Page 6 - South Asia

India best-performing in South Asia in terms of trade facilitation: UNESCAP

India is now the best-performing nation amongst all the countries of South Asian region in terms of trade facilitation, as per the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia Paci?c's (UNESCAP) report. As per the Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation, India improved its score compared to 2021 survey. The 2023 survey, covering more than 140 economies and evaluating 60 trade facilitation measures, has positioned India at the forefront of global trade facilitation e?orts, with an impressive score of 93.55 per cent in 2023 vis a vis 90.32 per cent in 2021. The 2023 survey has recognised India's exceptional progress across various sub indicators, with the country achieving a perfect score of 100 per cent in four key areas: Transparency, Formalities, Institutional Arrangement and Cooperation, and Paperless Trade. These remarkable scores are a testament to India's relentless e?orts in streamlining trade processes, enhancing transparency, and promoting ...

India, Bangladesh to initiate 5 development projects for border population

The border guarding forces of India and Bangladesh have taken a "momentous" decision to initiate joint civil works on five development projects along the 4,096 kms of shared boundary which will help the local population on both sides, a senior officer said Wednesday. At the end of their four-day biannual border talks conference that began on July 11 in Delhi, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) also said they are working independently and jointly to "reduce" the instances of killing of Bangladeshi nationals in the boundary area. The issue of these killings, which the BSF has linked to miscreants and smugglers either attacking its personnel or indulge in other cross-border crimes, has been a major irritant between the two neighbours. The 53rd edition of the conference was led by the chiefs or directors general (DsG) of the BSF and the BGB and ended with the signing of a 'joint record of discussions' at a BSF camp located in Chhawla area of the nation

Lower emissions during Covid-19 pandemic led to increased warming: Study

The Covid pandemic shutdowns in South Asia greatly reduced the concentration of short-lived cooling particles in the air, but barely affected the levels of long-lived greenhouse gases, leading to stronger climate warming, a study shows. In the spring of 2020, the activity of many industries and transportation worldwide decreased due to pandemic restrictions. At Hanimaadhoo, a measuring station in the northernmost Maldives off the coast of India, researchers have been measuring the atmospheric composition and radiation for two decades. The measuring station is strategically placed to capture air masses from the Asian subcontinent and located in an area with few regional emission sources. When emissions suddenly decreased during the pandemic in South Asia -- mainly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh -- an opportunity was created to see what impact this had on the climate. The study, published in the journal npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, found that the concentrations of polluting

From Bangladesh to Sri Lanka, India's neighbours mired in economic crises

Some are discovering the virtues of deeper integration with the country

Crippling heatwaves deepen Asia's reliance on Russian coal, natural gas

Russian exports to Asia of thermal coal and natural gas, the two fuels most often used for electricity generation, have grown markedly this year, figures from data intelligence firm Kpler show

Constant decline in maternal, newborn deaths in S Asia: UNICEF official

Maternal and newborn deaths have seen a persistent decline in South Asia amidst their stagnation globally and even an increase in some regions of Latin America in the last five years, a top UNICEF official has said. The decline in maternal mortality in South Asia since 2016 has been driven by good performance in countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Dr Gagan Gupta, Senior Advisor, Maternal and Newborn Health at UNICEF said here on Wednesday. He, however, said the progress on reduction in neonatal mortality needed a greater push in the region. "India has been one of the exemplar countries with a rapid rise in institutional deliveries, rapid scale-up of newborn care units and several policy changes to improve access of mothers and newborns to quality health services," he told PTI. Gupta has been addressing various sessions at the ongoing 'International Maternal Newborn Health Conference' (IMNHC 2023) here. The four-day conference hosted by the South Afri

Harjinder Kang to lead UK-S Asia trade; named dy envoy for western India

Harjinder Kang has been appointed UK's Trade Commissioner to South Asia and Deputy High Commissioner for Western India to lead the country's overseas effort to promote trade, investment, trade policy

First time since 2014, Amazon omits India business from earnings call

The change is particularly notable given the high rate of growth of the e-commerce industry in South Asia

