US says special forces in India

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AppId is over the quota
2 March 2012 Last updated at 10:13 GMT US troops have been involved in training in India US special forces are present in five South Asian countries, including India, a top Pentagon commander has revealed.

US Pacific Commander Admiral Robert Willard said the teams were deployed to help India with their counter-terrorism co-operation.

The US and India were working together to contain Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based militant group blamed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, he said.

The US embassy in Delhi clarified that the troops were not stationed in India.

A spokesman told the BBC that there were "no special forces stationed in India", as media reports had suggested.

The embassy and India's ministry of defence said a unit from the US 25th infantry division was in India to hold an exercise with Indian forces.

'Working closely'

Adm Willard said US teams were also present in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

"We have currently special forces assist teams - Pacific assist teams is the term - laid down in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, as well as India," Adm Willard told a Congressional hearing.

"We are working very closely with India with regard to their counter-terrorism capabilities and in particular on the maritime domain but also government to government, not necessarily department of defence but other agencies assisting them in terms of their internal counter-terror and counterinsurgency challenges."

Adm Willard said Lashkar-e-Taiba was a "very dangerous organisation... so it is a very important threat, and we're working very closely with the nations in the region to help contain it".

He said the group was "responsible for many attacks in India, including the horrific attacks into Mumbai, Lashkar-e-Taiba is headquartered in Pakistan, affiliated with al-Qaeda... and contributes to terrorist operations in Afghanistan and aspires to operate against Asia, Europe and North America," he said.

In the past months, the US has trained Indian counter-terrorist specialists.

The two countries have also been working to counter piracy, conduct disaster response planning and training and holding joint armed forces exercises.

In July last year, Robert Blake, US assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, said counter-terrorism co-operation with India was "a very high priority" for the US.

He said Washington was working with Delhi to ensure that "they have the best systems in place possible to prevent future attacks such as the one in Mumbai".

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In pictures: India celebrates Republic Day

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AppId is over the quota
26 January 2012 Last updated at 08:58 GMT

News photos from around the world

24 hours of news photos: 2 March

Readers' pictures on the theme coffee break

The aftermath of a storm

Singer of 1960s group the Monkees has died

24 hours of news photos: 1 March 2012

24 hours of news photos: 29 February 2012

Protests and mass funerals continue in Syria

Police and bailiffs remove tents from Occupy camp

Dresses and fashions on the Oscar red carpet

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5 Ultrabooks that you can buy right now, in India

To begin with, what are Ultrabooks?  Simply put, Ultrabooks are portable computers running on an Intel chipset, featuring the portability of a netbook or ultraportable, and the power under the hood of a desktop replacement, which can get some gaming, HD videos and multitasking done without any hassles.

Intel has set up simple criteria for any manufacturer who wants to qualify their laptops for Ultrabook status, back when it had established the category, in May last year. These are:  

The device needs to be thin, under 0.8-inches.Lightweight, under 1.4 kgs.Should have a battery life of minimum 5 hoursShould have quick boot-up times, instant-on and always-on standby modesHigh overall performance Like This 4 | 0 Comments

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In pictures: India toxic alcohol deaths

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AppId is over the quota
15 December 2011 Last updated at 09:50 GMT

News photos from around the world

24 hours of news photos: 2 March

Readers' pictures on the theme coffee break

The aftermath of a storm

Singer of 1960s group the Monkees has died

24 hours of news photos: 1 March 2012

24 hours of news photos: 29 February 2012

Protests and mass funerals continue in Syria

Police and bailiffs remove tents from Occupy camp

Dresses and fashions on the Oscar red carpet

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India defence minister 'not bugged'

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AppId is over the quota
2 March 2012 Last updated at 11:57 GMT Officials have denied reports of bugs in AK Antony's office Defence officials in India have denied reports that Defence Minister AK Antony's office was bugged.

Earlier reports said authorities had discovered the security breach and that the intelligence bureau had been asked to hold an inquiry.

Ministry officials said they first came to know about the bugs on 16 February, Press Trust of India reported.

