25 October 2004 Monday 10 Ramazan 1425 Ramifications of the fall in rupee value The rupee has shed four per cent value against the US dollar since the start of the new fiscal year in July. On October 21, it closed at 60.42 a US dollar in the inter-bank market. ... Serious moves for meat import from India A proposal to import livestock from India to meet the persisting meat shortage and lower the soaring prices in the country is under serious consideration of the government. ... Managing democracy for economic progress The tensions generated from an uneasy power sharing between extra-constitutional and civilian institutions impacts on governance, raises questions about future political landscape and sovereign risks for investors. ... De-industrialization trend and the growth rates The United Nation Industrial Development Organization's (UNIDO) annual review of industrial performance contains important insights for Pakistani policy makers. ... Socio-political underpinnings of economic development It is all very well to say that many late developers in East and South East Asia were not democratic countries even though their totalitarian or authoritarian governments successfully led them towards economic development. ... South Asia: will it become an economic unit? Will South Asia be put on a path to become eventually a single economic unit when South Asian Free Trade Agreement (Safta) is put into effect 15 months from now in 2006? ... Economic challenges facing Pakistan On completion of half a decade of the governance, the rulers have started a meticulous campaign in the media, inter alia, issuing special supplements in newspapers telling stories of their successes notwithstanding whether these are real or merely illusionary. ... Pakistani products lack competitiveness In my previous article appearing in the EBR October 18-24, I dwelled more on what is meant by competitiveness and what could be done to increase it. It however did not statistically answer the question raised in the title. ... Most Indians remains untouched by growth Many regional economists claim that new projected economic prosperity of India is a "myth" not a "reality". During the past two years, the officials of the government have been announcing India's emergence as an economic power. ... Lack of enforcement of rights hinders women empowerment Out of eight millennium goals set out at the Millennium Summit Declaration in September 2000 by the member-states of the UN, one of the goals is to promote gender equality and empowerment of women in order to achieve overall goal of development. ... Various aspects of risk management The dictionary meaning of "risk" is danger, peril or hazard. It also means chances of loss and the degree of loss probability. Everything in this world is exposed to "risk", including all persons, their assets, business, families and investments etc. ... An unending wheat crisis Pakistan's economy during July 03 to June 04 (FY 04) grew at a very healthy rate of 6.4 per cent. Whereas, large-scale manufacturing grew by 18 per cent but agricultural output grew by 2.5 per cent only. ... Use of spurious pesticides on cotton crop rampant In Pakistan the pesticide business has an annual turnover of around Rs 12 billions to Rs 14 billions and all the pesticides are being imported because the country has yet to progress in this vital field. ... Profitability of vegetable cultivation Considerable diversification has occurred in the economy of Pakistan. Industrial, transport and communication, and energy sectors have expanded. Yet, agriculture remains the largest by contributing 23.3 per cent to the GDP and employing 42.1 per cent of total labour force. ... Delayed cane crushing a threat to wheat crop News from the cane crushing and wheat cultivation front - the two have to be mentioned in one breath because they are inextricably linked at this point in time, are negative; they cast a dark shadow over the next wheat crop ... Investors keep an eye on board meetings' outcome The Karachi stocks passed through a consolidation phase last week as investors and institutional traders remained busy with their portfolio adjustments and mostly played on both sides of the fence in an apparent bid to keep the wheels moving. ... Rupee sheds 30 paisa in a day Continued rise in oil prices in the international market, heavy oil import payments, widening trade gap and high inflation is having a negative impact on Pakistani rupee. ... Rs14bn injected in banking system to ease liquidity On October 20, the State Bank of Pakistan injected Rs14 billion into the banking system to ease off temporary liquidity crisis and help banks to finance Eid-related withdrawals form bank deposits. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004