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☆ Protecting women from deceitful men or criminalizing break-ups? A new law in India stirs debate
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-10 | by ( Samra Zulfaqar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But the new law has also provoked questions about how it will be applied, whether it can effectively protect women from sexual exploitation and whether it risks criminalizing break-ups. Audrey Dmello, director of Majlis Law, a women’s rights NGO in India, supports the new law. She argues “promise to marry” rape cases are under-reported and needed to be tackled through legislation. “Having such a law gives women validity as to what happened to them,” she told CNN. Potential concernsThe new law distinguishes “promise to marry” cases from rape – but some lawyers say the parameters are still vague.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, Audrey Dmello, “, ”, Burhaan Kinu, he’d, Tanvir Siddiki, ’, Gopal Krishna, Siddiki, Durjoy Biswas, Vanshika Bhattad Organizations: CNN, Hindustan Times, “ Locations: India, New Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Varanasi, “, Mumbai, Kolkata, West Bengal, Delhi

☆ Environmental Prize Highlights Work to Keep Fossil Fuels at Bay
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Delger Erdenesanaa | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New coal mines continue to open each year, and oil and gas companies are still exploring new parts of the world. But increasingly, people — especially Indigenous communities — are saying no to new fossil fuel developments on their land and using courts and legislatures to deliver the message. In India, protests by Adivasi communities persuaded officials to cancel the auction of land for coal mines in the biodiverse forests of Chhattisgarh State. On Monday, leaders of these and other grass-roots environmental movements, spanning six countries, won the Goldman Environmental Prize. “One of the things we’ve seen in recent years is that environmental law, protection of natural resources, has become intertwined with human rights law and the law of Indigenous people,” said Michael Sutton, an environmental lawyer and the executive director of the Goldman Environmental Foundation.

Persons: ”, Michael Sutton Organizations: Shell Global, Goldman, Goldman Environmental Foundation Locations: India, Chhattisgarh State, South Africa, Australia, Queensland

☆ Ayodhya temple: India’s Narenda Modi hails a new ‘divine India’ as he inaugurates Ram Mandir ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Helen Regan | Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

By moving ahead of building the temple, now we all take the oath of building a national, capable, successful, beautiful, and divine India,” Modi said. His promise to build the Ram Mandir helped spur that initial election success. A devotee gets anoint the name of Lord Ram on his forehead ahead of the Inauguration of the Ram Mandir Temple on January 20, 2024 in Ayodhya, India. Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images“I have come here to seek blessings from Lord Ram and Sita, I am very happy today,” she said. “I have come here to seek blessing from Lord Ram, Modi has done so much,” he said.

Persons: Narendra Modi’s, Lord Ram –, Ram, ” Modi, “ Ram, Modi, Lord Ram, Rafiq Maqbool, Pran Pratishtha, Mohan Bhagwat, ”, Yogi Adityanath, Acharya Mohanjodaro Bharadwaj, Babar, Money Sharma, Maulana Badshah Khan, “, ” Khan, weaponizing, Modi “, Modi fasted, Rajesh Kumar Singh, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Chandravanshi, Ritesh Shukla, Sita, Lal Singh Khushwa Organizations: CNN, “, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Getty, Human Rights, AP, YouTube Locations: India, India’s Ayodhya, Babri, Ayodhya, Vedika, India's, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, New York, Square, South Asia, Sarayu, New India, US, Tamil Nadu, “, Chhattisgarh

☆ In boost for Modi, India's ruling BJP sweeps polls in three states
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Narendra Modi, India's prime minister, arrives at the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023. India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party won three crucial state elections and unseated the opposition in two of them, strengthening Modi's bid for a third term in office. India's ruling nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, on Sunday won regional votes in three out of four major states, in a big boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of a national election due by May. BJP comfortably won Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh from the main opposition Congress and retained Madhya Pradesh, vote-counting data from the independent election panel showed. But the alliance did not feature in the state polls due to internal rivalries and it was a direct contest between BJP and Congress.