Last year, a similar incident was reported from the office of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Reports said adhesive-like substances were found in Mr Mukherjee's office, raising the suspicion that they might have been used to implant electronic listening devices.

The finance minister later said investigations had "found nothing" and urged the media not to waste time on "bogus things".

'Routine checks'

"Reports of 'bugging' in South Block [defence minister's office] in a section of the media is hereby denied," defence ministry spokesman Sitanshu Kar said in a statement.

"Routine checks are conducted in the offices of the minister and other officers in South Block. Nothing has been found in these checks," he added.

Earlier reports had quoted officials in the ministry saying that "audio transmitting devices" had been found in the minister's office.

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India to clarify telecoms ruling

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AppId is over the quota
2 March 2012 Last updated at 04:29 GMT India is one of the world's fastest growing markets for mobile telephones, with 800 million connections India's government has sought clarification from the Supreme Court on its landmark judgement to cancel 122 telecommunications licences awarded to companies in 2008.

These companies have nearly 70 million of the 900 million Indian subscribers.

Last month's judgement said that they would need to transfer to other operators within the next four months.

Now the government says that it will take at least 400 days to complete a fresh auction of licences.

The licences were issued by former minister A Raja, who is accused of mis-selling bandwidth in what has been called India's biggest corruption scandal. Mr Raja, who is currently on trial for fraud, denies wrongdoing.

Government auditors say the scandal cost the country about $40bn (£24.5bn).

The government told the Supreme Court that more than 69 million mobile phone subscribers - 7.5% of total subscribers - could face service disruption as a fresh auction of the licences was not possible by 2 June, the deadline set by the court.

"It is impossible for the government to conduct [an] auction in four months ... We will decide the future course of action after we receive a clarification from the Supreme Court," a telecom official told Hindustan Times newspaper.

Even if these subscribers shift to other mobile operators, the latter will find it difficult to handle the additional traffic given their technical and operational constraints.

The court ruling was a source of further embarrassment for the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which has been hit by several high-profile corruption cases in recent months.

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VIDEO: Diplomatic tussle between India and Italy

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AppId is over the quota
28 February 2012 Last updated at 21:43 GMT Help

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VIDEO: Corruption dogs India elections

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AppId is over the quota
29 February 2012 Last updated at 05:21 GMT Help

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How British aid can still help India

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AppId is over the quota
1 March 2012 Last updated at 14:28 GMT By David Loyn BBC News, Bihar The use of British aid money in India, with its rapidly growing economy and ambitious space programme, has critics in both countries. But in the state of Bihar, a carefully targeted aid project is successfully reducing corruption, and improving the lives of some of the poorest people in the world.

When they set up recently as advisers in Bihar state offices, British aid officials faced a rather immediate problem.

One of their targets was increasing the number of toilets and safe washing facilities out in the countryside - but they had not expected to need to provide them for their own staff first.

The government system had been so hollowed out during the previous corrupt administration that the most basic of facilities had gone.

Now signs of change are everywhere.

A courtyard has become a graveyard of manual typewriters, lying rusting and broken among discarded wooden cupboards, desks and filing cabinets.

Every piece of furniture and old Remington typewriter has a number painted in white on it, denoting it as state property, some dating back from the 1930s.

In one ministry, there were so few people actually working that the British advisers hired street sweepers to do basic administrative jobs.

They needed to start from scratch as if coming to a land recovering from catastrophe - although Bihar had not faced a natural disaster or conflict, but corruption.

Its previous administration was infamous for theft - stealing votes, and misdirecting government subsidies.

Bihar's problems were similar to those faced by many frail, post-conflict countries - lacking even the systems to spend money allocated to it from central government.

It is this capacity that Britain hopes to improve so that Bihar can access money from Delhi that otherwise is going to waste.

On a busy corner in Patna, I watched as people queued up to apply for certificates of income, caste and land title.

British aid money was behind this project too, helping citizens to access state services without having to pay middlemen as they did in the past.

This British scheme is even funding an Indian call centre. There was brisk business when I went to listen, as people phoned in to ask for the name of the individual official concerned with their case.

