Asia Archives - Page 100 of 108

J&K shows roadmap to curb COVID-19, economy recovery: Report

11Aug

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia

J&K shows roadmap to curb COVID-19, economy recovery: Report

A member of the European Parliament has said that at a time when coronavirus has terrorized the governments of the most developed countries, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has effectively controlled the COVID-19 spread and brought the daily life in the region to normal.Citing an example of effective curbing of deadly viral disease, Ryszard Czarnecki, a member of the European Parliament from Poland, said in a report published in the EU Chronicle that Jammu and Kashmir has offered a roadmap to recovery to the world.“Jammu & Kashmir’s Srinagar was included among the tiny list of 16 districts in India, which were asked to share best practices about controlling coronavirus spread with 700 districts in the country. Jammu and Kashmir that is subjected to highly maligned campaign by nei...

Construction of mega lift irrigation project at Tral in full swing after J&K turns into UT

11Aug

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia

Construction of mega lift irrigation project at Tral in full swing after J&K turns into UT

The construction work of the Tral Lift Irrigation Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama gained momentum after the Indian government revoked Article 370 and announced Jammu and Kashmir as Union Territory in 2019.This much-awaited and prestigious scheme is a three-staged lift irrigation project, implemented at a cost of 170.50 crore under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP) and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) having an irrigation potential of 4,818 hectares.Initially, stage I and stage II (partly) of the scheme were commissioned and work was going at a low pace for stage III, but now the work has started on a war-footing as the administration directed the officials to complete the project by 2020 end.The mega scheme is situated in Tral town of the Pulwama dist...

Jammu and Kashmir govt claims 100% success in 7 government schemes

8Aug

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia

Jammu and Kashmir govt claims 100% success in 7 government schemes

With Article 370 revoked, the newly formed government of the Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir has claimed 100 per cent achievement in seven government sponsored schemes that include Saubhagya and PM Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).Other schemes include UJALA, Mission Indradhanush (Jammu), Mission Indradhanush Aspirational Districts under GSA (Baramullah and Kupwara), Swachh Bharat Mission and Integrated Social Security (State Scheme).According to the data compiled by the erstwhile state government, around 3, 57,405 beneficiaries were covered in the last one year under the Saubhagya scheme. The Saubhagya Scheme or ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana’ is an Indian government's project to provide electricity to the households. The project was announced in September 2017 by Prime Minister Naren...

Prime Minister’s Development Package helping progressive apple growers in J&K

5Aug

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia

Prime Minister’s Development Package helping progressive apple growers in J&K

The situation of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) farmers is now better than ever due to the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP), announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.Under the package, the horticulture department has set up apple orchards in the Union Territory’s Anantnag district to help increase the apple production and has lent a helping hand to an apple grower by giving him high-density apple plants under the PMDP which provides them nets, borewells and other facilities on subsidy.These high-density plants yield good results within two years of planting as compared to the traditional plants that give limited apple production even after ten years occupying large space.Under the scheme, the government promotes high-density plantations, phasing out old plantations which h...

China’s economy is recovering. That’s good news for Southeast Asia

4Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, China, World

China’s economy is recovering. That’s good news for Southeast Asia

Pedestrians wearing face masks walk along a road in the Central Business District in Beijing on July 16, 2020. Wang Zhao | AFP | Getty Images Southeast Asian nations will likely benefit from China's economic rebound as the country commands a "lion's share" of regional exports, one economist said this week. China on Thursday said its gross domestic product grew by 3.2% for the second quarter of 2020, compared to the same period a year ago. The country's GDP shrank by 6.8% in the first quarter, when lockdowns were in place due to the coronavirus outbreak. Analysts were expect GDP to grow only 2.5% for the April to June quarter. "While numerous challenges remain, the uptick would rekindle hopes that China's economy can help to pull others along," Wellian Wiranto, an economist at OCBC Bank, w...

