India's national elections will be held in seven phases from April 11.
The country's election commission announced the schedule of voting on Sunday.
It said counting will be completed and final results announced on May 23.
Some 900 million voters are eligible to vote for a new government for the next five years.
The gigantic voting exercise will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking another term in office and the opposition attempting to join forces to put up a fight.
Trump touts $5,000 payout if Republicans win as Vance waits in wings
President Donald Trump capped the first day of his Republican Party's first-ever midterm convention by proposing to pay every US adult a $5,000 "Trump dividend" if his party wins November's congressional elections.
Search expands after Philippine ferry fire kills five and leaves dozens missing
A large-scale search and rescue operation was underway off the western Philippine island of Palawan on Thursday after a passenger ferry caught fire, killing five people and leaving dozens of passengers missing.
Trump says Iran war to end after US midterm elections
President Donald Trump said he expected the war with Iran to end after the November US midterm elections after the two sides launched their biggest wave of attacks on shipping since the start of the six-month-old war.
At least 20 killed in cargo vessel fire at China shipyard, state media reports
At least 20 people have been killed in a fire aboard a foreign cargo vessel undergoing repairs at a state-owned shipyard in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao on Thursday, state media reported, with five others still missing.
US military says it struck vessel in Caribbean, killing 3
The US military said on Wednesday three people have been killed in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, the latest in a series of attacks that Washington says target "narco-terrorists" but human rights groups condemn as extrajudicial killings.
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has visited the German Bundestag, the federal parliament, in Berlin, as part of his state visit to Germany.
The UAE will host the third edition of the World Fire Congress in Dubai in 2028, becoming the first country in the Middle East to host the international gathering of fire, rescue and civil defence leaders.
On behalf of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will lead the UAE delegation at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India.
