:00:17. > :00:22.Are now rendered Modi's economic reforms bearing fruit? We take a
:00:23. > :00:31.look at the latest numbers for the Indian economy -- Narendra Modi's.
:00:32. > :00:41.And doing the heavy lifting for struggling Filipino rice farmers.
:00:42. > :00:47.Good morning. Let you could join us for this Tuesday edition of Asia
:00:48. > :00:52.Business Report. We begin with economic growth in India and the
:00:53. > :00:58.numbers are out, they show that the country's economy expanded by 7.3%
:00:59. > :01:02.over the last quarter. There is little doubt it remains one of the
:01:03. > :01:07.fastest-growing economies in the world. Some are sceptical about the
:01:08. > :01:11.weak export figures and investment. And there are concerns about the
:01:12. > :01:19.reliability of the numbers. Earlier I was joined by a banking sector
:01:20. > :01:27.correspondent and asked how credible the numbers are. There have been
:01:28. > :01:32.questions about it. There are still doubts about it and many are still
:01:33. > :01:37.wrapping their heads around the new numbers including the central bank.
:01:38. > :01:42.The point is that, in terms of assessing India, it might be easier
:01:43. > :01:48.to assess it in terms of the momentum. But where is the momentum
:01:49. > :01:54.headed? Narendra Modi's administration says that over two
:01:55. > :01:56.years ago, they have kick started the flagging economy through a
:01:57. > :02:05.series of reforms but are they on track? The economy has picked up but
:02:06. > :02:09.it hasn't been as strong as was hoped for and secondly, there seems
:02:10. > :02:14.to be some flagging momentum in the economy. We can see some of the
:02:15. > :02:19.manufacturing figures have slowed quite a bit in the fourth quarter of
:02:20. > :02:27.last year. Should we be patient with the administration? There is also a
:02:28. > :02:31.lot of gridlock among politicians and in Delhi and he has done his
:02:32. > :02:39.part of the last few years in terms of railways and local industries.
:02:40. > :02:41.And you have a record fall in prices helping the economy. Absolutely. He
:02:42. > :02:46.has certainly done some good work but he hasn't measured up to what
:02:47. > :02:54.investors were hoping for. This shortfall has been made even worse
:02:55. > :03:04.by the falling economy. The incremental gain is diminishing. A
:03:05. > :03:07.big setback for Facebook is the country's -- company's regulator
:03:08. > :03:10.rules against differential pricing for Internet services which means
:03:11. > :03:15.they won't be able to bring its free basics project to India which offers
:03:16. > :03:19.limited Internet services as well as Facebook for free. This also affect
:03:20. > :03:25.a similar offer by a local provider. Facebook founder Mark
:03:26. > :03:31.Zuckerberg has been on the charm offensive here to try to get his
:03:32. > :03:35.scheme excepted. He has been insisting this isn't about
:03:36. > :03:37.Facebook's commercial interests by giving people opportunities. A
:03:38. > :03:42.spokesman said they would continue to try to eliminate barriers and
:03:43. > :03:47.give access to the Internet. Critics have been celebrating the decision
:03:48. > :03:57.by the regulator as they say the move was aimed to go against the
:03:58. > :04:05.processes of net neutrality which promised equal access to data on the
:04:06. > :04:10.Internet. Many feel small startups would have been particularly hard
:04:11. > :04:14.hit. Over the past few years India has been a hub for startups,
:04:15. > :04:19.attracting billions of dollars of investment from around the world.
:04:20. > :04:22.Most have been focused on the cities but with the majority of Indians
:04:23. > :04:25.living in rural areas, what difference would teaching
:04:26. > :04:31.entrepreneurial skills to students make? Now we go to our
:04:32. > :04:37.correspondent. Students from the local school out on an assignment.
:04:38. > :04:42.The girls are scouting for entrepreneurs in their village. When
:04:43. > :04:46.they find one, they ask him a list of questions. TRANSLATION: I learned
:04:47. > :04:49.a lot about what people go through to set up a business through this
:04:50. > :04:55.exercise. Especially about how they overcome challenges. Like this sweet
:04:56. > :05:00.shop here or the many other stores along this road, you find that
:05:01. > :05:03.typically in India's villages, most people are self-employed whether
:05:04. > :05:07.they are operating farms or small businesses. If they were in big
:05:08. > :05:11.cities comment they would be thought of as entrepreneurs, a concept that
:05:12. > :05:15.tends to have a very urban feel to it and even a recent government
:05:16. > :05:23.campaign to encourage startups definitely seemed city centric.
