RAWALPINDI: Robbers hit 25 houses, shops in the jurisdictions of different police stations of Rawalpindi, depriving the people of millions of rupees, while seven bikes and four vehicles, including a heavy dumper, were stolen on Friday, police sources said.People in the precincts of Nasirabad...

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N President and National Assembly opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif has demanded an in-depth investigation into the medicine scandal through a parliamentary committee.“Coming on the heels of sugar, wheat and IPPs scandals, the latest drug scandal indicates how...

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday said it had summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register a strong protest over the Indian ceasefire violations along the Line of Control .The statement by the FO said that in the unprovoked Indian firing across the LoC in Nezapir and Rakchikri sectors, six...

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-N President and National Assembly opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif has demanded an in-depth investigation into the medicine scandal through a parliamentary committee. Sugar, wheat and IPPs scandals, the latest drug scandal indicates how powerful mafias within the...

FRANKFURT: An Indian national will stand trial in Germany accused of spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for New Delhi’s spy agency, a court said on Friday.Federal prosecutors allege the suspect, identified as 54-year-old Balvir, has been working with the Indian foreign intelligence...

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday said it had summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register a strong protest over the Indian ceasefire violations along the Line of Control .The statement by the FO said that in the unprovoked Indian firing across the LoC in Nezapir and Rakchikri sectors, six...

Better information and a willingness to tackle difficult issues are necessary to ensure a fit-for-purpose and accountable health system in Papua New Guinea.

Effective and planned shoreline management would trigger activities for tourism, and support development of ocean and beach landscape, conserve biodiversity along with coastal people’s livelihood.

The graduation approach provides a sequenced intervention designed to overcome multiple barriers that prevent the extreme poor from breaking out of poverty.

India is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to disasters and it has a lot to share when it comes to preparing for them.

The transmission channels of perishables like fruits and vegetables from producers to consumers in developing countries need a revamp to provide benefits to all involved.

In the southern Philippines, a culture-based senior high school program is serving the Tboli community with an innovated approach to education.   

Authorities in southern India say at least five people are dead after a gas leak at an industrial plant Thursday.Over 100 residents in the city of Visakhapatnam were taken to local hospitals after a leak of styrene gas was detected coming from the LG Polymers chemical plant located on the outskirts ...

Rawalpindi : The coronavirus illness, COVID-19 claimed three more lives here in the district in last 24 hours taking total number of deaths so far caused by the disease in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to 48 while 148 new patients have been tested positive in the region taking total...

Loan agreements outline the terms of an agreement for a loan. This document dated 6 May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 54183-001 in Bhutan.

To better understand how ADB’s developing members are weathering the COVID-19 crisis, the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department launched the ADB COVID-19 Policy Database.

MUMBAI: Fourteen migrant labourers walking back to their villages after being left destitute by India’s strict coronavirus lockdown were killed on Friday after being hit by a train, officials said.

The men were returning home when they were hit by the goods train near Aurangabad, in the western state of Maharashtra, police official S.S. Sutale said.

They were among millions of migrant workers who have been left unemployed, officials said, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a national lockdown in March, sparking an exodus from major cities.

Hours after the incident, the Indian rail ministry tweeted that the train driver applied the brakes after seeing the men, but was unable to stop the train in time.

Three others were injured and taken to hospital, the ministry said, announcing an inquiry.

State police official Vaibhav Kalumbarme said officers were investigating the accident as there were strict guidelines to prevent migrants accessing the railway tracks from stations.

“But it is impossible to monitor every inch of the tracks when they take shortcuts,” Kalumbarme said.

Although states announced special trains to return migrant labourers, many continue to walk long distances to reach their villages.

Local media reported some provinces were charging for the rail tickets, which most can’t afford.

The return home has proved deadly for several workers ever since the lockdown started.

A study conducted by the non-profit SaveLIFE Foundation said 140 were killed in car crashes across the country — with at least 42 of them migrant labourers travelling home.

