In India over 75 per cent of electricity is generated from coal-based thermal plants. Oil accounts for less than 2 percent of electric power, writes S. Majumder for South Asia Monitor

The simplest solution will be to change working hours by advancing it to 0700 hours and ending the workday at 1530 hours, so that the entire working hours are during daylight hours, writes Amb Sarvajit Chakravarti (retd) for South Asia Monitor

Under no circumstances would New Delhi like to see a break in the recent momentum in bilateral relations generated through increased economic and developmental cooperation, even if there is a change of the government in Kathmandu later this year, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor

For Pakistan's political elites, it has become a cycle of securing loans from allies to fund its ever-ballooning deficit and again approaching the IMF when funds dry up, writes Shraddha Nand Bhatnagar for South Asia Monitor

The I2U2 will work in six areas – water, energy, transport, space, health, and food security – combining the expertise and the resources of the four nations, Modi said

A short video, which went viral on social media, showed people searching for leftover food in the kitchen. 
Perspective

The bodies recovered by the residents showed evidence of torture and brutal executions, including some with missing limbs and ropes around their necks. Others had their head beheaded or slit throats, according to the report

Nepal, which shares a long open border with India to its north, west and east, enjoys cultural, historical, and civilizational bonds with India for centuries. People across the border in both countries have been inter-marrying for ages, which led to the “Roti and Beti ka Rishta” (cultural and marital bond) tag to the relationship between the two neighbours. 

Other countries in the region, such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Nepal, are also struggling to arrest the depletion of their foreign exchange reserves as a result of high fuel prices. However, Bangladesh is still better placed and has enough time to work out a deal with the IMF. 

Experts have pointed out Pakistan’s need to undergo deep structural reforms to avoid recurring cycles of loans and knocking at the IMF's doors

For Sri Lanka, which is in dire need of foreign exchange reserves, tea is among a few commodities offering an assured income in dollars. The industry faced immense hardship during the last year’s ban on chemical fertilisers

The move isn’t a recognition of the Taliban regime which remains internationally isolated. The emphasis on people-people and civilizational connections underscores New Delhi’s attempt to retain its soft power in the country

From withdrawing the fuel subsidies, hiking electricity tariffs and reducing expenditure to increasing tax rates, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government has gone all out at the expense of its own political capital to get the IMF programme running

Notwithstanding the Deuba’s government push to strengthen ties with the US, Nepal is still far from signing any security pact with it. Further, China, despite suffering a relative pushback in Nepal, is unlikely to take such a deal kindly

If Yameen returns to power in the Maldives, it would have repercussions on the present close strategic ties with India