India news: Protests cloud Modi's 25

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Below, you can review the top headlines from India from Wednesday, October 7:

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We're closing our coverage of news from India for today. We'll be back with more tomorrow morning. Thank you for joining us.

Ghana says will apply to join BRICS with India's support

Ghana's cabinet has approved a decision for the West African nation to formally apply to join the BRICS economic bloc, Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Wednesday.

The announcement came during a visit by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. India is one of the four original members of the bloc which has now grown to 11 nations.

Ablakwa said it had already sought India's support for its application.

"Joining India in BRICS will give us economic options, will diversify our base and our partnerships, and will also allow us to have more cooperation within the global south framework," he said.

Meanwhile, Jaishankar said India would support Ghana's aspirations but the final decision would require consideration by all member nations.

BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, and China in 2009 as a forum for emerging economies.

Cockroach party seek police permission for protest against election chief

Political pressure group the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday submitted a notice to the Delhi Police, formally informing them of the proposed protest on Saturday to demand the resignation of India's Chief Election Commissioner over allegations of bias and misconduct.

CJP co-convener Saurav Das visited the police station close to the Indian Parliament and addressed reporters after, saying: "We informed them that the 'Cockroach Janta Party' and the youth of the entire nation, all these 'cockroaches,' are set to gather at Jantar Mantar on October 10."

"We asked them to maintain law and order, cooperate with us and make necessary traffic arrangement," Das added, as quoted by the Times of India.

Jantar Mantar is an 18th century astronomical observatory in central Delhi, close to the Indian Parliament, Delhi Police Headquarters, Election Commission of India and other key buildings.

It is also a designated protest site which acted as the base of the recent youth protests in India which led to the ousterof Prime Minister Narendra Modi's former education minister.

'We will do it': PM Modi on India's development goal

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a rallying speech with a new slogan on Wednesday, at an event to mark the leader's 25 years as head of a government.

Speaking to an auditorium full of supporters in New Delhi, Modi expressed gratitude to the masses for keeping him in power for 25 years, claiming to have transformed India over the period.

"On 7 October 2001, when I took oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, I never imagined that this milestone would one day arrive," Modi said.

"Today, whatever I am, wherever I am, whatever responsibility I hold, the greatest contribution to it is that of the people — the masses. For me, the people — the masses — are the very form of God," he said.

Past the 18-minute mark of the speech which lasted for over an hour, Modi moved on from reminiscing about the past and outlined his hopes for the future.

Chants of 'jai shree Ram' — a slogan celebrating Hindu God Rama, which has turned political under Modi's party — rang in the background.

"The dream we are seeing today in 2026 of a developed India will surely come true. There is no reason for India to stop now. A hundred years ago, we were even less than 40 crore; today, we are more than 140 crore (1.4 billion). The 140 crore countrymen together will build a developed India by 2047, and we certainly will," Modi said.

"We will do it," he said in English, a rarity when Modi is addressing an Indian crowd.

Lunch and a letter to India's election chief

About 150-200 lawmakers from India's opposition are expected to convene at a restaurant in Delhi serving south Indian cuisine.

On invitation from Indian National Congress (INC) President Mallikarjun Kharge, the Members of Parliament (MPs) will be signing a letter requesting a meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner, news agency ANI reported.

This comes a day after Congress Leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra, their supporters and over 200 other MPs marched towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) to demand the same meeting. Police eventually blocked the demonstrators near the ECI and detained several of them, only to release them later.

In response to the protest, the ECI said "no political party, through its representatives, had sought an appointment for a meeting with the Election Commission," as of 4:00 p.m. local time. It also pointed to specific procedures laid down in 2025 to meet with political parties.

It further called the proposed venue of the meeting, the Parliament House Annexe, "unusual" and said any such meeting would only be held at the premises of the ECI.

Dangerously close to lunch time, this reporter is now wondering what the lawmakers will order.

WATCH — India's bride trafficking: women sold as commodities

Nargis was lured to Haryana with promises of a better future. Her husband paid less than $400 (€357) for her. Jameela continues to struggle with the effects of violence, exploitation, and social exclusion.

Their stories reflect the experiences of thousands of women brought from poorer regions of India to Haryana, where they live as paros, or "bought brides." A lucrative human trafficking trade has emerged around the practice. We follow survivors as they try to break free from dependency and discrimination, revealing how poverty, tradition, and criminal networks sustain a system that deprives women of their freedom.

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

India's central bank raises policy rate to counter inflation

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised the the key benchmark policy rate, for the first time in over three years, as it looked to control rising inflation amid the US-led war on Iran.

