India

NEW DELHI (AP) - Federal investigators on Wednesday (Aug 21) arrested a key opposition Indian National Congress party leader at his home in the Indian capital in a suspected money laundering case. Palaniappan Chidambaram was taken into custody on suspicion of conspiring with a Mauritius-based firm to illegally obtain money for his son's company while he was India's finance minister in 2006. Abhishek Dayal, a spokesman for the Central Bureau of Investigation, confirmed the arrest. Investigators took Chidambaram from his New Delhi home on Wednesday night and drove him to the Central Bureau of Investigation's office. His son Karti Chidambaram has already been named as a defendant in the money-laundering case involving 3 billion rupees (S$58 million). Chidambaram denies the allegation and accuses Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of pursuing a political vendetta. He suffered a setback as a court on Tuesday rejected his bail plea in the case. Investigators couldn't find … [Read more...] about Indian investigators arrest key opposition leader Chidambaram

Known to weigh his words, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has sparked a debate with a comment indicating that India's two-decade-old no-first-use (NFU) policy on nuclear weapons is not cast in stone. The ambiguous comment has been interpreted as a calibrated warning to Pakistan amid heightened tensions between the two countries following New Delhi's move to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's autonomous status earlier this month. On Aug 16, Mr Singh visited the Indian nuclear test site of Pokhran, in Rajasthan's Thar desert, where he said: "Till today, our nuclear policy is 'no first use'. What happens in future depends on the circumstances." In a separate tweet, he noted that India has "strictly adhered to this doctrine". This is not the first time that a re-appraisal of India's NFU policy has been hinted at. In 2016, the late Manohar Parrikar, who was then the country's defence minister, said that India should use its nuclear powers "responsibly" instead of stressing "no first use". … [Read more...] about Minister sparks debate over India’s nuclear weapons policy

SRINAGAR, India (REUTERS) - India further eased movement restrictions in Kashmir's main city Srinagar on Tuesday (Aug 20), even as large swathes of the historically-restive old quarter remained locked down to curb protests over New Delhi's move to strip the region of its autonomy. Small groups of armed soldiers, many kitted out in full riot gear, were positioned every few metres in the old quarter, and all stores other than a handful of pharmacies were closed. Even in areas where restrictions have been eased, most shops remained closed. In Soura, a densely populated enclave in Srinagar that has been a hotbed of protests since Aug 5, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew the special rights granted to Jammu and Kashmir, locals have built a series of makeshift barricades to keep security forces out. Many of these have been cobbled together with felled light poles or trees, reinforced with barbed wire and wooden planks, where locals said they were keeping watch every night. "Article … [Read more...] about Kashmir remains tense despite partial easing of restrictions

Seen as a source of affordable and quality generic medicine for the world, India's pharmaceutical industry has found its credibility questioned by a new book alleging widespread violation of established manufacturing norms by its companies, leading to the production of medicines that potentially risk patients' lives.Bottle Of Lies - Ranbaxy And The Dark Side Of Indian Pharma, by American investigative journalist Katherine Eban, lays bare instances of cooked-up and plagiarised data, the presence of impurities and foreign particles, and unsanitary manufacturing conditions, among other egregious violations. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Learn more about ST PREMIUM. Enjoy unlimited access to ST's best work Exclusive stories and features on multiple devicesIn-depth analyses and opinion piecesePaper and award-winning multimedia content Subscribe Now … [Read more...] about Book alleging breaches in Indian pharma industry sparks debate

NEW DELHI (DPA) - The death toll from torrential monsoon rains in northern India climbed to 38 on Monday (Aug 19), as the national capital New Delhi issued a flood alert and ordered evacuations of thousands of people. Eighteen people had died in the northern mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh in landslides and wall collapses on Sunday (Aug 18). "The toll rose to 25 on Monday, along with an alert in five districts where all schools were closed. Two more people are still missing," a disaster management official, Mr Praveen Bhardwaj, said by phone from state capital Shimla. Ten more people were confirmed to have died in a flash flood in a local river in neighbouring Uttarakhand state, also in the Himalaya mountains. Twelve were missing, state officials added. Three more people died in rain-related accidents in Punjab, another northern state, broadcaster New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV) reported. In New Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal warned that the Yamuna river was flowing … [Read more...] about 38 dead in monsoon in northern India, while New Delhi on alert