India Top Stories - Reuters

CHENNAI, India (Reuters) - A group of lawmakers, whose support is crucial to the government, threatened to resign on Wednesday if India failed to stop the worsening conflict in Sri Lanka, officials said.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) slashed its cash reserve requirement for banks for the second time in a week on Wednesday, releasing 400 billion rupees ($8.2 billion) into the banking system to boost money market liquidity.

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. pop star Madonna and British film director Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce, they announced on Wednesday, ending nearly eight years of marriage and months of tabloid speculation over their relationship.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's top private carrier Jet Airways has decided to lay off 1,100 additional employees in the next few days, a top official said on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Aravind Adiga's Booker Prize-winning tale of the son of a rickshaw puller who dreams of escaping poverty rings true in India, where 800 million of its billion-plus population live on about 50 U.S. cents a day.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India will move key financial reform bills for parliament's approval including those aimed at increasing foreign investments in insurance firms, banks and pension fund management companies, a minister said on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Wednesday the Champions Trophy would be held from Sept. 24 to Oct. 5 next year after the September event in Pakistan was postponed due to security concerns.

MOHALI, India (Reuters) - Australian spearhead Brett Lee is adding variety to his pace to excel in India after a subdued start in the drawn first test.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The leaders of India, Brazil and South Africa said on Wednesday the global credit crisis showed the need for reforming institutions such as the United Nations to reflect their growing economic clout.

BANGALORE (Reuters) - On a computer monitor in his office in the high-tech hub of Bangalore, Indian radiologist Arjun Kalyanpur examines a scan of the skull of a six-year-old boy who fell off his bicycle.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Authorities will disburse immediately 250 billion rupees ($5.2 billion) to banks for a farm waiver scheme, and increase a cap on foreign investment in Indian corporate debt as part of steps to ease tight cash conditions, the finance minister said on Wednesday.

BANGALORE (Reuters)- Indian shares dropped 5.87 percent on Wednesday, unwinding most of a 9 percent rise over the previous two days as concerns grew about corporate earnings and tight liquidity conditions in Asia's third-largest economy.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari reached trade deals with China on Wednesday, raising hopes that Beijing would help his country through difficult economic and diplomatic times.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Kingfisher Airlines Ltd Vice Chairman G.R. Gopinath said on Wednesday he is interested in buying back the budget airline of Kingfisher if Chairman Vijay Mallya exits the low-cost carrier model.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Real estate developers will need to cut prices sharply in the second half of the financial year to convert demand into actual sales, as potential buyers continue to wait on the sidelines, industry watchers say.

LONDON (Reuters) - Debut Indian novelist Aravind Adiga on Tuesday won the Man Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards, with "The White Tiger".

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Jet Airways, India's top private airline, said on Wednesday it had retrenched 800 flight attendants and suspended its expansion programme, and will cut flights and lay off more staff due to a slowdown in demand.

REUTERS - First-time Indian novelist Aravind Adiga on Tuesday won the Man Booker Prize, one of the world's most prestigious literary awards, with "The White Tiger".

MOHALI, India (Reuters) - The fitness and form of skipper Anil Kumble is India's main concern ahead of the second test against Australia starting on Friday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The finance ministers and central bank heads of India, Brazil and South Africa will meet to discuss the current global financial turmoil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - European leaders will push on Wednesday for an overhaul of global financial structures after Asia joined western bastions of capitalism in bailing out banks to avert financial meltdown and tackle looming recession.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will hold talks with the country's unofficial league (ICL), whose players are now banned from all official cricket.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chiu Hei-chun spent 50 years washing dishes at a roadside stall in Hong Kong only to lose his life savings when Lehman Brothers went belly up.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in China late on Tuesday for his first official visit since taking office, aiming to cement economic and commercial ties with a long-time ally.

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India pumped liquidity into its markets and took measures aimed at helping its $106 billion mutual-funds industry on Tuesday as its rupee and stocks rallied after governments worldwide moved to restore confidence in the financial sector.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States ushered in a new era in banking on Tuesday with plans to take equity stakes totaling up to $250 billion in financial institutions, an incursion into the private sector that U.S. officials called a regrettable last resort.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hundreds of Islamic leaders in India demanded on Tuesday that the government protect their community from persecution, saying Muslims were being unfairly targeted in a police crackdown after bombings across the country.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is likely to further relax pricing rules for American and global depository receipts (ADR/GDR) to enable companies to raise funds easily from overseas markets, a government official said on Tuesday.