ISLAMABAD: Keeping in view the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, Pakistan’s GDP is going to contract by 1.6 percent in the ongoing fiscal 2019-20 and will grow to 2.9 percent in the next financial year 2020-21 and the loans from IMF and other multilateral and bilateral donors will help to ease...

RAWALPINDI: Six security forces personnel, including one officer, were martyred and another injured as an improvised explosive device hit their reconnaissance vehicle in Buleda near the Pakistan-Iran border, the military's media wing said in a statement released Friday.According to the...

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah declared that the Sindh government will work alongside the Centre to implement the new lockdown measures for the mitigation of the coronavirus outbreak. "We will implement the federal government's lockdown decisions to the extent of 99pc if...

ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan’s Refinance Scheme for Small Businesses has so far failed to take off due to multiple reasons as the commercial banks are not designed and fully equipped to provide credit line to Small and Medium Enterprises .“The SBP’s RefinanceScheme for...

RAWALPINDI: US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad Friday called on Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa here on Friday.During the meeting, issues of mutual interest and overall regional security situation, including Afghan reconciliation process, came under...

WASHINGTON: The coronavirus epidemic sent US jobless totals soaring to historic highs on Friday, increasing pressure on authorities to follow Europe in phasing out lockdown measures despite still climbing American death tolls.Germany, meanwhile, marked the anniversary of the end of World War II in...

BEIJING: China said on Friday it supports a World Health Organisation-led review into the global response to the coronavirus outbreak, but “after the pandemic is over”.The comments from foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying came as China has faced increasing global pressure in...

LONDON: Fifty Labour Party parliamentarians have told the new Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, that his recent statement on Indian-occupied Kashmir after a meeting with the Labour Friends of India is unacceptable, illegal, and historically wrong and he must clarify his position or face open...

LONDON: The Organisation of Kashmir Coalition has hailed the policy statement of Liberal Democrats on Kashmir showing concern for the human rights situation in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.In a statement issued on Friday, OKC executive members Prof Nazir Ahmed Shawl and Barrister Abdul Majid...

RAWALPINDI: An officer and five other soldiers were martyred, while one was injured in an improvised explosive device blast in the Buleda area of Balochistan on Friday, the Inter-Services Public Relations said in a press release.According to ISPR, security forces conducted routine patrolling In...

BRUSSELS: The EU’s highest court on Friday said it alone had legal authority over the European Central Bank, firmly rejecting a German Constitutional Court ruling critical of the bank’s ambitious stimulus policies.The highly unusual intervention came after the German ruling issued...

PESHAWAR: Over 240 Pakistanis stranded in Qatar landed at the Bacha Khan International Airport here on Friday.Upon landing at the Peshawar airport, Qatar Airways flight was disinfected and the passengers went through a screening process and later shifted to a quarantine facility.Earlier, at least...

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa said Pakistan’s support towards Afghan peace is a manifestation of “our goodwill to the cause” in a meeting with US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad.According to a press release issued by the...

FRANKFURT: An Indian national will stand trial in Germany accused of spying on Sikh and Kashmiri communities for New Delhi’s spy agency, a court said on Friday.Federal prosecutors allege the suspect, identified as 54-year-old Balvir, has been working with the Indian foreign intelligence...

LONDON: The UK has fallen silent to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day as the country was urged to draw on the “same spirit of national endeavour” during the coronavirus crisis.Millions across the country paused at 11am on Friday to remember those who served in the Second World War,...

LONDON: The UK looks likely to operate under slightly different lockdown rules next week after announcements by the leaders of the Welsh and Scottish governments suggested deviation between nations.Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford said lockdown restrictions in the country will continue for a...

By News DeskISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani has summoned a session of the Upper House on Tuesday, as the country witnessed its sharpest spike in confirmed coronavirus cases in a 24 hour period with nearly over 1,900 new cases and 35 more deaths.According to a press release issued by the...

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday said it had summoned a senior Indian diplomat to register a strong protest over the Indian ceasefire violations along the Line of Control .The statement by the FO said that in the unprovoked Indian firing across the LoC in Nezapir and Rakchikri sectors, six...

The NCC, under Imran Khan, had decided to substantially ease the lockdown from Saturday (today) after detailed deliberations and consultations with the provinces

NEW DELHI: Since the election results were announced last week — handing out a clear mandate to the Narendra Modi-led BJP — real estate brokers across the country have been prodding buyers to book their dream homes fast, since with a stable government on the cards, builders could increase prices any time soon. Business for thousands of brokers has been thin over the last year or so as negative sentiment engulfed the market and home sales tanked. Investors fled and genuine home buyers waited anxiously to see if a new stable government can infuse life into the economy. “It might just be a case of brokers trying to perk up […]

GURGAON: The managing director of real estate company Vigneshwara Group and two of his family members have been booked by Gurgaon Police in a multi-crore fraud case. Some estimates put the scale of the fraud at more than Rs 1,000 crore. Despite taking money from around 700 investors for properties in and around Gurgaon in 2006-07, and promising assured returns till possession, the group allegedly didn’t begin construction of some projects and defaulted on payments to investors. An FIR was filed at Sushant Lok police station against group MD Sunil Dahiya, his brother Sanjay and father Daryav Singh. Dahiya hasn’t been taken into custody yet because he complained of illness […]

