or a local politician's platform.
Bush's India deal a backward step
United States President George Bush has not handed India "The Bomb" by agreeing to sell that country nuclear technology. That's because India has had atomic weapons for decades. But the new pact between Washington and New Delhi undermines 35 years of nuclear arms control, and that stark reality poses a real risk to global security.
Friday Mar 3, 2006 globe U.S., India reach nuclear deal
Landmark agreement a badly needed coup for U.S. President George W. Bush's first visit to India
.maisonneuve.org/US AND INDIA FORM NUCLEAR FAMILY The Globeand La Presse (not
available online) go inside with negotiations between American and Indian
officials over a new pact that would allow US businesses to sell nuclear
fuel and reactors to India. The Globe reports that the deal would require
India to submit to “a new, intrusive
accounting of fissile material” and says it could “be a model
for future nuclear development or, according to some critics, the
unravelling of international safeguards.” The Star’s Haroon
Siddiqui says the deal is “a potential bonanza for US
business,” but cautions that it would also “contravene US and
international law.” It may also prompt “Russia to increase its
nuclear co-operation with Iran and China with Pakistan,” warns
Siddiqui. The Globe’s editorial
applauds the effort and says that India’s new openness will
“ensure its technology does not spread to other, more threatening
countries.” The
New York Times is reporting that an agreement has been
reached.
Friday Mar 3, 2006
You may see that a nuclear deal between India and the U.S. has been
"signed". It's not true, but it is interesting. As mentioned in the
last post, in order for Bush to appease the Indian national security
establishment and make it clear he isn't treating India like a
colonial vassal, he needed to give them the deal they wanted (i.e. no
monitoring of fast-breeder reactors, limited military/civilian
divisions, safeguards that wouldn't result in the leaking of
indigenous Indian research, no talk of "in perpetuity", etc.).
Last week that looked very unlikely, but a series of events triggered
a major reappraisal of the U.S. position. Desperate for good news to
take home, and realizing that New India wasn't going to blink (at
least not on this), Bush ended up offering more or less exactly what
the Indians asked for. Whether it will be signed by India once the
"details are ironed out" or fly in the U.S. Congress is another
matter. There's many a slip 'twixt the pen and the dotted line. This
is far from a done deal.
But, as far as the big picture goes, if Bush doesn't once again try
to "shell game" the contract and really does treat India as a valued
strategic partner, India is likely to put off the "China Decision" a
little bit longer. That said, domestically, there is still enormous
residual anger against Indian P.M. Manmohan Singh and his handling of
the whole affair (and other issues). Street demonstrations are likely
to continue.
India, U.S. finalize nuclear pact U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday announced their countries had reached agreement on a landmark nuclear deal -- a coup for Bush on his first visit to the South Asian country.
Thursday Mar 2, 2006 nyt India Sets Goals of Rural Aid and Education By SOMINI SENGUPTA and SARITHA RAI The budget reflects the balance the government must strike to both promote economic development and uplift the lives of its poor, rural citizens.
Friday Feb 10, 2006 ec The star of India
The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex index breached 10,000 for the first time on February 6th. India's surging economy is credited with attracting investors (the Sensex has risen by more than 50% in the past 12 months and outperformed the average of emerging-market exchanges). But analysts warned of overvaluation in the market and pointed to a potential cloud on the horizon—the country's rising current-account deficit.
BBC
Factsheet | 
Stephen S. Poloz
){kind=link}