Inia has just voted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into power in a big way, putting Narendra Modi in office as prime minister. Modi is a pragmatist, focused on economic growth and good governance. But he's also a polarizing figure, under whose watch bloody Hindu-Muslims riots occured in 2002 in Gujarat -- leading the United States to deny him a visa in 2005. Although Modi has been exonerated by the Indian legal system, his past, coupled with concerns among the Indian and global human rights community, presents challenges for U.S. engagement. But the U.S.

Since January 2012, Dr Manmohan Singh, the outgoing prime minister of India, has regaled the 1.24 million followers of the prime minister’s official account on Twitter with blurry photographs, links to turgid Press Information Bureau releases, and festive tidings. No more.
 

The outcome of India's national election — a resounding triumph for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party — has put the United States in an awkward position. The BJP's Narendra Modi will soon be India's prime minister. In 2005, Washington revoked his U.S. visa, citing a law banning visits by foreign officials responsible for egregious violations of religious freedom. 

Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who swept the country’s election results on Friday, has started to appear decidedly more prime ministerial by the day. Over the past few days, he has taken to Twitter to thank foreign leaders for their support, but the order in which he thanked them and one notable omission, later rectified, was more interesting than the content of the tweets themselves.

The BJP clean sweep at the national elections found an echo on Twitter. On counting day Narendra Modi began with 39.87 lakh followers and ended with 40.92 lakh, breaking a record of sorts in the number of followers on Twitter any individual has pulled in on a given day. The tally now stands well over 41.1 lakh.This may have much to do with the BJP's early debut on Twitter and the effective use of social media that went towards building the sort of marketing campaign rarely seen in Indian politics.

The conference, “Sharing Experiences and Developing Regional Hazard and Risk Picture for Joint Action Plan,” comprised of five thematic sessions during which participants gathered to develop a regional risk picture for informed and resilient development planning through disaster risk reduction mainstreaming for contingency planning.  The event, organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), was attended by representatives from Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey.

India's national election, which wrapped up this week, has divided Bollywood along political lines more sharply than any other race in years.  In the past month, Bollywood stars have taken to public forums and Twitter to show support for their preferred candidates or criticize their opponents. 

India is planning a year-long soft power push in more than a dozen Chinese cities by bringing classical dance troupes, Indian food festivals, first ever Bollywood events in China and even a social media campaign in an attempt to raise the country’s cultural profile, especially among younger Chinese.  “The effort will be India’s biggest ever attempt to reach out directly to the Chinese public,” Ambassador to China Ashok Kantha, who took over as the envoy here in January, told The Hindu.