In a Ask Me Anything in reddit.com, Dhruva Jaishankar has a wonderful answer as to why much of the negative press that India receives in the Western press.
The reply is reproduced below:
However, I do sense a strong bias in favour of certain kinds of stories about India in the Western press, often negative. This is for a few reasons, including: (1) Editors are likely to prefer 'bad news' to 'good news', and that applies universally, not just to India. (2) Quirky stories that reinforce stereotypes are more likely to be published: pollution, monkeys, bovine worship, bureaucratic incompetence, child labour, etc., (3) Many reporters may be nostalgic for an old, gentle India that may never have actually existed and are uncomfortable with the changes they're witnessing in an increasingly aspirational and assertive society, (4) Journalists are people, and everyone prefers talking to those who speak and think like them, which reinforces certain viewpoints when conducting interviews and reflecting Indian opinion about a certain issue, (5) Some relative newcomers among foreign journalists may be unaware of longer term trends and ways in which things have actually improved in India over the last few decades ("oh my god, there is poverty!"), (6) Indian commentators in the Western press reflect particular viewpoints often motivated by their own ideology and personal biases, and editorial boards are either not willing to air or are sometimes simply unaware of alternative viewpoints.
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