Another option
I had been waiting for a system wide upgrade to clear on the UA EWR to DEL flight for a few months, with Biz lightly booked, and nothing was clearing. Most have said that if the upgrade space isn't available at the time you are booking, it will only be processed at the gate. And that was too risky for me. So I ended up finding a very inexpensive business class ticket on Turkish out of New York (chicago also an option) that was only a little more than my coach ticket on UA. They have a great inflight product (full flat seat and great food), you won't get your additional mileage bonus credit for your status, but you do get class of service EQM.
UA has routinely been a more expensive option for India in Business. There are a number of other creative options for paid business if you don't mind the potential of an additional plane transfer.