Category: India

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: India Plans Chandrayaan-4 Mission with Advanced Docking, Lunar Sample Collection: Dr. Jitendra Singh in Lok Sabha

    Source: Government of India (2)

    India Plans Chandrayaan-4 Mission with Advanced Docking, Lunar Sample Collection: Dr. Jitendra Singh in Lok Sabha

    Of the four astronauts undergoing rigorous training for the upcoming human mission “Gaganyaan” one of them, Group Captain Shukla, has been selected to join the  mission to the International Space Station

    Chandrayaan-4 to Pioneer Lunar Docking Tech as India Eyes 2040 Moon Mission

    PM Narendra Modi’s letter to Sunita Williams conveyed his good wishes and extended her invitation to visit India

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:56PM by PIB Delhi

    Of the four astronauts  undergoing rigorous training for the upcoming human mission, “Gaganyaan” one of them, Group Captain Shukla, has been selected to join the  mission to the International Space Station, while others remain in an intensive preparatory phase to ensure mission success.

    This was stated in the Lok Sabha today by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh. He asserted that  India’s space ambitions are set to reach new heights in reply to a question , while revealing crucial details about the upcoming Chandrayaan-4 mission. The mission, which will feature multiple advanced docking technology and lunar sample collection, is poised to be a major step toward India’s goal of establishing its own space station by 2040.

    Beginning his reply in the Lok Sabha to a discussion on Chandrayaan 4 and India’s Space missions, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh shared with the House that Sunita Williams had landed back on the surface of Earth this morning at 3.27 AM after spending more than 300 days in the Space and our message of congratulations was put out by the social media soon thereafter around 4 AM defining this “as a moment of glory, pride and relief”.

    The Minister referred to PM Narendra Modi’s letter to Sunita Williams in which he had conveyed his good wishes and extended her invitation to visit India. He also recalled that when Sunita came to India last time in 2007, he had met Shri Modi who was then the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted the importance of Chandrayaan-4 in strengthening India’s space capabilities. “This mission will not just be about landing on the Moon but also about mastering docking and undocking procedures, a key requirement for future interplanetary missions and space station operations,” he said. The Minister further noted that India’s long-term objective includes sending an Indian astronaut to the Moon, with Chandrayaan-4 serving as a precursor to that historic feat.

    The mission will involve two launch vehicles carrying five components in total. These modules will execute complex manoeuvres, including docking in Earth’s orbit before proceeding to the Moon. Upon reaching lunar orbit, the modules will separate, with the descender collecting samples while the ascender returns to dock with the remaining modules. The return module will then make its way back to Earth, simulating key aspects of crewed lunar missions.

    Dr. Jitendra Singh also touched upon the broader applications of space technology in governance and development. He emphasized that space-based innovations are now integrated into urban planning, disaster management, healthcare, and agriculture, demonstrating how India’s advancements in space science are benefiting the general public.

     

    Additionally, he addressed queries about India’s first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, confirming that the selected four astronauts are undergoing rigorous training. While one astronaut, Group Captain Shukla, was selected to participate in a mission to the International Space Station, the others remained in an intensive preparatory phase to ensure mission success.

    India’s space program has gained global recognition, and with Chandrayaan-4, the country aims to take another significant leap. As the mission takes shape, it is expected to further cement India’s standing in the global space race and pave the way for future deep-space exploration.

    ***

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Indian Railways Strengthens Crowd Management and Infrastructure to Enhance Passenger Safety Following New Delhi Stampede

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:49PM by PIB Delhi

    Each railway station has unique operational challenges due to varying passenger movement patterns during the festivals. For the security arrangements and to streamline passenger flow, station specific plans are made involving all the stakeholders that include Government Railway Police (GRP), Local Police and Local Civil Administration and accordingly action is taken to manage the influx of passengers.

    To handle the rush of passengers during Maha Kumbh 2025 at Prayagraj, new infrastructure was created building seven additional platforms, bringing the total to 48 platforms across 9 stations in the Prayagraj area. The approach roads to these stations have also been widened to ensure smooth movement of pilgrims. In total, 17 new permanent Yatri Ashryas were constructed, increasing the holding capacity of these shelters from 21,000 to over 1,10,000. Additionally, 21 new Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) have been built, eliminating all level crossings in the region.

    A well-coordinated train operation plan was deployed to ensure smooth transportation during the Kumbh. Each station was having its own control room, with a central master control room at Prayagraj Junction. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were developed for train operations and crowd management at stations. To facilitate smooth rush of passenger’s flow, extensive measures have been put in place, including single entry and exit points at stations on major Snan days and unidirectional movement on platforms, foot over bridges (FOBs), and ramps.

    Security arrangements for Mahakumbh-2025 were comprehensive, with an emphasis on surveillance and real-time monitoring. A total of about 1200 CCTV cameras, including 116 Face Recognition System (FRS) cameras and Drone cameras were also deployed for surveillance of tracks and crowd management at approach roads to stations.

    Additional deployment of 15,000 personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and para-military forces were done to ensure security.

    Also, additional deployment was made at other sensitive railway stations where high rush of passengers was expected i.e. Varanasi, Ayodhya, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Danapur and New Delhi etc.

