India has, in effect, one of the most privatized healthcare systems in the world.

In Nov, AFISCO was chosen as preferred bidder for iron ore mining and a steel plant in Hajigak

A mild intensity quake shook Kashmir Valley in the wee hours on Wednesday but there was no report of any damage due to it. "An earthquake of magnitude 4.2 was recorded at 1.37 AM. The epicentre of the tremor was in Hindukush region of Afghanistan," an official of Disaster Management Cell said.

He said there was no report of any damage caused by the tremor in the Valley. Kashmir Valley lies in highly active Seismic Zone V and has been experiencing slight to moderate earthquakes at regular intervals.

A 5.6 magnitude medium-intensity quake with its epicentre along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was felt in the Kashmir Valley Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property. “A 5.6 magnitude tremor rocked the Kashmir Valley at 1.07 p.m. Today (Thursday)," a met department official said. The epicentre was located at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border at Latitude 36.1 degrees North and Longitude 73.1 degrees east, he said. People in Srinagar and other towns of the Valley came out of their homes and offices when they felt the tremors.

Monnet Ispat and Jindal Steel have also been shortlisted by the Afghan Govt

Aluminium producer Nalco, in consortium with steel major SAIL and Hindustan Copper, will submit a bid for developing gold and copper deposits in Afghanistan this month, a top company official said on Wednesday. The consortium of Indian PSUs is among the 25 companies/ consortia from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada, the UAE, Turkey and Afghanistan that have been shortlisted by the Afghan Government in April for developing its gold and copper mines.

Conflict in Afghanistan and vaccination problems in Pakistan have led to a rise in polio cases there, imperilling efforts to wipe out the disease worldwide, a study said Wednesday.

In further evidence that confirms India’s fear of importing polio virus from neighbouring countries, a recent study has revealed that a major chunk of children below three years in Pakistan and Afghanistan are not receiving the oral polio vaccine.

According to the study published in Lancet, experts found a sharp decline in the vaccine coverage from 2008 to 2011. According to Lancet, vaccine coverage in Balochistan, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and southern Afghanistan saw a significant decrease from 2006 to 2011.

Of all South Asian nations, Sri Lanka has the lowest number of underweight and stunted children, World Bank’s South Asia Region Human Development Unit’s senior nutrition specialist Nkosinathi Mbuya