Persons: Narendra Modi, India's, Modi Organizations: Bhartiya Janata Party, BJP, Bharatiya Janata Party, Sunday, Congress Locations: New Delhi, India, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana

"After these results, it looks like there is no stopping Modi," said Yashwant Deshmukh, poll expert with C-Voter agency, adding that stopping Modi would be a "herculean task". The BJP won the regional votes in three of four major states, including central Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh which were ruled by Congress. One of the challenges facing the opposition are the factious ties within the INDIA alliance. Congress refused to share seats in state polls with key regional ally the Samajwadi Party. "The future of the alliance is good if the Congress party works on it with full commitment," he said.

Persons: India's, Narendra Modi, of Home Affairs Amit Shah, Narendra Modi's, Modi, Yashwant Deshmukh, Rahul Gandhi, Manish Tewari, Manoj Kaka, Gandhi, Baijayant Panda, Saurabh Sharma, Miral Organizations: Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian, Union, of Home Affairs, Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, Voter, Congress, Reuters, Samajwadi Party, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, DELHI, Britain, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, INDIA, Lucknow

The ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tightened its grip over India’s populous northern belt, results of state elections showed Sunday, expanding its dominance of a key region ahead of general elections in which Mr. Modi is seeking a third term. The party, which ruled for a majority of India’s history as a republic, has struggled to claw its way back after Mr. Modi rose to national power in 2014. The Congress party was hoping to use the state elections to build momentum for national elections next spring, but instead lost all three states in which it was pitted against Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P. The only victory for Congress came against a smaller regional party in Telangana, in India’s south, where Mr. Modi’s Hindu nationalist politics has faced resistance. The results of elections in a smaller fifth state, Mizoram, are expected on Monday, but the race there is between two smaller regional parties.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Modi’s Organizations: Indian National Congress, Mr, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress Locations: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana, India’s, Mizoram

"We always said we will win the heartland states," BJP President Jagat Prakash Nadda told Reuters. However, a 28-party opposition alliance led by the Congress party has come together to jointly fight BJP, posing a new challenge. But the alliance did not feature in the state polls due to internal rivalries and it was a direct contest between BJP and Congress. Politicians and analysts say state elections do not always influence the outcome of the general elections or accurately indicate national voter mood. Results of the last round of state elections before national elections have been misleading in the past.

Persons: Stringer, Narendra Modi, Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Gandhi, Supriya Shrinate, Gurmeet Chadha, Ira Dugal, Lincoln, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, DELHI, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Telangana, Reuters, Developmental, Congress, Thomson Locations: Madhya Pradesh, Indore, India, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Karnataka, Mizoram, Mumbai

☆ India's Nifty 50 hits all-time high after upbeat growth data
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) rose as much as 0.52% to 20,238.45, a new record high, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) was up 0.44% at 67,286.16, as of 9:35 a.m. IST. "India's growth outlook remains positive, with various capex initiatives of the government likely to trigger consumption at the bottom of the pyramid," Pramod Gubbi, founder of Marcellus Investment Management, said. India's Nifty and Sensex posted their best month in 2023 in November, aided by the return on foreign portfolio investor (FPI) inflows. India's general elections are due early next year. Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Mrigank DhaniwalaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Francis Mascarenhas, Gubbi, India's, Sensex, Madhavi Arora, Bharath Rajeswaran, Sonia Cheema Organizations: National Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, NSE, BSE, Reuters, Reserve Bank, Marcellus Investment Management, Wall, Dow Jones, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Indian National Congress, Emkay Global Financial Services, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, U.S, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Bengaluru

☆ India's ruling BJP, opposition Congress in tight race to win state elections-exit polls
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Three of the five states in contention have witnessed a tough battle between Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party. BJP has been in power in one of the states, Congress in two, and regional parties in the remaining two. At least nine exit polls predicted Congress party's victory in mineral-rich Chattisgarh and Telangana state. A regional party was set to win again in the northeastern state of Mizoram, according to two exit polls. Politicians and analysts also note that state elections do not always influence the outcome of the general elections or indicate national voter mood.

