In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

As discussions on the federal budget and sequestration continue here in Washington, D.C., The Asia Foundation’s Washington office sponsored an event
to discuss how various Asian nations are approaching and, in some cases, expanding their development assistance programs.

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Last week, the Asian Development Bank released its annual “Asian Development Outlook” report for 2013, with Asia’s success story of unprecedented growth in the last decades forecast to grow by 6.6 percent in 2013 and 6.7 percent in 2014.

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On February 10, 36 people were killed in a stampede at the Allahabad railway station. Allahabad, located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, is the second-oldest city in India and plays a central role in the Hindu scriptures. Most of those caught in the stampede were devotees traveling to attend the sacred Maha Kumbh Mela, a massive Hindu religious festival held every 12th year in Allahabad. While planning to travel to the festival ourselves, news of the stampede was concerning. Taking in the reports from our offices in Delhi, we became increasingly skeptical that the authorities could pull off an event of the Kumbh’s magnitude. We were surprised by what we found.

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In Asia editor Alma Freeman recently caught up with author and social media expert Beth Kanter after a talk held at The Asia Foundation’s headquarters, organized by the Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. Named one of the most influential women in technology by Fast Company

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More than 75 percent of Asia-Pacific countries lack water security, according to a new report released last week by the Asian Development Bank. Compared to other regions, South Asia is a hot spot where inequity of access to water is the highest. The region supports more than 21 percent of the world’s population, but has access to just over 8 percent of global water resources. As rapid population growth and urbanization increase demand, water is increasingly a scarce and precious resource in South Asia. Even as the complex environmental consequences of climate change, deteriorating river ecology, and growing urbanization continue to unfold new challenges for the region, South Asia’s water woes could be significantly mitigated through improved water governance…

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As the world population approaches 9 billion by 2050 and demand for food rises, tackling food security and sustainability is one of the most critical challenges. In Asia editor Alma Freeman spoke with former Asia Foundation president and member of Congress, Douglas Bereuter…

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The violent attack on a young woman in New Delhi last December, and the nationwide protests that followed, were yet another indication that India’s youth are increasingly fed up. This case, piled upon countless other commonplace incidents of sexual violence directed at women and children throughout the country…

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Consider this: In 2013, Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world, home to 3.9 billion people, or about 56 percent of the world’s population. Of the world’s 23 megacities, 12 are found in Asia. At the same time, Asia is home to roughly two-thirds of the world’s poor…

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The just-released Open Budget Survey 2012 ranks Afghanistan as the second greatest improver out of 100 countries in budget transparency. South Korea leads among Asian countries as having the most transparent budget, followed by India, Indonesia, and Afghanistan. The Survey also reveals that the national budgets of 77 of the 100 countries assessed fail to [...]

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To paraphrase an expression often used by former President Ronald Reagan, “There they go again.” But in this case, it’s not the political opposition being referred to – it’s the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) in its latest global predictions report.

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