NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Lok Sabha passed the Lokpal bill on Tuesday to create an anti-corruption ombudsman, in a move the government hopes will deflate a protest movement whose leader Anna Hazare has tapped into widespread anger at corrupt public officials.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government has been the target of middle-class frustration with everyday graft and multi-billion dollar scandals in Asia’s third largest economy. Under duress, the government agreed to pass the anti-corruption bill before the year end.

NEW DELHI, Dec 27 (Reuters) – The lower house of
India’s parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to create an
anti-corruption ombudsman, in a move the government hopes will
deflate a protest movement whose leader has tapped into
widespread anger at corrupt public officials.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government has been the
target of middle-class frustration with everyday graft and
multi-billion dollar scandals in Asia’s third largest economy.
Under duress, the government agreed to pass the anti-corruption
bill before the year end.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Gandhi dynasty that has ruled India for most of the 64 years since independence has kept the world’s largest democracy in poverty, leaders of a protest movement said on Monday as they prepared renewed rallies to target the government on corruption.

A three-day fast led by 74-year-old activist Anna Hazare and a plan for thousands of people to picket the home of Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi on New Years Eve will be a test of strength for the anti-corruption movement that forced a government U-turn in the summer.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Anna Hazare, who stoked public anger at India’s scandal-prone leaders this year, threatened on Thursday to renew protests at what he sees as watering down of the Lokpal bill, a move that could blight the government’s New Year election drive.

Hazare, 74, said he will gather supporters to picket the homes of ruling party leaders Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi, and aims to get arrested to highlight demands for a powerful, graft-fighting ombudsman, the Lokpal.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Olympic body will demand the London Olympic Games axe a sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) because of the U.S. corporation’s ties to a major industrial disaster in 1984, a senior official said on Thursday.

The sponsorship deal has angered many Indians, including current and former Olympic athletes. Some have called for a boycott of next year’s competition.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) will demand the London Olympic Games axe a sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N: Quote, Profile, Research) because of the U.S. corporation’s ties to the Bhopal gas disaster that killed thousands in 1984, a senior official said on Thursday.

The sponsorhip deal has angered many Indians, including current and former Olympic athletes. Some have called for a boycott of next year’s competition.

NEW DELHI, Dec 15 (Reuters) – India’s Olympic body
will demand the London Olympic Games axe a sponsorship deal with
Dow Chemical Co because of the U.S. coporation’s ties to
a major industrial disaster in 1984, a senior official said on
Thursday.

The sponsorhip deal has angered many Indians, including
current and former Olympic athletes. Some have called for a
boycott of next year’s competition.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Fallout from a botched attempt at retail reform, a weak economy that has some analysts muttering darkly about India’s balance of payments, a renewed threat of street protests and looming state elections that mean progress on tough reforms are unlikely, are the major risks to watch as the year ends in the world’s largest democracy.

RATINGS (Unchanged since November unless stated):

S&P: BBB-

MOODY’S: Baa3

FITCH: BBB-

The cost of insuring against default on 5-year sovereign debt, in common with debt markets elsewhere in the world rose in November then fell to around 100 basis points in December, up 30 since the start of the year.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Police filed charges on Wednesday against the Karmapa, a Tibetan spiritual leader who fled China a decade ago and is tipped to take on the mantle of the Dalai Lama in the future, following the seizure of $1.4 million from his monastery in Himachal Pradesh.

However, the charges filed by police in a district court against 10 people including the Karmapa, who is revered by Tibetan Buddhists as the 17th reincarnation of a 900-year old spirit, related to a smaller amount of money.

NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Indian police filed
charges on Wednesday against a Tibetan spiritual leader who fled
China a decade ago and is tipped to take on the mantle of the
Dalai Lama in the future, following the seizure of $1.4 million
from his monastery in India.

However, the charges filed by police in a district court
against 10 people including the Karmapa, who is revered by
Tibetan Buddhists as the 17th reincarnation of a 900-year old
spirit, related to a smaller amount of money.