This book presents factors that can explain Asia's development performance. It looks at the role of policy, market, and technology in promoting trade and investment, infrastructure, and regional cooperation and integration (RCI). In South Asia, RCI has focused on connectivity through transport, energy, and trade facilitation. The Asian Development Bank has supported RCI by initiating several subregional programs, such as the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), and the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC).

Source: Asian Development Bank

This publication reviews the status of energy security in Asia. In South Asia, countries face challenges in achieving energy security and climate goals. India and Bangladesh, for instance, face rising energy import bills while Maldives depends on oil products. The book suggests that countries and regions can achieve energy security through energy cooperation and diversification. This would lead to economic growth and poverty reduction, as well as mitigate energy security risks from climate change.

Source: Asian Development Bank Institute and World Scientific

This book applies methodologies for assessing competitiveness of countries’ services sector. It examines the types of barriers to services in the regulatory environment and identifies the policy implications. It aims to guide policymakers in the area of services in international trade. The chapter on diversifying Nepal’s economy assesses the country’s trade potential in services. Using the Services Trade Competitiveness Diagnostic toolkit, it identifies policy measures that can help Nepal identify strategies for greater integration in the global marketplace.

Source: Claire Hollweg and Sebastian Saez, eds.

Myanmar serves as a land bridge between South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. This book identifies regional and subregional opportunities for Myanmar to harness natural and human resources, industrial potential, and infrastructure connectivity as part of the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) program. SASEC Vision – Myanmar serves to supplement the 2017 SASEC Vision document, which articulates shared aspirations of the SASEC countries and sets the path to achieve these through regional collaboration.

Source: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Program

This book reviews issues concerning the roles of services in global value chains. It presents a framework for assessing links among different services and between services and the manufacturing sector. The book explains the contribution of services to global value chains in the Asia-Pacific region and to the world and also draws lessons with which countries could understand the importance of services and participation in global value chains to achieving sustainable development.

Source: Witada Anukoonwattaka, Mia Mikic, Yuhua Zhang

SASEC Powering Asia in the 21st Century defines the SASEC Vision, framing the SASEC partnership in the larger context of the subregion’s collective growth and development by articulating shared aspirations of the SASEC countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka), and setting the path to achieve these through regional collaboration. The SASEC Vision lays out a subregional transformative opportunity by leveraging natural resources, promoting industry linkages for the development of regional value chains, and expanding the region’s trade and commerce through the development of subregional gateways and hubs. This document is supplemented by SASEC Vision – Myanmar.

Source: South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation

The 2016 edition of UNESCAP’s Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific encourages the region to rethink its development strategy. As 2016 marks the beginning of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development, the period is also characterized by an outlook clouded by uncertainty, with growth expected to plateau at about 5% in 2016 and 2017. Exports bound for developed economies continue to move sluggishly and domestic demand remain moderate. Thus, to bolster economic growth, the Survey recommends adopting a development model that raises domestic and regional demand. Along with active labor market policies and greater social protection, regional economic cooperation and integration--in areas covering capital markets, intraregional trade, infrastructure development, and energy and information and communications technology (ICT) connectivity--can be an important avenue for boosting domestic and regional demand.

Source: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), through its Climate Technology Finance Center, seeks to accelerate clean technology entrepreneurship and investment in Asia by supporting programs that aim to produce investable clean technology, risk capital for clean technology, technological knowledge, and a stronger clean technology ecosystem. This brochure gives a brief background on how ADB works with start-ups across Asia to promote more efficient management of energy and natural resources.

Source: Asian Development Bank

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) put environmental concerns on par with economic and social ones. The environment cuts across all the SDGs and is directly reflected in at least seven goals. The 2016 Little Green Data Book provides 50 indicators for 200 countries. Several indicators have the potential to measure progress on the SDGs as well as highlight important trends in the environment more broadly. The indicators are part of the larger World Development Indicators compiled annually by the World Bank from many different data sources.

Source: World Bank Group

Nepal's National Planning Commission has undertaken the initiative to develop Nepal’s long term Development Strategy 2030 by engaging with international development experts, development partners, policy makers, and representatives of civil society organizations in the international seminar 'Envisioning Nepal 2030'. With the aim of serving as a guideline for Nepal’s graduation from Least Developed Country status by 2022, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the post-Millennium Development Goals era, and become a middle-income country by 2030, the seminar identified challenges and opportunities, and discussed how a fast-paced and sustainable inclusive growth could be achieved. In his opening remarks, Asian Development Bank Vice President Wencai Zhang, underscored the importance for Nepal to strategically position itself within a broader regional cooperation to transform itself from a landlocked into a landlinked country.

