There is a story that is commonly told in Britain that the colonisation of India - as horrible as it may have been - was not of any major economic benefit to Britain itself. If anything, the administration of India was a cost to Britain. So the fact that the empire was sustained for so long - the story goes - was a gesture of Britain's benevolence.

On the heels of Spotify’s recent announcement that it’s launching in 13 new markets in the Middle East and North Africa, bringing its service to 78 markets in total, Variety has learned that a launch in India is expected as soon as the next six months and will offer an extended free trial period — longer than the 30 days of full-access Spotify offered in Vietnam and South Africa earlier this year. According to Sweden’s Di Digital, plans to buy an Indian competitor have failed to materialize, so Spotify will enter the market of more than 1 billion on its own.

One of the most hotly debated proposals in the FY 2020 budget cycle is likely to be the creation of a military service for space. One of the main arguments being made against the creation of a Space Force is the cost. In September, an internal Air Force memo leaked to the media estimated that cost at $13 billion — an eye-popping figure, if true. But missed in this headline were some important caveats, namely that this was a five-year cost estimate and it included a lot more than just a Space Force, such as a billion-dollar new headquarters building for U.S. Space Command.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bengaluru will send an orbiter to Venus in 2023 and has invited scientists from around the world to submit proposals for instruments to carry along. The plan, which will include a balloon dropped into the planet’s atmosphere, has received a warm welcome from Venus scientists, many of whom feel that, compared with the moon and Mars, their planet has received short shrift in the past 2 decades.

Indian media has identified the man as either an

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan says he has cleared farmers' loans worth more than than 40m rupees ($560,000; £436,000). He wrote on his blog on Tuesday that he had "taken care" of 1,398 farmers by paying off their debt, adding that he felt a "sense of accomplishment". All of the farmers are from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Bachchan was born.

Delhi's rickshaw pullers say they don't contribute to air pollution, but are still the worst affected.

Ikea has come up with a plan to help some of the world's most polluted cities breathe easier. The global furniture giant will start making products out of agricultural waste in India, meaning farmers no longer have to burn it. The initiative, called "Better Air Now," will provide Indian farmers with a use for unwanted rice straw, which is often burned. Smoke from the fires is one of the major contributors to northern India's pollution crisis.

For nearly a month, a 41-year-old defence analyst has been in prison for posting satirical tweets.

New target is likely to be 30% reduction in five years, short of goals previously proposed by environment minister.

India revived an order that blocks pornographic websites, but users are working around it.

Ashish Kulkarni, 36, still remembers. In 2006, newly-married and in his first job, he bought his first car — a Hyundai Santro. It was a step-up. “We both love driving. We were excited,” he says, referring to his wife Swathi. The Santro made their daily commute comfortable in Bengaluru. In 2018, some things have changed and some remain the same. He is older and richer, father of two children and remains passionate about driving.

An Air India pilot flew a Boeing 737 through a brick wall Friday. Incredibly, that marked the beginning of its journey and not the end. The jet not only clobbered the top of a five-foot perimeter wall but also destroyed a small landing guide tower as it climbed out of Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu, India, shortly after midnight, the Times of India reported.

Grief-stricken after his daughter’s death, the chief of Piplantri village declared that every newborn girl would have a tree planted in her honour. In the process, he sowed the seeds of cultural, environmental and political revolution. Shyam Sunder Paliwal knows his way through the trees. Pushing through low branches, he reaches a shady copse where a profusion of different varieties grow. Every evening, he comes here on his motorbike to see one tree in particular...

The caste system in India has been a bane of the society ever since its inception. And while the world may be moving on a modern path, there still are horrific episodes reported of clashes between upper and lower castes. In the Khetalpur Bhansoli village of Uttar Pradesh, with a population of as much as 3,500,about 30% of them are Dalits. There have admitted to frequent fights with upper castes in the village. In one such incident, a pregnant woman was killed in this village for 'defiling' a bucket of a woman from the upper caste, reported the Indian Express.

On the slopes of the Himalayas, workers at the world’s first biodynamic tea farm wait patiently until the planets align to pick India’s most expensive tea.

India, the world's third largest oil importer, says it abides by sanctions imposed by the United Nations, but not those of other countries.

India agreed a deal with Russia to buy S-400 surface to air missile systems on Friday, the two sides said, as New Delhi disregarded U.S. warnings that such a purchase could trigger sanctions under U.S. law. Although there was no public signing, the deal was sealed during President Vladimir Putin's ongoing visit to New Delhi for an annual summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India and Russia today signed a pact to build six more nuclear reactors at a new site in India following summit talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The two leaders also agreed to cooperate on India's plan for a manned space mission. Russian state-owned reactor manufacturer Rosatom said in a statement that the two countries want to build six Russian-design nuclear reactors on a new site in India, boost nuclear cooperation in third countries and new nuclear technologies and are considering building nuclear plants together.

Twenty-four people were arrested for allegedly duping customers of Microsoft by impersonating as the company's tech support experts, police said Friday. Based on a complaint filed by a representative of Microsoft India, Nripendra Kashyap, a case was registered in the Cyber Crime Cell, they said. In his complaint, Mr Kashyap alleged that numerous illegal Delhi-based call centres...