Persons: Stringer, Narendra Modi's, Rupam, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, India Today, Thomson Locations: Rajasthan, Ajmer, India, DELHI, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram

☆ India set to miss divestment targets by more than half this year - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Nikunj Ohri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The government may fall short of its divestment goal by 300 billion rupees ($3.60 billion) in 2023/24, two government sources told Reuters. New Delhi had targeted 510 billion rupees from divestment proceeds for the current fiscal year that ends March, 2024. So far this year, the government has received 80 billion rupees through stake sales, according to government data. The government expects to surpass its 430 billion rupees dividend target and has so far received 203 billion rupees from state-run firms. "As long as the government is meeting its fiscal targets and there isn't a shortfall, missing divestment targets is fine," said Rahul Bajoria, an economist at Barclays Investment Bank.

Persons: Niharika Kulkarni, Narendra Modi's, Subhash Chandra Garg, Rahul Bajoria, Nikunj Ohri, Sam Holmes Organizations: IDBI, REUTERS, Reuters, IDBI Bank, NMDC Steel, Reserve Bank of India, NMDC, Barclays Investment Bank, Thomson Locations: Mumbai, India, DELHI, New Delhi, Chhattisgarh

☆ Indian states vote in key test for Modi and rivals ahead of 2024 general election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Rupam Jain | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends an Innovation conference with Israeli and Indian CEOs in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 6, 2017. Modi and leaders of the main opposition Congress party headed by Rahul Gandhi have criss-crossed the five states, addressing campaign rallies and promising cash doles, farm loan waivers, subsidies and insurance covers, among others, to woo voters. But surveys suggest Modi remains popular after a decade in power and will likely win a third term. Votes in all five states will be counted on Dec. 3 and results expected the same day. The elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram states are mainly a contest between BJP and Congress.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Oded, Narendra Modi's, Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Gandhi, Raman Singh, Singh, Sachin, YP Rajesh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Indian, REUTERS, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, Developmental Inclusive, BJP, Congress, Reuters, YP, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, DELHI, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram

☆ Indian States Vote in Key Test for Modi and Rivals Ahead of 2024 General Election
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Rupam JainNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Two of five Indian states due to elect new legislatures this month began voting on Tuesday, a big test of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chances of winning a third term in a national election due by May. Modi and leaders of the main opposition Congress party headed by Rahul Gandhi have criss-crossed the five states, addressing campaign rallies and promising cash doles, farm loan waivers, subsidies and insurance covers, among others, to woo voters. But surveys suggest Modi remains popular after a decade in power and will likely win a third term. Votes in all five states will be counted on Dec. 3 and results expected the same day. The elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram states are mainly a contest between BJP and Congress.

Persons: Narendra Modi's, Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Gandhi, Raman Singh, Singh, Sachin, YP Rajesh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: DELHI, Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, Developmental Inclusive, BJP, Congress, Reuters, YP Locations: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram

☆ India to extend free food grains programme by five years, says Modi
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMUMBAI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - India is planning to extend its free food grains programme by five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, as the government tries to shield consumers from rising prices of cereals ahead of a general election early next year. The grains programme, estimated to cost the government around 2 trillion rupees ($24.06 billion) this year, was due to expire at the end of the year. India, the world's second-largest producer of wheat and rice, has restricted exports of both cereals to curb rising prices at home. Global rice prices jumped to a 15-year high after India, the world's biggest rice exporter that accounts for more than 40% of global rice exports, curbed exports of non-basmati rice varieties in July. India last year banned wheat exports in a surprise move after a heat wave curtailed output.

