A vintage streetcar beside a driverless car on the Embarcadero, San Francisco / Photo by Surbhi Guha.

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.

AI on the Battlefield: The Mirage of Unlimited Capability

The AI revolution may indeed change warfare. But the laws of physics, engineering and economics have not been repealed. AI may be extraordinarily powerful in the data centre. The real challenge is carrying that capability to the battlefield.

More on AI, Tech and Innovation

IMF seeks tax hike and reforms before reviving Pakistan's $6 billion package

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has sought an increase in taxes and other reforms from the Pakistan government before reviving its $6 billion bailout package for the country

India-Bhutan buyer-seller meet to build on bilateral business and trade

India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ foreign policy is finding resonance in industry efforts to ramp up trade and bilateral relations with countries in India’s close proximity

Pakistan's preferential trade access in peril as EU asks Islamabad to work on human rights

Pakistan needs to do more on the rapid implementation of international human rights conventions, said a senior European Union official, if Islamabad wanted the continuation of its Generalized Status of Preference (GSP) Plus status, a system under which most Pakistani goods enjoy duty-free access to the EU market

Drones may soon be delivering food orders in Pakistan’s capital

If everything goes right, customers in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad may soon be getting their food orders via drones

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance arm acquires Sri Lankan brand

RRVL, the retail arm of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has acquired a 100% stake in the Sri Lankan brand amanté from MAS Holdings

Nepal allows the import of GM crops

Nepal has allowed the import of a few genetically modified crops, partially relaxing the complete ban put eight years ago, amid intense lobbying from the country’s poultry industry

India-US defence expo focuses on emerging domains, including space and artificial intelligence

Indian and US defence officials and business people have focused on partnering in space and artificial intelligence at a virtual expo as part of their diversified strategic defence cooperation

Higher GDP growth to hurt Pakistan's economy, says PM adviser

Gross domestic product growth of over six percent would hurt Pakistan’s economy, said Shaukat Tareen, a special adviser on finance to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan

India comes to Nepal’s rescue, allows it to sell surplus power in Indian Energy Exchange

In what comes as a big relief to Nepal, India has permitted Nepal to sell its surplus electricity in the Indian Energy Exchange marketplace, a move that would help Nepal to avoid huge power wastage

Pakistan's exports record 17% growth in October amid yawning trade deficit

In what is the highest increase for a month, Pakistan’s exports in October registered a growth of 17 percent, touching $2.471 billion against $2.104 billion in the same month last year

Bangladesh looks for Russian investment in railway sector

Bangladesh is seeking Russian investment to develop the country’s railway infrastructure, said Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan amid a push for railway modernization in his country

India, Italy to collaborate on green hydrogen, renewable energy corridors

India and Italy have agreed to explore the development of green hydrogen, setting up renewable energy corridors, and joint projects in the natural gas sector as the two nations sought to strengthen partnership in energy transition

Power-surplus Nepal asks consumers to use more electricity to avoid wastage

It wasn’t long ago when Nepal used to be on the list of the countries with the highest power outages

Moody’s downgrades Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating; Central Bank calls it 'untimely'

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating, taking the country’s credit deeper into speculative-grade as foreign reserves continued to fall amid money printing and crippled forex markets

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka's budget expected to be one of the 'trickiest' in history

In an indication that Sri Lanka’s financial woes are far from over, a senior economist has said the country’s 2022 budget will not be able to provide relief to the public given the shaky nature of the budgetary management and lack of sources to finance it