Subscribe / Unsubscribe Search | Poverty Spotlight | Past Editions | Print TOP HEADLINES 5 January 2015 1. INDIA: New initiatives dot development map 2. SOUTH ASIA: The science of early disaster warnings 3. INDONESIA: Aceh's unfinished recovery 4. PRC: To ease investment rules in FTZs 5. PHILIPPINES: Moves on PPP program 6. VIET NAM: Red River Delta lures 5,207 FDI projects 7. ASIA: Challenges to integration 8. CAMBODIA: China to fund farming-center 9. PAKISTAN: Concerns over agricultural growth prospects 10. PHILIPPINES: Weak gov't spending drags on economy IN DEPTH 1. INDIA: New initiatives dot development map Source: One World "The change of guard in the government witnessed by India after a decade is also getting reflected in the country's development map. In the last six months, the new government in India has been working to bring about some changes in the existing system, particularly with the launch of schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna, and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan for achieving progressive goals of financial inclusion and total sanitation. The focus is also on digitizing India and eradication of the practice of open-defecation, especially in rural pockets. The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been launched to realize the idea of comprehensive financial inclusion, which is intended to bring employment to poor people and also to raise their transaction capacity. The nation-wide-scheme has its seeds in the challenging idea of including millions of citizens in the financial system as it targets to provide universal access to banking facilities." 2. SOUTH ASIA: The science of early disaster warnings Source: SciDev "Post-tsunami South Asia has better early warning systems, but reaching remote communities is still problematic, says an expert. Managing disaster early warnings is both a science and an art. When done well, it literally saves lives -- but only if the word quickly reaches all those at risk, and they know how to react. We have come a long way since the devastating Asian Tsunami of December 2004, which caught Indian Ocean countries by surprise. The good news is that advances in science and communications technology, greater international cooperation, and revamped national systems have vastly improved tsunami early warnings during the past decade. However, some critical gaps and challenges remain." B O O K S The Asian Tsunami: Aid and Reconstruction After a Disaster The death toll following the 2004 Asian tsunami -- close to 230,000 people -- was stunning. The devastation that the tsunami caused highlights the need to strengthen approaches to disaster risk reduction activities across Asia. Summarizing hundreds of reports and articles about the disaster, this book, which is an ADBI study and is free to download, underlines the fact that global disaster risks are highly concentrated in poor countries. And within those countries, it is usually poorer communities who are especially hard-hit when disasters strike. 3. INDONESIA: Aceh's unfinished recovery Source: IRIN "The Indian Ocean tsunami, triggered by a massive earthquake just off the coast of the province of Aceh on tip the Indonesian island of Sumatra, released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima- type atomic bombs and devastated coastal towns and communities. But while the tsunami's destruction was felt around the world, Aceh was by far the region most devastated by the disaster, bearing almost half of the total damage and losses worldwide. Ten years on, Aceh is widely regarded as a success story in disaster reconstruction. This is not entirely surprising -- over the four year mandate of the government-led recovery process, Aceh saw a remarkable amount of construction. With the help of hundreds of aid agencies and donors, under the coordination of the government of Indonesia, more than 140,000 new homes were built, along with around 4,000km of roads, 2,000 schools, 1,000 health facilities, 23 seaports, and 13 airports and landing strips." 4. PRC: To ease investment rules in FTZs Source: China Daily "The Chinese government has been authorized to ease investment rules in three new free trade zones (FTZs). The new zones will be located in South China's Guangdong province, Southeast China's Fujian province and North China's Tianjin. The only FTZ currently operating is in Shanghai. According to the resolution, foreign companies will not need government approvals to set up ventures in these FTZs, shut down and merge ventures or change their business purpose. Instead, they will only need to report business plans to the authorities. The temporary adjustment will begin in March next year and will last for three years, according to the resolution." 