Failure to act within a certain period of time has led to civil servants being fined. Others have gone to jail for trying to continue the corrupt ways of the past.

This is a long way from the traditional image of aid as a handout, or payment for health, education or housing.

And the case that Britain retains its large aid budget to build the capacity of the Indian state may be a hard one to make to someone in the British public sector who has lost their job in the cuts caused by austerity at home.

But no-one could doubt the scale of the need.

If Bihar were a country, its per capita income would be the third lowest in the world. Only two countries in Africa would be below it.

In a slum of some 50 or so houses, wedged between a main road and a railway, backing onto a green fetid swamp full of mosquito larvae, Parbhatti Devi told me that she had lived here all her life.

She had lost all her fingers and toes to leprosy - and what she had, she earned from begging.

Bihar's economy is growing fast, but many still live in poverty

Wires snaked through the makeshift roof of her hut, with improvised attachments to overhead cables, lethal in the monsoon rain. She had no safe drinking water nor access to a toilet.

Some Indian politicians and diplomats do not like Britain's large aid programme because this is not the image of a land with global middle class aspirations they want to project. They live as if in another country from the lepers by the railway tracks.

Bihar has shaken off its past and is now the least corrupt state in India and from a low base its economy is growing at more than 14%. Given that, should it not now take care of itself?

The answer from the most senior civil servant in the state was simple. He told me that development would have come, but far more slowly without the British technical expertise that has changed the way they do things.

He said that millions would be lifted out of poverty far sooner because of the British help.

We met in his office in the Secretariat building that was the seat of British colonial power here until 1947.

On his wall hung a painting of the huge conical brick structure that still stands at the west of the city, built by the British to store rice after a devastating famine in the 1770s.

In another century, Britain has a relationship of quite a different kind here.

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India workers in general strike

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AppId is over the quota
28 February 2012 Last updated at 06:05 GMT Unions want universal social security cover for workers in India's vast unorganised labour sector Indian workers have begun a strike against high inflation and to demand better working conditions and an end to selling off state firms.

The strike has the support of most of India's major trade unions and thousands of smaller unions from across the political spectrum.

Banks, transport, post offices and ports are thought most likely to be affected by the industrial action.

But services on India's rail network are not expected to be disrupted.

States such as West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala, where the communist parties have greater influence, had been expected to be most affected by the strike.

Most roads in Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal, are deserted with very little traffic, says the BBC's Amitabha Bhattashali.

Public transport is thin and most shops are closed, our correspondent says. Many people stayed back in their offices on Monday to make sure that they could attend work on Tuesday.

However, the city's metro railway network was running normally and flight operations from the domestic and international airports were on schedule, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

"Everything has been normal so far. Things are going on well. Tight security arrangements are in place with 400 police pickets set up in various parts of the city," police commissioner RK Pachnanda said.

TV channels reported that the strike was having little impact in Delhi and Mumbai.

Although India's inflation rate dropped from 9.1% in December, it remains stubbornly high at 7.5%.

Growth for the financial year ending in March is also expected to be around 7%, lower than the previous forecasts of about 9%.

The government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is trying to cut its budget deficit by selling stakes in state-run companies - something the unions object to.

Other demands include measures to curb inflation, universal social security cover for non-unionised workers and enforcement of labour laws.

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India Olympic berth win applauded

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AppId is over the quota
27 February 2012 Last updated at 05:07 GMT Penalty-corner specialist Sandeep Singh scored five of the eight goals The Indian media have applauded the performance of the country's field hockey team, which gained a berth in the London Olympics with an 8-1 victory over France on Sunday.

Penalty-corner specialist Sandeep Singh scored five of the eight goals.

The India team, eight-time Olympic gold medallists, failed to clinch a place at the Beijing Games four years ago.

Over the years, the game has lost its popularity in India which is primarily obsessed with cricket.

Birendra Lakra, SV Sunil and VR Raghunath also scored for India while Simon Martin-Brisac got France's only goal in Sunday's game in the final of a men's qualifying tournament.