    New Delhi Railway Station has adequate infrastructure. It has 16 nos. of platforms, three foot over bridges (FOBs), access from both Paharganj and Ajmeri gate side, large open spaces in front of the station etc. Large rush of passengers during festivals and events like Kumbh, Chatth, Holi etc. are being handled regularly on New Delhi Railway Station.

    Further, redevelopment of New Delhi Railway Station has been sanctioned under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

    Amrit Bharat Station Scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. This scheme involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like One Station One Product, better passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each such station.

    The scheme also envisages improvement of building integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Divyangjans, sustainable and environment friendly solutions, provision of ballast less tracks etc. as per necessity, phasing and feasibility and creation of city centres at the station in the long term.

    The plan for redevelopment of New Delhi Railway station, envisages larger new station buildings at both sides, spacious Air Concourse with modern amenities for passenger, Multi Modal Transport Hub connecting different mode of transportation and providing parking and other facilities. The redeveloped station envisages a network of surface and elevated roads to provide access at two levels and to decongest surrounding areas of New Delhi railway station. Adequate security measures like CCTV cameras, access control, movement regulation and waiting space etc are also envisaged.

    The details of allocation of funds for development and maintenance of stations are maintained Zonal Railway-wise and not footfall-wise or Work-wise or Station-wise. Passenger amenities are generally funded under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’. An allocation of ₹12,994 Crores (Revised Estimate) has been made for the financial year 2024-25 under Plan Head-53. New Delhi railway station in Delhi falls under Northern Railway Zone and the fund allocation to Northern Railway for development and maintenance of stations under Plan Head-53 ‘Customer Amenities’ for the year (RE 2024-25) is ₹ 1531.24 Cr.

    To handle heavy rush of passengers at stations, following decisions have been taken by railways –

    Permanent holding areas at 60 stations:

    1. During the festival season of 2024, holding areas were created outside stations. These waiting areas were able to hold large crowds at Surat Udhna, Patna and New Delhi. Passengers were allowed only when the train came to the platform.
    2. Similar arrangements were made during Mahakumbh at nine stations of Prayag area.
    3. Based on the experience of these stations, it has been decided to create permanent waiting areas outside stations at 60 stations across the country which periodically face heavy crowds.
    4. Pilot projects have started at New Delhi, Anand Vihar, Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Ghaziabad stations.
    5. With this concept, the sudden crowd will be contained within the waiting area. Passengers will be allowed to go to platforms only when the trains arrive at the platform. This will decongest the stations.

     Access control:

    1. Complete access control will be initiated at the 60 stations.
    2. Passengers with confirmed reserve tickets will be given direct access to the platforms.
    3. Passengers without a ticket or with a waiting list ticket will wait in the outside waiting area.
    4. All unauthorised entry points will be sealed.

     Wider foot-over-bridges (FOB):

    1. Two new designs of 12 metre wide (40 feet) and 6 metre wide (20 feet) standard FOB have been developed. These wide FOBs with ramps were very effective in crowd management during Mahakumbh. These new standard wide FOBs will be installed in all the stations.

     Cameras:

    1. Cameras helped crowd management in a big way during Mahakumbh. A large number of cameras will be installed in all stations and adjoining areas for close monitoring.

     War rooms:

    1. War rooms at large stations will be developed. Officers of all departments will work in the war room during crowd situations.

    New generation communication equipment:

    1. Latest design digital communication equipment like walkie-talkies, announcement systems, calling systems will be installed on all heavy crowd stations.

     New design ID card:

    1. All staff and service persons will be given a new design ID card so that only authorised persons can enter the station.

     New design uniform for staff:

    1. All staff members will be given new design uniforms so that they can be easily identified during a crisis situation.

     Upgradation of station director post:

    1. All major stations will have a senior officer as station director. All other departments will report to the station director.
    2. Station director will get financial empowerment so that he can take on-the-spot decisions for improving the station.

         Sale of tickets as per capacity:

    1. Station Director will be empowered to control the sale of tickets as per capacity of the station and the available trains.

    CCTV cameras are installed at New Delhi railway station, which is being monitored round the clock. A high-level inquiry committee has been constituted for comprehensive investigation into the incident at New Delhi railway station. The incident of the stampede at New Delhi railway station occurred on 15.02.2025, in which 18 people died and 15 were injured.

     This information was given by the Union Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Indian Railways Accelerates Infrastructure Development in Northeast with Over ₹74,000 Crore Investment and New Projects

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:52PM by PIB Delhi

    Railway projects are surveyed/ sanctioned/executed Zonal Railway wise and not State-wise as the Railway projects may span across State boundaries. Railway projects are sanctioned on the basis of remunerativeness, traffic projections, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, demands raised by State Governments, Central Ministries, Members of Parliament, other public representatives, Railway’s own operational requirement, socio-economic considerations etc. depending upon throwforward of ongoing projects and overall availability of funds. As on 01.04.2024, across Indian Railways, 488 Railway infrastructure projects (187 New Line, 40 Gauge Conversion and 261 Doubling) of total length 44,488 Km, costing approx. `7.44 lakh crore are in planning/approval/construction stage, out of which, 12,045 Km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of approx. `2.92 lakh crore has been incurred upto March, 2024. The summary is as under: –

    Category

    No of Projects

    Total Length

    NL/GC/DL

    (in Km)

    Length Commissioned till Mar’24
    (in Km)

    Total Exp upto Mar’24

    (` in Cr)

    New Lines

    187

    20199

    2855

    160022

    Gauge Conversion

    40

    4719

    2972

    18706

    Doubling / Multitracking

    261

    19570

    6218

    113742

    Total

    488

    44,488

    12,045

    2,92,470

     

    Zone-wise/year-wise details of all Railway projects including cost, expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website.

