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T O P H E A D L I N E S 9 February 2010
1. PAKISTAN: Challenges to growth revival
2. PRC: Pledge to reduce hospital costs
3. INDIA: Adapt technology to boost farm productivity
4. THAILAND: Lack of water storage to delay rice planting
5. INDONESIA: Rural economy microcredit scheme helps women
6. BANGLADESH: Traffic at standstill due to no infrastructure
7. VIET NAM: Forests hold key to poverty alleviation
8. BANGLADESH: Riverbed cleaning drive proving futile
9. INDONESIA: Hospitals lack support for the poor
10. CAMBODIA: ATM growth slows to 10 percent
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W H A T ' S N E W
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I N D E P T H
1. PAKISTAN: Challenges to growth revival
Source: Dawn
"The Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) has warned that key macroeconomic indicators present concern for the economy as inflation remains stubborn. PIDE observes that overall persistent inflation, sluggish activity in the real sector, the internal security environment and weak recovery in the global economy present a challenging environment for reviving growth.
The report highlights that controlling inflation has been problematic due to the depreciation of the rupee and the rising cost of food items including wheat and sugar. It also said that the rising oil prices would have an impact on the domestic market leading to an increase in inflationary trends. A balancing act is required by the government to keep its stabilization polices on track while maintaining economic activities."
Full article: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/business/13+pide-warns-of-challenges-to-growth-revival-320-za-09
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2. PRC: Pledge to reduce hospital costs
Source: China Daily
"The PRC government's decision to start public hospital reform with pilot programs is crucial to help reform the country's overall healthcare system. But unless the government comes up with fiscal input to adequately and timely compensate public hospitals to stop making undue profits from the sale of medicines, it will be hard to progress toward a reasonable, effective and optimal healthcare system across the country.
According to the new guidelines, public hospitals are expected to reduce their financial dependence on the sale of medicines and instead depend more on medical service charges and government subsidies. Yet the lack of a clear-cut promise on the minimum fiscal support that the hospitals can expect from the government will more than likely make it difficult for pilot hospitals to press ahead with the reform."
Full article: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2010-02/05/content_9432354.htm
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3. INDIA OP/ED: Adapt technology to boost farm productivity
Source: Hindu Businessline
"The Indian government needs to become much more aggressive about new technologies to tackle the productivity problem in agriculture. There is no time to lose because with even more rapid growth in incomes, food prices will be the first to feel the effect. This doesn't mean that new technologies alone will solve the dilemma.
The problem is to convince farmers that, regardless of what opponents of the new technologies say, they should adopt these as soon as they become available, assuming, of course, that they have been approved after rigorous scientific testing. To those who oppose the new technologies, the question needs to be asked: if no ill-effects have been seen in other countries that have adopted these seeds, why should India be an exception?"
Full article: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/02/06/stories/2010020650850800.htm
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4. THAILAND: Rice planting to be delayed due to water storage problems
Source: The Nation
"Thailand is in a dilemma because of the limited national capacity to store rainwater for the dry season. Though rainfall volume has not changed much over recent years, demand for water is increasing, encouraged by attractive farm prices. Storage capacity has increased only slightly.
The situation would be improved if Thailand could capture more water. But it has been difficult to implement irrigation plans as some watersheds are in forest areas while some locations are on private land. Meanwhile, some old wells are being ignored as more tapwater reaches villages."
Full article: http://nationmultimedia.com/2010/02/08/business/business_30122031.php
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5. INDONESIA: Rural economy microcredit scheme helps women
Source: Jakarta Post
"The Women's Savings and Loan (SPP) program aims to help women in poverty-stricken villages in many places across Indonesia by offering them loans to fund their businesses. At 12 percent a year, the interest rate for the loan is lower than the 14 to 22 percent charged by the government's micro credit loan. For many borrowers paying the interest on that amount is a burden.
Residents in the district had seen an increase in their daily income to an average of Rp 40,000 currently from Rp 30,000 before the programs were introduced in 2006. The project mostly funds infrastructure projects and many SPP beneficiaries now have thriving businesses."