"What was also heartening was they won by playing an attacking brand of hockey that had traditionally been India's forte, but was lost somewhere in the last decade during a musical chair of foreign coaches," The Indian Express newspaper wrote.

"Indian teams of the past would have gone into a shell after the initial impasse or crumbled. On Sunday, there was no giving up."

The Times of India newspaper said Sunday's win could "mark a turnaround for India's national game".

"The stage could not have been set better for India, who came to the tournament as favourites and dominated it completely," the newspaper said.

London, Here We Come! headlined The Asian Age.

'Methodical approach'

The Hindu said India's "Olympic dream" had been "rekindled" after the victory.

The newspaper attributed the win to a "methodical approach and the rock solid self-belief" of the team, being coached by Australian-born Michael Nobbs.

The win had "healed the wounds" of the team after India failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2004 - the first time in 80 years.

"It is nice that we have made it to London. If not, hockey would have died in London," Mohammed Shahid, an India veteran, told The Hindu.

The Hindustan Times described the victory as a "new beginning".

But the paper added that the emphatic win in the qualifiers "don't ensure a cakewalk in the London Games".

"In the recent past, India haven't won against top teams, including Australia... With over four months to go for the mega event, coach Michael Nobbs will have some work to do."

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In pictures: India toxic alcohol deaths

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AppId is over the quota
15 December 2011 Last updated at 09:50 GMT

24 hours of news photos: 27 February 2012

Dresses and fashions on the Oscar red carpet

Remarkable images of Auschwitz then and now

News photos from around the world

24 hours of news photos: 24 February 2012

Large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa

On show for the first time in the UK

24 hours of news photos: 23 February 2012

Readers' pictures on the theme games

Photographer Simon Annand's latest work

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India court orders river project

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AppId is over the quota
27 February 2012 Last updated at 12:38 GMT By linking rivers, India wants to tackle the cycle of flood and drought India's Supreme Court has ordered the government to implement an ambitious project to link major rivers in the region "in a time-bound manner".

The court also appointed a committee to plan and implement the project.

The judges said the project had been long delayed, resulting in an increase in its cost.

In 2002, the government announced plans to link major rivers in the region to reduce persistent water shortages in parts of India after a court order.

The project was announced by then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who said the scheme will "free India from the curse of floods and droughts".

He also set up a task force to get the project going.

But the project has remained on paper for the last 10 years.

Project opposed

On Monday, the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia, said the central and the state governments should participate for the "effective" implementation of the river-linking project "in a time-bound manner".

It is not clear what timeframe the court envisions.

"We direct the Union of India to forthwith constitute a committee for interlinking of rivers," the bench said, adding that "we direct the committee to implement the project".

The project aims to link 30 major rivers and will involve diverting the Ganges and the Brahmaputra - two of India's biggest rivers.

It requires the construction of large dams within India, Nepal and Bhutan, requiring international agreements with these countries.

The project was opposed by India's neighbours and environmentalists.

Bangladesh said diversion of water from these rivers would harm its interests - while environmentalists said the project would cause an ecological disaster.

But India says it must enhance its irrigation potential to meet its demand for grain to feed an estimated population of 1.5 billion by 2050.

The river-linking project was first devised in India in 1980 and has been under discussion ever since.

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Hypnotist to 'cure' India police

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AppId is over the quota
28 February 2012 Last updated at 05:51 GMT By Salman Ravi BBC Hindi, Raipur Police in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh have sought the help of a hypnotist to help their men give up drinking alcohol and smoking.

Senior officers believe that alcoholism has become a problem in the force with reports of drunk policemen on duty coming in from parts of the state.

Last week, a local TV channel showed a policeman passing out after drinking alcohol in the capital, Raipur.

India's policemen are overworked and many suffer from stress.

Recently, the local police hired hypnotist VL Soni for a 30-minute session with some 200 policemen who were "alcoholic, overweight or depressed".

After the session ended, Mr Soni announced that all the policemen who attended the session "would soon get rid of their habit of consuming alcohol".

Participants said the session was "dramatic".

