The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $126.42 million loan along with $1 million in technical assistance to promote sustainable and climate-resilient tourism in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Lake area, one of the state’s most vulnerable and economically disadvantaged regions.
Recent tariff negotiations have also strengthened Pakistan’s position. Islamabad successfully reduced US reciprocal tariffs from 29 per cent to 19 per cent, a move projected to enhance access to US markets.
In a move signalling a profound shift in Pakistan’s infrastructure financing and geopolitical posture, China has withdrawn from financing the pivotal Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project, a cornerstone of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)
This tiered approach underscores APEDA’s commitment to baseline outreach – casting a wide net to capture diverse innovation – and then funnelling support to ventures with the greatest capacity for export success.
At the Sixth Trilateral Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue held in Kabul on 20 August 2025, Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reached a landmark agreement to extend CPEC into Afghanistan.
The new NDA will recommend and authorise projects under Article 6.4, including activities ranging from renewable energy and green hydrogen to green ammonia and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
In almost every sector, certain frameworks eventually become signals. Certifications become indicators of quality. Governance standards become indicators of reliability. Disclosure practices become indicators of organisational readiness.
For Asia’s rice bowl, the coming months will be critical. Farmers, traders, and policymakers must prepare for a potentially volatile period that could test food security across the region.
Analysts suggest a balanced outcome might involve India strengthening its own forced labour import monitoring mechanisms while securing phased tariff reductions and dispute resolution clauses that provide greater predictability for Indian exporters.
In almost every sector, certain frameworks eventually become signals. Certifications become indicators of quality. Governance standards become indicators of reliability. Disclosure practices become indicators of organisational readiness.
For Asia’s rice bowl, the coming months will be critical. Farmers, traders, and policymakers must prepare for a potentially volatile period that could test food security across the region.
Bilateral trade reached $129 billion in 2024, with India enjoying a surplus. US agricultural imports from India rose, but concerns persist over subsidised US products undercutting Indian farmers. Agriculture employs about 42 per cent of India’s population, making it politically explosive – as seen in the 2021 farm law protests.