"While the rest of the world grapples with the consequences of declining birth rates and mass retirements from workforces, India is set to reap the benefits of its demographic bulge. Though India's planners have a tough job on their hands of creating infrastructure and jobs and providing education to keep the momentum of growth, the country is set for an era of relentless Indian expansion.

By 2020, India will add an additional 110 million people to its working ranks, the single largest increase in the global labor force, according to a Goldman Sachs report. Demographics alone would contribute four percent of annual growth in India for the next 20 years. Based on last year's GDP of $1.2 trillion, this projection amounts to almost $50 billion in the first year alone, compounding thereafter."

"President Aquino has laid down his plan to engage in more public-private partnerships to build roads and bridges, agricultural facilities and fund his plans for reforms in education, health and other social services. His panacea seems to be hinged upon the privatization of basic social services and infrastructure development which has historically resulted in many of the problems that consumers are facing right now: ever increasing rates in electricity, water and other basic services.

The privatization of utilities ranging from water, power, oil, trains, roads, tollways to cell phones have only resulted in increases in the rates for these utilities. Consumers are made to pay for the losses of these private companies such as non-revenue water, systems loss, and foreign exchange losses. The government should build the necessary infrastructure and create services that will make day-to-day activities easier."

"Deposits in Cambodia's microfinance institutions (MFIs) surged almost 150 percent during the first six months of this year, compared to the same period of last year, in a trend that is likely to continue. Although the significant growth was measured against a low base, by June this year total microfinance deposits hit 71 billion riels ($16.7 million).

Deposits were on the rise as customers were drawn by higher interest rates than those offered by commercial banks. Figures also showed total outstanding loans among the 22 MFIs increased to 1,357 billion riel ($320 million) for the first half of the year. That represented a 25 percent increase on last year's corresponding period."

"There are 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan who live with host families, according to statistics. Life is hard for most of the disabled at the IDP camps in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which house some 105,000 people. For those who are old or have problems with their mobility, it's difficult to get to the sanitation areas or to move beyond their tent blocks. Some attempts have been made to change this.

In 2009, the charity Sightsavers carried out an assessment at Jalozai Camp for IDPs at Nowshera near Peshawar and identified 188 persons with disabilities. The group was able to initiate a project to improve the social inclusion of the disabled by setting up sanitation facilities that offered them better access. Lack of awareness of what constitutes a disability and what can be done about it is a problem among IDPs in northern Pakistan who typically rarely see doctors."

"Indonesia has hit the fast lane in terms of auto sales and has overtaken Southeast Asian pace-setter Thailand for the first time, according to a survey from the first six months of the year. Sales peaked in Indonesia at 600,000 units in 2008 but slumped 20 percent last year due to the global financial turmoil. This year's figures are expected to top 700,000 for the first time, ahead of Thailand.

The Indonesian Automotive Industry Association said auto sales in Indonesia jumped 76 percent to 370,206 vehicles in the first half of 2010, driven by strong demand for minivans with engine outputs of 1.5 liters. Some 1.18 million new vehicles were sold in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Viet Nam and Singapore during the period."

"Large losses in perishable farm produce often occur in India because of the lack of proper processing and storage. In the case of fruit and vegetables, the losses are substantial. Processing and storage expenses are beyond the reach of an individual farmer. The capacity to store what is procured remains a costly affair and is limited to what can be dried and saved.

Infrastructure must be built to reduce these losses. There are fiscal incentives to build proper storage and cold chains. New infrastructure is necessary because the scale of marketing operations today has grown, to meet the demands of an ever-expanding urban population."

"Every day, more than 100 fishing boats launch into the waters off Panichchankerni in the eastern Batticaloa District -- four times the number when fighting re-erupted four years ago. The revival bodes well for the local economy, which relied on fishing and agriculture for 50 percent of its revenue before the 26-year conflict.

On a good day, fishermen can earn as much as $185, though the average daily income is about $10-$30. The booming industry has also provided an income stream for at least 500 villagers as boat hands and in other odd jobs. While coastal fishing has revived in the east, more technical knowledge and input are needed to bring back deep-sea fishing."

"More than 95 percent of women living in remote districts of Nepal are forced to give birth at home which often proves fatal for them. Although the government has initiated programs that pay women to deliver in hospitals, the time taken to travel is backbreaking. Service fees, transportation costs and the time involved in getting to a hospital are the main reasons so many women labor at home.

The government is trying to address these barriers with a new program that offers free service and incentives, but other challenges to combating maternal mortality remain. Remote hospitals are under-equipped and understaffed, and the disempowerment of young women makes it difficult for them to take control of health decisions."

"The 'quick, determined and effective' policy response of authorities in PRC has helped mitigate the impact of the financial crisis and ensured that China has led the global recovery, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. The IMF praised China for its adoption of a fiscal stimulus during the crisis: 'public infrastructure spending was quickly increased, taxes were lowered, the government put in place incentives to boost purchases of consumer durables, and pensions, social transfers, healthcare and education spending were all raised.'

On monetary policy, the report said China's central bank lowered interest rates and reserve requirements, and removed limits on credit growth, which led to an extraordinary surge in bank lending. The report said China's economic recovery has 'significant positive spillovers' to the region and the world economy as a whole, both through increased demand for commodities and through higher imports of capital goods."

"The Philippine government will ask foreign investors to pool their assets into a large fund that will invest in big-ticket infrastructure projects of the Aquino administration, according to Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. The idea of a Philippine infrastructure fund is not a new one, with previous administrations having tried to drum up support for private-sector funded projects through the state-owned National Development Corp (NDC).

The latest incarnation of this idea proposed by the Arroyo administration as recently as last year was the allocation of P50 billion for the NDC, which would be used as seed money for big-ticket infrastructure projects. Under this scheme, the cash would be raised by selling bonds to the public."

"There is no doubt that the horrific traffic jams in Dhaka, and the quality of the transport plying the roads, both need to be addressed firmly and effectively. But it appears that the authorities concerned have not been taking measures with consideration for the reality on the ground, which is why the recent ban on over 20-year-old buses and micro-buses has had such a frustrating effect on citizens. Even with the commissioning of a few hundred new buses on the busiest routes the gap left by the withdrawal of unfit vehicles clearly could not be filled.

The government has a responsibility to manage the transport sector as fairly as possible both for the service providers and the service takers. The most important objective of urban transport development and management should be to introduce services capable of carrying the maximum numbers smoothly and swiftly. It is imperative that work on the proposed rail-based and bus-based mass rapid transport systems is expedited, and at the same time more thought given to managing the problem of oppressive gridlocks in a sustainable manner."

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