    The details of commissioning / laying of new track across Indian Railways is given below: –

    Period

    New Track Commissioned

    Average Commissioning of new tracks

    2009-14

    7,599 Km

    4.2 Km/day

    2014-24

    31,180 Km

    8.54 Km/day (more than 2 times)

     

    Railway infrastructural Projects in the State of Assam and Northeast are covered by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Zone of Indian Railways. Zonal Railway wise details of Railway projects including cost, expenditure and outlay are made available in public domain on Indian Railway’s website.

    As on 01.04.2024, 18 projects (13 New Lines and 5 Doubling), of a total length of 1,368 km, costing `74,972 crore, falling fully/partly in Assam and NE Region, are in planning/approval/construction stage, out of which 313 km length has been commissioned and an expenditure of `40,549 crore has been incurred upto March 2024. The summary is as under: –

    Category

    No of Projects

    Total Length

    NL/GC/DL

    (in Km)

    Length Commissioned till Mar’24
    (in Km)

    Total Exp upto Mar’24

    (` in Cr)

    New Lines

    13

    896

    81

    34616

    Doubling / Multitracking

    5

    472

    232

    5933

    Total

    18

    1368

    313

    40549

     

    Budget allocation for Infrastructure projects and safety works, falling fully/ partly in Assam and North east region is as under:

    Period

    Outlay

    2009-14

    `2122 crore/year

    2024-25

    `10376 crore (More than 4 times)

     

    The details of commissioning / laying of new track falling fully/partly in Assam and North east region during 2009-14 and 2014-24 is as under: –

    Period

    New Track Commissioned

    Average Commissioning of new tracks

    2009-14

    333 Km

    66.6 Km/year

    2014-24

    1728 Km

    172.8 Km/year (More than 2 times)

     

    In last 3 years (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 and current Financial Year i.e. 2024-25), 933 No. Surveys (299 New line, 14 Gauge Conversion and 620 Doubling) of total length 65,488 km have been sanctioned across Indian Railways, out of which 21 surveys (17 New line & 04 Doubling) of total length 2,499 km fall fully/partly in the North East Region including the State of Assam.

    As the Railway network straddles across State boundaries, trains are introduced, as per network requirement, across such boundaries. However, Indian Railways (IR), makes consistent efforts to cater to the needs of travelling passengers by introducing new trains, extending and increasing the frequencies of existing trains and accordingly to cater to the needs of passengers of State of Assam, IR, on originating/terminating basis have introduced 24 new services, extended 20 services and increased the frequencies of 14 services during the period 2019-20 to 2024-25 (February, 2025).

    This information was given by the Union Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Kavach: India’s Cutting-Edge Automatic Train Protection System Reaches New Milestone with Version 4.0

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:47PM by PIB Delhi

    Kavach is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system. Kavach is a highly technology intensive system, which requires safety certification of highest order (SIL-4).

    Kavach aids the Loco Pilot in running of train within specified speed limits by automatic application of brakes in case Loco Pilot fails to do so and also helps the trains to run safely during inclement weather

    The first field trials on the passenger trains were started in February 2016. Based on the experience gained and Independent Safety Assessment of the system by Independent Safety Assessor (ISA), three firms were approved in 2018-19, for supply of Kavach Version 3.2.

    Kavach was adopted as National ATP system in July 2020.

    Implementation of Kavach System involves following Key Activities:

    1. Installation of Station Kavach at each and every station, block section.
    2. Installation of RFID Tags throughout the track length.
    3. Installation of telecom Towers throughout the section.
    4. Laying of Optical Fibre Cable along the track.
    5. Provision of Loco Kavach on each and every Locomotive running on Indian Railways.

    Based on deployment of Kavach version 3.2 on1465 RKm on south central Railway, lot of experience was gained. Using that further improvements were made. Finally, Kavach specification version 4.0 was approved by RDSO on 16.07.2024.

    Kavach version 4.0 covers all the major features required for the diverse railway network. This is a significant milestone in safety for Indian Railways. Within a short period, IR has developed, tested and started deploying Automatic Train Protection System.

    Major improvement in Version 4.0 includes increased Location Accuracy, Improved Information of Signal Aspects in bigger yard, Station to Station Kavach interface on OFC and Direct Interface to existing Electronic Interlocking System. With these improvements, Kavach Ver.4.0. is planned for large scale deployment over Indian Railways.

