SOUTH ASIA

New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS) Pakistan’s textile industry, which was once the driver of economic growth in the country, has plunged into a deep crisis with factories shutting down due to high production costs."Once celebrated for its export potential and capacity to drive industrial growth, Pakistan’s textile sector is now grappling with a convergence of structural, economic, and logistical shocks that have eroded competitiveness, shuttered factories, and destabilised livelihoods across the value chain. From collapsing cotton production to soaring energy costs, from regional competition to policy missteps, and now a nationwide transport strike, the industry stands at a critical inflection point," a report in the UK’s Daily Mirror said.The Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) has pointed...

New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS) The bilateral trade between India and the Maldives has grown more than threefold over the last eight years, with India’s exports doubling to 680 million in FY 2024–25 and imports from the Maldives taking a huge 20-fold leap to $119 million. Along with the rising flow of Indian tourists to the island nation, the economic-interdependence between the two countries has been steadily growing over the years.Recently, India–Maldives relations have entered a renewed phase following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the Maldives, during which eight key bilateral agreements were signed. The agreements cover debt relief, reducing the Maldives’ annual repayment burden by 40 per cent; a $565 million Line of Credit for infrastructure; UPI–RuPay integration; fisheries cooper...