Narendra Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to unite the country on May 23 after a huge election win, with his party on course to increase its majority on a mandate of pursuing business-friendly policies and a hard line on national security.

Voting in one of India's most acrimonious elections in decades entered its final day on May 19 as Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrambled to hang on to his overall majority.

Indians have begun voting in the first phase of a general election that is being seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reported BBC. 

Tens of millions of Indians across 20 states and union territories are voting in 91 constituencies.

The seven-phase vote to elect a new lower house of parliament will continue until 19 May. Counting day is 23 May.

Indians began voting on April 11in the first phase of a mammoth general election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi gunning for a second term having campaigned strongly on his national security record following a flare-up in tensions with Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today, dedicated to the nation a 182-metre statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, believed to be the tallest in the world and said it will be a reminder about the courage of a man who thwarted efforts to disintegrate India.

AFP - Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in India on Thursday looking to tie up billions of dollars in arms deals with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likely irking the US, China and Pakistan in one fell swoop.

BY OMER FAROOQ, Associated Press

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — A bus carrying pilgrims from a Hindu temple in the hills of south India plunged off a road Tuesday, killing at least 55 people including four children, officials said. At least 33 others were injured.

AFP - The world's biggest statue is rising in a remote corner of India to honour an independence hero but it could quickly be outdone by a monument to a Hindu warrior king in the sea off Mumbai.

In a burst of nationalist fervour, around one billion dollars is being spent on the two giant effigies, each more than twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty.

Initiated with a proposition by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, June 21 was proclaimed International Yoga Day by the United Nations on Dec. 11, 2014. The aim of worldwide recognition was to primarily raise awareness on the benefits of yoga.

NEW DELHI: World Environment Day is the United Nations' (UN) most important day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment. Since it began in 1974, it has grown to become a global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated in over 100 countries. World Environment Day is the "people's day" for doing something to take care of the Earth.