5. PHILIPPINES: Moves on PPP program Source: Inquirer "For the first time since President Aquino assumed office, the administration started moving on the public-private partnership program, which is the cornerstone of its economic program. The administration's moves to spur faster economic growth could not have come at a more opportune time. The Philippines has received another credit-rating upgrade from an international debt watcher, pushing the country higher into investment-grade territory. This means that all Philippine entities, from the government to private corporations, can borrow funds from overseas at lower interest rates. With global interest rates set to rise, this is a welcome development on which Filipinos should not fail to capitalize. Indeed, there is a large infrastructure gap which the Philippines needs to bridge if it is to join the ranks of more developed nations and reduce poverty." 6. VIET NAM: Red River Delta lures 5,207 FDI projects Source: Voice of Vietnam "By Dec. 15, 11 Red River Delta provinces had attracted 5,207 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth $63 billion, accounting for 25% of the country's total FDI capital inflows. According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Hanoi topped the list with 3,013 projects worth $23.4 billion, making up 58% of the total number of projects and 38% of total capital inflows into the region. Haiphong came second with 441 projects capitalized at $10.9 billion. Bac Ninh ranked third with 548 projects worth $7.46 billion, followed by Hai Duong with 320 projects worth $6.48 billion. The Republic of Korea took the lead with $12.9 billion investing in 1,580 projects (accounting for 30% in number of projects and 20% in value). Coming after was Japan with 1,020 projects worth $12.7 billion." DEVBlogs ROUNDUP Viet Nam will seek a high-tech solution to its traffic accidents, which killed nearly 9,000 people in 2014. Transport Minister Dinh La Thang instructed relevant agencies to draft a major plan to apply information technology to transportation management. Truong Gia Binh, chairman of Vietnam Software and IT Service Association, said that the use of technology could halve the number of fatal traffic accidents by 2020. 7. ASIA: Challenges to integration Source: The Nation "As ASEAN moves toward one community at the end of 2015, a troubling question is being asked -- whether the grouping is really gluing, or just mere rhetoric. Well, the answer would be a combination of both. To be fair, it has taken ASEAN nearly five decades to come this far with such an ambitious plan for economic, political, social and cultural integration. Looking ahead, ASEAN has some good news. For the time being, the network has made great strides in reducing the poverty level in member countries from 45 percent in 1990 to about 15 percent a decade later in 2010. Only China has been able to reduce a higher poverty level. A middle income group within the 630-million community has risen from 15 percent in 1990 to 37 percent in 2010." 8. CAMBODIA: China to fund farming-center Source: Phnom Penh Post "In a move it says will help Cambodia advance its agricultural sector, the Chinese government has announced its funding of a new agricultural training center to the tune of $6.7 million. The agreement to establish the Cambodia-China Agriculture Promotion Center was recently signed by Ty Sokun, secretary of state at the Ministry of Agriculture, and Wenwen Luo, chairwoman of the Guangxi Forward Agriculture Technology International Corporation in Phnom Penh. Sokun said the center would result in improved techniques and skills for Cambodian farmers. Currently, much of Cambodia's agricultural goods do not meet international standards for foreign buyers, Sokun said, but thanks to the center, he added, Cambodian agricultural products would be qualified to enter the global market." 9. PAKISTAN: Concerns over agricultural growth prospects Source: Dawn "There are major concerns about agricultural growth prospects in Pakistan during 2015 with three main factors: poverty (as a majority of farmers are unable to invest in crops), the confusion about the federal and provincial governments' jurisdictions, and climatic changes that make the production cycle uncertain. Farmers have lost money on almost all major crops -- cotton, rice, cane and wheat during 2014; in many cases they were not even able to recover the cost of production if official estimated costs are something to go by. The farmers' ability to invest on inputs has always been a crucial factor. On the other hand, the cost of inputs -- barring a temporary relief on diesel -- keeps rising." 10. PHILIPPINES: Weak gov't spending drags on economy Source: Jakarta Globe "The Philippines posted its fourth monthly budget surplus this year in November as government spending remained tepid, a bad sign for an economy that slowed dramatically in the third quarter in the absence of fiscal stimulus. Official data showed a November surplus of 6.8 billion pesos ($152 million), compared with a surplus of 1 billion pesos for the same month last year.