South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation Region Research Articles

Geopolitical Risks and Stock Market Volatility in the SAARC Region

Abstract This study examined the stock market volatility of the member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and geopolitical risk (GPR). The analysis period covered January 2014 to March 2024, and the time–frequency wavelet method was used to process the data. The time-varying parameter vector autoregression and spatial autoregressive models helped determine the dynamic connectedness of volatility in the analyzed states. The findings revealed similar stock market connections in Bangladesh and India. In addition, a comparative analysis of stocks in India and Pakistan led to the identification of common elements. The connection between geopolitical concerns and Sri Lankan stocks was the strongest and increased in intensity after 2019. GPR and Nepal’s stock market maintained a continuous but low-intensity relationship. The dynamic connectedness between member states’ stock markets was limited during the review period. The study results could encourage SAARC governments to bridge their political differences to ensure that South Asia becomes a strong partner in the global economy. Equally, our results can benefit investors, financial institutions, regulatory authorities, and governments.

Community-based economic romance and integration: assessing the feasibility of a currency union in South Asia

Purpose This purpose of this study aims to critically evaluate the feasibility of establishing a single currency area within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) by examining the economic integration of its member states. The analysis focuses on the extent to which the region meets the criteria of the optimum currency area (OCA) theory, particularly in terms of business cycle synchronization, labor mobility and capital flows. Design/methodology/approach Using a vector autoregression (VAR) model within the aggregate demand-aggregate supply framework, this research investigates the symmetry of supply and demand shocks across SAARC economies. The study analyzes the synchronization of business cycles and the mobility of labor and capital to determine the readiness of SAARC for a unified currency. Findings The results indicate significant asymmetries in business cycles among SAARC countries, with substantial disparities in economic responses to shocks. These findings suggest that the region lacks the necessary economic synchronization required for a successful single currency area. Limited labor and capital mobility further complicate the potential for economic integration within SAARC. Research limitations/implications The study is constrained by data inconsistencies and the limited range of economic indicators available for SAARC countries. Future research should expand the analysis to include a broader set of socioeconomic factors and more comprehensive data sets to better assess the region’s potential for monetary integration. Practical implications The study highlights the challenges of forming a currency union in South Asia due to economic disparities and limited mobility. However, gradual steps toward deeper regional integration, improved financial infrastructure and enhanced cross-border collaboration could foster long-term economic stability, growth and social cohesion in the SAARC region. Social implications The research highlights the potential social benefits of enhanced economic integration, such as increased community resilience and social cohesion, while also warning of the risks associated with premature monetary union in a region with significant economic disparities. Originality/value This study provides a detailed analysis linking the theoretical framework of the OCA to the practical realities of economic integration in South Asia. By focusing on the specific economic conditions of SAARC member states, the research offers valuable insights for policymakers considering regional monetary integration.

Cancer burden across the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in 2022

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to present a cross-sectional analysis of cancer burden in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region and explain unique characteristics of its...

SAARC super smart grid: Navigating the future - unleashing the power of an energy-efficient integration of renewable energy resources in the saarc region

The major problems in the power system network of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region include the utilization of substantial fossil fuels, which leads to significant emissions of CO2. Moreover, due to the depletion of fossil fuels, it is very difficult to manage the demand requirement of the SAARC regions, which leads to significant power shortage issues. These problems would be resolved through the integration of the substantial amount of renewable energy resources (RERs) that are available in excess in the SAARC regions into the power system networks. This will provide a futuristic roadmap to a sustainable and green energy environment in the SAARC region. In this regard, the SAARC region has devised a new plan to transform its smart grid infrastructure into the super smart grid (SSG), which would connect the SAARC countries using the high voltage transmission lines utilizing each country's substantial RERs. To accelerate this ecofriendly effort, the key objective of this review study is to evaluate the potential of the SAARC SSG for demand management and emissions reduction. This study provides a comprehensive overview of SSG technology, covering its technical background, management, power flow improvement techniques, power stability techniques, simulation models, and future steps for development in the SAARC region. First, the regional conflicts, energy deficiency, and potential of the SAARC region have been discussed. Second, a potential architecture of the SAARC SSG has been simulated. Third, a novel Markov chain modeling has been presented for demand management in the SAARC regions. The results and discussions section presents findings from simulations and models. The paper also discusses CO2 reduction techniques, including methods for capturing, storing, and utilizing carbon in biofuel. The study also discusses futuristic optimization techniques in SSG, including blockchain, federated learning, reinforcement learning, the metaverse, digital twin technology, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing. The SSG challenges and limitations section summarizes the challenges and limitations faced by SSG. Finally, a roadmap to a sustainable and green energy environment for the SAARC power grids has been identified to support the implementation of the futuristic SAARC SSG. The results exhibited that there is a good potential for successful demand management and emissions reduction through the SAARC SSG.

