For more than 2 million rural villagers across South Asia, libraries provide powerful ways to learn skills, network with other women, and become agents of change. For more than 2 million rural villagers across South Asia, libraries called "READ Centers" have already become a powerful platform for women like Chuna to learn skills, network in her community, and become leaders who change social norms.

Bringing the world to radio listeners in a unique format, All India Radio (AIR) will launch ‘India 360’ initiative this Republic Day, highlighting India’s bilateral ties with countries by presenting interesting facts and anecdotes. “We will cover all countries with whom we have diplomatic ties. This initiative will be a unique effort to connect the radio listeners with the world,” AIR Director General (News) Archana Datta said.

As an aide to the prime minister of Bhutan, Takao Takahashi helped deepen people’s understanding of the need to manage their money in the rapidly growing South Asian country valuing “gross national happiness.” The 31-year-old, who now works for the World Bank in Washington, said that although Bhutan’s consumption is surging amid rapid economic growth, its people have little knowledge about how to manage their money.

OSN, a leading pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa, announced on Monday its acquisition of one of the largest providers of South Asian pay-TV content, Pehla Media & Entertainment. “The strategic acquisition allows us to broaden our appeal to another sector of the market that is of high importance in this region, so we can offer the very best services across our now much wider range of languages,” OSN CEO David Butorac told Al Arabiya.

On the morning of August 17th most of India’s economic policymakers gathered in the prime minister’s house in Delhi. They were there to launch an official economic history of 1981-97, a period which included the balance-of-payments crisis of 1991. The mood was tense. India, said Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, faced “very difficult circumstances”. “Does history repeat itself?” asked Duvvuri Subbarao, the outgoing head of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). “As if we learn nothing from one crisis to another?”

For years the Indian security establishment has been excessively obsessed with Pakistan and the proxy war it has waged against India. Over the past half a dozen years, the focus has gradually shifted to meeting the rising challenge posed by China’s rising military capabilities in Tibet. Apart from two new army divisions now deployed in the country’s north-east after they were sanctioned in 2009, the Indian Cabinet has also a fortnight ago cleared a new mountain strike corps specifically meant for offensive operations against China.

These past two months the Chinese Navy’s Type 920 Hospital Ship, a vast 14,000 ton floating hospital called “The Peace Ark,” docked in major cities of South Asia providing key medical services and surgeries to local residents. Over the course of the next few weeks the ship will sail to Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia and Cambodia before heading back to China in October. During the five day visit to Pakistan, the ship’s staff clocked in 10 hour days totaling 2,029 outpatient visits and 28 surgeries.

The world attention was focussed on the historic General Elections in Pakistan in May 2013, amidst an air of excitement and trepidation, as these signified transfer of civilian power, for the first time in the 67 years of its existence. There were also concerns over Army’s role and fears of likely disruption by the terrorist outfits. The return of General Musharraf to Pakistan, to join the election fray, added an element of drama.