    Progress of Key items comprising Kavach system on Indian Railways upto Feb’ 2025 is as under: –

    SN

    Items

    Progress

    i

    Laying of Optical Fibre Cable

    5743 Km

    ii

    Installation of Telecom Towers

    540 Nos.

    iii

    Provision of Kavach at Stations

    664 Nos.

    iv

    Provision of Kavach in Loco

    795 Locos

    v

    Installation of Track side equipment

    3727 Rkm

     

    Next phase of Kavach implementation is planned as under: –

    1. Project for equipping 10,000 Locomotives has been finalized. 69 number of loco sheds have been prepared for equipping with Kavach.
    2. Bids for track side Works of Kavach for approximately 15,000 RKm have been invited covering all GQ, GD, HDN and identified sections of Indian Railways, out of which works of 1865 RKm have been awarded.

    Currently, 3 OEMs are approved for supply of Kavach System. To increase capacity and scale of implementation, trials and approval of more OEMs are at different stages.

    Specialized training programme on Kavach are being conducted at centralized training institutes of Indian Railways to impart training to all concerned officials. By now more than 20,000 technicians, operators and engineers have been trained on Kavach technology. Courses have been designed in collaboration with IRISET.

    The cost for provision of Track Side including Station equipment of Kavach is approximately Rs. 50 Lakhs/Km and cost for provision of Kavach equipment on locomotives is approximately Rs. 80 Lakh/Loco.

    The funds utilized on Kavach works so far is Rs. 1950 Crores. The allocation of funds during the year 2024-25 is Rs. 1112.57 Crores. Requisite funds are made available as per the progress of works.

    This information was given by the Union Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: BCCL Achieves Historic Milestone with Successful Monetization of 2 MTPA Dugda Coal Washery Paving the Way for Energy Self-reliance

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:47PM by PIB Delhi

    Under the guidance of Ministry of Coal, Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), a CIL subsidiary has achieved a historic milestone by successfully monetizing the 2 MTPA Dugda Coal Washery located in Bokaro, Jharkhand. This first-ever monetization of a coal washery in India marks a transformative step in coal sector reforms, reinforcing the country’s commitment to enhancing efficiency, asset optimization, and energy security.

    The monetization of the Dugda Coal Washery is expected to have a significant impact on energy sector in India. With improved coal washing capabilities and enhanced beneficiation processes, this initiative will contribute to higher efficiency in domestic coal utilization. More importantly, it will play a crucial role in reducing India’s dependence on imported coking coal, leading to foreign exchange savings and reinforcing the country’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

    Strategic Importance of the Monetization:

    •           Optimizing Underutilized Assets

    •           Encouraging Private Participation

    •           Enhancing Coal Beneficiation:

    •           Revenue Generation:

    This landmark achievement is part of the broader reforms initiated by the Ministry of Coal to modernize Coal sector in India and ensure the optimal utilization of its vast coal resources. By facilitating the participation of leading industry players, the Ministry is fostering a competitive and transparent ecosystem that encourages technological advancements, operational efficiency, and long-term sustainability in coal processing.

    The successful auction of BCCL’s Dugda Coal Washery represents a significant shift towards a more dynamic and efficient coal sector, aligning with the Government’s policy of asset monetization. By leveraging private sector expertise and investment, the Ministry of Coal aims to drive efficiency, reduce wastage, and maximize the value of coal sector infrastructure.

    Beyond its impact on the coal sector, the monetization of the Dugda Coal Washery is expected to generate significant economic benefits for the region. Involvement of private sector leaders will not only improve supply chain efficiency, enhance coal-washing capabilities but also create employment opportunities, and boost industrial growth in Jharkhand and adjoining areas.

    The Ministry of Coal remains committed to progressive reforms, ensuring India’s coal sector plays a key role in national energy security and sustainability. This historic achievement reaffirms dedication to innovation, efficiency, and sustainable growth. Moving forward, the Ministry will continue optimizing coal assets, expanding domestic coal washing capacity, and reducing import dependency. Coal sector in India is well-positioned to contribute significantly to the nation’s economic progress and energy self-sufficiency.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya Inaugurates NDTL Annual Conference-2025 on “Anti-Doping Science: Innovations and Challenges”

    Source: Government of India

    Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya Inaugurates NDTL Annual Conference-2025 on “Anti-Doping Science: Innovations and Challenges”

    India Committed to Promoting Clean and Fair Competition in Sports, Says Dr. Mandaviya at NDTL Conference

    NDTL Conference Explores Cutting-Edge Technologies in Doping Detection and Prevention

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:43PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports and Labour & Employment, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) Annual Conference-2025 on the theme “Anti-Doping Science: Innovations and Challenges”, bringing together key stakeholders from the sports and scientific communities in New Delhi today. The conference was attended by Smt. Raksha Nikhil Khadse, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary (Sports), Shri Kunal, Joint Secretary (Sports), and Prof. (Dr.) P. L. Sahu, Director, NDTL.

    Delivering his keynote address, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to promoting clean and fair competition in sports. He emphasized the importance of early education on doping, advocating for its inclusion in school curricula and the launch of awareness campaigns in rural areas. He also stressed the need for greater involvement of sports federations and organizations to ensure that all athletes are well-informed about anti-doping regulations. Furthermore, he highlighted the crucial role of cutting-edge research and technological advancements in anti-doping science, underscoring their significance in protecting athletes’ careers and preserving the credibility of national and international sporting events.

    The event provided a vital platform for scientists, coaches, physical education professionals, sports federations, and students to engage in insightful discussions on the latest advancements and challenges in anti-doping science. The conference highlighted the crucial role of scientific innovation in doping detection, addressed the constantly evolving nature of prohibited substances, and underscored the importance of collaborative efforts to uphold the integrity of sports.