Pioneers of Neurosurgery in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Region: A Historical Vignette and Beyond

South Asia, consisting of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, spreads between the Himalayan base and the Indian Ocean and shares identical geophysical characteristics. With the inclusion of its newest member Afghanistan, these 8 member nations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) share more or less a homogenous geographical, political, and historical background and cultural heritage, with a significant role in shaping the world. This densely populated area is home to around a quarter of the world's total population. From the ancient ages, the neurosurgical practice has paced relentlessly and in the last 100years, it has reached its zenith. With modern advancements, neurosurgery has developed in its diagnostic and treatment modalities along with facilities for training and education. Despite falling behind owing to economic, educational, and geopolitical constraints, the pioneers of the SAARC region have established the fields of neurosurgery in their respective countries with command. No constraint could stop them from educating and training young physicians to make competent neurosurgeons to evolve the field of neurosurgery in their countries. Their firm determination and hard work paved the way to keep this field striving and thriving, to serve a substantial volume of the world population with their neurosurgical insight and skill. However, this region needs to go a long way as the number of neurosurgeons and facilities is still insufficient. This can be achieved with the guidance and collaboration among the neurosurgeons of the SAARC region as the youth here are talented and hardworking.

DYNAMIC LINKAGES BETWEEN ECONOMIC POLICY UNCERTAINTY AND STOCK MARKET INTEGRATION: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM SAARC REGION

This study attempts to empirically test whether the economic policy uncertainty (EPU) in developed economies affects stock market integration across developed and developing countries. We find that the correlations appear to be time-varying and are being influenced by financial crises. The EPU of the developed economies has a negative impact on their stock market interdependence with Pakistan, but a positive impact on stock market correlations between India and the US, India and the UK, Bangladesh and the EU, Sri Lanka and the EU, and no impact on correlations between India and the EU, Bangladesh, and the US. Additional robustness tests reveal that the global financial crisis (GFC) has a substantial influence on all stock market correlation pairs, apart from any pairs with India, whereas the Asian financial crisis (AFC) only has a significant impact on the Sri Lanka–EU relationship. Finally, the study suggests that the EPU in the US, UK and EU has a great influence on the interdependence of the stock markets between South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and developed nations.

Unraveling the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on foreign direct investment and its determinants: empirical insights from SAARC countries