My responsibility to bring south Asian community to forefront: Priyanka

PC spoke about the merits of long-format content, Long format content is a blessing for the actors because they get to explore the character more and the back stories

Urgent action needed for improving air in South-Asian countries: ICIMOD

Deteriorating air quality and hazardous levels of particulate matter (PM) in several South Asian countries, including India and Nepal, poses a severe risk to human health and must be addressed urgently, a Kathmandu-based intergovernmental knowledge centre warned on Wednesday. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is a knowledge and learning centre working on behalf of the people of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region and its eight regional member countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. In a statement released on Wednesday, the organisation pointed to recent data and expressed concern about the rising PM levels. It added that an increase in PM level poses a severe risk to human health, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported. Doctors blame the worsening air quality as the main culprit for the rising number of patients suffering from respiratory illness, the report said. Air pollution, known to cause various ...

'Declare Bay of Bengal as Zone of Peace to keep geopolitical issues aside'

The Bay of Bengal has witnessed numerous non-traditional security threats, such as human trafficking, narcotics trade, tsunamis and cyclones. However, thus far, it was never a geopolitical hotspots

South Asia gets back to reality

The crises in Sri Lanka and Pakistan raise questions about the relevance and costs of reliance on the alternative financial system provided by China's Belt and Road Initiative

UAE eyes renewables partnerships opportunities with India: Jaber in COP28

UAE will explore all partnership opportunities with India to help the south Asian country's growth and low carbon plans, the UAE's climate envoy and designated president of the COP28 summit

US values long-standing cooperation with Pakistan: State Dept official

The United States values its long-standing relationship with Pakistan, a State Department official said on Wednesday but refrained from making any comment on the ongoing domestic politics of the South Asian country. "We value our long-standing cooperation with Pakistan. We've always viewed a prosperous and democratic Pakistan as critical to our interests. That very much remains unchanged. Whether it has come to an end or not, we don't let propaganda, misinformation, disinformation get in the way of any bilateral relationship," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference. "That, of course, includes our valued bilateral relationship with Pakistan. When it comes to various political players inside of Pakistan, we don't have a position on one political candidate or party versus another. We support, as we do around the world, the peaceful upholding of democratic, constitutional, and legal principles," Price said. He, however, refrained from making

Want to see Pakistan in an economically sustainable position, says US

United States wants to see Pakistan in an economically sustainable position, an official spokesperson said, amid reports that the South Asian country's foreign exchange reserves are fast running out

Unicorns in South and SE Asia need to reduce cash burn: S&P Global

They can't continue spending if operational turnarounds are delayed, says report

South Asians 15 times more likely die from climate change impact: Guterres

'South Asia is one of the world's global climate crisis hotspots -- in which people are 15 times more likely to die from climate impacts than elsewhere'

Melting glaciers of Tibet may impact regional security in S Asia: Report

Melting glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau can result in excess water in some places and shortages in others, says a report in Hamrakura

S Asian black carbon aerosols increase glacial mass loss in Tibet: Study

Black carbon aerosols have indirectly affected the mass gain of the Tibetan Plateau glaciers by changing long-range water vapour transport from the South Asian monsoon region, a study has found. The South Asia region adjacent to the Tibetan Plateau has among the highest levels of black carbon emission in the world, the researchers said. Black carbon aerosols are produced by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass, and are characterised by strong light absorption. Many studies have emphasised black carbon aerosols from South Asia can be transported across the Himalayas to the inland region of the Tibetan Plateau. Researchers noted that black carbon deposition in snow reduces the albedo of surfaces -- a measure of how much of Sun's radiations are reflected -- which may accelerate the melting of glaciers and snow cover, thus changing the hydrological process and water resources in the region. The study, published in Nature Communications, found that since the 21st centu

Inflation to remain high, between 21-23%: Pakistan's Finance Ministry

Pakistan's Ministry of Finance has forecast that country's inflation will remain high, between 21 to 23% as the south Asian nation's fiscal deficit widened by more than 115% between July and October