The government, however, dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people, saying it 'has no concrete basis or truth associated with it whatsoever'.
India's answer to China's 'string of pearls' in Asia, particularly South Asia, is its own 'necklace of diamonds', reports Aziz Haniffa
Ambassador Natarajan Krishnan and Ambassador Shankar Bajpai helped shape Indian foreign policy at a glorious, but difficult, time in history, recalls Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Since 2016, when India was officially recognised in US law as a 'major defence partner', Washington has purposefully upgraded the defence relationship.
Here are some of the best moments from the 'event-of-a-lifetime.
The government of India in welcoming the new United States ambassador to India, erstwhile India and South Asia hand, Nancy J Powell, has said that while India would not be new to her, it would not be the same either, considering the transformational changes India has undergone.
Biden on Friday opened the first Quad Leaders' Summit held virtually and attended by Prime Minister Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
With a United States jury handing down a guilty verdict in the trial of Dharun Ravi who secretly filmed his gay roommate's sexual encounter, Indian-Americans in Washington have launched a White House petition campaign, saying the boy been robbed of one of the most fundamental rights: "presumption of innocence".
India and United States are now natural allies and New Delhi sees Washington as an important partner in its journey of inclusive social and economic development, a top Indian diplomat has said.
She will replace controversial Brett Kavanaugh who endured a bitter confirmation battle last year after President Donald Trump named him to the US Supreme Court.
'While many Chinese policy makers dismiss the political, economic and technological component of US-India relations, they express caution on the defence-related ties which also happens to be a major driver in US-India relations,' explains China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
Called the US Citizenship Act of 2021, the legislation modernises the immigration system, and also proposes to eliminate the per country cap for employment-based green cards, a move that would benefit thousands of Indian IT professionals whose current wait period for legal permanent residency runs into several decades.
The US on Friday issued orders to ban popular Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat from Sunday to safeguard national security, weeks after India banned them, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.
Modi, upon arrival, was received by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pointed out that Washington's current difficulties with Islamabad are nothing new and a repeat of earlier disagreements.
'You'll see during the course of this visit, we'll have some important deliverables to announce in the area of energy and climate change,' US Assistant Secretary of State Robert O Blake on the prime minister's journey to Washington, DC next week.
'Vaccination is the only safe way to get immunity.'
Yeah, it's possible! These are scientifically proven ways. Read on.
In a report card assessing the progress on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament in 2009-2010, the independent Arms Control Association headquartered in Washington, DC, has given India an overall C+ grade on an A through F scale. The association rates the performance of 11 key states in 10 universally-recognised categories of nonproliferation, disarmament and nuclear security.
Inderfurth, currently professor of international relations at George Washington University and, according to insiders, either the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the next administration or the next United States ambassador to India, says too much is being read into Obama's recent remarks on Kashmir.
Hillary Clinton has surged ahead of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential race, two new opinion polls showed on Monday, as the Democratic presumptive nominee capitalised on the controversial Republican leader's recent campaign missteps.
Mourning the death of Richard Holbrooke, the United States special envoy to Af-Pak region, President Barack Obama on Tuesday described him as one of the true giants of American foreign policy who has made the country stronger, safer and more respected.
Incumbent Ambassador to Paris Arun Singh is likely to replace Jaishankar as India's Ambassador to the United States.
'They are starting to move more quickly and we would just like to continue to see bold action being taken.'
'This election might be the most significant for the community and indicates the possibility of greater engagement.'
It is difficult to recall an Indian minister in modern times pushing back at the US publicly, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
She will replace US Supreme Court Judge Justice Brett Kavanaugh who was nominated by President Donald Trump for the top post.
The expert noted that in India the pandemic is unlikely to be over in the months to come, and the number of people getting infected will continue to rise.
Scientists have found the first evidence that briny water may flow on the surface of Mars during the planet's summer months.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump should not be elected as the next United States president as he is "unfit" for the post and makes "crude generalisations" about nations and religions, Washington Post and New York Times said in their editorials.
The US appears to be on track to see over 160 million votes cast in the 2020 presidential election, a turnout rate of about 67 per cent, which is higher than what the country has witnessed in more than a century, as President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned through the final day to get more voters to the polling booths.
Strategic consideration were the reasons behind frequent meetings between United States President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese state-run media said on Wednesday and cautioned India that it cannot rise by "containing" China or picking one side against the other.
Manisha Singh, an erstwhile senior staffer of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a former political appointee during the George Bush Administration, has landed a top job as the executive director of the Barer Institute based at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle.
While the denial rate has dropped slightly to 21 per cent in 2019 from 24 per cent in 2018, the National Foundation for American Policy has said it is much higher for Indian IT companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Wipro and very low for American companies like Amazon and Google. For instance, the denial rate for TCS and Infosys in 2019 was 31 per cent and 35 per cent respectively, whereas for Wipro it was 47 per cent and 37 per cent for Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, the denial rate for the new H-1B petitions in 2019 was just four per cent each for Amazon and Google. The denial rate for Microsoft during the same period was six per cent, and Facebook along with Walmart was just three per cent each.
While the US government did not reveal the nationality of the arrested people, names released by authorities indicate that 10 of them are either Indians or of Indian-origin.
Floyd's death has triggered nationwide violent protests with a section of the protesters resorting to looting and rioting across the country, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Pakistan's envoy to the United States Husain Haqqani argued: "First of all, let us understand one thing -- a Pakistani court had ordered the release of Dr Khan. That does not mean that Dr Khan goes from house arrest and takes over the Pakistani nuclear programme again."
More than 2 million people have been diagnosed with coronavirus across the world, and the pharmaceutical industry is pulling out all stops to find potential treatments and vaccines for the global pandemic. According to the World Health Organization, there are now more than 70 potential vaccines under evelopment, with some already in clinical trials.
With just hours to go before the United States presidential election all eyes are turning stateside as Donald Trump seeks a second term in the White House and Democratic candidate Joe Biden campaigns to become America's 46th president. If you're struggling to wrap your head around the presidential election and how it compares to India, which competing parties will be vying for the White House, and how a winner is selected, scroll on for a comprehensive guide that details all there is to know about the upcoming elections.
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