Source: Nepal National Planning Commission

Despite the benefits of energy connectivity, energy trade in Asia and the Pacific has remained far below its potential. This publication takes a detailed and engaging look at how smart region-wide energy connectivity could greatly improve energy supply and address the environmental impacts of energy. It maps existing energy connectivity in the region, examines ongoing initiatives, and suggests regional action plans that could lead Asia and the rest of the world to a sustainable future.

Source: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

India has significant hydropower potential and can meet a demand of around 85 gigawatts, at 60% load factor. Increasing the country’s hydropower capacity could reduce generation costs and benefit both communities and industry. Hydropower also has the advantage of contributing very little to carbon emissions. However, only 41 gigawatts of hydropower capacity has been installed, accounting for only 28% of the total potential. Hydropower can play a crucial role in India’s sustainable development and energy needs given that it meets the criteria of sustainability, availability, reliability, and affordability. This publication provides recommendations that could be of use to policymakers and other interested parties. The book lays out the status of hydroelectric power in India and analyzes opportunities to increasing capacity. It provides recommendations with regard to market development, safeguard issues, financing, land acquisition, technical challenges, hydropower planning, and enabling infrastructure.

Source: The Associated Chambers of Commerce of India and PricewaterhouseCoopers

The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) 2015 Annual Report provides a complete picture of ADB’s performance in the reporting year. In 2015, South Asia became the fastest-growing regional economy in Asia and the Pacific, and ADB's assistance to the region approached $3.80 billion in combined loans and grants for 22 projects and $37.26 million in grants for technical assistance. Through the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Program, ADB also continued to drive tighter integration in the region, enhancing cooperation and boosting connectivity with initiatives including helping finalize the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal and India-Myanmar-Thailand Motor Vehicle Agreements, Bangladesh-India power grid upgradation, preparation of high-priority transport projects in Bangladesh, and analytical studies for India's East Coast Economic Corridor.

Source: Asian Development Bank

This book contains background papers prepared for the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute joint study, 'Connecting South Asia and Southeast Asia.' It emphasizes the potential contribution to growth that greater connectivity—through better transport and energy infrastructure and improved soft infrastructure, including trade facilitation—between South Asia and Southeast Asia can foster. With benefits including greater participation in global supply chains for South Asia; lower trade costs; and increase in inter- and intraregional trade, the book underscores that, at a juncture where closer regional integration can secure sustainable and inclusive growth for economies in the two regions, specific policies should be examined and considered to enable both regions to maximize gains from greater integration.

Source: Michael G. Plummer, Peter J. Morgan, Ganeshan Wignaraja, eds.

Sri Lanka has set an set an ambitious goal of 100% energy self-sufficiency by 2030. With annual total electricity demand estimated at 10,500 gigawatt hours—increasing annually by around 4-6%—and challenges including high cost of electricity, 100% dependence on imported oil for the transport sector, and need for large investments in infrastructure, this book unveils how the energy sector plans to achieve energy security in the next 10 years—envisioning a future where clean, reliable, affordable energy is made available 24/7 to the whole country. This sector development plan for a knowledge-based economy aims to provide a balance between the country's energy demand and supply, and its long-term perspective anchored on continuous economic growth, through renewable and indigenous sources of energy.

Source: Sri Lanka Ministry of Power and Energy

This publication highlights good practices and lessons learned from Asian Development Bank projects in energy, which comprised 26.5% of ADB's total lending commitments from 2008 to 2014. It discusses how the region's energy sources are utilized, providing updates on recent developments and challenges, highlighting the need for sustainable energy initiatives. Featured projects include the Green Power Development Project in Bhutan, which developed clean energy for regional use and promoted cross-border power trade. As the first infrastructure-focused public-private partnership in Bhutan, it also illustrated how projects can benefit with the active participation of the private sector, foreign parties, and commercial and public financial institutions. Also featured is the Bangladesh-India Electrical Grid Interconnection Project, which reduced Bangladesh's energy deficiency by enabling the country to affordably import 500 megawatts of electricity from India. This electrical link laid the groundwork for a regional energy market, an important step toward achieving a functioning regional electricity network in South Asia.

