South Asia Investor Review

The India AI Impact Summit 2026, held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, has been marred by chaos, confusion and deception. The events on the ground have produced unintended media headlines for India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi who wants to be seen as the " vishwaguru " (teacher of the world) in the field of artificial intelligence as well. First, there was massive chaos on the opening day, with long lines and sudden unannounced evacuation of exhibitors and attendees from the show floor for several hours. This, the Indian government said, was done for "VIP" security, a euphemism for Mr. Modi's "photo op" as he walked the venue halls alone for the benefit of the cameras for self-promotion. Mr. Modi then declared that "India is not just a part of the  AI revolution , but is leading and shaping it". To support such claims, an Indian University presented a "robodog" bought from China as its "innovation", a blatant lie tha...

Ruling politicians in New Delhi continue to hype their country's economic growth even as the Indian currency hits new lows against the US dollar, corporate profits fall, electrical power demand slows, domestic savings and investment rates decline and foreign capital flees Indian markets. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has  questioned  India's GDP and independent economists Professors Arun Kumar and Ashoka Modi and investment banker Ruchir Sharma have detailed why the Indian official data can not be trusted. It seems that the BJP-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is fast losing credibility by politicizing the civilian bureaucracy and the military brass to project their economic and  military failures  as successes.   IMF Gives C Grade to India's GDP Data Beyond the disputed claim of being the "fourth largest economy", the Modi government's failure on the national health and wellness front is also getting more attention. “Air is unbr...

Citizens of Lahore have been choking from dangerous levels of toxic smog for weeks now. Schools have been closed and outdoor activities, including travel and transport, severely curtailed to reduce the burden on the healthcare system.  Although toxic levels of smog have been happening at this time of the year for more than a decade, this year appears to be particularly bad with hundreds of people hospitalized to treat breathing problems. Millions of Lahoris have seen their city's air quality index (AQI) cross the 1,000 mark several times this month - anything above 300 is considered dangerous.  What can Pakistan do to cut this level of air toxicity? Is there a silver bullet here? Let's try and understand the root causes of this problem to answer these questions.  NASA Satellite Images of Fires and Smog Taken on Nov 6, 2024. Source: NASA South Asia is particularly susceptible to pollutants that hang in the air for extended periods of time. The US National Aeronautics and S...

Prime Minister Shaikh  Hasina  has agreed to buy expensive electricity from  India  in spite of a power glut in Bangladesh, according to a report in the  Washington Post . The newspaper quotes B.D. Rahmatullah, a former director general of Bangladesh’s power regulator, as saying, "Hasina cannot afford to anger India, even if the deal appears unfavorable." “She knows what is bad and what is good,” he said. “But she knows, ‘If I satisfy (Gautam) Adani, Modi will be happy.’ Bangladesh now is not even a state of India. It is below that.”  The Washington Post report says: "Facing a looming power glut, Bangladesh in 2021 canceled 10 out of 18 planned coal power projects. Mohammad Hossain, a senior power official, told reporters that there was “concern globally” about coal and that renewables were cheaper".  Gautam Adani (L) and Narendra Modi India Ranks  High on Crony Capitalism Index. Source: Economist  Hasina recently visited New Delhi to seek po...

Why does the air quality in New Delhi and Lahore ranks among the world's worst at this time of the year? The answer to this oft-repeated question can be found in the satellite maps constantly updated by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).  Indian government recently estimated that 36% of  pollution was contributed by farm fires. Here's how NASA Earth Observatory explains it: "The haze visible in this image likely results from a combination of agricultural fires, urban and industrial pollution, and a regional temperature inversion. Most of the time, air higher in the atmosphere is cooler than air near the planet’s surface, and this configuration allows warm air to rise from the ground and disperse pollutants. In the wintertime, however, cold air frequently settles over northern India, trapping warmer air underneath. The temperature inversion traps pollutants along with warm air at the surface, contributing to the buildup of haze." Farm Fires Se...

Thick  smog enveloping Pakistan's Punjab  province has seriously disrupted road and air traffic and created significant health emergency for the people, according to Pakistani media reports. Indian cities, including the nation's capital New Delhi, are also suffering from it. I s India Responsible? Pakistani officials have blamed "the incursion of smoke and particle matter from the burning of crop stubble in the Indian Punjab." Particulate matter of 2.5 microns or larger as measured in micrograms per cubic meter is up to  80 times higher  than the upper limit of 10 micrograms per cubic meter considered safe by the World Health Organization. Is the Pakistani claim supported by data? Let's try and answer this question with  satellite images  of the area released by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Crop Burning Incidents Seen from space. Source: NASA Earth Observatory NASA Satellite Images: Here's how NASA...

The 2.5 micron particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution of air accounts for the world's highest number of pollution-related premature deaths in China and  South Asia , according to a report titled "State of Global Air 2017". Source: State of Global Air 2017 PM2.5 Pollution Deaths: More than half of the 4.2 million deaths attributed to PM2.5 pollution occur in just two countries: India and China. The next two countries accounting for the highest pollution-related mortality are Russia with 136,900, Pakistan with 135,100 and Bangladesh with 122,400 deaths in 2015, according to the  report . India and Bangladesh experienced some of the largest increases in PM2.5- attributable mortality, on the order of 50% to 60%. India (1.09 million deaths) now approaches China (1.11 million deaths) in the number of deaths attributable to PM2.5. Source: State of Global Air 2017 Nearly all (86%) of the most extreme concentrations (above 75 µg/m3 ) were experienced by populations ...

India's capital Delhi has the dubious distinction of being the world's most polluted city and Diwali fireworks are making its air pollution even worse. The smog will be particularly dangerous on Nov. 12 and 13, with the concentration of pollution-related particles — PM2.5 and PM10 — projected to increase by 148% and 170% respectively, according to  Indian media reports . News headlines said US President Obama's 3 day visit to New Delhi last year cut his life expectancy by 6 hours. Why? Because Delhi has the highest level of the airborne particulate matter, PM2.5 considered most harmful to health, with 153 micrograms per cubic meter, 15 times higher than the 10 micrograms per cubic meter considered safe by the World Health Organization (WHO). World's Dirtiest Cites Delhi is not alone; Other cities in India claim  13 spots among the top 20 dirties cities  in the world. Not far behind  Delhi's 153 micrograms is another Indian city, Patna with 14...

With a score of just 3.73 out of 100 , India ranks as the worst country for the ill effects of toxic air pollution on human health among 132 nations, according to a report presented at the World Economic Forum 2012. India's neighbors also score poorly for toxic air pollution, but still significantly better than India. For example China scores 19.7, followed by Pakistan (18.76) , Nepal (18.01) and Bangladesh (13.66). In the overall rankings based on 22 policy indicators, India finds itself ranked at 125 among the bottom ten environmental laggards such as Yemen, South Africa, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iraq while Pakistan ranks slightly better at 120 . The indicators used for this ranking are in ten major policy categories including air and water pollution, climate change, boidiversity, and forest management. These rankings are part of a joint Yale-Columbia study to index the nations of the world in terms of their overall environmental performance. The Yale Center for Environmen...