PurposeThis paper aims to unravel the impact of post-pandemic COVID-19 on foreign direct investment (FDI) and its determinants in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilized four macroeconomic variables includes growth domestic product growth rate (GDPG), inflation rate (IR), exchange rate (ER), and unemployment rate (UR) to assess their impact on post-pandemic FDI, along with two variables control of corruption (CC) and political stability (PS) to measure the influence of good governance. Random effects, fixed effects, cluster random effects, cluster fixed effects and generalized method of moments (GMM) models were applied to a balanced panel dataset comprising eight SAARC countries over the period 2010–2021. To identify the random trend component in each variable, three renowned unit root tests (Levin, Lin and Chu LLC, Im-Pesaran-Shin IPS and Augmented Dickey-Fuller ADF) were used, and co-integration associations between variables were verified through the Pedroni and Kao approaches. Data analysis was performed using STATA 17 software.FindingsThe major findings revealed that the variables have an order of integration at the first difference I (1). Nonetheless, this situation suggests the possibility of a long-term link between the series. And the main results of the findings show that the coefficients of GDPG, CC and PS are positive and significant in the long run, showing that these variables boosted FDI inflows in the SAARC region as they are significantly positively linked to FDI inflows. Similarly, the coefficients of UR, IR, ER and COVID-19 are negative and significant.Practical implicationsBy identifying the specific impacts of the post-pandemic FDI and its determinants, governments and policymakers can formulate targeted policies and measures to mitigate the adverse effects and enhance investment attractiveness. Additionally, investors can gain a deeper understanding of the risk factors and adapt their strategies accordingly, ensuring resilience and sustainable growth. Finally, this paper adds value to the literature on the post-pandemic impact on FDI inflows in the SAARC region.Originality/valueThis paper is the first attempt to trace the impact of COVID-19 on Foreign Direct Investment and its determinants in the SAARC Countries. Most of the previous studies were analytical in nature and, if empirical, excluded some countries due to the unviability of the data set. This study includes all the SAARC member countries, and all variables' data are completely available. There is still a lack of empirical studies related to the SAARC region; this study attempts to fill the gap.

Energy Consumption and Economic Growth Nexus in the SAARC Region

In recent years, demand for energy consumption has increased, especially in emerging countries such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries. This study thus aims to investigate the explicit relationship between energy consumption and economic growth in the SAARC countries. The researchers employed panel econometric techniques using data for the period 2002-2020. The study used pooled OLS, fixed effect and GLS estimators for estimation purposes. The pivotal results of the work revealed that the nexus of energy consumption with per capita income is not only significant but also takes an inverted u-shaped. As research evidence in the SAARC region is limited, we expect policymakers working in the energy sector to benefit significantly from the results of this study. This work contributes to the limited empirical studies exploring the impact of energy consumption on economic growth specifically in the SAARC region, with interesting findings that provide important insights to the SAARC region on electricity consumption and per capita income.
 Keywords: energy consumption, economic growth, SAARC countries, panel data.

Determinants of Bilateral Agricultural Trade of SAARC Region: a Gravity Model Approach

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region is an important player in the world agriculture trade. They have vast potential to strengthen their position in global agricultural trade due to theregion's opportunities to increase agricultural production combined with growing global demand. To discover the SAARC potential of agricultural trade patterns, the present paper examines the determinants of bilateral agricultural exports from 2000 to 2019. The gravity model was estimated by employing the Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PMML) technique, including zero trade flows for panel data. The results confirm the positive and significant impact of exporter gross domestic product (GDP), importer GDP, Broder, common language, South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), and India-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) on bilateral agricultural trade inthe SAARC region. On the other hand, distance and development levels significantly negatively impact bilateral agricultural trade. Lastly, the study showed an insignificant impact of the bilateral exchange rate.

INDIA’S TRADE RELATIONS WITH OTHER SAARC NATIONS: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON TRENDS FROM 2014 TO 2021

In terms of South Asian institutions, SAARC is crucial. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a political and economic group in the region. It is founding members-Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan-made it the largest regional organization on December 8, 1985. It has played a significant part in fostering closer ties between its member countries by organizing summits and conferences at a variety of levels. India plays a significant role as a SAARC member. Geographically and economically, India controls 70 percent of the SAARC region, while the other six member nations share borders only with India. In this study researcher highlights Indias trade relations with other SAARC economies. Researcher also examines India commercial ties to the other SAARC nations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data used in this article was collected from yearly reports made public by SAARC secretaries, which included numerical data acquired from those reports. The results indicate that during the Covid-19 outbreak, trade between India with the other SAARC members fall. The research indicates that the future has opportunities that are favorable for the progress of nations. KEYWORDS: SAARC Countries, South Asia, Covid-19, SAARC secretaries.