They said Mr Soni called up a policeman "on the mobile phone and soon hypnotised him". He also made another policeman sing folk songs during the session, and also showed a film clip on hypnotism.

Participants also said that a cigarette was lit up and the smoke blown at a policeman, who "began to feel nauseous".

"This is exactly what is going to happen to anyone who boozes after this session," Mr Soni reportedly told the gathering.

"This is a kind of meditation. The policemen will have to practise it at home as well. They will soon give up their addiction to alcohol. Whenever they go to drink, they will feel nauseous."

Encouraged by the session, senior Raipur police official Deepanshu Kabra now wants to rope in the hypnotist to help his men "get rid of extra fat and hypertension".

The police is also contemplating using the hypnotist during interrogation of suspects "for solving important cases", an official said.

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India defends border state visit

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AppId is over the quota
27 February 2012 Last updated at 09:49 GMT Defence Minister AK Antony (right) says it is his right to visit Arunachal Pradesh India's defence minister has said Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, after Beijing objected to his visit to the north-eastern state.

China claims the state, which borders the Chinese region of Tibet.

After AK Antony's visit to the state, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman had said India should not do anything to "complicate" the border issue.

The two countries dispute several Himalayan border areas and fought a brief war in 1962.

Mr Antony said the comments were "most unfortunate" and "objectionable".

He said Arunachal "is an integral part of India and as defence minister it is my right and duty to visit the state".

Beijing also protested when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal Pradesh during his 2009 election campaign.

Map dispute

Mr Antony visited the north-eastern state earlier this month to mark the 25th anniversary of its statehood.

"I was surprised to see such a reaction. I feel it is most unfortunate and, at the same time, it is really objectionable," he told reporters in the capital, Delhi, on Monday.

The defence minister said the state had achieved progress.

"I have been visiting Arunachal since 1984. This time, I was thrilled to visit the state on its silver jubilee of attaining statehood," he said.

India and China have been locked in a long-running dispute over their Himalayan border.

Numerous rounds of border talks have been held to try to resolve the issues.

Last November, China's ambassador to India became involved in a heated exchange over a map that showed parts of India within China's border.

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In pictures: India celebrates Republic Day

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AppId is over the quota
26 January 2012 Last updated at 08:58 GMT

24 hours of news photos: 27 February 2012

Dresses and fashions on the Oscar red carpet

Remarkable images of Auschwitz then and now

News photos from around the world

24 hours of news photos: 24 February 2012

Large-scale acquisitions of farmland in Africa

On show for the first time in the UK

24 hours of news photos: 23 February 2012

Readers' pictures on the theme games

Photographer Simon Annand's latest work

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Can Manchester United football school score in India?

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AppId is over the quota
21 February 2012 Last updated at 07:00 GMT Demand for quality football training is high in India One of the English Premier League's top football clubs, Manchester United, has opened its first training school in India. Zubair Ahmed reports from Mumbai on what the club hopes to achieve through the school.

A clutch of young boys and girls are hugging different parts of the "world class" green turf and going through the meticulously worked out afternoon practice session.

A coach shouts instructions: "Dribble Alastair, dribble."

Alastair is huffing and puffing while trying to dribble the ball past other players.

Everyone is learning the art of dribbling at Mumbai's footballing hub, the Cooperage, which is going through a complete makeover.

A brand new natural grass pitch, donated by football's world governing body Fifa, has already been laid out.

It is where Manchester United have chosen to open their first football school in India.

'Why cricket-mad India?'

It's midday and the sun beats down on the trainees, but that fails to diminish their enthusiasm.

Manchester United has brought the club to its global fan base

They believe they might be the answer to India's appalling standard in international football.

Alastair Fernandes is one of the nearly 300 trainees at Manchester United's school in Mumbai, launched last month.

A trainee has to cough up 12,600 rupees ($256; £162) for a course of 10 sessions.

The high fee prices out working-class children, so not surprisingly, most trainees are urban middle- or upper-middle-class boys and girls.

But no one is complaining, as the demand for quality training is high in the city. There are hardly any football academies of international standards.

