India deplores invasion of Afghanistan, but

Indira Gandhi's new government presented its policies to parliament Wednesday , expressing grave concern about the Afghan situation and promising prompt measures to deal with the troubled Indian economy.

President Sanjiva Reddy told the packed house in an address formally outlining the government's program that big-power rivalries in the region are totally unacceptable to India. But while coming out strongly against the Soviet Union for its invasion of Afghanistan, he also said India's relations with the Soviet Union had expanded, "based on an abiding friendship which demonstrates the virtues of reliability and mutual understanding."