    Subject experts engaged in in-depth discussions on several critical topics, including innovations in anti-doping science, where they explored groundbreaking advancements in detection methods and testing technologies. They also addressed the challenges in doping prevention, focusing on strategies to combat emerging threats, including the rise of undetectable substances. Additionally, the discussions emphasized the role of stakeholders in promoting clean sports, highlighting the need for collaborative efforts among federations, scientists, and educators to enhance awareness, strengthen enforcement, and uphold the integrity of sports.

    The conference also included interactive sessions, expert panel discussions, and knowledge-sharing initiatives designed to enhance anti-doping measures in India. The active participation of young scholars and students showcased a growing commitment to ethical sporting practices and underscored the importance of such initiatives.

    The NDTL Annual Conference-2025 reaffirmed India’s commitment to upholding global anti-doping standards and represented a significant step toward fostering a doping-free sports culture. In his closing remarks, the Director of NDTL expressed heartfelt gratitude to all dignitaries, speakers, panelists, and participants for their invaluable contributions. He emphasized the crucial role of such knowledge-sharing initiatives in driving awareness, advancing scientific research, and shaping policies to effectively combat doping in sports.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Two Days National Seminar cum Exhibition on Organic Farming

    Source: Government of India

    Two Days National Seminar cum Exhibition on Organic Farming

    Safe Food for Healthy Life

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:29PM by PIB Delhi

    A “Two Days National Seminar cum Exhibition on Organic Farming” was organized by the National Centre for Organic & Natural Farming (NCONF), Ghaziabad, on 18-19 March 2025 at Ghaziabad. The program and exhibition were inaugurated by the Chief Guest, Sh. K.M.S. Khalsa, Director (Finance) – Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, along with Dr. Gagnesh Sharma, Director, NCONF, and Dr. A.K. Yadav, Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, in the presence of Dr. Bharat Bhushan Tyagi, Padmashree, Sh. Gopal Bhai Sutariya from Bansi Gir Gaushala, Ahmedabad and officers from NCONF and RCONFs.

    The Chief Guest, Sh. K.M.S. Khalsa, in his deliberation, emphasized the significance of organic farming and its growing importance in today’s world. He assured support for the promotion and implementation of proposals related to Organic and Natural Farming will be considered on priority. On this instance “Manual of Organic Farming” and “Souvenir” were released.

    Dr. Gagnesh Sharma, Director of NCONF, delivered the keynote address. He outlined the current status and achievements of NCONF in the domain of Organic and Natural Farming. Dr. Sharma also discussed the importance of certification, organic input quality management, and highlighted the potential opportunities for marketing organic and natural products to help in boosting the income of farmer.

    Dr. A.K. Yadav shared insights on the status of organic farming in India and motivated farmers and stakeholders to participate in the production and processing of organic produce for both domestic and international markets. He stated, it would be helpful to strengthen farmers as well as nation’s economy.

    Padmashree Dr. Bharat Bhushan Tyagi spoke about the promotion of organic farming at the village as a cluster based approach. He emphasized moving beyond a cluster-based approach to improve the adaptability of organic farming and bring more land under organic certification.

    Sh. Gopal Bhai Sutariya focused on the importance of cow-based natural farming and its potential. He introduced the “Gaukripa Krishi” model, explaining how farmers can adopt natural and organic farming practices. He assured that this model would be available to all stakeholders free of cost.

    The two-day conference featured four sessions altogether eighteen deliberations covering key objectives related to organic farming. These sessions brought together policymakers, researchers, academia, progressive farmers, innovators, entrepreneurs, industries, and other stakeholders. They shared knowledge and experiences on enhancing the role of Farmers’ Producer Organizations (FPOs) and processor groups in sustainable agri-food systems. Discussions also included the use of innovative farmer-friendly technologies, certification, processing, and marketing of organic produce. On this occasion champion farmers across the country were felicitated. On this occasion 23 exhibitors across the country showcased their achievements and activities towards the promotion and creating awareness Organic and Natural Farming.    

    Officers from Regional Centres of Organic & Natural Farming (RCONFs) in Ghaziabad, Nagpur, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, and Imphal also participated in the event. More than 200 participants, including champion farmers from across the country, attended the program.

    The session concluded with a vote of thanks, acknowledging the valuable contributions of all speakers and participants.

    The session concluded with a vote of thanks, acknowledging the valuable contributions of all speakers and participants.

    *****

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PRITHVI Vigyan (PRITHVI) programme

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:28PM by PIB Delhi

    The various components of ongoing research projects, such as ACROSS, O-SMART, PACER, SAGE, and REACHOUT, under the PRITHVI scheme are inter-dependent. The overarching scheme of PRITHVI holistically addresses all the components to improve the understating of the Earth System Sciences and to provide reliable services for the country. These integrated R&D efforts will help in addressing the grand challenges of weather, ocean, climate, seismological and geological hazards and explore the living and non-living resources for their sustainable harnessing.

    Ministry of Earth Sciences supports international collaborative projects of mutual interest under PRITHVI scheme. For the evaluation of collaborative proposals from global scientific institutions, a joint expert committee is set up, which evaluates and recommends the proposal.