Persons: Amit Dave, Narendra Modi, Modi, Rajendra Jadhav, Clelia Organizations: Agriculture, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Ahmedabad, India, Rights MUMBAI, New Delhi, Durg, Chhattisgarh, Mumbai, Delhi

☆ Column: India's coal emissions set for new highs on low-grade imports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Gavin Maguire | Thomson Reuters | Gavin Maguire Is The Global Energy Transition Columnist. He Was Previously Asia Commodities | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Roughly 80% of India's thermal coal imports over the first half of 2023 came from Indonesia, South Africa and Russia, known for primarily exporting low-quality thermal coal which emits CO2 and sulphur dioxide when burned in power stations. India thermal coal imports from key supplierAround 7% of India's thermal imports came from Australia, supplier of some of the cleanest-burning coal on world markets. IMPORT SWINGSIndonesia has long been India's dominant supplier of energy coal, providing an average of 60% of the country's total thermal coal imports from 2017 through 2020, data from Kpler shows. That resulted in a rebound in India's total coal imports over the opening half of 2023 from the latter months of 2022. However, cost-sensitive power producers in India have prioritised ensuring coal supply over lowering coal-fired emissions, resulting in a deterioration in India's coal-fired power sector efficiency and a continuing climb in emissions.

Persons: Amit Dave, Ember, Gavin Maguire, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Indian, Ahmedabad, LITTLETON , Colorado, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia, India, Australia, China, Ukraine, New Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, South Asia

The government said it was imposing the ban after retail rice prices climbed 3% in a month as late monsoon rains damaged crops. While a late monsoon caused a major shortfall of rain up to mid-June, heavy rains since have caused significant damage. India accounts for more than 40% of world rice exports but low inventories mean any cut in shipments will fuel food prices driven up by Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year and erratic weather. His administration has extended a ban on wheat exports after curbing rice shipments in September 2022. "India would disrupt the global rice market with far greater velocity than Ukraine did in the wheat market with Russia's invasion," B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the Rice Exporters Association told Reuters.

Persons: Rice, Narendra Modi, Krishna Rao, Rao, El, Michael Hogan, Jan Harvey, David Evans, Conor Humphries Organizations: Rice, Association, Reuters, El, Farmers, El Nino, Thomson Locations: India, Ukraine, DELHI, Asia, Thailand, Vietnam, New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rice, West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, China, Philippines, Hamburg

☆ Why Indian farmers worry despite 'average' monsoon rains
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Rajendra Jadhav | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

While average monsoon rains are ordinarily good for Indian farmers, uneven distribution this year has created new worries. ERRATIC DISTRIBUTIONSome northern and north-western states have received excessive rains, while southern and eastern regions have been unusually dry. Only a third of the country has received average rainfall so far this season, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data. Meanwhile, about 34% of India has received deficient rains and 32% excessive rainfall, the data shows. Heavy rainfall has damaged newly planted rice crops in northern states such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and many farmers may have to replant.

Persons: El, Rajendra Jadhav, Tony Munroe, Tom Hogue Organizations: India Meteorological Department, Reuters, Farmers, El Nino, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, India, El Nino, Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, New Delhi, rapeseed

The current National Pension Scheme requires employees to contribute 10% of their basic salary and the government 14%. But, "we will not go back to the old pension system," said one senior government official. This compromise, the government believes, will assuage the concerns of states that went back to the old pension system and cover the whole country with one fiscally sustainable pension scheme, both the sources said. Recently, states including Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab have opted to move back to the old pension system. Reuters GraphicsThe government officials said that the amended pension scheme will not stress the budget math as much.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Aftab Ahmed, Nikunj, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Reuters, Pensions, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab

☆ An Indian official ordered an entire reservoir drained to find his phone after he dropped it taking a selfie
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An Indian official was suspended after he drained an essential reservoir to find his phone. Rajesh Vishwas was taking a selfie when he dropped the phone in the water, the BBC reported. Rajesh Vishwas, a food inspector, was taking a selfie when he dropped his cell phone into the Kherkatta Dam in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh last weekend, according to BBC News. The official has since been suspended from his position, the BBC reported, after he was criticized for exploiting his position and wasting water. Vishwas denied "misusing" his position, saying the drained water was from an overflow section of the dam and was not "in usable condition."

☆ Indian Official Who Drained a Reservoir to Retrieve His Phone Is Suspended
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Sameer Yasir | Mike Ives | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Say you drop your brand-new smartphone into a reservoir while posing for a selfie during a picnic. Would you consider it lost and buy a replacement, or drain the reservoir to retrieve it? An Indian official who chose the latter option has been suspended from his job. Initially, some villagers he knew spent two days diving in the reservoir in an attempt to retrieve the phone, Mr. Vishwas told The Indian Express newspaper. So he rented a diesel pump and drained about three feet of water over another two days — by some estimates, enough to irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland.