New Delhi : The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered a fresh probe against a DLF group firm, DLF Universal, for allegedly imposing unfair and unreasonable conditions on office buyers at one of its commercial projects — Corporate Greens at Sector 74A — in Gurgaon. CCI said in its 11-page order dated June 23 that “the conduct of DLF Group, emanating from its dominant position in the relevant market, prima facie, amounts to imposition of unfair terms and conditions on the commercial office buyers which is anti-competitive”. After looking into the complaint, CCI said its prima facie opinion was that despite the presence of other developer in commercial real […]

NEW DELHI: Builders are scrambling to acquire cheap land and technology for low-cost housing after the government and central bank announced incentives for affordable housing, including cheaper loans to developers and buyers. Real estate companies including Tata Housing, ATS Infrastructure, Bhartiya Group and Anantraj Industries are busy sewing up land deals for projects in the Rs 5-20 lakh home segment. There is unlimited demand for homes in this segment, say experts. “There is a large market for such homes but a big supply constraint as well,” said Shailesh Pathak, executive director of the Bhartiya Group, which is planning to build 10,000 low-cost homes over the next two-three years on a […]

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has drafted the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020 to curb the construction violations across the country. The new draft would replace the EIA notification 2006. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEFCC) has proposed a new set of environment clearance norms in its Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification 2020. Earlier, the environment approvals to construction projects  were given as per the criteria stated in the EIA notification 2006; however, the new draft would replace the former set of rules. The Ministry has placed the EIA report in the public domain on March 12, 2020 and has sought views and comments […]

The Central Government has approved around 93 percent of the total planned housing units under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U). By far, as many as 1.03 crore housing units have been sanctioned across the country under the said scheme. To provide affordable pucca houses to the homeless population of the country, the Central Government has approved over 1 crore houses in urban parts of the country under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). Against the humongous target of 1.2 crore units, the Government has sanctioned nearly 1.03 crore units across the States and Union Territories (UTs). Of the approved units, approximately 61 lakh units are under-construction and nearly […]

The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has proposed a penalty of threefold property tax on residential structures lacking the Occupancy Certificate (OC). As the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) plans to levy threefold property tax on residential structures lacking the Occupancy Certificates (OCs), it may affect as many as 90 percent of the buildings in the city. Tukaram Mundhe, Commissioner, NMC, avers that the occupancy certificate is mandatory as per the building byelaws stated under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966. Therefore, all the building owners should obtain OC to avoid penalties. Nagpur has around 3,000 buildings that were served notices under the MRTP Act, but penalties were not levied until […]

Loan agreements outline the terms of an agreement for a loan. This document dated 6 May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 54183-001 in Bhutan.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior Operations Assistant in the Pacific Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 21 May 2020.

ADB today approved an additional $500 million loan to bolster the efforts of the Government of Bangladesh to manage the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the country’s economy and the public health.

To better understand how ADB’s developing members are weathering the COVID-19 crisis, the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department launched the ADB COVID-19 Policy Database.

Safeguards due diligence reports are prepared as part of safeguard due diligence and review to ensure compliance with ADB safeguard policy due diligence requirements. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 51039-002 in Afghanistan.

Safeguards due diligence reports are prepared as part of safeguard due diligence and review to ensure compliance with ADB safeguard policy due diligence requirements. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 2020-05-07 in Afghanistan.

Environmental monitoring reports describe the environmental issues or mitigation measures of a project. This document dated May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 43319-022 in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and Bhutan Finance Minister and ADB Governor Namgay Tshering today discussed ADB’s support to the country in its fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Grant agreements outline the terms of an agreement for a grant. This document dated 7 May 2020 is provided for the ADB project 54229-001 in Fiji.

Procurement plans describe and update the procurement of major goods, works and consulting services either ongoing or expected to take place related to a project or program. This document dated 15 November 2019 is provided for the ADB project 48118-002 in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Principal Investment Specialist in the Private Sector Operations Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has approved $30 million in extra financing for a health sector project in Mongolia to strengthen the country’s preparedness and response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH), with support from ADB, has set up a new laboratory in Pampanga province, north of the capital Manila. It will significantly increase the government’s testing capacity for COVID-19...

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior IT Officer (Project Management) (3 Vacancies) in the Information Technology Department . The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has released the 13th annual performance report of its corporate results framework, the Development Effectiveness Review, a management tool that monitors performance and progress during 2019.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Senior Operations Assistant in the Central and West Asia Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Procurement and Contracts Officer in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

Providing safely managed sanitation services for all requires extending the partnership between the public and private sectors.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Associate Facilities Planning and Management Officer (Project Management) in the Office of Administrative Services. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

ADB has a vacancy for the position of Budget and Management Services Analyst in the Budget, Personnel, and Management Systems Department. The deadline for submitting applications is on 22 May 2020.

Even though the central government issues strict regulation policies, it is the local governments’ discretion to adjust and enforce compliance.

Азийн хөгжлийн банк (АХБ) шинэ төрлийн коронавирус (COVID-19)-ээр үүсгэгдсэн цар тахлын эсрэг бэлэн байдал болон хариу арга хэмжээг дэмжих зорилгоор Монгол Улсад хэрэгжиж буй эрүүл мэндийн салбарын төсөлд 30 сая ам.долларын нэмэлт...

This ADBI–WCTRS webinar will examine land use and transport interactions for inter-regional accessibility enhancements achieved through high-speed rail development.

The webinar will highlight the important role the MDBs are called to play in closing the SOGI data gap by supporting innovative forms of data generation and evidence-based policymaking in their countries.