Netflix to make first Indian series

Netflix announced on Monday that it will produce its first original Indian series as it expands its global reach.

The US online streaming company, responsible for hit political thriller "House of Cards", said it would adapt Indian author Vikram Chandra's best-selling novel "Sacred Games" into an online series.

"I am confident that all the colour and vitality and music of the fictional world I've lived with for so long will come fully alive on the large-scale canvas provided by Netflix," Chandra said in the statement.

The series will be set in Mumbai and will "delve into the financial capital's intricate web of organised crime, corruption, politics and espionage that lie beneath India’s economic renaissance" the statement added.

Netflix gave no details about when shooting will start or when the series, which will be produced in English and Hindi, will be available to subscribers of the streaming site.

Netflix launched in 2007 as a mail-order DVD service but is now producing award-winning original content alongside its offering of older shows and movies.

In January it entered the Indian market, expanding its international footprint to 190 countries.