The same generative AI that allows criminals to craft perfect phishing emails in Sinhala (or Hindi, Bangla and Urdu) or clone a Chief Financial Officer's voice from a YouTube clip, can also detect those emails before they reach an inbox and flag that voice as synthetic before a payment is authorised. The technology exists. The question is whether South Asia's institutions will deploy it in time.
Artificial intelligence has the potential to transform border surveillance, maritime security, intelligence gathering, missile defense, logistics, and cyber warfare. In a country facing simultaneous challenges from China and Pakistan, AI-driven systems could substantially improve decision-making speed and operational efficiency. Conversely, the absence of such capabilities could expose critical weaknesses during future crises.
Companies are beginning to realise that AI may not merely deliver incremental improvements of five or ten percent. In some workflows, it may produce tenfold or even hundredfold gains in speed and efficiency. That is the speed businesses are now trying to capture. The race is no longer about experimenting with AI; it is about integrating AI into operational systems before competitors do.
South Asia’s future depends on reliable infrastructure and trustworthy public services. Artificial intelligence—especially advanced technologies such as Graph Attention Networks—offers governments a powerful tool to reduce corruption in procurement, improve healthcare delivery, strengthen energy security and enhance public trust.
Amid the growing fuel crisis exacerbated by a foreign exchange crisis, the Sri Lankan government has decided to purchase diesel from India’s state-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), and a proposal for the purchase has been cleared by the Cabinet on Tuesday
Sri Lanka has sought market access in Turkey for its goods when Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Sri Lanka for the promotion of the bilateral trade between the two countries
The advent of Iranian apples has resulted in a drop of over 50 percent in demand for Kashmiri apples, write Suhail Bhat and Sameer Mushtaq for South Asia Monitor
Nepal has become self-sufficient in cement production, with close to 55 plants having an annual production capacity of 15 million tonnes operating across the country
Nearly 70 years after the Indian government took over Air India from a reluctant Tatas, the flag carrier returned to its founder, the salt-to-software conglomerate Thursday
India's economy is projected to grow by 9 per cent in the next fiscal year, retaining its position as the fastest-growing major economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported on Tuesday citing its expectations of higher investments and consumption due to credit growth and better financial sector performance
The construction industry, the biggest contributor to the gross domestic product in Sri Lanka, is threatened by the shortage of cement, and now builders have urged authorities to resolve their issues
Pakistan recently decided to offer permanent residency to rich foreigners, mainly Sikhs living in the US and Canada, Afghans and Chinese, in exchange for their investment, a move the country’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary termed “historic.”
In a bid to revive its prized tea industry facing an export collapse, the Sri Lankan government has said it will provide fertilizer subsidies to tea cultivators who have been suffering since the ban on chemical fertilizer last year
In a tweet on Friday, Pakistan Prime Minister Khan said the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for the last three years was 5.37 percent and congratulated his own government for “substantial job creation” and “rise in per capita income.”
India will not buy Nepal’s surplus electricity produced by hydropower projects having Chinese components or built by Chinese contractors, Indian authorities have reportedly conveyed to Nepal, days after the industry players from the two nations signed a landmark agreement for power trading
Bangladesh's economic success - from a "basket case" to a "bull case" - and hailed around the world, is being recognised by neighbour India as Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Vikram K Doraiswami met FBCCI President Mohammad Jashmin Uddin and sought the cooperation of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) to boost bilateral trade between the countries
India on Tuesday extended a $500 million line of credit to Sri Lanka for the import of fuel as a couple of power plants in the island country ran out of fuel amid a severe foreign exchange crisis
Sri Lanka has been exploring the option of procuring fuel, required for the operations of power plants, from India as regular supplies are affected amid a severe foreign exchange crisis
India will extend $1.5 billion in additional lines of credit to Sri Lanka, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed on Saturday, assuring the island country of its continuous “support in all possible ways for overcoming economic and other challenges”
