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).
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.
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 Foreign investors have withdrawn a record $30 billion from Indian equities so far in 2026.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 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.
For Prime Minister Sharif, who is running a coalition government with partners united by the sole desire of keeping Imran Khan out, implementing necessary, but unpopular, reforms will not be an easy job. More so, when the country will go into elections in little more than a year's time, making political parties even more averse to painful measures
The country will need bridge financing of around $3 billion till the IMF finalizes its aid package. Talks are already underway with India and China for raising the money. Significantly, Bangladesh is expected to postpone the repayment of around the $450 million currency swap facility that it had extended to Sri Lanka
IMF’s projection for India is slightly higher than the World Bank’s 8 per cent earlier this month. The series of World Bank reports also had India as the fastest-growing major economy, with China following it at 5 per cent
Unlike India or also Bangladesh, Pakistan has suffered economic mismanagement; excessive dependence on foreign aid, whether from the IMF or China is also a factor
“Bangladesh and Nepal are now among the top ten export destinations for India with our total exports to these two countries amounting to over $16 billion,” Shringla said, terming them as “two success stories.”
Since 2020, after the pandemic began, Sri Lanka’s central bank has printed over two trillion rupees, in a move to keep interest rates low. This, however, resulted in a balance of payment crisis and also drove up inflation and stock prices (asset price inflation).
While the US’ renewed interest in Nepal, a traditional battlefield of influence between India and China, is evident from the MCC agreement and increased bilateral engagements and assistance offers, Nepal may struggle to satisfy the security concerns of a newly assertive China
From the $800 million in surplus in February last year, the balance of payment recorded a deficit of $2.03 billion in the first seven months of this fiscal [Between July to February].
Another challenge the region faces is the disproportionate economic impact the pandemic has had on women. The report includes in-depth analysis of gender disparities in the region and their link with deeply rooted social norms
On Sunday the Sri Lanka Medical Association (SLMA) said that all hospitals in the country no longer had access to imported medical tools and vital drugs. In a letter sent to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the association said, “We are made to make very difficult choices. We have to decide who gets treatment and who will not.”
Blinken said that Modi and Biden who met before their 2+2 meeting “had a very warm and productive conversation today in their virtual summit” and covered a lot of ground, including Covid-19, climate change, strengthening the global economy, the free and open Indo-Pacific
By 2019, a total of 17,369 businesses were owned by women—most of them were less than five years old then—and created around 129,000 jobs in the country, according to a study conducted by Afghanistan’s Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Exports from the world’s largest wheat exporter Russia and the fifth-largest exporter Ukraine have been disrupted by the invasion. The two countries account for about 30 per cent of the world’s export of wheat
“The...sector in India has the potential to become the torchbearer of ‘Create in India’ & ‘Brand India’,” the statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said
From the $800 million in surplus, the balance of payment recorded a deficit of $2.03 billion in the same period this year
