India's mammoth elections are now under way, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win a third term. Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has expanded subsidy programmes for the poor and women. These programmes include measures like equipping homes with butane gas by offering free cylinders or distributing free food rations. Some 60 percent of the population benefits from Modi’s food distribution scheme, which he has pledged to renew for another five years. Another success story is the nationwide rollout of digital payment services. Meanwhile, critics say the prime minister is eroding democracy by targeting opposition parties and controlling the media.

A world record of 969 million citizens are called to the polls for what some see as a referendum on one man. India is about to embark on the world's biggest election, staggered over seven weeks, with Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP expected to extend its solid lead in parliament. Modi has been pointing to a decade of unprecedented growth and power for a nation courted by the West and beyond.

India's mammoth elections are now under way, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi widely expected to win a third term. Since coming to power in 2014, Modi has expanded subsidy programmes for the poor and women.

Three French diplomats were given 48 hours to leave Burkina Faso on Thursday after being declared persona non grata by the ruling junta. The trio have been accused of "subversive activities", allegations that Paris denies. Relations between the two countries have been unravelling since 2022, when Burkina Faso saw its second coup in less than nine months.

Iranian state media have reported loud explosions in the sky near the central city of Isfahan. Tehran says say its air defense systems were activated at a nearby military base and a nuclear facility.

In this week’s special edition of Access Asia, we focus on India as the country's record-breaking election gets under way. In the past few years, India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has plummeted.