Category: South Asia

JOHANNESBURG, July 7, 2011 (AFP) – Indian giant Tata will start building an auto assembly plant in South Africa in July for production which is likely to target the local and African market, Business Day reported on Thursday. In May Tata reported a nearly fourfold increase in annual profit, boosted by booming sales and strong […]

NEW DELHI, July 4, 2011 (AFP) – Feuds over property and deadly clashes over land are as much a part of India’s economic rise as call centres and the foreign acquisitions made by its leading companies. “I wonder if this amoral energy (which Shah possesses) is what it takes to start a new nation,” Adiga […]

NEW DELHI, July 2, 2011 (AFP) – British mobile phone giant Vodafone is taking full control of its Indian joint venture by buying out its local partner Essar Group, a statement said Saturday, ending a troubled relationship. Vodafone, which has sought to make India a crown jewel in its expanding emerging markets portfolio, said it […]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 2, 2011 (AFP) – A treasure trove of gold and silver jewelry, coins and precious stones said to be worth billions of dollars has been found in a Hindu temple in southern India, officials said on Saturday. A necklace found on Thursday was 18 feet (six metres) long. Thousands of gold coins have […]

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2011 (AFP) – A stink bug from Asia is chomping up US vegetable fields, orchards and vineyards, causing experts to scramble through an arsenal of weapons to try and halt this stealthy, smelly predator. Pesticides, parasites and traps have all been tried but none have succeeded in killing off the brown marmorated […]

DHAKA, June 29, 2011 (AFP) – Bangladesh will allow billions of dollars of untaxed money to be invested in shares under a new tax amnesty designed to prop up the volatile Dhaka Stock Exchange, an official said Wednesday. The new legislation, which was approved by parliament late Tuesday, offers an amnesty on so-called “black money” […]

NEW DELHI, June 25, 2011 (AFP) – Indians will have to pay more for fuel from Saturday after the government announced a hike in the price of some petroleum products, increasing inflationary pressures in the fast-growing economy. Petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy late Friday raised the price of diesel by 3 rupees (7 cents) per litre, […]

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2011 (AFP) – India’s commerce minister called Thursday for more cooperation with the United States on nuclear energy and brushed aside talk of scrapping ambitious plans in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima crisis. On a visit to Washington, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said he has faced questions on whether India should rethink […]

PARIS, June 21, 2011 (AFP) – French auto group Renault announced on Tuesday the launch in India of its low-cost four-wheel drive “Duster” vehicle built by its Dacia subsidiary. Duster, a model first introduced in 2010, will be especially adapted for the Indian market, the statement said. Before the end of the year, Renault hopes […]

SLAMABAD, June 21, 2011 (AFP) – Pakistan on Tuesday announced the arrest of an army brigadier accused of having contacts with a banned militant group. The information was released seven weeks after US Navy SEALs found and killed Osama bin Laden in the military town of Abbottabad, reviving disturbing questions about ignorance or complicity within […]

GENEVA, June 18, 2011 (AFP) – Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft is about to sign a record deal to supply 75 of its successful PC-7 trainers to the Indian Air Force for 850 million francs ( billion), a press report said Saturday. The daily Le Temps, which described the contract as the biggest in the company’s history, […]

MUMBAI, June 16, 2011 (AFP) – India’s central bank on Thursday raised its key short-term interest rates by 25 basis points — its 10th hike in 16 months — in a bid to tame high inflation stuck at “uncomfortable levels.” The Reserve Bank of India raised its repo rate — at which it lends to […]