    Deep Ocean Mission was launched in 2021 with a total budget outlay of Rs 4,077 crores to be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences. It is a multi-disciplinary programme with activities encompassing six verticals, namely a) Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining and Manned Submersible, Underwater Vehicles and Underwater Robotics for exploring and harnessing ocean resources, b) Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services, c) Technological innovation for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity, d) Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration, e) Energy and Freshwater from the Ocean, and f) Advance Marine Station for Ocean Biology. Survey has been conducted at potential sites of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphide mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges using autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in March 2024 at ten locations, of which two locations of active and two locations of inactive vents showing sulphide mineralisation have been identified.

    In order to enhance India’s capacity to address climate change impacts through improved understanding of the atmosphere-ocean-pole interactions, a number of activities have been carried out, including augmentation of the existing observational networks on land, poles and in oceans, augmenting the High-Performance Computing (HPC) facility, improving understanding of weather and climate processes and enhancing prediction capabilities by developing improved earth system models, Training and Research at MoES Institutes, as well as Collaborative Research. Further, the Ministry has recently launched Mission Mausam with the goal of making Bharat a “Weather-ready and Climate-smart” nation to mitigate the impact of climate change and extreme weather events and strengthen the resilience of communities.

    This information was given by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Several steps taken to enhance implementation of NMDFC schemes across the nation

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 5:05PM by PIB Delhi

    The disbursement target of National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) for the financial year 2024-25 is Rs. 850.00 crore and NMDFC has disbursed Rs. 752.23 crore to over 1,74,148 beneficiaries till 10th March 2025.

    NMDFC has delegated the authority to its State Channelizing Agencies (SCAs) to sanction, disburse & recover loan from beneficiaries. The beneficiaries are selected as per following eligibility criteria for release of concessional credit:

    1. Person should belong to notified National Minority viz., Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims, Parsis and Sikhs as per National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
    2. Person having annual family income of upto Rs. 3.00 lakhs under Credit Line 1 and upto Rs. 8.00 lakhs under Credit Line 2.

    The applicants are required to submit the necessary documents for meeting the above eligibility criteria. To ensure that credit support reaches genuine and deserving minority beneficiaries, the SCAs have adopted a multi-level screening mechanism for document verification, background checks & site inspections before sanction of loan. Further, the sanctioned amount is released through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into the KYC authenticated beneficiary account.

    In order to enhance the implementation of NMDFC schemes across the nation, following steps have been taken by NMDFC:

    1. Enhancing the annual family income limit under Credit Line 1 from Rs. 98,000/- in  rural areas & Rs. 1,20,000/- in urban areas to Rs. 3.00 lakh per annum in both rural & urban areas.
    2. Introduction of new Annual Family Income eligibility criterion of up to Rs.8.00 lakh per annum for greater coverage of persons from the targeted minority communities.
    3. Quantum of loan under Term Loan scheme increased from Rs.10.00 lakh to Rs.30.00 lakh while under Micro Finance scheme, it has been increased from Rs.50,000/- to Rs.1.50 lakh per Self Help Group member.  Under Education Loan scheme, the quantum of loan has been increased from Rs.5.00 lakh to Rs.20.00 lakh for domestic courses & from Rs.10.00 lakh to Rs.30.00 lakh for courses abroad.
    4. Introduction of Virasat Scheme to meet the credit requirement of Artisans belonging to target group.
    5. Self-Declaration/Self Certification/Self Attestation of documents is introduced in case of Religion Certificate, Family Income, Residence Proof, Mark Sheet, etc.
    6. Transfer of loan directly in Bank Account of Beneficiary through NEFT/RTGS.
    7. Insurance of beneficiary and their assets to safeguard against any untoward incident.
    8. Signing of MoU with Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Indian Bank & Punjab Gramin Bank to increase the outreach of NMDFC schemes in the States/UTs where SCAs are non-functional.
    9. NMDFC has also developed MILAN Software to streamline and digitize the loan and accounting processes between applicants, State Channelizing Agencies (SCAs) and NMDFC.

    This information was given by the Union Minister of Minority Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

    ***

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PARLIAMENT QUESTION: LOCATIONS FOR NEW RADARS

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:27PM by PIB Delhi

    The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has planned new radars across the country, including one at Lahual & Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. Tentative sites where the radars are planned to be installed are given below:

    • 12 no. of C-Band Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs) tentatively at Raipur, Mangalore, Ranchi, Lakshadweep, Malda, Aurangabad, Balasore, Sambalpur, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Rupsi & Port Blair.
    • 12 no. of X-Band DWRs tentatively at Pune, Kolkata, Purnea, Varanasi, Wayanad, Bhubaneswar, Dharwad, Lahaul & Spiti, Aligarh, Azamgarh, Jhansi, Lucknow.
    • 10 no. of X-Band DWRs for North East tentatively at Jorhat, Tezpur, Aizawl, Namsai, Silchar, Imphal, Dimapur, Mandala Top, Central Arunachal Pradesh, & Guwahati.
    • In addition, 53 radars (8 S-Band, 20 C-Band, and 25 X-Band) are also planned to be installed across the country under Mission Mausam so that the entire country is brought under radar coverage.