Source: Asian Development Bank

This publication commemorates 25 years of Nepal Resident Mission’s opening and provides an overview of the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) operation in Nepal over the years. It highlights ADB-assisted projects and Nepal’s association with the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) initiative, to further enhance the nation’s role in regional and world trade. These projects aim for regional energy cooperation (SASEC Power System Expansion Project), as well as subregional cooperation and connectivity in the transport sector (SASEC Road Connectivity Project and Subregional Transport Facilitation Project).

Source: Asian Development Bank

This publication reviews and documents experiences in transport investments and identifies opportunities to further mainstream climate risk management in transport investment projects. It also presents case studies where climate risk and vulnerability assessment were carried out and climate proofing measures have become an integral component of project design.

Source: Asian Development Bank

This book examines how displaced persons recover from physical and economic displacement in the South Asian context using resettlement case studies from India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Despite improvement in national policies and willingness to enforce good practices, the level of involuntary resettlement good practices in South Asia varies widely. There is need for greater commitment, legal reforms, and adequate resources to ensure that involuntary resettlement becomes a development opportunity for all project-affected persons.

Source: Perera, Jayantha (ed.)

The Asian Development Outlook, ADB’s flagship economic publication provides comprehensive macroeconomic analysis in Asia including growth projections by country and region. The Asian Development Outlook 2014 forecasts that developing Asia will grow 6.2% in 2014 and 6.4% in 2015. South Asia remains one of the slowest growing subregions—although growth is forecast to improve by 5.3% in 2014 and 5.8% in 2015.

Source: Asian Development Bank

The World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report offers a platform for dialogue among key stakeholders in government, business, and civil society on improving the living standards of the world’s citizens through insights on institutions, policies, and factors that drive or hinder growth and national competitiveness. Using the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), twelve pillars are considered, including infrastructure, which, among factor-driven economies of Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, impacts the location of economic activity, reduces distance between regions, and enables production and faster flow of goods. Market size—essential for countries with small domestic markets—is another key index measured. The 2013-2014 report also includes an assessment of newly-covered Bhutan, and an analysis for the drop in India's GCI ranking.

Source: Klaus Schwab

This volume, co-published by the Asian Development Bank and the Korea Economic Research Institute, reflects one of the broad thematic sessions of the Seoul conference, Beyond Factory Asia. It assesses the challenges and sustainability of the Factory Asia model – supplying from the East and consuming in the West – and provides suggestions and strategies on effective management of these concerns. The volume further analyzes obstacles in the success of Factory Asia, its speed in expanding its own domestic and regional markets, and its progress in upgrading competitiveness in the manufacturing sector. The new Factory Asia must nurture new sources of growth in the region and focus on regional economic integration.

Source: Choi Byung-il and Changyong Rhee (eds.)

This 2014 edition of UNESCAP's flagship publication emphasizes the importance of furthering regional connectivity in Asia-Pacific—a region which, despite significant reductions in poverty levels, is now witnessing rising income inequality, both within and between countries. It calls for driving the region's growth by exploiting the interdependence and synergies of five elements: trade and transport connectivity, ICT networks, energy connectivity, people-to-people networks, and promotion of knowledge-based economies, and advocates approaching connectivity as a regional public good.

Source: UNESCAP

This study presents an assessment of trade and economic cooperation among South Asian nations, explores emerging challenges, and highlights policy issues to foster regional integration. It provides perspectives on potential new areas of cooperation such as investment, regional supply chains, energy, and cross border transport networks. The four areas of focus are: potential gains from South Asian regional integration, key areas for cooperation resulting in effective regional integration, country perspectives of regional cooperation, and case studies on bilateral cooperation. This volume aims to further contribute to policy discourse on effective regional cooperation with perspectives from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Source: Mohammad A. Razzaque, Yurendra Basnett (Eds.)

This Asian Development Bank Institute book examines key changes in the world trading system and explores policy implications for Asia. Through a compilation of essays from prominent international and Asian trade experts, this book presents interaction of market forces and trade regulation. Lessons from the Asian experience offer new approaches and economic policies to sustain growth, presenting the World Trade Organization as a forum to improve regional and global trade governance in the 21st century.

Source: Richard E. Baldwin, Masahiro Kawai, Ganeshan Wignaraja (Eds.)

As India works toward increasing the use of renewable energy across the country, unsubsidized renewable energy remains 52-129% more expensive than conventional energy and needs policy support. This joint publication by the Climate Policy Initiative and Indian School of Business weighs in on federal policies that can provide a solution to India's renewable energy challenge, and asks whether existing support policies are the most cost effective.

