-PTI Indians' money in Swiss banks may have risen for the first time in five years, but they account for a meagre 0.14 per cent of total foreign wealth deposited there — putting India at 55th place internationally for such funds.  The total overseas funds in Switzerland's banking system stood at 1.53 trillion Swiss francs (about Rs 90 trillion) at the end of 2011, which included 2.18 billion Swiss francs (Rs 12,700...

The Union home ministry has identified bureaucrats who are being “cultivated” by foreign intelligence operatives to push their agenda through the granting of personal favours, such as courses in foreign universities. In a strongly worded note to all secretaries of the Union government, home secretary RK Singh has asked heads of departments to restrain bureaucrats from hobnobbing with foreign embassies in India. While promising to take action against officials who have been...

-PTI A day after home minister P Chidambram said there was "some ulterior motive" behind continued protest against Kudankulam nuclear plant despite government assurance, convener of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy SP Udayakumar said the protesters were "ready" for talks. "We are ready for talks. If we are considered people of this country and if our ahimsa protest is respected, government should talk to us. They should treat us like Indian...

-IANS   Custodial killings, police abuse including torture, and failure to implement policies aimed at protecting vulnerable communities marred India's record in 2011, according to the Human Rights Watch World Report. The global report released on Monday pointed out that immunity for abuses committed by security forces also continued, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, the northeast, and areas facing Maoist insurgency. However, the report found that killings by the Border Security Force (BSF)...

While the government may be finding it difficult to get its FDI in multi-brand retail pass the test of Parliament, India Inc has been pledging huge investments in wholesale and retail trade abroad, including in countries like the US and the UK.   In the 2010-11 fiscal, investments of Indian companies in wholesale and retail trade overseas went up 78% as compared to the previous year - up from $1,052 million in...