    The locations of the DWRs have been arrived upon considering the gap areas in the coverage of the existing DWR network.

    In addition to the proposed improvement in the radar coverage as mentioned above other observation systems like wind profilers, radio sonde/radio wind, microwave radiometers, etc, are also planned under Mission Mausam. Along with the improvement in the observational network, deployment of high-performance computing infrastructure, advanced Earth system models, integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies, etc, under Mission Masuam will help improvement in forecasts on various timescales, especially in location – specific nowcast (forecast up to a few hours) to short-range forecast up to 3 days. The implementation of the Mausam Mission is likely to help (i) in capturing and monitoring all the weather events happening in the country so that no weather system will go undetected, (ii) improve the frequency of nowcasting extreme weather such as thunderstorms, lightening, strong winds, etc. from 3 hrs. to 1 hr. (iii) Improve the short and medium range weather forecast accuracy by about 5-10%. and (iv) improve air quality forecasts by about 5-10% in the major metro cities.

    Entire country will be under radar coverage within next 2-3 years.

    This information was given by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: PARLIAMENT QUESTION:MATSYA-6000

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:26PM by PIB Delhi

    Matsya-6000 is India’s flagship human submersible aimed to carry three persons to a depth of 6000 meters, developed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, as part of the Samudrayaan project of the Deep Ocean Mission launched by the Government of India in 2021.

    Matsya- 6000 (2.1-meter diameter personnel sphere) which houses the crew is made of a Titanium alloy and maintains an inside pressure of 1 atmosphere (atm). Further, the personnel sphere spherical pressure hull is tested to bear 720 bars of pressure, which is 1.2 times more than the pressure expected at 6000 meters. All human safety parameters are continuously monitored during the operations and are communicated to the ship-based Mission Control Centre through an acoustic modem, with the pilot communicating updates through the Underwater Acoustic Telephone every 30 minutes. It is designed for operations of up to 12 hours, with an emergency endurance of up to 96 hours, supported by a DNV-certified Human Support and Safety System (HSSS). DNV (Det Norske Veritas) is an internationally accredited registrar and classification society headquartered in Norway. The HSSS maintains the oxygen level at 20 per cent, the CO2 level at less than 1000 ppmv (part per million by volume), and controls humidity by measurement sensors to ensure human life comfort and safety.

    The submersible is designed to perpetually float unless made to dive through water filling in its ballast tanks. It has three different combinations of weight drop mechanisms for ascending to the surface to maintain the safety. It has additional emergency power, control, and communication devices for emergency scenarios.

    Matsya-6000 is equipped with an Underwater Acoustic Telephone that has been operated and tested for operations up to 10,000 meters depth of human operation vehicles, in addition to a sub-phone rated for 500-meter depth operations. The voice communication is designed to be utilized every 30 minutes with the submersible pilot and the Mission Control Centre so that continuous communication is ensured.

    NIOT has signed MoU with the IFREMER (French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea), France, facilitating scientific knowledge exchange and participation with the French human scientific submersible for 6000 meters depth named NAUTILE.

    This information was given by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Cabinet approves Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD)

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:24PM by PIB Delhi

    The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has today approved the Revised National Program for Dairy Development (NPDD).

    The Revised NPDD, a Central Sector Scheme, has been enhanced with an additional Rs.1000 crore, bringing the total budget to Rs.2790 crore for the period of the 15th Finance Commission cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26). This initiative focuses on modernizing and expanding dairy infrastructure, ensuring the sector’s sustained growth and productivity.

    The revised NPDD will give an impetus to the dairy sector by creating infrastructure for milk procurement, processing capacity, and ensuring better quality control. It is intended to help farmers gain better access to markets, to ensuring better pricing through value addition, and improve the efficiency of the supply chain, leading to higher incomes and greater rural development.

    The scheme consists of two key components:

    1.    Component A is dedicated to improving essential dairy infrastructure, such as milk chilling plants, advanced milk testing laboratories, and certification systems. It also supports the formation of new village dairy cooperative societies and strengthens milk procurement and processing in the North Eastern Region (NER), hilly regions, and Union Territories (UTs), especially in remote and backward areas, as well as the formation of 2 Milk Producer Companies (MPCs) with dedicated grant support

    2.    Component B, known as “Dairying through Cooperatives (DTC)”, will continue to foster dairy development through cooperation with the Government of Japan and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as per agreements signed. This component focuses on the sustainable development of dairy cooperatives, improving production, processing, and marketing infrastructure in the nine States (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal).

    The implementation of NPDD started has made huge socio-economic impact already benefiting over 18.74 lakh farmers and has created over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs and increase milk procurement capacity by an additional 100.95 lakh liters per day. The NPDD has also supported in promoting cutting-edge technology for better milk testing and quality control. Over 51,777 village-level milk testing laboratories have been strengthened, while 5,123 bulk milk coolers with a combined capacity of 123.33 lakh liters have been installed. In addition, 169 labs have been upgraded with Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) milk analysers, and 232 dairy plants now have advanced systems for detecting adulteration.

    The Revised NPDD is expected to establish 10,000 new Dairy Cooperative Societies, processing in the North Eastern Region (NER), as well as the formation of 2 Milk Producer Companies (MPCs) with dedicated grant support in addition to the ongoing projects of NPDD, to   generate an additional 3.2 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities, particularly benefiting women, which constitute 70% of the dairy workforce.

