Indian scientists slam ancient Hindu ‘stem cell’ claim

Acute shortages of coal at power plants have triggered a severe energy crisis — which threatens to hit the nation's economic recovery.

India invested heavily in Afghanistan's development projects after the 2001 US invasion of the country. It is unclear what impact the Taliban's return to power will have on these projects.

“If McDonald’s can do it for hamburgers, why can’t we do it for eye care?”, thought the founder of Aravind Eye Hospital in 1976. Five decades later, inspired by processes implemented by the fast food giant, the Indian hospital chain performs around 500,000 surgeries a year -- many for free. -- This story is being published to coincide with World Sight Day.

A couple in India's southern state of Kerala use a large cooking pot borrowed from a temple to get through floodwaters and reach their wedding venue. The southern state has been hit by days of heavy rain, triggering landslides and floods that have claimed at least 27 lives.

With 11 million inhabitants, the Indian city of Bangalore has seen its size increase in a very short space of time. Nicknamed the Indian Silicon Valley, its rivers and lakes are now the city's unofficial sewers and are used by locals as dumping grounds for all kinds of waste. Out of the 850 lakes in Bangalore, more than 500 are extremely polluted. But one man, Anand Malligawad, has set himself an ambitious goal: to clean up Bangalore's lakes, one by one. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Camille Nedelec.

Indian government forces have killed the head of a Pakistan-based militant group in Indian-administered Kashmir. Noor Mohammad Tantray, head in the Kashmir valley of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) group, was killed in a gun battle after being trapped in a house near the city of Srinagar on Monday evening. The 47-year-old, a mere three feet tall, took over the group in Indian Kashmir in 2016.

PM Narendra Modi has framed cryptocurrencies as a domain that needs to be closely policed, warning they present a risk to young people. DW talked to economist Eswar Prasad about how Modi could regulate the sector.

The three laws were passed last year, with the government saying they were essential for the modernization of Indian agriculture. But that led to furious protests from farmers fearing for their livelihoods.

Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, has warned younger generations about the threat Bitcoin poses. In his keynote address at The Sydney Dialogue, hosted by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Modi spoke on the technology development India has experienced and how it could help guide the safety of cryptocurrency.

Indian news portal The Wire has alleged authorities likey spied on journalists, politicians and business leaders, among others. The revelations come as part of a global investigation into the use of specialized phone spying software Pegasus by governments around the world.

With a slowly recovering economy, the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in India is affecting both the retail and service sectors.

India's budget 2022 plans to ramp up infrastructure spending to support the economy's post-pandemic recovery. Key announcements include a state-backed "digital rupee" and tax on gains from digital currencies.