South Asia

Visa, a payment gateway provider, on Monday announced that Suresh Sethi has been appointed Group Country Manager for India and South Asia. In this role, Sethi will lead Visa's strategy and operations across India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bhutan, the company said in a statement. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who is leaving Visa for other opportunities. Based in Mumbai, Sethi will report to Stephen Karpin, Regional President, Asia Pacific, Visa, it said. Most recently, Sethi served as MD and CEO of Protean e-Gov Technologies Ltd, where he led its transformation into an agile, product-led Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) institution, it added.

Like any ambitious opposition party, Beijing is pointing out the weaknesses of the incumbent while portraying itself as a steadier, more predictable partner with fresh ideas

New governments in Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka face test of turning protest wins into real reforms

South Asia tops global growth outlook as WEF economists turn bullish again, with India anchoring optimism even as global growth risks persist

Despite a modest improvement in recent months, a majority of chief economists expect global economic conditions to weaken this year but see India anchoring South Asia as the brightest growth spot despite mounting trade headwinds, a new survey showed on Friday. In its latest Chief Economists Outlook report, released ahead of the Davos annual meeting next week, the World Economic Forum said the global economic outlook has improved modestly but remains uncertain, with asset valuations, mounting debt, geo-economic realignment, and rapid deployment of artificial intelligence creating both opportunities and risks. Nearly 53 per cent of chief economists surveyed expect global economic conditions to weaken in the year ahead, down from 72 per cent in September 2025, it said. The report, drawing from consultations and surveys with chief economists from the public and private sectors worldwide, said South Asia has returned to the top of the regional growth outlook. Two-thirds of the chief ...

Voters went to the polls on Sunday for the initial phase of Myanmar's first general election in five years, held under the supervision of its military government while a civil war rages throughout much of the country. Critics charge that the election is designed to add a facade of legitimacy to military rule, which began after the army ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Her party won a landslide victory in the 2020 election but was blocked from taking office for a second term. In Yangon, the country's largest city, Naypyitaw, the capital, and elsewhere, voters were casting their ballots at high schools, government buildings and religious buildings. Critics argue that the results will lack legitimacy due to the exclusion of major parties and limits on freedom of speech and an atmosphere of repression. They contend that the expected victory of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party makes the nominal transition to civilian rule a ..

Once seen as a disease of the wealthy, cancer now affects all regions, with a growing share of cases and deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries

Severe floods triggered by cyclones and monsoon rains have killed more than 1,300 people across South and Southeast Asia and caused economic losses of at least $20 billion.

A study in the journal Tropical Medicine and Health projects that climate change could double South Asia's annual heat-related deaths to nearly 400,000 by 2045, with India and Pakistan most at risk

Also known as Timor-Leste, the country of 1.4 million people is among Asia's poorest and hopes to see gains from integrating its fledgling economy

India cautiously renews economic engagement with Afghanistan, balancing humanitarian aid and trade ties without extending formal recognition to the Taliban regime

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday said it is time to further expand bilateral ties between India and Mongolia by adding contemporary dimensions of cooperation. Welcoming Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and his delegation to Rashtrapati Bhavan, she said that shared cultural heritage and democratic values are the foundation of India-Mongolia relations. India and Mongolia are 'Strategic Partners', 'Third Neighbours', and 'Spiritual Neighbours', the President said. Murmu said India attaches the highest priority to its development and capacity-building partnership with Mongolia, and is fully committed to the timely completion of all the projects currently underway, which will emerge as lasting symbols of India-Mongolia friendship and cooperation. The President also appreciated the close cooperation between the two countries, as members of the Global South, in multilateral fora, including at the United Nations. Both leaders agreed that it is time to further expand the bilateral

Washington-based institution projected South Asia's growth to ease to 5.8 per cent in 2026, down from 6.6 per cent this year, a sharper slowdown than previously anticipated.

Groundwork was laid in March, when lawmakers approved changes to the 2004 Indonesian Military Law, which broadened the government's ability to appoint serving military officers to civilian positions

The protests escalated dramatically on Sept. 8, when police fired on groups of young demonstrators, killing more than 20 people

South Asia stayed calm as the upper-middle class aspired to a globalised life, but slowing growth, tech shifts, and travel limits, amplified by TikTok and Instagram, are stoking frustration

India performed better in innovation outputs than innovation inputs in 2025. The country's R&D investments fell to 7.8% in 2019-20, However, in the decade (2010-20) it rose 3.1%

There have been half-hearted efforts to remake South Asia in the image of the European Union or at least the Asean, but now they seem to have been given up entirely

Beyond the hard and more visible dimensions of trade, investment, or defence supplies, we show that China's engagements also operate on softer dimensions that shape the governance