Despite the significant recovery in the country’s tourism industry, Moody’s downgraded the Maldives’ sovereign rating to Caa1 with a stable outlook from earlier B3, citing the drop in tax revenue collection and other factors
Can AI Improve Student Learning? Only if it is Used the Smart Way
AI will make you a better student if you treat it like an intense sports coach—someone who pushes you, quizzes you, and forces you to run the laps yourself. But if you treat it like a private driver who carries you across the finish line, your own academic skills will totally vanish.
South Asian Talent Almost Everywhere; Missing is an AI Invention from the Region the World Depends on
The ambition exists across the region. Young Indian companies are building rocket engines and computer chips, products India has long bought from abroad. Pakistan sent a delegation to Silicon Valley to show what its technology industry can do
Where Is India's Apple? A Nation's Strategic Independence is Directly Proportional to its Economic Independence
A country can only be as independent in its diplomacy as it is in its economy. A nation that imports its phones, its chips and much of its energy, will always have less room to manoeuvre than one that makes what the world needs.
China's Open-Source AI Initiative and the Limits of BRICS Consensus
The difference between Xi's New Delhi proposal and the language of the declaration illustrates the distinction between China's ambitions for AI cooperation and the level of agreement achieved among BRICS members. The declaration did not reject China's AI diplomacy; it simply did not explicitly endorse the proposed open-source community.
More on AI, Tech and Innovation
Pakistan asks World Bank to restructure $200 loan
Pakistan has asked the World Bank to finalize its restructuring plan for the $200 million loan which the lender had approved last year for the locust emergency and food security project
Airbnb to support 20,000 Afghan refugees with free accommodation
Airbnb, a San Francisco-based company that operates an online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals
Maldives signs deal with India's Afcons for India-funded mega infrastructure project
The Maldives has on Thursday signed a deal with an Indian company for the Greater Male Connectivity Project, the archipelago’s biggest infra project so far costing around $500 million, giving a major boost to connectivity around capital Male
India’s Adani Group to start work on Sri Lanka’s West Container Terminal port by yearend
India’s Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will begin construction work on the West Container Terminal (WCT) at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port by yearend, media reports say
Undid a past mistake on corporate taxation, took bold decisions on reforms: PM Modi
The Indian government's move to end retrospective tax signified the undoing of a mistake in made in the past, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the annual meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry or CII
Nepal’s flower industry withers amid pandemic
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the flower industry in Nepal was worth over $20 million
Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose Covid-19 vaccine gets India’s approval - a day after EUA
In a significant step towards boosting its vaccine arsenal, India has given emergency use authorization (EUA) to US pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson's single-dose Covid-19 vaccine in the country
realme to export Make in India smartphones to Nepal
Smartphone maker realme said it will export Make in India smartphones to Nepal from the ongoing third quarter
As China ties sour, ex-Australian PM Tony Abbott to visit India to advance trade relationship
Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott will visit India this month to progress the Indo-Australian economic and trade relationship under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
Bangladesh receives USD 20 bn investment proposals for its first planned industrial city
Bangladesh has received investment proposals worth around USD 20.13 billion from 153 investors, including those from China and Japan, for its first planned industrial city which it wants to develop as a world-class business and industrial center
Serum Institute of India to work with industry body CII to spread vaccination in small towns, rural areas
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has entered into an agreement with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination in small towns and rural areas in partnership with industry and healthcare providers
India and US to sponsor forum to boost Indo-Pacific business cooperation
As part of their growing Indo-Pacific strategic cooperation, India and the United States are sponsoring a virtual meeting of the Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) to promote government and business cooperation across the region where China is increasingly playing an assertive role
Etihad discontinues flights from India to UAE "till further notice"
Etihad Airways has discontinued flights from India to the UAE till further notice, a spokesperson of the airline said
Sri Lanka a challenging place to do business: US
In a sharp and somewhat unusual criticism of the investment climate in Sri Lanka, the US said the country was a challenging place to do business, marking public sector corruption and an unpredictable economic policy environment as significant challenges for American firms
