Chief correspondent, India
Ross's Feed
Dec 12, 2012

Gujarat vote: first step to Modi-Gandhi face-off?

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Gujarat will hold a potentially game-changing vote on Thursday that could help decide whether Chief Minister Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, becomes India’s next prime minister.

If, as many polls predict, Modi wins a fourth term as chief minister of the state, he is expected to project himself as the presumptive prime ministerial candidate for his right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a general election due in 2014.

Dec 12, 2012

Indian state vote may be first step to Modi versus Gandhi face-off

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Gujarat state will hold a potentially game-changing vote on Thursday that could help decide whether Chief Minister Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi, scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, becomes India’s next prime minister.

If, as many polls predict, Modi wins a fourth term as chief minister of the state, he is expected to project himself as the presumptive prime ministerial candidate for his right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a general election due in 2014.

Nov 25, 2012

Analysis: India’s deficit-cutting plan faltering as clock ticks

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s finance minister has banned government officials from holding conferences at five-star hotels, restricted travel and ordered a freeze on hiring to fill vacant posts.

A single-minded political veteran who commands both fear and respect in Indian officialdom, P. Chidambaram is squeezing government ministries hard to cut spending wherever they can, and quickly, to help rein in a widening fiscal deficit.

Nov 25, 2012

India’s deficit-cutting plan faltering as clock ticks

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s finance minister has banned government officials from holding conferences at five-star hotels, restricted travel and ordered a freeze on hiring to fill vacant posts.

A single-minded political veteran who commands both fear and respect in Indian officialdom, P. Chidambaram is squeezing government ministries hard to cut spending wherever they can, and quickly, to help rein in a widening fiscal deficit.

Nov 22, 2012

Reform drive could hit rocks in parliament session

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government, reduced to a minority for the first time since coming to power in 2004, is scrambling for support ahead of a parliament session that will severely test its economic reform agenda, and its chances of success look bleak.

For the moment, there is no threat of the government falling. But an obstructive opposition and unreliable allies could mean there is little progress on reforms like opening up insurance and pension businesses when parliament’s month-long winter session gets under way on Thursday.

Nov 21, 2012

Reform drive could hit rocks in stormy parliament session

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The government, reduced to a minority for the first time since coming to power in 2004, is scrambling for support ahead of a parliament session that will severely test its economic reform agenda, and its chances of success look bleak.

For the moment, there is no threat of the government falling. But an obstructive opposition and unreliable allies could mean there is little progress on reforms like opening up insurance and pension businesses when parliament’s month-long winter session gets under way on Thursday.

Nov 21, 2012

India’s reform drive could hit rocks in stormy parliament session

NEW DELHI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – The Indian government, reduced
to a minority for the first time since coming to power in 2004,
is scrambling for support ahead of a parliament session that
will severely test its economic reform agenda, and its chances
of success look bleak.

For the moment, there is no threat of the government
falling. But an obstructive opposition and unreliable allies
could mean there is little progress on reforms like opening up
insurance and pension businesses when parliament’s month-long
winter session gets under way on Thursday.

Oct 29, 2012

Anti-corruption crusader Kejriwal rattles political class

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – From a shabby house in one of New Delhi’s grimmest suburbs, a mild-mannered former tax official has launched a salvo of accusations of corruption involving some of India’s most powerful people, rocking the political establishment.

In quick succession, Arvind Kejriwal has publicly levelled charges of shady dealings against the son-in-law of ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, the outgoing law minister and the leader of the main opposition party.

Oct 29, 2012

Anti-corruption crusader rattles India’s political class

NEW DELHI, Oct 30 (Reuters) – From a shabby house in one of
New Delhi’s grimmest suburbs, a mild-mannered former tax
official has launched a salvo of accusations of corruption
involving some of India’s most powerful people, rocking the
political establishment.

In quick succession, Arvind Kejriwal has publicly levelled
charges of shady dealings against the son-in-law of ruling
Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, the outgoing law minister and
the leader of the main opposition party.

Oct 14, 2012

Analysis – India wins over markets, but now comes the hard part

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Finance Minister P. Chidambaram exudes the self-confidence of a man who, in the eyes of India’s cheerleading financial markets, can do little wrong.

In the 11 weeks since he took office, the benchmark BSE index .BSESN has surged around 8 percent, due in large part to his hard-charging drive to boost investor sentiment that had soured under his predecessor, Pranab Mukherjee.