Indian government undertakes various development projects in Srinagar to ease people’s lives

4Aug

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia

Indian government undertakes various development projects in Srinagar to ease people’s lives

Between 2013 and 2019, the Indian government has completed various infrastructure projects, including a two-tube flyover from Jehangir Chowk to Rambagh to ease the lives of people living in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar.The work on the Rs 300 crore flyover, which has eased the traffic woes of the people started in 2013.The project to construct a length of 2.40 kilometers (kms) in four-lane with total length of four kms including accesses within a total cost of Rs 300.00 crores, was started in 2013. Benefitting an estimated population of four lakh Srinagar citizens, apart from the floating population from other districts, the project was finally thrown open to the public in August 2019.Similarly, the revetment along Jhelum riverfront, which was started in 2015, with a total cost of Rs 358 cr...

Kashmiri youth avail PMEGP scheme to create new opportunities

4Aug

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia, USA

Kashmiri youth avail PMEGP scheme to create new opportunities

Zahoor Ahmad is one of the many people to establish livelihood means through the government’s employment generation scheme. As Covid-19 crisis gripped the Kashmir Valley, his garment-manufacturing unit, in South Kashmir's Pulwama, manufactured thousands of face masks for the people of the region."When this virus came, we made about 80,000 face masks after district administration placed an order with us," says Ahmad.The Khadi Village Industries Board (KVIB) helped him establish the factory, where other youth also work.After the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, several governmental schemes have reached Kashmir and benefitted many like Ahmad, who borrowed a loan under Prime Ministers Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).PMEGP is a credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generatin...

Asia’s garment workers say COVID-19 used as cover to smash unions

3Aug

By Desk TeamNo Comments

Asia, USA, World

Asia’s garment workers say COVID-19 used as cover to smash unions

BANGKOK: From factory floors in India to the warehouses of Cambodia, garment workers for global brands say the collapse in demand triggered by COVID-19 is being used as a cover to break their unions. The crippling effect of the pandemic has seen orders worth billions of dollars cancelled across manufacturing hubs in China, Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and Myanmar. That has left hundreds of thousands out of work in some of Asia's poorest countries. But workers allege the financial turmoil has also provided an opportunity for bosses to target troublesome shop floors where unions have pressed for higher wages and better conditions. In southern India's Karnataka state - home to 20 per cent of India's massive garment manufacturing sector - union leader Padma has sat every day cross-legge...

Apple starts manufacturing of iPhone 11 in India, leaving China behind

2Aug

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia, China

Apple starts manufacturing of iPhone 11 in India, leaving China behind

Tech giant Apple has reportedly started manufacturing of one of its flagship devices, the iPhone 11, at Chennai’s Foxconn plant, giving the Indian government’s “Aatamnirbhar” or self-reliant initiative a major boost.This is the first time Apple has manufactured a top-of-the-line model in India.Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal announced the news on Twitter, saying, “Significant boost to Make in India! Apple has started manufacturing iPhone 11 in India, bringing a top-of-the-line model for the first time in the country."Prior to this, the Cupertino-based tech giant had started assembling the iPhone XR in India in 2019. In 2017, Apple had started the domestic manufacturing of the Apple iPhone SE 2016 in the Bangalore plant.Apple also has plans to make the iPhone SE 2020 in India in its Wistron ...

Pakistan jolts all-weather ally China, warns its app TikTok, blocks Bigo Live

31Jul

By Joe RodriguezNo Comments

Asia, Singapore

Pakistan jolts all-weather ally China, warns its app TikTok, blocks Bigo Live

Pakistan has given a big jolt to the business ambition of Chinese tech firms in the country by issuing a “final warning” to video-sharing app TikTok over obscene and immoral content and blocking the Bigo Live streaming application.Such moves from Pakistan is unexpected for China, since it was Beijing which has invested billions of dollars in the country.The Pakistani establishment's unhappiness with theses Chinese social media applications is not overtly linked to security or geopolitical issues like India that banned 59 Chinese apps on security grounds.The United States is also seriously mulling a ban on TikTok, alleging that it's a front for data mining and all user data is shared with the Chinese government. TikTok is under scrutiny in Australia too for similar reasons.So even if there ...

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