Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, March 3, 2011 (AFP) – Soon after he exposed how bricks were bought for six times their value for roads that were never built in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Amarnath Pandey was shot near his home. The bullet, which he believes was fired by contractors who were benefiting from the […]

MUMBAI, March 1, 2011 (AFP) – India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki reported on Tuesday a 15.5-percent rise in sales in February. Total sales rose to 111,645 cars in the month from 96,650 a year earlier, said Japanese-owned Maruti, which dominates the Indian market with a 45-percent share. Passenger and commercial vehicle sales have been […]

NEW DELHI, February 28, 2011 (AFP) – India’s government intends to raise 400 billion rupees ( billion) by part-privatising state-owned companies in the next fiscal year, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday. Part-privatisations of miner Manganese Ore Ltd and electricity transmission group Power Grid were also a success, but earlier issues by state-run iron-ore miner […]

NEW DELHI, February 24, 2011 (AFP) – US-based Dunkin’ Donuts, one of the world’s largest coffee and baked goods chains, is set to enter India after striking a franchise deal, the company’s Indian partner said Thursday. The announcement came barely a month after US rival Starbucks unveiled a similar partnership with the giant Indian conglomerate […]

NEW DELHI, February 22, 2011 (AFP) – India’s premier on Tuesday bowed to opposition pressure to set up a cross-party probe into the government’s tainted 2008 sales of telecom licences which cost the country up to billion. Observers say the ruling Congress party’s woes have led to policy drift with important economic reform legislation put […]

WASHINGTON, February 17, 2011 (AFP) – The United States on Thursday urged its citizens to be extra vigilant about terror risks if they are in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the cricket World Cup. “While the US government has no specific threat information regarding the Cricket World Cup, large, high-profile events of this nature […]

TOKYO, February 16, 2011 (AFP) – Japan and India signed a free trade pact Wednesday under which the high-tech nation and the South Asian giant pledged to scrap tariffs on 94 percent of goods within a decade. But Japan — the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, and a key voice in global denuclearisation […]

NEW DELHI, February 13, 2011 (AFP) – India is set for scorching growth this year but concern is mounting about its longer-term outlook, with the central bank seen hiking interest rates further and corruption scandals worrying investors. The stock market has already dropped some 17 percent this year, hit by fears that economic growth will […]

BANGALORE, February 12, 2011 (AFP) – It would be the ultimate answer to the daily horror of gridlock on the traffic-choked, exhaust-filled roads of Indian cities. Unassumingly parked next to some of the world’s most lethal warplanes, a converted 800cc Maruti hatchback has stolen some of the thunder from the supersonic exhibits at the Aero […]

BANGALORE, February 9, 2011 (AFP) – Global aeronautical companies laid out their stalls Wednesday in one of the world’s hottest aviation markets, looking for a share of billions of dollars in Indian military and civilian contracts. “Owing to the ongoing modernisation plans of its armed forces, India has become the focal point of global defence […]

DHAKA, February 3, 2011 (AFP) – Bangladesh ordered owners of old cars to spruce up their vehicles ahead of the cricket World Cup Thursday, warning that they will be targeted by mobile courts, an official said. Old and worn-out cars and buses in Dhaka and the southeastern city of Chittagong must “get fit, smarter and […]