Alastair is one of the youngest but also one of the most ambitious trainees. His dream is to play like Manchester United players, Nani and Valencia.

Continue reading the main story

The way Indians are consuming football, especially the English Premier League in urban India, one day football will be neck and neck with cricket ”

End Quote Mukul Choudhari Director, Manchester United Soccer School in Mumbai "When I grow up I want to play for Manchester United," says Alastair with a heavy emphasis on the English club he loves.

Many of the boys training here want to represent big football clubs and not necessarily their country.

India may be a country of over one billion people but in football it ranks 157th in the world.

And yet Manchester United, one of the world's leading football clubs, has chosen to open a school in cricket-mad India. Why?

"We have fans all over the world. We are a global football club. We need to reach out to our fan base worldwide. India is a perfect example where we are bringing Manchester United from Manchester all the way to India," replies Chris O'Brien, the school's head coach.

To demonstrate that Manchester United means business, Mr O'Brien was sent over to Mumbai by his bosses at Old Trafford (Manchester United's home ground and headquarters) to teach the school's young recruits some deft touches and techniques.

Huge potential

Besides Manchester United - Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have also explored tie-ups with local partners.

Some European football clubs, such as Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, have also been showing a keen interest in the Indian market.

Many of the trainees want to follow in the footsteps of the clubs' players

Experts say merchandise is a big driving force for these clubs to come to India which is perhaps one of the last untapped markets.

A couple of years ago, the UK-India Business Council hosted a seminar on bringing European sports to India.

Adidas' head of global sports marketing, Jocelyn Robiot, estimated that the sportswear market in India was nearly $500m (£316m).

Football is becoming increasingly popular in India. Marketing experts say after cricket, football is the second most popular sport and has a huge following among the urban youth.

Several European football clubs have sent talent scouts to India in the last few years.

Nearly all of them have come to the conclusion that cricket cannot be replaced but there is a huge potential for football's growth in the near future.

The very successful club has fans all over the world

"The way Indians are consuming football, specially the English Premier League in urban India, one day football will be neck and neck with cricket," says Mukul Choudhari, the Manchester United Soccer School's director.

So, do European clubs just want a token presence in India right now? Or do they have long-term plans to develop and raise the standard of the game in India?

Mr O'Brien makes it clear his club's goal in India is not to hunt for talent but to teach kids at the grassroots level how to play football the Manchester United way.

"Our philosophy is to work with players of all abilities. It's not a talent identification exercise. It's about bringing Manchester United to all young players all across the country, no matter what level they play at," insists Mr O'Brien.

Manchester United has a few cafes and sports stores in the country in partnership with Indian companies.

But the Mumbai soccer school is just the beginning of a long association.

"We are not here just for a couple of weeks. We are here to develop the game at the grassroots level. It's a long-term initiative," Mr O'Brien says.

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India Olympic berth win applauded

27 February 2012 Last updated at 05:07 GMT Penalty-corner specialist Sandeep Singh scored five of the eight goals The Indian media has applauded the performance of the country's field hockey team which gained a berth in the London Olympics with an 8-1 victory over France on Sunday.

Penalty-corner specialist Sandeep Singh scored five of the eight goals.

The eight-time Olympic gold medallist India failed to clinch a place at Beijing four years ago.

Over the years, the game has lost its popularity in India which is primarily obsessed with cricket.

Birendra Lakra, SV Sunil and VR Raghunath also scored for India while Simon Martin-Brisac got France's only goal in Sunday's game in the final of a men's qualifying tournament.

"What was also heartening was they won by playing an attacking brand of hockey that had traditionally been India's forte, but was lost somewhere in the last decade during a musical chair of foreign coaches," The Indian Express newspaper wrote.

"Indian teams of the past would have gone into a shell after the initial impasse or crumbled. On Sunday, there was no giving up."

The Times of India newspaper said Sunday's win could "mark a turnaround for India's national game".

"The stage could not have been set better for India, who came to the tournament as favourites and dominated it completely," the newspaper said.

London, Here We Come! headlined The Asian Age.

'Methodical approach'

The Hindu said India's "Olympic dream" had been "rekindled" after the victory.

