Tensions between China and India over their Himalayan border have escalated, with China accused of moving thousands of troops into disputed territory and expanding a military airbase in the disputed region along the eastern Ladakh border, news wires reported.

India’s antitrust body is looking into allegations that Alphabet Inc’s Google is abusing its market position to unfairly promote its mobile payments app in the country, five sources familiar with the case told Reuters. The complaint was reportedly filed in February and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has kept the identity of the complainant confidential, the first source with direct knowledge of the case said.

India’s central bank on Friday cut its key interest rate to 4% to counter the blow to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic and a lockdown meant to contain it.Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das forecast that the economy will contract in fiscal 2020-21. He did not give a specific figure.

A strong cyclone blew heavy rains and strong winds into coastal India and Bangladesh on Wednesday after more than 2.6 million people were moved to shelters in a frantic evacuation made more challenging by coronavirus.

People in the northern Indian state of Punjab shared in the social media on Friday impressive images of the snow-capped Himalayan mountain range, which is now visible from more than 200 kilometres away due to the reduction in air pollution caused by the country's coronavirus lockdown.

India's billion-plus population went into a three-week lockdown on Wednesday, with a third of the world now under orders to stay indoors, as US politicians agreed to spend $2trn to counter the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic.

The President of the United States Donald Trump failed on Tuesday to strike a trade deal with India at the end of his two-day visit, which was big on photo opportunities but short on substance and overshadowed by deadly riots. Speaking at the end of a short tour that saw him hold hands at the Taj Mahal with First Lady Melania and address a huge rally, Trump said only that they had made "tremendous progress" towards an accord - a statement later repeated by White House's press service.

Hundreds of protests have broken out in Indian-administered Kashmir since New Delhi stripped the region of its autonomy and imposed a military clampdown more than three weeks ago, a senior government official has told the AFP news agency.

The Indian government on Monday revoked Kashmir's special status, stripping the significant autonomy it has enjoyed for seven decades in a move expected to further inflame tensions in the Muslim-majority region and infuriate rival Pakistan.

Indians are voting in the third phase of the general elections with campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party and the opposition marred by bitter accusations and acrimony. The voting for 117 parliamentary seats in 13 states and two Union Territories on Tuesday means polls are half done for 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament.