Digital Sovereignty

Why Indo-Pacific Must Follow Europe’s Push for Digital Sovereignty and Open-Source Tech Independence

A common BIMSTEC policy statement on digital sovereignty would give the region a clearer collective voice and a stronger negotiating footing with foreign companies. Additionally, BIMSTEC can be used to initiate a shift from U.S. cloud storage companies to regional alternatives such as TATA Communications (India) and NIPA Cloud (Thailand).

The Silicon Buffer: Where Does India and South Asia Sit in the US-China Semiconductor Decoupling?

India is carving out a vital role in the global back-end chip infrastructure. Washington actively views India's rise in this sector as a strategic hedge, codifying tech cooperation through bilateral frameworks designed to shift critical supply lines away from East Asia.

India’s A.I. Future Requires a New Approach to Groundwater Governance

The implications of mismanagement extend far beyond groundwater depletion. Foreign investors have withdrawn a record $30 billion from Indian equities so far in 2026. Regional data suggests investors have relocated their withdrawals across Taiwan and South Korea’s AI and semiconductor ecosystems. 

AI and Us: Decision Making Should Not Be Outsourced to AI

AI literacy should become as important as digital literacy. An informed user is ultimately the first and most effective line of defence against blindly accepting what a machine tells us.  

More on AI, Tech and Innovation

India halts wheat exports; could disrupt UN plans to source wheat from India for vulnerable countries

Last month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said India hopes to become a permanent exporter of wheat, shipping as much as 15 million tons this year, compared with about 7.2 million in 2021-22. Officials are pushing the World Trade Organization to relax rules so that India can export from state reserves, Goyal said

India to supply 65,000 MT of fertilizer to crisis-hit Sri Lanka to boost agriculture production

The Indian government has decided to supply this quantity of urea immediately to Sri Lanka at the request of the Colombo despite a ban on the export of urea from India. Sri Lanka is the only country after Nepal to receive such assurance

India extends special exemption for Afghan agricultural exports; traders happy

The extension of exemption will help Afghan traders. Earlier, New Delhi also provided 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to the country in the grip of a humanitarian crisis

Bangladesh lays the red carpet for US investment, as Dhaka's importance in South Asia grows

Overall, the ties between the two countries are growing in all important domains, including security cooperation, climate change, food security, and energy sectors. In September 2021, two countries launched the US-Bangladesh Energy Taskforce, an initiative to help advance energy cooperation among the stakeholders of both countries

No foreign tours, ban on luxury items: Bangladesh takes measures to save forex

The government on Thursday announced a temporary ban on foreign tours of its employees and deferred the implementations of large projects relying on heavy imports as part of measures to save dollars, reported The Daily Star

Pakistan says no change in its trade policy with India, despite appointment of trade officer for New Delhi

In recent months, several prominent people in Pakistan, including officials and businessmen, have been advocating the resumption of trade ties with India which, they said, could greatly help the country’s ailing economy

Bangladesh’s monthly merchandise exports over $4 billion for consecutive eight months

With the improvement of the Covid-19 situation worldwide, the global apparel supply chain is also recovering fast. As a result, exports from Bangladesh are growing at a faster clip

Nepal invites bids from Indian companies for sale of surplus electricity

With the commencement of the Upper Tamakoshi hydropower project (456MW) last year, Nepal is expected to have around 600MW-800MW of surplus electricity this year. And, this will grow in the coming years as many small hydro projects are nearing completion

Amid depleting forex, Pakistan seeks extension of Saudi Arabia’s assistance

The new government, which came to power only last month, has squarely blamed former prime minister, Imran Khan, for the mismanagement of the economy. Ismail said Khan had left the fastest growing inflation in the history of Pakistan, and took record loans during his tenure, reported The Express Tribune.

Tourist inflow crosses half a million in the Maldives, records 46 percent growth in four months

Revenues from tourism contribute almost 70 percent of the country’s total GDP. In a recently released growth prospect, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) projected the Maldives to grow by 11 percent, mainly because of the rebound in the tourism industry

Nepal seeks $400 million in loan from India for 400 kV transmission line; sees potential in sub-regional energy trade

The World Bank has estimated Nepal’s hydropower potential around 20,000 MW. So aligning its energy policy closely with the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal) sub-regional vision will provide it with the much-needed potential for the export of this surplus energy to larger power consumers like India and Bangladesh

IMF to extend its bailout program to $8 billion for Pakistan; more reforms urged

Of the $6 billion original bailout program, Pakistan managed to get only $3 billion as the previous government failed to fulfill its commitments for reforms. Furthermore, these reforms were further weakened when the outgoing government of former prime minister Imran Khan drastically reduced the prices of electricity and fuel

‘Can’t afford subsidies’: Pakistan to cut back fuel subsidies after talks with IMF

Pakistan is looking for the release of the $1 billion from the IMF package, Ismail said earlier, while blaming the country’s former prime minister Imran Khan for stalling the IMF program. During his last days in power, Khan had announced huge subsidies on fuel and electricity, a move that scuttled almost a year of reform work of his own government to get the IMF program back on track

Bangladesh to focus on food industry to diversify export base

Hasina said the country has made huge success in agricultural production and that should be leveraged in the export sector

Bangladesh wants to invest in Bengal; top biz captains repose faith in eastern state's economy

West Bengal was the first state to organise a physical business summit since COVID pandemic struck, Chief Minister Banerjee stated