The newspaper attributed the win to a "methodical approach and the rock solid self-belief" of the team, being coached by Australian-born Michael Nobbs.

The win had "healed the wounds" of the team when India failed to qualify for the Olympics in 2004 - the first time in 80 years.

"It is nice that we have made it to London. If not, hockey would have died in London," Mohammed Shahid, an India veteran, told The Hindu.

The Hindustan Times described the victory as a "new beginning".

But the paper added that the emphatic win in the qualifiers "don't ensure a cakewalk in the London Games".

"In the recent past, India haven't won against top teams, including Australia... With over four months to go for the mega event, coach Michael Nobbs will have some work to do."

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India pledge over shooting probe

27 February 2012 Last updated at 04:15 GMT The shooting incident has heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries India will "not succumb to pressures from Italy" over an investigation into the fatal shooting of two fishermen by an Italian navy security team, a minister has said.

Defence Minister AK Antony said the probe was "moving in the right direction".

A court has remanded two members of the Italian team in custody for two weeks.

The incident in Kerala state sparked a major diplomatic row between the two countries.

Indian police have opened a murder inquiry into the incident, which took place off the coast of the southern state of Kerala earlier this month.

Italian officials said the Indian fishing boat had behaved aggressively and ignored warning shots from their ship, Enrica Lexie.

They said they opened fire after mistaking the fishermen for pirates. India said the fishermen were unarmed.

'Fair trial'

"The probe is in the right direction and we are not going to succumb to the pressures from Italy," Defence Minister AK Antony said on Sunday, after visiting the family of the dead fishermen.

"The Indian judiciary is independent and they can rightfully expect a fair trial here."

Mr Antony said the state government of Kerala had been "handling the case very strongly and powerfully".

"It has full support [from the federal government] for pursuing the case," he said.

Last week, a court sent the Italian marines - identified as Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone - to judicial custody for 14 days.

Italy insists that its personnel cannot be charged under Indian law. It says the marines have immunity as the tanker was flying an Italian flag and was in international waters when the incident happened.

But India wants the marines to be tried under local laws and has registered a case of murder against the men, who could face the death penalty or life imprisonment if found guilty.

The Enrica Lexie was on its way from Singapore to Egypt, with a crew of 34, including 19 Indians. The Italians say the crew members fired in self-defence - after initially firing warning shots - because they feared their vessel was about to be attacked.

The Kerala state government has authorised a payment of 500,000 rupees ($10,125; £6,450) each to the dead fishermen's families.

Piracy has emerged as a major threat to merchant ships in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, with Somali pirates hijacking ships and their crews for ransom.

But there have been fewer attacks recently, partly because more armed guards are now deployed on board ships.

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NGOs 'behind' India nuclear delay

24 February 2012 Last updated at 08:22 GMT Mr Singh says foreign groups do not appreciate India's growing energy and food needs The Indian prime minister has blamed US non-governmental organisations for the delay in commissioning the Koodankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu state.

Manmohan Singh told the prestigious Science journal that these groups did not appreciate India's growing energy requirements.

The plant has been stalled by protests from local people over safety concerns.

Mr Singh also blamed US and Scandinavian groups for opposing genetically modified crops in India.

Critics say Mr Singh's comments hark back to the pre-liberalisation days when Indian politicians blamed all of India's problems on foreign countries.

"You know what's happening in Koodankulam," Mr Singh said, referring to months of protests which have stalled the commissioning of two 1,000-MW nuclear reactors at the plant in Tirunalveli district.

"The atomic energy programme has gone into difficulties because these NGOs [non-governmental organisations], mostly I think based in the United States, don't appreciate the need for our country to increase the energy supply."

Referring to a 2010 government decision to defer the commercial cultivation of the genetically modified vegetable BT brinjal, Mr Singh said biotechnology had enormous potential and India must make use of it to increase agricultural produce.

"But there are controversies. There are NGOs, often funded from the United States and the Scandinavian countries, which are not fully appreciative of the development challenges that our country faces.

"But we are a democracy, we are not like China," he said.

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