“We have been running campaigns cautioning people not to walk on tracks and we are doing everything we can urgently to get them back to their families. This is a tragic incident,” Kalumbarme added.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2020

The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has terminated its housing scheme, which was announced last year, amid poor response. Applicants who were picked on the basis of a demand survey will get their paid amounts refunded while a new scheme is framed. The housing scheme in Chandigarh, which would have offered homes in Sector 53, has reportedly been scrapped by the housing board, CHB. Officials have been asked by the government to frame a new, which would be more affordable. The scheme was criticised for being so expensive. For 492 flats, Chandigarh Housing Scheme received only 178 applications despite the board reducing the prices of the flats twice and also extending the […]

NEW DELHI: Is India’s real estate bubble finally bursting? The International Monetary Fund’s recently-launched data series on global housing prices hints at that. Among 52 major markets for which IMF has collated house price data, India has witnessed the steepest fall. IMF’s calculation on the annual percentage change in property prices shows that prices in India fell by 9.1 per cent, the highest among major real estate markets. The fall is even worse than in countries struggling with the ongoing European Union’s financial crisis. Property prices in Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Spain and Portugal have all come down, but at a much slower rate. Ireland, on the other hand, registered a […]

Since the start of India's COVID-19 lockdown on March 25, 2020, instances of Islamophobia have intensified, threatening the life, rights, and integrity of millions of Muslims.

ADB has approved a $177 million loan to India to upgrade 450 kilometers (km) of state highways and major district roads in Maharashtra State.

ADB today approved a $1.5 billion loan to the Government of India to help fund its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including support for immediate priorities such as disease containment and prevention, as well as social...

ADB has approved a $346 million loan to India to help provide efficient and reliable power connection to rural agriculture customers in the state of Maharashtra.

CHENNAI: The Kotturpuram branch of Indian Bank has invited tenders for auction of a property belonging to film producer and director Gautham Vasudev Menon in Adyar. As per details on Tenders India (a government tender information system), the auction process for the property located on First Main Road in Indira Nagar, has begun with the tender value being quoted at 12.26 crore. The winning bidder, expected to put up 50 lakh as a deposit. The property is 7,091 sqft, and the market price of each ground (2,400 sqft) in the area is 4.5 crore to 5 crore. “This particular account has been a non-performing asset (NPA) for some time and […]

Mumbai: During 1Q 2014, the Mumbai office markets witnessed a further decline in office space absorption indicating cautious occupier sentiment. This lack of demand can be attributed to a low level of IT/ITeS sector participation in the overall absorption, which is currently the primary demand generating sector across the cities. This quarter only about 0.42 million sq ft of Grade A office space was leased with a few mid-sized deals concluded in Central and Western Suburbs, and Navi Mumbai. Construction activities remained slow. No projects / phases of projects were completed this quarter. Developers also refrained from launching new projects due to low demand. More than 7.5 million sq ft […]

The project aimed to improve access of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to commercial financing and market opportunities, thereby fostering growth, competitiveness, and employment creation in India. There were three targeted outputs. First was enhance credit delivery through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and participating financial institutions in the MSME subsector. Second was increased SME productive and managerial capacity and related new jobs created for new markets.

The State Government of Madhya Pradesh requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance the rehabilitation and upgrade of 1,080 km of state highways in Madhya Pradesh under the state road rehabilitation program. The project was to upgrade existing roads to two or intermediate lanes (two-lane standard), strengthen existing pavement, strengthen culverts and bridges, and construct new bridges and cross-draining structures. The project roads were mostly in poor areas of the state in the eastern and west central areas of Madhya Pradesh.

The 2019 novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), first reported from Wuhan, People’s Republic of China (PRC), on 31 December 2019, is the latest emerging infectious disease to be declared a public health emergency of international concern. The situation is rapidly evolving, with more than 43,000 confirmed cases reported from at least 25 countries, and more than 1,000 deaths as of 11 February 2020, with PRC accounting for nearly all (99%) cases and deaths.

The Madhya Pradesh Power Sector Investment Program in India was a multitranche financing facility (MFF) designed to support Madhya Pradesh state’s sustainable economic growth and social development by investing in the statewide power transmission and distribution networks. The MFF supported the state government in expanding its power transmission, distribution, and management infrastructure and capacity.

ADB is formulating an aggressive set of actions to protect the poor, the vulnerable, and wider populations across Asia and the Pacific. And to ensure economies will rebound as swiftly as possible.

To better understand how ADB’s developing members are weathering the COVID-19 crisis, the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department launched the ADB COVID-19 Policy Database.

Rep. McSally Visits Microchip Executives to Discuss Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience in the U.S. Amid Defense Industrial Base Report Findings

  Sericulture farms in India’s northeastern state of Assam, are suddenly witnessing a rush of female workers.

