With the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle at the centre, France and India on Friday stepped up their biggest naval exercises as the Indian Ocean's strategic shipping lanes draw ever more envious eyes.

India held the next stage of its marathon election on Monday, with 90 million people eligible to vote in key seats for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party and security heavy in restive Kashmir.

The world's biggest poll has been plagued by violence, with militants throwing a grenade at a voting booth Monday and shooting dead a local politician in south Kashmir over the weekend. Last week 15 paramilitaries and their driver were killed in an attack by Maoist rebels in Maharashtra state.

India's government Tuesday asked opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to respond to claims that he is a British citizen as the country's fiercely contested election battle took a bizarre twist.

An Indian man chopped off his index finger in desperation after voting for the wrong party in the country's national election.

Pawan Kumar became confused by the symbols on the electronic voting machine and voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party instead of its regional rival in Uttar Pradesh state on Thursday, his brother told AFP.

The Amritsar massacre, 100 years ago this Saturday in which British troops opened fire on thousands of unarmed protestors, remains one of the darkest hours of British colonial rule in India.

India is hopeful it will avoid US sanctions over its purchase of Russia's S-400 missile system, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told AFP.

New Delhi has been "heard and understood" by the US administration over its accord to buy the S-400 missile defence system for $5.2 billion, the minister said in an interview this week.

Tens of millions of Indians joined nationwide queues Thursday to give their verdict on nationalist prime minister Narendra Modi as the world's biggest election started amid deadly clashes.

Election officials reported a heavy turnout across the 20 states taking part in the first day of the massive exercise which involves 900 million eligible voters and will take nearly six weeks to complete. 

India went on high security alert Wednesday ahead of the start of its marathon election, after a campaign dominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership that has focused on keeping the country safe from attack.

A bomb blast Tuesday blamed on Maoist rebels killed five people, including a lawmaker campaigning for Modi, heightened fears of election bloodshed.

ndia starts a mega-election on Thursday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his formidable campaign machine taking on not one but two Gandhis in the world's biggest vote.

Tea-seller's son Modi, boosted by February's bust-up with Pakistan, remains popular, but he is vulnerable on the economy and his re-election depends on several key regions.

India said Saturday that its army is on a "strict vigil" for new attacks from Pakistan and renewed warnings to its neighbour to take concrete action against militant groups.