Category: Other
India sticks with stimulus despite good growth
NEW DELHI, December 11, 2009 (AFP) – India’s car sales are racing ahead, mobile phone sales are booming and share prices have rocketed, but policy makers are signalling a go-slow approach to ending economic stimulus and hiking rates.Even with inflationary pressure returning, central bankers and the government are suggesting only a gradual roll-back of stimulus […]
Progress Call
December 9, 2009 (AFP) – The United States said Wednesday it was willing to extend more aid to Sri Lanka provided there was progress in political reconciliation and human rights.He commended the government’s efforts to allow war-displaced civilians to leave state-run welfare camps in the north at their own free will and said Sri Lanka […]
‘s Supreme Court suggests legal prostitution: report
NEW DELHI, December 10, 2009 (AFP) – India’s Supreme Court suggested legalising prostitution as a solution to the rampant sex trade that has flourished despite a raft of laws, a report said Thursday.“When you say it is the world’s oldest profession and when you are not able to curb it by laws, why don’t you […]
Indian IT industry a target for militants: official
NEW DELHI, December 9, 2009 (AFP) – India’s multi-billion-dollar IT software industry is a target for attacks by militant groups, a top home ministry official warned Wednesday. “We are world leaders in software,” Gopal Pillai, India’s home secretary told a conference on the “Challenge of Terrorism to India’s Infrastructure and Economy” in New Delhi. “The […]
India in new privatization drive
NEW DELHI, December 8, 2009 (AFP) – The Indian government will complete stake sales in three state-run companies by the end of the current financial year in March, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday.Divestment of five percent each in the National Thermal Power Corporation and the Rural Electrification Corporation and 10 percent in Satluj Jal […]
Dubai faces gradual exodus of migrant workers
DUBAI, December 6, 2009 (AFP) – Construction worker Bilal is in a happy mood as he takes his lunch break sitting next to an artificial lake near Dubai’s showpiece Mall of the Emirates.But he admits anxiety about the end of his contract in one year’s time, when the 24-year-old may have to return to Bangladesh. […]
Policy Perspective
Dec 05, 2009 (LBO) – A good policy should carry with it six qualifications. The policy should be simple, consistent, efficient, cost-effective, free from unintended consequences and sustainable.Hence, any policy thrust that is to be pursued should satisfy these qualifications. This applies to the policy on microfinance as well. Policies are implemented by numerous branches […]
Maldives stops money printing; budgets still need fixing: IMF
Dec 05, 2009 (LBO) – The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the archipelago’s central bank has stopped printing money which was causing reserve losses, but the country still had to fix its budgets, the International Monetary Fund has said.The IMF has given 92.5 million US dollars to shore up foreign reserves of the tourist paradise under […]
Sri Lanka tea export earnings hit monthly high
Dec 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea export earnings in October hit a record high and average auction prices this year were much higher than in the last two years, although shipments were down owing to production problems, brokers said. The year-to-date average price of tea was also higher at 3.14 dollars a kilo […]
Sri Lanka mulls support for desiccated coconut exporters
Dec 04, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Plantations Industries Ministry is considering giving an export rebate to desiccated coconut product exporters, a senior official said.Duty on edible oil imports was raised to protect coconut oil millers, who were otherwise unable to compete with cheap edible oil imports. Higher demand from coconut oil mills pushes up […]
Speak Out
Dec 03, 2009 (LBO) – UN officials and human rights groups have praised the decision by the Maldives to decriminalise defamation. Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of democracy and good governance. For democracy to be effective, citizens must be able to hold those in power to account without fear of retribution. I commend all […]
India food inflation soars 17 percent
December 3, 2009 (AFP) – Food inflation in India soared by over 17 percent in the 12 months ending November 21, official figures showed Thursday, raising pressure on the central bank to tighten monetary policy.Earlier most economists were betting that the first rate rise would come in April. The food price index climbed 17.47 percent […]