:05:24. > :05:26.Around 70% live in rural areas here and many believe if entrepreneurial
:05:27. > :05:31.skills were taught in these areas, it would go a long way to improving
:05:32. > :05:39.lives. And that is what this not-for-profit organization is wrong
:05:40. > :05:43.to do. They have been taking lessons -- teaching lessons in
:05:44. > :05:46.entrepreneurialism in some of the poorest states and these that mix of
:05:47. > :05:50.outdoor activities and textbooks to teach students things like
:05:51. > :05:53.marketing, communications and financial planning. Entrepreneurship
:05:54. > :05:57.as the concept is basically nonexistent in rural India but there
:05:58. > :06:01.are businesses that are entrepreneurial ventures. Is making
:06:02. > :06:07.parents and students realise that these are also of high-value and
:06:08. > :06:12.that is the right tactics are used, they can be made into something big,
:06:13. > :06:16.we will be successful. That is something not taught at most cools,
:06:17. > :06:24.weather in rural or urban India but in most of the villages, a vast
:06:25. > :06:26.majority of students will never have access to managerial school or
:06:27. > :06:36.higher education. They will probably have to learn of his -- learn how to
:06:37. > :06:46.run a business as they go along. Gap has seen numbers slump at all of
:06:47. > :06:54.their major brands. They say the full-year profit will be strong,
:06:55. > :06:57.despite this. New technology being developed in the Philippines could
:06:58. > :07:03.give hope to thousands of farmers affected by storms and natural
:07:04. > :07:07.disasters. The Philippines is hit by dozens of typhoons every year but
:07:08. > :07:11.now genetic engineering is being used to protect crops from the
:07:12. > :07:19.weather. To find out more, I recently visited North of Manila.
:07:20. > :07:24.The rice bowl of the Philippines. It may look peaceful and serene but in
:07:25. > :07:31.October, a powerful typhoon tore through this region and for this
:07:32. > :07:34.farmer, it was a crushing experience. The third typhoon to
:07:35. > :07:39.destroy his crops in as many months. By now his crops should have
:07:40. > :07:53.been ready for harvest but Mother Nature has left him with nothing but
:07:54. > :07:58.get. -- debt. He was able to harvest this land, he would have enough
:07:59. > :08:06.money to live by FA six months -- if he. -- for the next six months.
:08:07. > :08:11.TRANSLATION: I can't sleep because I haven't had any crops and I can't
:08:12. > :08:18.pay for my debt. As a result, I don't have money to eat or feed my
:08:19. > :08:22.family. It is a plight facing thousands of Filipino farmers as
:08:23. > :08:27.more than 20 typhoons devastate agriculture areas across the country
:08:28. > :08:34.each year. Rice is a crucial crop here as it is across Asia. Once a
:08:35. > :08:43.major exporter, the Philippines has, in recent years, become an importer
:08:44. > :08:46.because of shortages at home. At the National Rice Institute, Robert and
:08:47. > :08:50.his team are trying to change all that. In these greenhouses,
:08:51. > :08:56.researchers have edited the genes from robust rice species to make for
:08:57. > :09:00.IDs that can withstand typhoons and floods. But they are not just
:09:01. > :09:04.working at the molecular level. They are using these satellite pictures
:09:05. > :09:08.to understand and map changes that the weather has on rice crops in
:09:09. > :09:12.real time. One of the challenges facing rice farmers is that it is
:09:13. > :09:15.almost impossible for them to get insurance. And that is because there
:09:16. > :09:22.just simply is not enough information. With this combination
:09:23. > :09:29.of technology on the molecular level all the way up to the outerspace
:09:30. > :09:31.level, farmers can grow rice that is tolerant of very difficult
:09:32. > :09:35.situations and have an insurance product that protects them so that
:09:36. > :09:42.in case there is a loss, they will be reimbursed. It can't come soon
:09:43. > :09:53.enough for families like this, who will now depend on more loans to get
:09:54. > :09:57.them through the coming years. And on tomorrow's programme we will have
:09:58. > :10:01.more on this story. Here is the fact, only 5% of Filipino farmers
:10:02. > :10:05.have insurance to protect their crops. I will be speaking to a major
:10:06. > :10:09.international insurance company hoping to change all of that. Here's
:10:10. > :10:13.a quick look at the markets. Steep losses right now for Asian stocks
:10:14. > :10:22.after US equities plunged overnight because of persistent fears of a
:10:23. > :10:28.global economic slowdown. Also, oil prices have slumped yet again. Thank
:10:29. > :10:37.you for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now.