India plans to increase spending for the agriculture sector by about 15% to around $20 billion in next month's budget, two government sources said, marking the biggest increase in six years, as it tries to boost rural incomes and curb inflation.

India's Zee Entertainment Enterprises reported a sharp rise in third-quarter profit and margins on Thursday, boosted by cost cutting measures which offset lower advertisement revenue. Shares of the broadcaster closed up 2.

UltraTech Cement, India's biggest cement maker by capacity, reported third-quarter earnings above estimates on Thursday on the back of strong volume growth, sending its shares soaring 7% in afternoon trade.

Officials are investigating the "mysterious deaths" of over a dozen people - most of them children - in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. At least 17 people, including 12 children, have died in Badhal village in Jammu's Rajouri district since 7 December.

Industrial growth, the stock market and the rupee are sinking, and most consumers earn too little to buoy them, stymieing India’s drive to become a developed economy.

U.S. fintech firm Broadridge Financial will expand its India tech staff by 26% to 6,800 people over three years as it gears up to sell its products in the world's most populous nation, a top executive told Reuters.

A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has ordered the seizure of two "offensive" paintings by MF Husain, one of India's most famous artists.

Hindu nationalists are committed to turning India into a Hindu nation-state. They are rewriting history in textbooks to shape that future, trampling India’s true past

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi had plans for India become a $5 trillion economy by 2025. The country is still over $1 trillion short of this target.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called upon people to stay united in pursuit of `viksit Bharat` and warned them against the forces seeking to weaken the country and break its unity, reported news agency PTI.