Economy

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks during Independence Day celebrations in Delhi on Aug. 15: A shortfall in the Goods and Services Tax has left states starved of cash.
Economy

India's tax reforms falter, hurting Modi's economic legacy

Pandemic starves Delhi of GST cash, leaving states with big budget hole

22 September 2020
Demonstrators hold placards during a protest demanding jobs on the occasion of Modi's 70th birth anniversary in New Delhi on Sep. 17: young people are finally speaking up.
Opinion

What the death of a Bollywood star says about life in Modi's India

New forms of dissent are emerging to challenge the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party

21 September 2020
A ban on the slaughter of cattle will end up increasing Sri Lanka's cattle population and send herds roaming across many parts of the country, the vice president of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka says.
Politics

Sri Lanka cattle-slaughter ban mimics India's slight of Muslims

China-leaning Mahinda Rajapaksa seeks political gains with Modi-style policy

19 September 2020
People wearing face masks stand in line to enter a metro station amid the coronavirus pandemic in New Delhi on Sept. 14.
Coronavirus

India's COVID cases top 5 million as it narrows gap with US

Asia's third-largest economy slowly reopens but struggles to impose safety rules

16 September 2020
Cranes are seen at Tanjung Priok port amid the coronavirus outbreak in Jakarta, Indonesia, Aug. 3.
Economy

Emerging Asia set for 1st recession in six decades, says ADB

Nobel laureate Stiglitz signals the end of region's labor intensive growth model

15 September 2020
Modi would have to undertake major regulatory reform as well the coterie of business cronies he has proved so willing to protect. (Handout photo from India's Press Information Bureau)
Opinion

Modi's supply chain fantasies will not save India's failing economy

Delhi ill-prepared for Japan's Supply Chain Resilience Initiative to rival China

15 September 2020
Youtube Shorts enables users to utilize their smartphones to shoot, edit and post videos of up to 15 seconds on YouTube. (App screenshots)
Technology

YouTube sets India for test launch of TikTok-challenger 'Shorts'

Developers compete for users of Chinese app as it faces regulatory trouble

15 September 2020
A healthcare worker takes a swab from a woman amid the strengthening coronavirus outbreak in Ahmedabad, India, on Sept. 4.
Coronavirus

India surpasses Brazil as No. 2 in COVID-19 infections

Modi government sticks to reopening as nation now trails only the US in infections

7 September 2020
India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pictured at top left, and China under President Xi Jinping, lower right, are seeking to cement closer ties with Bangladesh through delivery of coronavirus vaccines. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Reuters and AFP/Jiji)
International relations

China and India vie for clout in Bangladesh with COVID vaccines

Russia also seeks a foothold as powers jockey for geopolitical influence

4 September 2020
Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves at the 150th-anniversary celebration of Kolkata Port Trust on Jan. 12 in Kolkata, India. 
Economy

Modi calls for 'trustworthy' supply chains, in alternative to China

Japan adds India and Bangladesh as eligible sites for relocation subsidies

4 September 2020
Workers assemble air conditioners for Japan's Daikin Industries at a plant in Neemrana, India.
Economy

Japan adds India and Bangladesh to 'China exit' subsidy destinations

Industry ministry launches second round of program to diversify supply chains

4 September 2020
PUBG Mobile, a popular online game, has been targeted in India's latest crackdown on mostly Chinese apps.
International relations

India bans Tencent's PUBG Mobile game in latest app crackdown

Nearly 120 mostly Chinese software titles shut out amid Himalayan border tensions

3 September 2020
Zuckerberg continues to struggle with how to balance his company's role as an international tech giant with the complex realities of local politics.
Opinion

Can Facebook conquer India without upsetting the rest of us?

Mark Zuckerberg appears unwilling to trade financial gains for political neutrality

2 September 2020
Ships at Tokyo's Oi container wharf. Japan wants to combine its supply chain cooperation with ASEAN and the new initiative with India and Australia.
Trade

Japan, India and Australia aim to steer supply chains around China

Three nations call on Asian neighbors to join 'free and fair' initiative

1 September 2020
A man pulls his auto rickshaw through a flooded street during heavy rains in New Delhi. India suffered its biggest slump on record since publishing quarterly data in 1996.
Economy

India's GDP shrinks 23.9% in worst quarter on record

Coronavirus lockdown batters an already slowing economy

31 August 2020
Modi relies too heavily on a select group of bureaucrats to implement his vision.
Opinion

Narendra Modi has left India's economy a shattered mess

Instead of bold reforms, PM has relied on cash handouts and divisive culture wars

31 August 2020
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, is expected to visit India and meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October as a part of their annual summit mechanism.
International relations

India and Russia in talks over co-manufacturing Sputnik V

COVID-19 war expanding ties from national defense to public health worldwide

28 August 2020
Economic Ministers from the 15 countries taking part in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership talks met online on Aug. 27. (Photo courtesy of the ASEAN Secretariat/Kusuma Pandu Wijaya)
Trade

India's absence looms over 'progress' on RCEP Asian trade deal

Members aim to sign pact at November summit, but New Delhi stays aloof

27 August 2020
Narendra Modi, center, and other leaders shake hands at the third RCEP summit in Bangkok in November 2019: hope of India's return has not entirely faded.
Opinion

India's return to RCEP is in everyone's interests

New Delhi concerned over opening its markets but should recognize strategic gains

26 August 2020
India pulled out of the RCEP negotiations over concerns that the pact would hurt the South Asian country's domestic producers. (Nikkei montage/source photos by Reuters and Rie Ishii)
Trade

Talks on Asian trade megadeal RCEP resume in COVID shadow

India likely to remain absent as Vietnam leads push for year-end agreement

26 August 2020
Bhutan has relaxed its tobacco ban to combat the coronavirus pandemic, whose most worrisome case entered the Himalayan kingdom from across the border. (Photo by Phuntsho Wangdi)
Politics

Bhutan lifts tobacco ban to block COVID spillover from India

After pandemic, Thimphu may ease centuries of control of 'sinful' weed

25 August 2020
Is India's move toward greater self-reliance a wise step or not? It seems to be conducting an economic experiment on a grand scale.
Comment

Can India economically decouple itself from China?

Boycotts of Chinese goods echo fight for economic independence from UK

18 August 2020
Chefs wearing protective face masks and gloves prepare dishes in the kitchen of JW Marriott hotel in Kolkata, India, July 15, after authorities eased lockdown restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Economy

India tests normal economic activity by lifting night curfew

Freedom of life returns in phases while COVID-19 continues to spread

16 August 2020
Three of India's indigenous Akash missiles, mounted on a truck, are displayed during a rehearsal for the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on Jan. 23.
Politics

India's arms import embargo hits makers in Russia, US and Israel

'Late but good step' pushes self-reliance in defense but unlikely to create jobs

14 August 2020
A traffic jam on a highway after some restrictions are lifted during a nationwide lockdown in Mumbai in June.
Automobiles

Maruti Suzuki and Renault drive India's auto rebound

Dealers rev engines as purchases jump from zero in April to 183,000 in July

13 August 2020