Maria Casadei

Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay announced that his government would adopt the Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP); in 2024, this metric valued the services provided by the country's ecosystems at US$ 6.2 billion. This new measure will sit alongside GDP and Gross National Happiness (GNH) in assessing the nation's development.

Six years after Umar Khalid’s arrest, screenings of the documentary have been cancelled in Hyderabad and Bangalore. The Indian film certification board never approved the film, thereby claiming that public screenings are illegal. Khalid remains in prison without trial in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots.

The University of Oxford has approved the repatriation to Nagaland of ancestral remains held at the Pitt Rivers Museum, which were brought to England between 1910 and 1940. The repatriation follows six years of dialogue with representatives of the Naga communities, who plan to mark the return with traditional rituals and a burial in Kohima.

Mohamed Muizzu’s government has been engaged in a campaign to expel undocumented foreign workers for a couple of years. However, a study highlights how many migrants who entered the country legally become irregular due to unpaid wages, unrenewed visas, or complaints filed by employers. In August, the deaths of eight Bangladeshi nationals reignited concerns regarding safety conditions.

The local government has agreed to the demands of young people in Pune, Nagpur and Nashik who, following the deaths of three girls, had been calling for improvements to hostels and schools and the abolition of the age limit for accessing these services. This comes against a backdrop of discontent over scandals involving forged certificates used to gain access to reserved quotas.

The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) highlights the critical issues surrounding the initiative launched in 2014 by the Modi government. Poor planning, shortcomings in implementation and a lack of monitoring are among the main causes of the failure. The strategy centred on ‘green cover’ appears to be insufficient.

The Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Energy have stepped down (for different reasons). Meanwhile, the visit by Japanese Princess Akiko has strengthened cooperation on the ambitious project in the south of the country, which aims to create a new economic hub by combining tradition, innovation and technology.

The violence that broke out in late July has spread to Madhesh. In the lowland bordering India, symbols and the language of Indian nationalism are increasingly visible, while the secularism enshrined in the 2015 Constitution is being challenged by movements calling for the return to a Hindu state.

The Maldivian government plans to repeal the Uninhabited Islands Act. Its objectives include balancing the authority of the central government with the interests of local communities. President Muizzu is open to domestic and foreign investors. Critical issues include the centralisation of powers and environmental protection.

In Bhutan, the outgoing mayor of the capital, Ugyen Dorji, has secured a second term with 67 per cent of the vote. However, voter turnout was the lowest on record. This was due to low turnout among young people, rules requiring many to vote in their home villages, and the exclusion of the diaspora.

The police have cleared the protest camp set up by tribal communities who had been protesting for weeks against India’s first major river interconnection project. Whilst the government defends the project, which is intended to provide irrigation and energy to arid areas, environmentalists and local residents are denouncing forced evictions and environmental risks.

As part of the ‘Act East’ strategy through which Delhi aims to counter China, the Indian Prime Minister’s visit to Jakarta was marked by significant agreements. In addition to the sale of BrahMos missiles, the agreement for the joint development of the port at the entrance to the Strait of Malacca strengthens India’s presence on the region’s main trade route.