Full article: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/08/rural-economy-microcredit-scheme-helps-women%E2%80%99s-businesses-thrive-aceh.html
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6. BANGLADESH: Traffic at standstill due to no infrastructure
Source: Daily Star
"One of the main reasons for Dhaka city's heavy traffic congestion is fewer roads compared to a huge and disproportionate number of vehicles plying the streets. The scope of broadening existing roads or building new roads is also limited. Alternative modes of transport like metro rail or elevated expressways cannot be built overnight.
Yet, it is also true that the few roads in the city are available for the free movement of traffic. Time and again, experts, professionals and conscious citizens in the country have come up with many valuable suggestions for the government to deal with the situation, but very few of these have been implemented."
Full article: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=125309
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7. VIET NAM: Forests hold key to poverty alleviation
Source: Bernama
"Viet Nam should pay more attention to forest plantations and protection as it will help the country in mitigating climate change as well as reducing the number of poor households in key forestry areas. The deputy minister of agricultural and rural development reported that the forestry sector's biggest difficulty is to balance the relationship between hunger elimination and poverty reduction.
Currently, 85 percent of preserved forest area was located in regions which had high and average poverty rates. To solve the problem, the ministry is seeking measures to mobilize financial sources and encourage economic sectors to invest in forest usage, development and management. The ministry was also creating a favorable legal framework and improved investment environment to attract more foreign investment in planting industrial material forests, processing forestry products and technology transfers."
Full article: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=473269
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8. BANGLADESH: Riverbed cleaning drive proving futile
Source: Daily Star
"A Buriganga riverbed cleaning drive initiated by the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority is becoming completely ineffective with tons of waste being disposed into the waters everyday. Environmentalists fear that unless urgent action is taken to prevent dumping rubbish into the rivers, it is going to remain a lifeless pit.
The daily dumping of rubbish in the river is so rampant that at places small islands have been created. Mountains of household rubbish have been piled up every 100 meters along the banks. Solid waste management is nonexistent along the river which raises questions about the utility of the cleanup drive that continues in full swing nearby."
Full article: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=125353
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9. INDONESIA: Hospitals lack support for the poor
Source: Jakarta Post
"Indonesian hospitals in general do not support the poorer sectors of society, as people still have difficulties in accessing adequate health services even though they have cards classifying them to be from low-income families. For this reason, the Health Ministry has been urged to push for the deliberation of a bill to implement a nationwide welfare system.
The ministry was urged to speed up the establishment of the Hospital Monitoring Agency to help improve hospital quality in providing health services and erase discrimination in their services to poorer patients."
Full article: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/02/08/indonesian-hospitals-lack-concern-over-poor.html
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10. CAMBODIA: ATM growth slows to 10 percent
Source: Phnom Penh Post
"The spread of ATMs in Cambodia slowed to 10 percent growth last year, from 91 percent in 2008, new figures from the National Bank of Cambodia show. This 10 percent rise, in a year in which several new banks were launched, including Sacombank of Vietnam and State Bank of India, compares with a 91 percent annualized increase in the number of ATMs in 2008.
Officials from the State Bank of India, though they have no plans to introduce ATMs in 2010, are considering where expansion lies for cash machine provision. 'The future growth of this sector lies in the unbanked rural areas of Cambodia,' said Ramesh Chandra Baliarsingh, State Bank of India's chief executive in Cambodia."
Full article: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010020531710/Business/growth-in-atms-slowed-to-just-10pc-in-2009-nbc-says.html
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D E V B l o g s R O U N D U P
The government of India places high priority on reducing poverty by raising agricultural productivity. However, bold action from policymakers will be required to shift away from the existing subsidy-based regime that is no longer sustainable, to build a solid foundation for a highly productive, internationally competitive, and diversified agricultural sector.
Full article: http://www.simama.org/article/agriculture-in-india-issues-and-challenges
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