☆ India's opposition Congress gains key foothold with state election win
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At the same time, they cautioned that Congress' victory on Saturday in Karnataka state, home to the booming tech hub of Bengaluru, was largely due to local factors. The party has won just one state election since December 2018, crumbling under the onslaught of the BJP's Hindu nationalism, the government's generous social spending, Modi's popularity, and its own leadership vacuum. "This is an amazing beginning," said Rajeev Gowda, the head of research at Congress and a former federal lawmaker. "We need to adapt these learnings to every election-going state in 2023 and more importantly to parliamentary elections next year," he said. Asked by the India Today-Axis poll how they would vote if the Karnataka election had been a national election instead, 10% of the respondents shifted to Modi, enough to overturn the result.

☆ Analysis: India's opposition Congress gains key foothold with state election win
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

New Delhi CNN —Ten policemen and a civilian were killed in blast as they were returning from an operation against insurgents in India’s central Chhattisgarh state, its chief minister said Wednesday. Rebel Maoist militants are believed to be responsible for the attack, Bhupesh Baghel told reporters, expressing his grief over the deaths. More than 2,100 civilians in India have been killed in the Maoist insurgency since 2010. In 2017, 25 police officers were killed and six others injured when hundreds of suspected Maoist rebels attacked a convoy in central India. Suspected Maoists also struck during India’s elections in 2019, allegedly gunning down a polling supervisor in the eastern state of Odisha.

☆ Indian shares set to open higher on improved risk sentiment
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Bharath Rajeswaran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, March 6 (Reuters) - Indian shares are set to open higher on Monday after strong economic data from the United States and investment in the Adani group of companies boosted risk appetite. Indian shares logged weekly gains on Friday after U.S. boutique investment firm GQG Partners' $1.87 billion investments in Adani group stocks spurred a broad-based rally and improved risk sentiment. ** Info Edge (INED.NS): Co's unit to invest 52 mln rupees in Sploot, a platform for pet parenting. ** Kansai Nerolac (KANE.NS): Co approves acquisition of 40% of total shareholding of Nerofix from Polygel for 370 mln rupees. ($1 = 81.6800 Indian rupees)Reporting by Bharath Rajeswaran in Bengaluru; Editing by Eileen SorengOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ No spending spree likely in last full Indian budget before 2024 election: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Vivek Mishra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BENGALURU, Dec 22 (Reuters) - The Indian government will focus on fiscal consolidation in its Feb. 1 budget, the last full one before a 2024 general election, according to a Reuters poll of economists who said slowing economic growth would limit it from spending more. That will likely limit the government's ability to provide relief to households and businesses facing an uneven recovery from the pandemic. Economic growth likely slowed sharply to an annual 4.6% in the December quarter from 6.3% reported in the preceding quarter. Sitharaman's expected fiscal prudence coincides with state assembly elections in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in 2023, which would likely discourage the government from making deep cuts to social welfare. Among those who expect it to be a more populist budget, some said the government would announce new subsidies, an increase in healthcare and rural spending to boost jobs.

☆ In Indian village, residents take to YouTube to fulfil their Bollywood dreams
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Sunil Kataria | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TULSI, India Oct 21 (Reuters) - A man sporting a black cap and pink T-shirt sits on a bullock cart, pile of grass behind him, and busts a rhyme to a camera while riding across the dusty streets of India's Tulsi village. The hip-hop video is just one of many home-grown, Bollywood-inspired productions being created for the village's flagship YouTube channel, which boasts nearly 120,000 subscribers and has more than 200 uploaded videos. They now produce two to three videos a month, from slapstick comedy and action dramas to educational shorts and music videos. But for some, the channel is an opportunity to dream big -- well beyond the confines of the small village. "We want the entire world to know us, not just India," said Verma, 30.

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