South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions in the world despite geographical proximity and complementary economic structures. Greater regional trade, improved transport connectivity, cross-border electricity markets, digital payment systems and investment partnerships could substantially reduce external vulnerabilities.
Between 2004 and 2023, India produced roughly five million graduates every year, but graduate employment increased by only around 2.8 million annually. Even fewer obtained salaried employment. Millions are either unemployed or working below their qualifications or in the waiting room for the elusive government job.
Policy instability during the 2015-2024 likely pushed back Sri Lanka’s path towards becoming South Asia’s first High-Income Country. The 2022 financial crisis would never have happened as stable growth during the first half of 2015–2024 would have built enough buffer to weather impact of the Covid pandemic
China’s Belt and Road Initiative - which funded Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port through loans resulting in a 99-year lease to Chinese State-owned enterprise in 2017 due to Colombo’s struggle to service said loans - follows the same expansionary script.
As President Joe Biden prepares for a summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of the Quad, the top US commander in the Indo-Pacific region has said that China's aggression has opened India's eyes to the advantages of strategic cooperation with the US and other countries and it will deepen ties with the four-nation group
China is talking peace, partnership and prosperity with India, insisting that it is committed to settling the boundary dispute with New Delhi through dialogue and consultations
China has offered to donate 600,000 Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccines to Sri Lanka. However, the Sri Lankan drug regulators are yet to give emergency use approval to the Chinese vaccine, reported Daily Mirror
China has reportedly offered a loan of $500 million and another $600 in a currency swap arrangement to Sri Lanka, reported News 1st. The deal will come into effect within the next few weeks
Around 70 percent of Chinese imports to Nepal, which used to come via the northern border crossings of the country earlier, are now being routed through India via sea due to the frequent border closures
China has refuted reports that Beijing had initiated cyber attacks against India’s power grid resulting in massive power outages
Chinese and Russian-linked hacking campaigns in recent weeks targeted Indian vaccine makers Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech, cyber intelligence and threat discovery platform Cyfirma said on Monday
Pakistan has intensified security in the southwestern Balochistan province in a bid to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in the region
Pakistan PM Imran Khan on Sunday appreciated Chinese President Xi Jinping for eradicating 'extreme poverty' in the country
A cyber intelligence company says it has found that hackers linked to China have infiltrated power systems and ports in India in a “show of force” and they have the ability to create disruptions
China and India have agreed to establish a hotline to exchange views timely following talks between foreign ministers of the two countries, reports China's state-run Xinhua news agency
Pakistan is emerging as the new nation which is struggling to repay Chinese loans extended under the Belt and Road Initiative, media reports said
China has a habit of creeping forward, making very small incremental moves, to achieve its objectives, said Indian Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane, adding that this strategy will not work with India
India has swiftly taken a giant step in countering Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean, with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar signing two defence pacts with Maldives and Mauritius - each with strong maritime dimensions
The India-China rivalry has now pushed into the Russian Far East, where the Modi administration is planning significant investments in the energy and other sectors
