South Asia Investor Review

Like many other countries, Pakistan has a geographic digital divide. Residents of remote areas of the country have significantly lower access to the Internet than those in the urban centers. While the mobile internet usage in the urban areas has reached 65%, only 50% of those living in rural areas have access to it, according to a recent GSMA report titled "State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2026".  Digital Connectivity in Rural Pakistan To bridge this rural-urban digital divide, Pakistan government is expanding telecom and high-speed internet services in remote and rural areas through the proposed National Connectivity Plan, satellite broadband integration, and multi-billion-rupee Universal Service Fund (USF) projects. Fiber optic cables and satellites will provide backhaul high-capacity communication link to solar-powered 4G/5G cell towers in rural communities.  Solar power is being used to bridge the digital divide in the country by providing reliable off-grid electrici...

Pakistani auto industry, currently dominated by Japanese automakers building ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles, is expected to be transformed with the arrival of Chinese new energy vehicles (NEV) manufacturers. Beyond Your Dreams (BYD), Chang'an, Great Wall Motors (GWM) and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) are planning to build plants in Pakistan.  Coming on the heels of the ongoing  solar revolution  in the country, these new EV entrants are helping accelerate Pakistan's  transition to clean energy.   These auto plants also create an opportunity for Pakistan to become a significant exporter of electric vehicles to developing nations.  BYD EV. Source: CNBC BYD, operating in Pakistan through a partnership with Mega Motor Company (a subsidiary of Hubco), has started building a $150 million assembly plant in Gharo, Sindh. Its initial target is to produce 25,000 units annually, with the capacity to scale up to 50,000 units a year. It...

"When you claim that your civilization is superior, is older, is the mother of democracy, is the mother of science....you  antagonize  others".   Christophe Jaffrelot , French Political Scientist, speaking to Indian journalist Karan Thapar after expressions of outrage against BAPS Hindu leader’s recent visit to Eiffel Tower.  In an  article  published by Carnegie Endowment, Jaffrelot explained that "the majoritarian inferiority complex is to some extent irrational—in India like elsewhere. The Hindu complex of inferiority vis-à-vis others (including the Muslims) crystallized in the 19th century when the British not only emphasized the division of Hindus along caste lines and sectarian lines but also invented communal stereotypes". He has noted that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has close ties to BAPS which is building massive temples around the world. Many of these temples have been inaugurated by Mr. Modi. BAPS Guru’s Photo at Eiffel Tower, Paris, Fra...

What is the difference between intelligence and consciousness? As AI agents becoming more intelligent and some are even going  rogue , can they attain consciousness like human beings? To answer this question, it is important to define "intelligence" and "consciousness".  Yuval Harari on Intelligence vs Consciousness Israeli public intellectual Yuval Harari defines Intelligence as the capacity to pursue and achieve material goals, while consciousness is the ability to feel pain, joy, love, and suffering. For example, AI can win chess games or process data without experiencing any feelings or emotional states. AI can also convincingly imitate emotions to build deep personal relationships, even though it remains entirely devoid of consciousness. What distinguishes humans from artificial intelligence is that consciousness and intelligence go together in humans. In interview with  Economist  magazine's chief editor  Zanny Minton Beddoes , Harari s...

Northern Pakistan is home to over 13,000 glaciers which pose a risk of catastrophic flash floods similar to the recent flash floods in Nepal. Pakistani officials have warned that shifts in glacier behavior are increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities face growing exposure to sudden flooding and landslides.  Glacial Lake in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan Region. Source: AIGEO360 Pakistan is actively monitoring its glaciers using real-time weather tracking and roughly 350 sensor devices installed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) to mitigate glacial flash flood risks.  This year, the PMD reported record-breaking summer heat across northern valleys (such as Chilas reaching 48.5°C and Bunji hitting 46.1°C), accelerating ice melt in Gilgit-Baltistan region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The heat triggered two major GLOF eve...

Recently, I saw a news story suggesting that “more and more seniors are using Tesla FSD (full self drive)”. This prompted me to share my own experience with my readers. Tesla FSD Warning My wife and I have been regularly using  Tesla  Full Self Drive (Supervised FSD) software for several months now. It is a subscription costing us $108.16, including tax, per vehicle. Our experience has generally been positive. We set our destination in the navigation system and let FSD drive us. It pulls out of our driveway, takes us wherever we want to go, and parks on the street, in a parking lot, or in a garage. On occasion, though, we have had to take control when we felt it was necessary, often in response to Tesla warning to “take over immediately”. Tesla Sensors. Source: Car and Driver Magazine Both of our Tesla Model Y vehicles use hardware version 3 (HW3). In addition to a computer, HW3 includes 7 cameras and four ultrasonic sensors. We get frequent Tesla software updates, downloaded ...