Kathmandu, July 18 (IANS) The Nepali government has prepared a draft amendment to the Public Debt Management Act that would allow it to issue government debt instruments denominated in foreign currency for the first time. “The Public Debt Management Office may issue government securities, through auction or other prescribed methods, denominated in either domestic or foreign currency, in a manner that allows them to be purchased by domestic or foreign individuals or entities,” the draft bill …
Latest Asian Development Bank News & Updates
Kathmandu, July 16 (IANS) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has identified the Nepal-India digital payment corridor as a major untapped opportunity that could significantly improve trade, tourism, and remittance flows between the two neighbouring countries. In its report ‘Advancing Digital Payments in Nepal: Infrastructure Upgrades and Policy Development for Enhanced Trade Facilitation’ released earlier this week, the Manila-based lender said billions of dollars move annually between Nepal and In…
New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) Pakistan’s economic growth is expected to slow in the current fiscal year as higher energy costs and pressure on foreign remittances weigh on the economy, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in its latest outlook, according to a report.A report published in Dawn said that the lender has revised down Pakistan’s GDP growth forecast for FY27 to 3.7 per cent from the 4.5 per cent projected in April, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO).The ADB cautioned that t…
Guwahati, July 9 (IANS) Assam Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Kaushik Rai said on Thursday on the floor of the Legislative Assembly that the long-delayed drinking water supply projects in Guwahati, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), are now expected to be completed by December this year after more than a decade since work began. Replying to a query by Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed, Rai added that the South-Central Guwahati Water Supply Project has achieved 96.75 per …
New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) India’s economy is projected to grow 6.6 per cent in FY27, with the country expected to remain among the world’s fastest-growing major economies despite global headwinds, supported by policy measures and strong services exports, a report has said.The report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) highlighted that its revised FY27 growth projection remains higher than the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) latest FY27 growth estimate of 6.4 per cent.”Growth will be supported…
Shillong, July 8 (IANS) Meghalaya Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said on Wednesday that the state has registered a significant improvement in school education, moving up two grades in the Union government’s Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for 2025-26. The Minister added that the state’s overall PGI score increased from 448 in 2024-25 to 525.7 in 2025-26, enabling Meghalaya to move from the Akanshi-3 category, the lowest performance band, to Akanshi-1 in a single assessment cycle.According…
Kathmandu, July 7 (IANS) Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah, who had avoided one-on-one meetings with foreign officials since taking office, held his first such meeting on Tuesday with visiting Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda. Instead of meeting foreign diplomats individually, Shah has so far preferred collective interactions with Ambassadors, seeking to maintain a strict protocol governing such engagements.Three and a half months after assuming office on March 27, Shah met…
New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Political tensions are surfacing in Pakistan between leaders from Sindh and the Federal government over the lack of investment in Karachi, the country’s largest commercial hub, that is being turned into an unlivable city, according to a report.Senior Sindh Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon sharply criticised Pakistan’s federal government for what he calls a “low priority” approach toward Karachi, the article in the Ceylon Wire News said, observing that his statements und…
Manila, June 28 (IANS) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a 13-million-USD financing package to help Bhutan strengthen resilient urban infrastructure and expand affordable rental housing for low-income and vulnerable households.The package comprises a $5 million concessional loan and an $8 million grant, the bank said in a statement on Saturday.Bhutan’s rapid urbanisation has outpaced infrastructure development, leaving economically disadvantaged households vulnerable to flooding, landsli…
Colombo, June 27 (IANS) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 57.4-million-US-dollar financing package to help Sri Lanka expand access to affordable clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the bank said in a statement. The financing will support rooftop solar aggregation and virtual net metering, allowing eligible consumers to benefit from solar power without installing panels on their own buildings.The package includes a 35-million-dollar concessional loan, a 16.9-million-do…