March 27, 2006	Monday	Safar 26, 1427

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PM’s forgotten promise, CM’s abandoned homeland YOU can feel the anguish of Thar even before you get there. It’s early in the month of March and throughout the districts of Badin, Mirpurkhas and Umerkot, caravans of desperate, migrating Tharis are suffering through their hard seasonal journey....		The outcome of increased public spending THE slow utilization of development funds under the public sector development programme (PSDP) continues to be a major problem in Pakistan. As a result, the objectives of investments are either neutralized...
Unhygienic slaughter houses A large number of small slaughterhouses are scattered all over the country, some are licensed and others are not. A majority of licensed places lack modern amenities which are built and...		Non-chemical methods to control parasites in livestock THERE are many different species of nematode parasites that infect livestock but only few parasite species cause major problems, notably Haemonchus, Teladorsagia, Trichostrongylus, Nematodirus and Cooperia spp....
Cultivation of bamboo crop BAMBOO plants are of grass family tribe. These are grown in warm or tropical regions where they are extremely important. The common bamboo is Bambusa arundincenia....		Nature’s wonders bring no relief THE difficult, unyielding terrain of the Thar desert may have driven its loyal people into the darkest depths of poverty but beneath its tough surface lies a treasure trove of nature’s richest wonders....
World commodity report THE Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), cut its forecast for 2006 global oil demand growth by 110,000 barrels per day recently, due to slower consumption in the US and Asia....		An endless labour of starvation THE economy of Tharparkar is known to be based on livestock farming and rain-dependent agriculture. However, the poorest segments of Thari society who own neither livestock nor land to farm, survive on credit and casual labour where they can get it....
Weaving a poorer future Four long years ago, Sarsi used to dream of teaching. She’d imagine herself as well-educated, pacing up and down before her students, her clean soft hands clutching a book....		India takes refuge behind ‘special products’ India cannot afford to de-link market access from the contentious issue of farm subsidies. Sacrificing food self-sufficiency and food security at the altar of Doha Development Round is no achievement....
Roadmap for free float of the Indian rupee INDIAN Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, unlike some of his predecessors, is not in the habit of making casual remarks and then recanting it when the dirt hits the ceiling....		LNG on the radar screen AS prices of oil increase beyond $60 per barrel, industrialized as well as developing countries are looking for alternative energy resources. It is clear that crude oil is impossible to replace completely in today’s economy even in the longer term....
Social parameters of microfinance Microfinance banks and Micro financial institutions are in business for providing basic financial services, through various loans and saving instruments to financially disadvantaged segment of the society....		Land reforms for poverty reduction Pakistan inherited a semi-feudal agrarian system. The ownership and control of land was highly concentrated in a few landlords and intermediaries who extracted maximum rent, either in cash or kind, from tenants....
Quick money-makers pay no tax THE World Bank and the IMF have been telling Pakistan that its tax-GDP ratio is too low and it ought to make larger and more vigorous efforts to collect far more...		Managing the external debt THE country’s economic managers say that the debt burden stands reduced substantially during the last six years as a result of prudent management. Over this period, the external debt and liabilities...
Market remains bullish on heavy buying in oil shares A fresh spate of heavy foreign buying in leading oil shares kept the market and investors in a highly bullish frame of mind last week. Institutional traders, however, followed the lead of trendsetters....		Rupee resists sharp fall FIRMNESS prevailed in currency market on the opening day of the week, as rupee managed to resist sharp decline versus the dollar and the euro. In inter-bank market, the rupee opened on a negative note, falling slightly on low dollar demand....
Notes in circulation on the decline According to the Statement of Affairs of the State Bank of Pakistan, for the week ended July 2- March 18, 2006, both notes in circulation and those issued decreased during the week....		Commodities pass through a relatively comfortable week THE commodity markets last week maintained an upward trend under the lead of some essential items but physical business remained slow as commercial houses were not aggressive buyers at higher levels....