The repo rate, which guides the short-term lending rate for commercial banks, was raised by 25 basis points to 5.5%. The rate hike will make home loans, vehicle loans and corporate loans more expensive for borrowers. Even equated monthly installments would go up for existing borrowers.

With this, the RBI has shifted gears to join several central banks around the world looking to curb rising prices or boost their currencies. It has changed its stance to a "calibrated tightening," the report said.

"Driven by escalating energy costs and rising food prices, global inflation is projected to increase sharply prompting monetary policy tightening by major central Banks," RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in his opening remarks while announcing the rake hike.

He attributed the inflationary pressures to the "reescalation of the West Asia conflict in September and consequent hardening and volatility in global crude prices."

"Further tightening of global financial conditions, uncertainty about fair valuation of AI stocks, and an elusive resolution of the West Asia conflict pose significant downside risks to the global economic outlook," Malhotra said.

Nonetheless, the RBI governor said he expects India's "strong" economy to "remain resilient."

Apart from rising prices, the RBI's calculations likely involve the state of the Indian rupee which has been near record lows over the past week.

The central bank has rolled out a number of measures to attract dollar inflows to counter the rupee's fall but pressures from global investment outflows and crude prices persist.

Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Vadra booked by police a day after protests

Police authorities in Delhi have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against siblings Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra, along with their supporters, for allegedly forcibly entering the headquarters of All India Radio during the opposition's march against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The move was reported by news agency Press Trust of India.

Gandhi and Vadra are lawmakers and among Modi's biggest critics in the parliament.

As per the report, police received a complaint that the leaders, their supporters and other members of parliament entered the premises of the Akashvani Bhawan building without permission.

They did so after they were stopped near the Election Commission Office, continuing their protest as a sit-in to demand a meeting with the electoral body.

WATCH — How can India bring green technology inventions to market?

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Fewer than 3% of India's more than 800 climate-tech startups have progressed beyond the early-funding stage.

BJP marks 25 years of Modi as head of a government

India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched the culmination of a celebratory campaign — dubbed 'Seva Sankalp' — to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 25 years as head of a government.

On October 7, 2001, Modi was first sworn in as chief minister of the western state of Gujarat.

"As the head of the government, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's twenty-five years are a testament to service, dedication, good governance, and strong willpower," India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in a post on X.

Several politicians from the BJP echoed his sentiments, contratulating the premier on his service.

At the center of today's festivities is a bike rally. News agency ANI reported that participants loaded up on bikes arrived in the northern holy city of Varanasi from a different holy city of Tirupati in southern India.

"Covering 2000 km (1,242 miles) after visiting the Balaji temple in Andhra Pradesh, a team of 40 youths—who are also party office-bearers—undertook a journey," a local minister from the state of Uttar Pradesh said, adding that a temple would soon be built to mark the occasion.

Several states BJP-ruled states are organizing public gatherings where speeches by Modi and BJP party President Nitin Nabin would be telecast on giant screens.

The celebrations are reminiscent of another recent campaign for Modi's birthday on September 17. Critics had then pointed out that the government was spending massively on public relations, advertising and celebrations, while advising Indians to practice austerity to counter the fallout from global conflicts.

Tight security in central Delhi after Gandhi's protest

Visuals coming out of central Delhi on Wednesday morning showed significant police presence, barricades and diverted routes, as authorities stood alert for another round of protesters.

This comes less than a day after leaders of India's opposition bloc marched on the Election Commission of India to demand a meeting with India's election body over allegations of 'vote theft.'

The march soon turned into a sit-in which ultimately culminated in police detaining several leaders including opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and his sister and lawmaker Priyanka Vadra. They were later released.

"We only want to go ​to the election commissioners, ask them questions, and tell them you have stolen votes," Gandhi said.

On Wednesday morning, authorities once again issued a prohibitory order under Indian law which forbids sloganeering, speeches and public assemblies. It is a regular move to dissuade protesters from gathering and arms the police to detain demonstrators for disturbing public peace.

Good morning and welcome to DW's India news blog.

This is Mahima Kapoor reporting from Studio Delhi and I will be your guide through the headlines of the day.

It's the morning after leaders from India's oppotion bloc marched on the Election Commission of India over "vote theft" allegations.

Arguably Modi's biggest political contender, Rahul Gandhi, has vowed retribution against "traitors" who he claims have colluded to errode India's elecotral roll during the controversial revision exercise carried out under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

This might sound like deja vu to anyone reading this blog regularly, but police in the national capital has beefed up security around central Delhi on Wednesday morning, in anticipation of more protests.

The demonstrations and allegations will likely cast a shadow on what is a milestone day for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leader's party is celebrating his 25 years as the head of a government with tweets, temple visits and at least one bike rally.

Stay tuned for all of this and more!