Various policies are assessed, in light of the different criteria federal policymakers consider. Existing federal policies are compared with a recommended class of debt-related federal policies using a suggested framework. The study concludes that long-term, debt-related policies are more cost-effective. The research also presents viable short-term policy options.

Source: Gireesh Shrimali, Shobhit Goel, Sandhya Srinivasan, David Nelson

The Statistical Yearbook contains comparative statistics and facts about the 58 regional members and associate members of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. It includes brief analyses of 32 key development features such as energy supply and use, international trade, and transport, among others. In energy, the region’s production structure is highly resource-intensive, although per capita energy use is low. The section on international trade recommends focusing on raising domestic value-added rather than increasing gross exports in Asia and the Pacific. Finally, investment in environmentally sustainable transport is encouraged.

Source: United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

This book discusses the economic costs and benefits of unilateral and regional actors on climate change adaptation in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It provides the total economic loss throughout the 21st century and estimates the funding required for adaptation measures to avert potential losses. Huge impacts are likely on vulnerable sectors in the region, with South Asia losing on average nearly 2% of its gross domestic product by 2050. Results of the study will aid climate change adaptation in the region, including initiatives for regional cooperation.

Source: Mahfuz Ahmed and Suphachol Suphachalasai

Constructed under the ADB-financed Green Power Development Project, Bhutan's Dagachhu hydropower plant showcases how a public–private partnership for hydropower development successfully promotes cross-border energy trade, contributes to increased national energy security, and improves access to on- and off-grid energy for 9,000 rural households and public facilities. This report reviews the project's key features and discusses how an investment in renewable energy infrastructure is leading Bhutan and its neighboring countries toward greater inclusive growth.

Source: Asian Development Bank

Together We Deliver showcases ten ADB projects across Asia and the Pacific that demonstrate clear development impacts, replicable best practices, and valuable use of innovation. Among those highlighted is SASEC's Green Power Development Project in Bhutan, which is boosting the national economy through clean energy exports to India and also funding social programs that bring electricity to more than 8,500 rural poor households. The book also features a rural road project in India that connects remote communities to schools, hospitals, and other facilities. Capturing a wide range of ADB's assistance, the book portrays how ADB is changing for better the lives of many in Asia and the Pacific region.

Source: Asian Development Bank

This joint ADB-ADBI study focuses on how improved physical connectivity (infrastructure) and associated institutional connectivity (software) can enhance more effective economic integration between the two subregions. The report reviews economic ties, identifies issues and constraints, and explores better connectivity and closer economic integration. It also examines major developments in South Asia-Southeast Asia trade and investment, economic cooperation, role of economic corridors, and regional cooperation initiatives.

Source: ADB and ADBI

This report takes a critical look at inter-and intra-regional infrastructure of South Asia and explores inequality of access across space and time. It gives an approximate total cost of regional infrastructure needs and investment trends in the South Asia region, along with a proposed framework on ranking of infrastructure needs. The report also examines better usage of existing resources and policy options to help the poorest gain better access to infrastructure. Finally, it recognizes the enormity of infrastructure deficiencies in South Asia and acknowledges that a good mix of infrastructure investment and supportive reform implementation will enable the region to close the infrastructure gap.

Source: Luis Andrés, Dan Biller, and Matías Herrera Dappe

The International Energy Agency (IEA) Energy Training and Capacity Building Programme brochure provides an introduction to the themes, contents, and training formats of the courses offered by the IEA. The modules are designed to benefit energy specialists and experts involved in formulating strategies and policies on a national scale, by assisting them in ongoing implementation and analysis and helping them meet forthcoming energy challenges.

Source: international Energy Agency

The South Asia Regional Energy Study was completed as an important component of the regional technical assistance project Preparing the Energy Sector Dialogue and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Energy Center Capacity Development. It involved examining regional energy trade opportunities among all the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. The study provides interventions to improve regional energy cooperation in different timescales, including specific infrastructure projects which can be implemented during these periods.

Source: Sultan Hafeez Rahman / Priyantha D. C. Wijayatunga / Herath Gunatilake / P. N. Fernando

SAARC Regional Energy Trade Study - SRETS

Source: SAARC Secretariat

The study reviews regional infrastructure being enhanced through regional cooperation in Asia and examines major issues and challenges. It suggests a framework for pan-Asian infrastructure cooperation, anchored on a long-term vision of creating a seamless Asia that will not only enhance the region's competitiveness and extend its global reach, but also help reduce poverty and promote greater environmental sustainability.

Source: Asian Development Bank / Asian Development Bank Institute