"Scarcity of safe water for everyday use is becoming more of a serious concern in Bangladesh. All of the municipal areas of the country need to be supplied adequately with safe water. Efforts should be made to acquire the required funds and to facilitate their disbursement, in view of the urgency of the situation. External donors may be approached to provide funds on easier terms for establishment of sufficient capacities for supplying safe water in every municipal area of the country.

The conservation of water and its use is necessary under a comprehensive water management plan. The measures need to include conservation of water from floods and rain, and harvesting of rain waters. Infrastructures to this end at the micro- and macro-levels will be necessary and the same must be set up under a time-frame for getting the best results. Furthermore, the government should start mobilizing funds and assistance to set up water desalination plants to free sea water from salt."

"The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged PRC to embark on sweeping financial system reforms to shore up long-term growth, starting by freeing up its undervalued yuan. The IMF praised market-oriented changes already underway, but said China needed to embark on a complex 'rebalancing' plan that would take the country from an export focus to a more domestic-consumption model.

That would boost household incomes, help build the country's service industries, and strengthen China's role in the global financial system. The IMF mapped out a sequence of 'risky' reforms necessary to adapt the country to shifts in its labor market, keep a strong hand on financial bubbles, and give the authorities better tools to manage the world's second largest economy."

"The National Economic and Development Authority, has sought help from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, a government think-tank, and the state-run Philippine Center for Economic Development to devise an economic blueprint for the long-term. After a year in office, the administration is expected to have completed or at least to be nearly finished drafting such a plan. This situation underscores the need for officials to work faster.

Still, the plans already in place need to be fleshed out. For example, the government is aiming for an economic growth of 7 percent to 8 percent annually from 2011 to 2016, according to the released Philippine Development Plan. One has to be serious and ask: how can we expect the economy to grow at 7 percent to 8 percent when electricity is in short supply? In the absence of heavy inflows of foreign direct investments, the government must stimulate the economy through public spending, preferably on infrastructure construction rather than on dole-out programs."

"When applying to university in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, 23-year-old Temur could try to win a scholarship that would cover his expenses and fees, or pay the annual $600 tuition. But there was a third, more practical option, too. 'I paid $100 to the dean to enter the university on a government-funded scholarship,' he said. Graft in higher education has long been common throughout the former Soviet Union, where instructors' meager salaries and a culture of corruption have made paying extra fees for the right grade, or the right entrance exam score, a preferred option for many young people.

Some education experts in Tajikistan estimate that only few students obtain a university diploma without paying bribes somewhere along the way. The trend is having long-term adverse effects outside the classroom: The lack of qualified experts in every field will cause 'a very big problem' for Tajikistan, said Oynihol Bobonazarova, who runs a legal-support clinic in Dushanbe."

"Countries from India and Indonesia to Russia are tightening their grip on natural resources as they limit exports to build up domestic industries in a trend that will spawn many challenges to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. Export barriers are tightening on commodities ranging from food and coal to iron ore and coveted rare earths that have critical roles in high-tech devices as countries harden positions on what they see as a sovereign right to development.

The WTO ruled this month that China broke trade laws when it curbed exports of coveted raw materials, a verdict that seemed to cast a doubt over nations' right to control and use raw materials on their soil. Increased export curbs by developing countries stem from short-term protectionist motives rather than long-term industrial policy, said Razeen Sally, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy, a think-tank based in Brussels."

"Experts have pegged the cost of a railway link to Viet Nam at $686 million, after the conclusion of a feasibility study for the construction of the link from Kampong Speu province to the border with Viet Nam. The proposed railway line would plug the largest missing link on the planned Singapore to Kunming, China rail line.

The 257-kilometer link was estimated to cost some $686 million, not including settlement compensation for residents affected by the project, it said. The Asian Development Bank is presently spearheading a project to revamp the country's existing rail links, including the 254 kilometer South Line from the capital to Sihanoukville, and the 388 North Line from Phnom Penh to the border with Thailand."

"A huge amount of progress has been made in education, and the education of girls especially, over the past decade in Afghanistan. Malalai school is considered the country's best for girls. Its halls are spotless, the curriculum is packed and discipline is rigid. Education standards were dire under the Taliban. At the time its six-year rule collapsed in 2001, there were less than 1 million children in school and almost no girls. Last year there were 7 million children in school including 2.5 million girls, according to the Afghan ministry of education.

A total of 2,500 pupils from grades 1 through 12 attend Malalai (boys can attend up to 6th grade), and the school, which is open to everyone, is a striking example of how things can improve. In this case, the Afghan government, international aid agencies, pupils, teachers and parents have worked together to rebuild a standards-setting establishment."

"Most people in Sri Lanka would have watched with regret the closure of essential institutions, such as, hospitals and schools, in some parts of the country over the years. We believe that public welfare, which is an essential aspect of development, cannot be left at the mercy of market forces. The state should not only be interventionist to an extent, but should continue to be committed to the people's welfare if development in the truest sense is to continue. Essential public facilities must continue into the future.

From this point of view, the state is doing right by reopening provincial and other hospitals that were closed at one time on account of the conflict and other compulsions. Many of these are being reopened in the North and this would, no doubt, accrue to the good of the Northern people."

"India is weighed down by high costs. This is more a result of delays in project implementation than rising interest rates. Investments are caught in the cross-currents of issues such as ecology and land availability. At the end of two decades of economic reforms, the economy is still some distance away from the desired 9 percent annual GDP growth. Economic reform and a liberal business environment have helped to spur growth rate.

At the same time, however, the domestic economy is more exposed to external shocks. In the past two decades, the economy has witnessed two periods of upsurge in growth, each followed by a period of downturn, which was due almost entirely to the adverse global economic environment. It is largely on account of shifting external economic conditions that the economy has not been able to sustain the growth momentum, and reap the full benefits of economic reform."

"Since early July, Uzbek authorities have placed even tighter restrictions on the border with the Kyrgyz Republic as a way of curbing exports of agricultural exports, the Russian news agency Regnum reports. The measures are part of annual efforts by Tashkent to keep farming produce in the country and hold down prices, although it is especially severe this summer because official crossing-points have been closed to all but limited traffic since ethnic violence hit the Kyrgyz Republic in June 2010.

However, it seems to have had a mixed effect -- while perishable fruit and vegetables have become cheaper as a result, meat and flour have become more expensive in Uzbekistan. Trade between the two neighbors was already restricted, but has decreased even further. The Central Asian Free Market Institute in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek reports that bilateral trade turnover has halved in the last 15 months."

"The government is calling for $78 billion in infrastructure development through public-private partnerships (PPP) by 2014 to reach its 7 percent growth target and increase job opportunities and public welfare, senior government officials say. Lukita D. Tuwo, Deputy National Development Planning Minister, said that the nation's total infrastructure needs for 2010 to 2014 topped Rp 1,923.7 trillion ($225.07 billion), almost half of which would be funded by the central government and regional administrations via the state budget.

State-owned enterprises would invest Rp 340.85 trillion, while the remaining Rp 668.34 trillion would come from the private sector through the PPP scheme. Lukita said there would be incentives for investors in the PPP scheme, such as reducing income tax and building tax and import duties and making business licenses easier to obtain."

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