Growth and Potential of Intra-Industry Trade of India in Agriculture among the BIMSTEC Nations

The unification and development of crawling Asian countries is the burning issue after the declaration of failure of the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region. Besides, a small bubble in the ocean of agreements is ‘BIMSTEC’ (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), which has not been flourishing to date due to the lack of interest of a dominating country like India, whose focus is on other successful regional blocs. However, recent studies have shown that though it starts late but contributing significantly towards the trade among BIMSTEC countries. And, second, almost all the countries have shared similar cultures, languages and levels of per-capita income except Myanmar and Thailand, which will favour the trade among the region. Thus, the main focus of the study is to analyse the revealed comparative advantage of countries in BIMSTEC, their trade competitiveness and contribution made to the country’s growth before and after formation by the region. Under the study, it was observed that the intra-industry trades of India in Agriculture among the BIMSTEC nations have shown very less potential for trade in all 24 agriculture chapters. Thus, economies need to reframe the policies as required and identify the potential products in agricultural-related goods that can significantly improve the trade balance of the countries. JEL Codes: F14, F15, F19, F53

Discovering Capital Structure Determinants for SAARC Energy Firms

Energy scarcity is the core drain for the South Asian economies. However, there is a lack of studies in relation to the capital structure determinants in the context of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Thus, this study is an attempt to explore the capital structure determinants of energy sector firms which are operating in the four large economies of the SAARC region that are Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In this context, a total of 34 energy sector firms’ Panel Data is entailed over the period of 2007-2020. The six key capital structure determinants, namely asset tangibility, current ratio, return on equity, non-debt tax shield, annual gross domestic product are examined in relation to debt to total asset ratio. Deploying Panel Data Static models and Dynamic model via Generalized Method of Moments (GMM), the outcomes reveal that asset tangibility and current ratio are the most prominent determinants among all others. The significant role of profitability and tangibility through different estimators directly infers the relevance of Dynamic Trade-Off theory. The findings provide new ways for policy makers to construct parallel strategies which not only help out in overcoming the energy scarcity issues but also enhance regional level integration.

Assessment of water and carbon use efficiency in the SAARC region for ecological resilience under changing climate

According to the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) assessment report released in 2021, South Asian countries were among the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of climate change on future generations. Hence it is become crucial to assess how resilient the ecosystems are to these changes. The current study incorporated a novel approach, the Combined Ecological Resiliency Indices Approach (CERIA), to assess ecological resiliency status at various scales during hydroclimatic disturbances. Water and carbon use efficiency (WUE and CUE, respectively) were used as indicators for the examination of ecological resilience. The standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was adopted to assess the initial stage of hydroclimatic disturbances (meteorological drought). A resiliency analysis based on combined Rd and Rd' indices (derived from WUE and CUE, respectively) revealed that just 1.87% land cover area of the entire SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region's total 17 land cover classes was resilient to meteorological drought. At the river basin scale, only 16.58% of the total 62 river basins were found resilient. Only 11 (27.46%) of the 21 climate classes on the Koppen climate classification scale were resilient to the hydro-climatic disturbance period. To achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs goal-2 and goal-13) of ‘No Hunger’ and ‘Protect the Planet’, the Joint Ecosystem Resiliency Enhancement Programme (JEREP) should be adopted in land cover, river basins, or climatic classes of the SAARC region that were highly affected.

