One of our Indian coworkers gave us a crash course how to work with his team - the answer is always yes so tracking commitments is where all the work ends up.
Always read between the lines. Pickup on any hesitations, wishy-washy statements and the like and interact accordingly. Get commitments written down.
Hierarchy is important; bosses throw their weight around. You have to be diplomatic in managing it.
Engineers crave recognition. Give them plenty of positive feedback and incentives. Treat them as equals and they will open up. Once this happens they can become very friendly and often personal but that is the culture.
Finally, make a trip to India and do meet your remote team members. Personal interaction allows you to setup relationships which are invaluable in getting things done.
I'm from Sweden, and a Swedish colleague met a team that visited from India. Half-way through the meeting she had to stop and ask why the Indian team were shaking their heads. It turns out it was a head bobble or Indian head shake.[1]
My colleague thought that they kept signalling "no, no, no" by shaking their heads while she was speaking, but it turned out to be the exact opposite. I'm very happy my colleague stopped and asked, because a lot of people would stay silent and keep their misconceptions.
I always get annoyed when people go with preconceived notions and stereotypes rather than asking/figuring out for themselves. In today's "Yellow-journalism style media" facts and truth are no longer relevant but everything is turned into a caricature. We should know better in this era of "Globalization". "Cultural Sensitivity" is much more important than we realize.