India Insight

No. 1 Indian carmaker Maruti Suzuki’s recall of its best-selling A-Star vehicles may not cost the company much financially, but sure raises questions about the procedures followed by the company for disclosing such information to investors.

The company says the recall of 100,000 cars began in November, but did not disclose the move until late February.

Maruti told Reuters it had informed European regulatory authorities about the recall — the A-Star is popular in Europe — but was sketchy about why it did not make the disclosure in India.

The recall comes at a time when the auto industry is grappling with quality-control concerns.

Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda are reeling under mammoth recalls, stemming from sticky accelerator pedals and faulty brakes.

Are the ruling communists in the stronghold state of West Bengal losing the confidence of its traditional Muslim voters, ahead of their most crucial electoral test this month?

For decades, Muslims have always felt safe in West Bengal, although they have been caught in an uncomfortable position elsewhere in the country after each bomb or militant attack.

West Bengal’s left boasted that Muslims, a little over 26 percent in the state of 80 million people, were free from discrimination and were living in harmony.