A Comparative Study on Percentage of Women (Age 15–49) Attending at Least One Antenatal Care by Skilled Health Personnel in SAARC Countries (2015-2030)

Background: Antenatal care (ANC) plays an important role in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political organization of eight countries in South Asia. There is an unacceptably high burden of neonatal mortality and stillbirths in the SAARC region. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to estimate the percentage of at least one ANC visit from 2015 to 2030 from previously available data and to compare the progress among SAARC nations. Methodology: This is a secondary analysis study. Data indicating percentages of women attending at least one ANC by skilled health personnel in SAARC countries Maternal and newborn health coverage dataset-May 2021 by United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was used. Regression Coefficient was used first to check the strength of the relationship for prediction at a 5 % significance level. Then, the percentages of ANC visits were predicted. To compare the percentages among countries, non-Parametric correlation Kendall’s tau was used. Findings: Results indicate that SAARC countries are struggling to reach at least one ANC visit. Comparison among these countries has shown no significant trend and it is concluded that there is no significant difference among SAARC countries' women ANC visits from 2015 to 2030 at a 5% significance level for all years. Practical Implications: The estimations of this research would help to develop innovative strategies for uplifting maternal health among SAARC countries to reach Sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Pharmacovigilance practices in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries: the need for collaboration

Abstract Objectives One-fifth of the world’s population lives in eight countries that constitute the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). There is very little coordination among SAARC countries regarding the harmonization of pharmaceutical regulations and medicines safety. Pakistan, India and Bangladesh have experienced medicine-related tragedies where many patients have died. This study aims to examine current pharmacovigilance activity in the SAARC region to improve pharmacovigilance practices and to make recommendations for building a platform for collaboration to improve the safety monitoring of medicines in the region. The current review utilized secondary data. We reviewed the official websites of all SAARC countries’ national regulatory authorities for pharmacovigilance-related information. A data set with eleven pharmacovigilance indicators were gathered and synthesized. Key findings All eight SAARC member countries have pharmacovigilance systems with full membership in the WHO Program for International Drug Monitoring. Out of eleven pharmacovigilance indicators, India met ten; Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan nine; Maldives and Afghanistan seven; Nepal and Sri Lanka five. The SAARC countries do not have a harmonized pharmacovigilance system or centralized database. Due to positioning in different WHO regions, it is proposed to create a consortium on medicine safety among SAARC countries like other regional organizations of the world to strengthen the pharmacovigilance systems and harmonize the pharmacovigilance practices among member countries. Summary To improve the quality of medicines and to strengthen regional medicine safety, the SAARC secretariat should consider forming a technical group of all member countries’ regulatory authorities.

Particulate air pollution and metabolic risk factors: Which are more prone to cardiac mortality.

This study explored multiplex, country-level connections between a wide range of cardiac risk factors and associated mortality within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries. The grey relational analysis (GRA) methodology is used to evaluate data from 2001 to 2018 to compute scores and rank countries based on cardiac mortality. Subsequently, we used the conservative (Min-Max) technique to determine which South Asian country contributes the most to cardiac mortality. The Hurwicz criterion is further applied for optimization by highlighting the risk factors with the highest impact on cardiac mortality. Empirical findings revealed that India and Nepal are the leading drivers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among all SAARC nations based on the results of the GRA methodology. Moreover, the outcomes based on the Hurwicz criterion and the conservative criterion indicated that CVD mortality is considerably impacted by household air pollution from the combustion of solid fuel, with India as a potential contributor in the SAARC region. The outcomes of this research may enable international organizations and public health policymakers to make better decisions and investments within the SAARC region to minimize the burden of CVD while also strengthening environmentally sustainable healthcare practices.

Are globalization, urbanization, and energy consumption cause carbon emissions in SAARC region? New evidence from CS-ARDL approach.

This study examines the impact of energy consumption, urbanization, and globalization on environmental degradation proxied by carbon emissions (CO2) in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, namely Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and India using data over the period 1990-2018. The cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL), pooled mean group (PMG), and Dumitrescu and Hurlin (D-H) Granger causality techniques are employed for the empirical analysis. First and second-generation panel unit root tests are used to determine the stationary level of all data series which reveals mixed order of integration. The empirical findings show that urbanization, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita income, energy consumption, industrial growth, globalization, and financial development cause CO2 emissions, while the other variables, namely arable land and innovation, put negative effects on CO2 emissions. Moreover, the D-H heterogeneous test results exhibit that bi-directional relationship exists between CO2 and arable land, urbanization, industrial growth, and financial development, while a unidirectional causality exists between CO2 emissions and GDP per head income. These findings suggest that planned urbanization, investment in renewable energy sources, and effective strategies regarding the economic and financial integration with the global economies are required for a clean and green environment.

