One of the most striking features of South Asian trade is how little the region trades internally. Intra-regional trade within South Asia remains among the lowest in the world relative to geographic proximity. Political tensions — especially between India and Pakistan — have prevented the emergence of a deeply integrated regional production system comparable to ASEAN or the European Union. This is a major missed opportunity.
Scarcity of cooking fuel is pushing people, particularly across South Asia, toward hunger. Livelihoods have been lost among the large unorganised labour force while thousands of self-employed street vendors, smaller restaurants and eateries are being forced to close shop, facing a scary, insecure future. For middle class households across India, everyday snacks like the samosa or dosa have become scarce because of shortage and high prices of cooking gas cylinders.
India is one of the world’s largest suppliers of generic medicines and APIs to Europe. If the EU begins favouring “Made in EU” pharmaceutical production through procurement preferences, subsidies or state aid, Indian drug manufacturers could face reduced access to EU public procurement contracts and tougher supply-chain resilience requirements.
India’s pharma export market has been affected as India supplies medicines to more than 200 countries. Supply chain interruption not only hurts Indian producers but also creates medicine scarcity in the US, UK, and African markets that highly depend on Indian generics. From the logistics end, re-routing of cargo away from conflict-ridden corridors such as the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz has increased freight insurance premiums, distressing Indian exporters who function on lean cost structures.
Given China’s military intentions and aim, taking advantage of the pandemic, for which it is blamed, it is vital for India to take proactive and powerful measures to ensure its security and integrity, writes Col Anil Bhat (retd) for South Asia Monitor
The current situation along India's eastern Ladakh border with China is in an "uneasy no war no peace status" and Indian forces were prepared for any eventuality, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal R.K.S Bhadauria said
Warning Beijing against advancing its untenable unilateral interpretation, India on Tuesday said that it has never accepted the 1959 definition of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China
Nepali analysts and observers on Monday woke up to an interview with Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Nepal’s ambassador to China, with the China's Global Times, just as a section of Nepali media, including the Post, reported on cargo trucks stranded at Nepal-China border points
China has become a threat to humanity and deserves the imposition of severe sanctions, writes Lt Gen Prakash Katoch (retd) for South Asia Monitor
In January, Dhiraj Shrestha, who owns Maha Ambe, an apparel store in the heart of Kathmandu, had ordered clothes from China
Nong Rong, Chinese ambassador-designate to Pakistan, is an expert in trade and commerce, is currently a minister in a Guangxi provincial government
The International Farakka Committee (IFC), which campaigns for parity in water-sharing of transboundary rivers between India and Bangladesh, has welcomed the government’s move to implement a Chinese-funded project for the Teesta River, that if completed promises to remove the dependence on upstream India for its fair share of the waters
Inflow of Chinese goods could see a rise in the October-December quarter as items worth about Rs 20,000 crore -- primarily comprising electronics and electrical items, gifts, toys, footwear, home and kitchen appliances -- still lie at the Indian ports waiting for clearance
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will on Saturday attend and chair a high-level virtual conference on poverty alleviation and South-South cooperation, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson announced Friday
China is insisting that India vacates strategic heights on the south bank of Pangong Lake ahead of talks on disengagement on the LAC, top Indian Army sources said
The Rasuwagadhi-Kerung border point between Nepal and China reopened on Thursday after it remained closed for around three weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior customs official said here
Pillar number 11 along the Nepal-China border in Humla district, which was said to have been missing, has been found
Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, on Wednesday, said that strengthening the relations between Maldives and China is crucial for economic recovery
Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali on Wednesday said that there is no boundary dispute with China, referring to recent media reports that said China had encroached on Nepalese territory and built 11 buildings in Humla district on the Nepal-China border