Desi billionaires hold 44 per cent of their wealth in property, while the global average is 24 per cent. From Africa to America, the rich world-over have their wealth where their heart is — in their homes. Nearly a third of the wealth held by the super-rich (those with over $30 million of assets) in Europe is locked in real estate assets worth $2,391 billion, according to data from Savills, a global property consultant. The Asians are second, with $1,800 billion, or nearly 27 per cent of their wealth, in property. Over-investment The super-rich in India, as expected, beat the global averages by a big margin. Nearly 44 per cent […]

BANGALORE: Global private equity funds more than doubled their investment in India’s real estate sector in the quarter to March as they foresee an improvement in economy leading to stable long-term yields, according to a report by brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. PE funds invested Rs 2,800 crore in the country’s commercial and residential real estate during the period, a 145% jump over the year-ago quarter, the report said. “This is the highest quarterly private equity investment since Q2 of 2009 by private equity funds in the realty sector, driven by huge investment in commercial real estate and steady fund raising by developers in the residential asset class,” it said. Sanjay […]

Nine years after it was formed, New York-based Brahma Management has lined up big investments for the Indian real estate market . Brahma, an FDI-funded investment and asset management company, has already invested around Rs 2,500 crore in the sector and has plans to put in another Rs 3,000 crore over the next two years. So far, its investments in the realty sector include Gurgaon-based projects Brahma City and Athena, and The Valley, a joint venture township project in Panchkula. While Athena is a retail and commercial office center, Brahma City is a gated township spread over 150 acres of land. Indian real estate market has been facing strong headwinds […]

Approved project 54169-001 in Kyrgyz Republic.

Approved project 54183-001 in Bhutan.

Approved project 54180-001 in Bangladesh.

A reverse mortgage is a special type of loan against a home that allows the borrower to convert a portion of the equity in the property into cash. The equity built up over many years of home loan payments can be paid directly to the borrower. However, unlike a traditional home equity loan no repayment is required until the borrower(s) cease to use the home as their principal residence. With a traditional second mortgage, or a home equity line of credit, one must show sufficient income versus debt ratio to qualify for such a loan, and needs to make monthly payments towards the mortgage. Reverse mortgage differs in that it […]

Capitedge India Investment Advisory, a realty fund and asset management firm floated by six former members of Indian realty team of American banking giant Wells Fargo, is coming out with a residential properties-focused fund in India. This would mark its first fresh fundraising exercise after floating an independent investment advisory firm, which is also managing the remaining assets of Wells Fargo after it shut operations in the country last year. While the founding partners are closely associated in operations, Hiral Soni is driving the domestic fundraise and investment strategy, as per the company website. She was previously with Marvel Realtors and had later also set up a boutique investment banking […]

Financial constraints are a significant barrier for India's SMEs participating in global value chains.

This brief presents findings from a study on labor productivity across various sectors in India and its impact on poverty reduction.

Financial sector development can play a crucial role in driving economic growth.

This publication provides estimates of purchasing power parities (PPPs) and real expenditures for 22 economies in Asia and the Pacific. These are summary regional results from the 2017 cycle of the International Comparison Program (ICP).

Financial constraints are a significant barrier for India's SMEs participating in global value chains.

Financial sector development can play a crucial role in driving economic growth.

MUMBAI/DELHI: Niche luxury brands like Italian suit maker Kiton and British shoemaker John Lobb have started bespoke made-to-order services in India, but they are in no hurry to open swanky stores in the country. Reason: inability to find a place on the right location at reasonable rates. “Rentals in India are as high as international markets, but the demand is not as much,” said Pratik Dalmia, founder of Mumbai-based Regalia Luxury, which has the rights to market and sell Kiton and John Lobb brands in India. Steep rentals and lack of quality retail real estate at strategic locations near high-income neighbourhoods are making it hard for luxury brands to expand […]

Few that have bought or even rented real estate in India would be surprised by a recent survey showing the property market here can be maddeningly murky. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Global Real Estate Transparency Index showed that while things have improved, Indian cities still have to work on transparency. The Chicago-based real-estate consultant said India needs to go further to create more clarity on the rules connected to property purchases and real estate prices. “India still scores among the lowest in the transparency of its transaction process,” the report said. Jones Lang LaSalle looked at just over 100 markets around the world and rated them on a dozen parameters ranging […]

According to a study by India Ratings, lack of credit availability and ongoing economic slowdown in India due to the coronavirus pandemic could lead to the residential sector witnessing weak demand in the fiscal year 2020-21.  Residential demand could remain muted in the next financial year, 2020-21 due to the increasing risks to India’s growth in case the economic impact of coronavirus continues beyond the first quarter.   Moreover, the housing sector faces a liquidity crunch and refinancing challenges due to increasing uncertainty over the availability of credit in the market, coupled with poor demand. This is in the backdrop of the recent meltdown in the financial market and rising risk […]