Financial Regulation, Financial Inclusion and Competitiveness in the Banking Sector in SADC and SAARC Countries: The Moderating Role of Financial Stability

Financial inclusion is a widely used measure to improve the living standards of households and foster inclusive economic growth. Thus, financial inclusion is one of the main policy objectives in developing countries. Besides, financial regulation (capital adequacy requirement) is a policy measure used to ensure financial stability. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of financial regulation on competitiveness and financial inclusion in 15 countries in the SADC (Southern Africa Development Community) region and 8 countries in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) region over the period 2005–2018. The result of Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) estimation suggests that financial regulation reduces competitiveness and hampers financial inclusion in the banking sector in the two regions. Furthermore, we find that financial stability moderates the negative effect of financial regulation on competitiveness and financial inclusion, meaning that financially stable banks remain competitive and normally offer financial products and services even if strong capital adequacy requirements are implemented. Additionally, we find that competitiveness increases financial inclusion in countries in the SADC region. The policy implication of this study focuses on regulatory flexibility to preserve the need for greater financial inclusion in the two regions. As for the practical implication, the study calls for strategic measures to preserve stability such as complementing financial inclusion with financial literacy, fostering corporate governance.

Assessing vulnerability of agriculture system to climate change in the SAARC region

Agriculture production is primarily influenced by human-induced management interventions whereas climate plays an important role. Climate change with increasing global carbon dioxide concentration and changes in temperature, precipitation and other climatic parameters play a significant role in influencing agriculture productivity. The assessment of the vulnerability of agriculture production under the influence of climate change can be done using process-based vegetation models. We assessed the vulnerability of agriculture production for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations comprising of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka using the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) model. Net Primary Productivity (NPP) was simulated under the forcing of climatic variables of the climate change scenarios of representative concentration pathways (RCP2.6, 4.5 & 8.5) for the year 2050 using JULES. JULES is a process-based model that simulates fluxes of carbon, energy, and momentum between the atmosphere, land surface, and water to estimate the productivity of a system. The sensitivity was calculated as the inter-annual dispersion from the average NPP of assessment period 2016 to 2050, whereas adaptive capacity was calculated as the slope of productivity regressed over the assessment period. The vulnerability was calculated by subtracting the values of adaptability from sensitivity. The JULES simulated NPP was also compared with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS 17A) derived NPP for the period 2000–2014. The simulated NPP had a decreasing trend under projected climate change scenarios of 2050 for all the SAARC nations compared to recent years average of 2000–2014. The analysis reveals that one-third of the SAARC region is highly sensitive under low to moderate emission scenarios, while it was observed that under high emission scenarios the sensitivity would reduce with increased vulnerability. We observed that the vulnerability of the system is not alone influenced by sensitivity and any change in adaptive capacity or resilience would also impact the overall vulnerability of the system.

Action for Action: Mad COVID-19, Falling Markets and Rising Volatility of SAARC Region.

The Southern Region has reported a large number of contagious pandemic outbreaks. These epidemics brought threats to human health and resulted in serious economic losses. The COVID-19 is a global virus and has weakened the global financial markets with significant effect on stock returns and market volatilities. The study obtained a dataset about the financial market structure of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Countries. The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of 2019-nCov on stock market performance of SAARC member states. The study considered indexes of the National Stock Exchanges of each country and applied an event study approach for estimating the impact of Mad COVID-19 on the stock returns and market volatilities with an event window of 25 days of severe pandemic hits. The CAR approach proved the declining effect of Mad COVID-19 on the stock returns of SAARC countries. Asymmetric GJR-GARCH Model estimated the changeable volatility and proved the increase in volatility with COVID-19 as a negative shock. SAARC Region significantly reacts to Mad COVID-19 with falling markets and rising volatility.