NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he had given a “wish list” of military equipment to India during a visit this week, presenting a conundrum for New Delhi as it weighs whether arming the Afghan army is in its interests.

India wants to stabilise Afghanistan and is concerned about the resurgence of militant groups after foreign combat troops leave in 2014.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he had given a “wish list” of military equipment to India during a visit this week, presenting a conundrum for New Delhi as it weighs whether arming the Afghan army is in its interests.

India wants to stabilize Afghanistan and is concerned about the resurgence of militant groups after foreign combat troops leave in 2014.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Congress party is debating holding a general election in November, six months ahead of schedule, senior party leaders said, reflecting an internal discussion over whether to pull the plug on the shaky ruling coalition or have it serve a full term.

Officially, the Congress party says the government – which has been battered by a series of corruption scandals and now governs as a minority after two allies withdrew from the ruling coalition – will limp on until elections are due in May 2014.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Congress party is debating holding a general election in November, six months ahead of schedule, senior party leaders said, reflecting an internal discussion over whether to pull the plug on the shaky ruling coalition or have it serve a full term.

Officially, the Congress party says the government – which has been battered by a series of corruption scandals and now governs as a minority after two allies withdrew from the ruling coalition – will limp on until elections are due in May 2014.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A packed New Delhi courtroom sat in rapt silence this week as an irate Supreme Court judge denounced the elite Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as a “caged parrot” and “its master’s voice”.

Justice R.M. Lodha loudly berated the attorney-general, the government’s top lawyer, for what he said was clear evidence of interference in a CBI inquiry into alleged irregularities in the allocation of coalfield licences to private companies, a case dubbed “Coalgate” by the media.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – A packed New Delhi courtroom sat in rapt silence this week as an irate Supreme Court judge denounced the elite Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s version of the American FBI, as a “caged parrot” and “its master’s voice”.

Justice R.M. Lodha loudly berated the attorney-general, the government’s top lawyer, for what he said was clear evidence of interference in a CBI inquiry into alleged irregularities in the allocation of coalfield licenses to private companies, a case dubbed “Coalgate” by the Indian media.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – After riding high since launching economic reforms in September, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s minority UPA coalition has been brought to a new low, with key ministers entangled in corruption investigations and Singh facing calls to quit.

In the space of just a week, Singh’s government has seen its economic reform legislative agenda disintegrate in parliament as opposition members have repeatedly disrupted proceedings to demand the resignation of the two-term technocrat and his law and railway ministers.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – After riding high since launching economic reforms in September, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s minority coalition has been brought to a new low, with key ministers entangled in corruption investigations and Singh facing calls to quit.

In the space of just a week, Singh’s government has seen its economic reform legislative agenda disintegrate in parliament as opposition members have repeatedly disrupted proceedings to demand the resignation of the two-term technocrat and his law and railway ministers.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and a contender for prime minister in 2014, on Thursday offered a broad vision of 21st century India in his first major speech to business leaders that critics called vague and rambling.

Addressing a gathering of Indian business tycoons in New Delhi, Gandhi did not touch on any of the issues bedevilling Asia’s third-largest economy such as high inflation, decelerating investment, a ballooning current account deficit and red tape that ties up infrastructure projects for years.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Rahul Gandhi, the scion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and a contender for prime minister in 2014, on Thursday offered a broad vision of 21st century India in his first major speech to business leaders that critics called vague and rambling.

Addressing a gathering of Indian business tycoons in New Delhi, Gandhi did not touch on any of the issues bedeviling Asia’s third-largest economy such as high inflation, decelerating investment, a ballooning current account deficit and red tape that ties up infrastructure projects for years.