Already the poorest country in Asia, Afghanistan’s economic base has long been too small to support its population of 40 million. Annual per capita income had declined from US$650 in 2012 to US$508 in 2020 and is expected to drop precipitously to US$350 next year. The report indicates that the …
Loss from Sidr: The economic loss caused by super cyclone Sidr that hit Bangladesh on November 15, 2007, is more than us $ 4.4 billion, reveals a survey conducted by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh. The cyclone completely destroyed about 4,10,000 hectares of farmland and damaged …
Child health in war-torn Afghanistan is suffering due to mothers' low educational background and inability to access healthcare. A study found that 32.5 per cent of under-fives are suffering from acute diarrhoea and 41.5 per cent from breathing illnesses, while over 40 per cent have stunted growth.
environment Jaipur halts limestone mining The Rajasthan government has denotified the region in and around Jaisalmer for limestone mining. Though the reason behind denotification is not clear, the move comes days after the government rejected applications by leading cement companies for mining lease in the region. Companies such as Mangalam …
Afghan Leopards Threatened: After surviving decades of warfare, snow leopards in Afghanistan now face a new threat: foreigners involved in rebuilding the country. Military bases and tourist bazaars present a new market for pelts to be sold as souvenirs. Foreigners are willing to pay prices high enough to encourage impoverished …
More than 10,000 ethnic Hazaras protested in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, calling for President Hamid Karzai to resign over killings of their kin by rival Kuchi nomads. The angry marchers sent police fleeing on the outskirts of Kabul, then chased them until hundreds of officers and soldiers blocked one …
President Hamid Karzai appointed on Wednesday a team of experts to investigate allegations that Pakistan had dumped nuclear waste in southern Afghanistan, his office said. In April, an Afghan minister told the BBC that his government had evidence Pakistan had buried its nuclear waste in the southern Afghan provinces of …
Another disputed dam: After Baglihar, Kishanganga dam has embroiled India and Pakistan in a water dispute. Union minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh recently asked the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to expedite work on the 330-mw Kishanganga power project in Jammu and Kashmir, citing that Pakistan is also …
Dhiraj Nayyar The attack in Kabul must not be allowed to undercut vital economic ties between India and Afghanistan Nowhere, perhaps, are the frailty of life and the mortality of human beings more evident than in Afghanistan. The suicide bomb attack on the Indian embassy may have been a first …
India is the fifth largest bilateral donor in Afghanistan after the US, UK, Japan and Germany. Present assistance: $750 million. Projects involve hydro-electricity, power transmission lines, road construction, agriculture and industry, telecommunications, information and broadcasting, education and health. Major works include:
Afghanistan has signed a near-identical MoU with three institutions in India - Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA), Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) and Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) for collaboration to promote the cause of local government. The Independent Directorate for Local Governance (IDLG) of Afghanistan and …
Caution India-Pakistan border at risk Swarms of locusts that were in Tajikistan in the last week of April, have moved into Afghanistan. Authorities say the outbreak was unprecedented and are examining the extent of infestation. The plague of locusts have worsened the situation in provinces of Badghis and Herat, which …
Washington: The World Bank on Tuesday put the blame for rising food prices in South Asia on export controls by India and others. The US also criticized New Delhi's handling of the crisis, stating the trade bans have rattled international markets. Surging food prices have become a serious concern in …
India's decision to join the Turkmenistan pipeline project which is more hazardous than the Iranian channel is puzzling. Playing the Great Game calls for grit, sound calculations and a determination to win at all costs. More so, when spiralling energy prices make a mockery of energy security for countries that …
Afghanistan's agriculture ministry has called for us $2.5- billion international aid to boost its ailing agriculture sector by 2011. The fund will help the government eliminate poppy cultivation in the country, while ensuring food security, says an adviser to the ministry. Under the plan, the government seeks us $100 million …
By 7 a.m., the bakers of Sang Tarashi Street have been hard at work for hours, shaping globs of dough, slapping them into a hot clay oven and flipping them out at just the right second. A stack of naan sits invitingly by the window, and the familiar morning smell …
The long-forgotten Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline projects are back in active consideration. While the top leaders of these countries try to thrash out the details at a meeting at Islamabad in Pakistan, held from 22-24 April, they would also have to work out a system to maintain …
The much-talked about Indo-Iran JL gas pipeline project has been on the backburner for sometime now. However, there are alternative projects that are being explored, one such being the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (tapi) pipeline. Murli Deora, minister for petroleum and natural gas, had been to Pakistan to take part in discussions on …
The United Progressive Alliance government has done well to join the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India pipeline sponsored by the Asian Development Bank. But it should guard against the temptation of viewing the project as a substitute for the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline. Given high global oil prices and its growing energy needs, India …
The Petroleum Ministers of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India signed an agreement on Thursday for the $7.6 million-TAPI gas pipeline project, describing it as "financially and economically viable' despite the escalation in costs since the time it was first proposed. Two-day deliberations The implementation of the pipeline project will begin …
Pakistan, India, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on Thursday agreed to start construction of a gas pipeline project involving the four nations in the year 2010. Ministers from all four countries had earlier held a two-day discussion starting on Wednesday to finalise the modalities. The second meeting of the technical working group …