    The Revised National Programme for Dairy Development will transform India’s modern infrastructure, in sync with White Revolution 2.0 and will further support the newly formed cooperatives by providing new technology, and quality testing labs. This program will help improve rural livelihoods, generate jobs, and build a stronger, more resilient dairy industry that benefits millions of farmers and stakeholders across the country.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: BUDDHIST DEVELOPMENT PLAN UNDER PMJVK IN LADAKH AND OTHER HIMALAYAN STATES

    Source: Government of India

    Sl. No.

    Project Name

    State/UT

    District

    1

    Construction of Monastic Hostel cum Classrooms, Pemayangste

    Sikkim BDP

    Gyalshing

    2

    Construction of Monastic School Hostel cum Classrooms, Enchey monastic school

    Sikkim BDP

    Gangtok

    3

    Construction of Monastic Hostel cum Classrooms Khatek Pema Choling Monsastic School Pakyong

    Sikkim BDP

    Pakyong

    4

    Construction of Monastic Hostel cum Classrooms, Ngadak Gumpa , Namchi

    Sikkim BDP

    Namchi

    5

    Extension of existing Monastic hostel cum classrooms, sicheytamang Gumpa

    Sikkim BDP

    Gangtok

    6

    Construction of Community Meditation centre cum Multi- purpose Hall at Karthok Gumpa, Karthok, Pakyong.

    Sikkim BDP

    Pakyong

    7

    Construction of Monastic Hostel cum Classrooms at Boomtar Gumpa, Namchi

    Sikkim BDP

    Namchi

    8

    Construction of Monastic Hostel cum Classrooms at Sangay Choeling Gumpa,, Teendahharey Bhasmey

    Sikkim BDP

    Pakyong

    9

    Construction of Monastic Hostel cum Classrooms at Phuntsok Choeling Gumpa, Lower Sreebadam

    Sikkim BDP

    Soreng

    10

    Construction of Gostel cum classroom at Sanga Choling Gumpa, Martam

    Sikkim BDP

    Gangtok

    11

    Construction of proposed Dr.BheemRaoAmbedkar (Buddhist) Community, Multi-purpose hall and Library at Ambedkar Colony, 1st/D.L.Road, Dehradun

    Uttarakhand BDP

    Dehradun

    12

    Multipurpose Hall For Buddhist Community At Lakhanwala, Vikas Nagar, Dehradun

    Uttarakhand BDP

    Dehradun

    13

    Construction Of Proposed Educational And Sports Hall At 40 Buddha Vihar, 2nd D.L Road, Dehradun.

    Uttarakhand BDP

    Dehradun

    14

    Construction of the School building, incorporating Science Lab, Computer Lab & main Indoor Stadium etc. for Duzingphotang Ufti, Zansakar. District Kargil, UT of Ladakh.

    CIBS BDP

    District Kargil, UT of Ladakh.

    15

    New Academic building for traditional course at Central Institute of
    Buddhist studies. Leh. UT of Ladakh

    CIBS BDP

    Leh. UT of Ladakh

    16

    Infrastructure Development of Nalanda School at Nafra, West Kameng District

    Arunachal Pradesh

    West Kameng

    17

    Infrastructure development of Monk Hostel cum prayer Hall at Mechuka Gonpa

    Arunachal Pradesh

    Mechuka

    18

    Development of Hostel and Training Facilities at Lhagon Jangchub Choeling Monastery, Tezu

    Arunachal Pradesh

    Tezu

    19

    Multipurpose Hall at Nakhu Village, Nafra, West Kameng District

    Arunachal Pradesh

    West Kameng

    20

    Infrastructure Development of Thupten Dhonag Wosel Dargeyling at Mandala, Dirang, West Kameng district

    Arunachal Pradesh

    West Kameng

    21

    Infrastructure Development at Thardhoe Norbuling at Lumla, Tawang District

    Arunachal Pradesh

    Tawang

    22

    Development of Shambala and Shagrila Mythical Religious site and development of Community Centre Gompa at Hoongla Village, Tawang Disctrict

    Arunachal Pradesh

    Tawang

    23

    Development of Meditation Hall & Public Facilities at Urgan Sangha ChhoelingGonpa, Holocbari, Jia,Lower Dibang Valley.

    Arunachal Pradesh

    Lower Dibang Valley

    24

    Extension of Nyomsa Monastery at Jang, Tawang Disctrict

    Arunachal Pradesh

    Tawang

    25

    C/o Monk Quarter cum Meditation Hall & Library for Pemaziling Monastery at Muchukha Shi Yoma, Arunchal Pradesh

    Arunachal Pradesh

    Shi Yoma

    26

    Construction of Sports Climbing Wall at Mountaineering Sub Centre Jispa

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    27

    Purchasing Equipment of Sports, Mountaineering  Rescue for Mountaineering Sub Centre Jispa

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    28

    Providing Winter Water Supply scheme for habitation of GP Gondhla

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    29

    Construction of Hostel Block (Boys & Girls at Mountaineering Sub Centre Jispa (Separate blocks)

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    30

    Solarization of Schools (60 Schools)

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    31

    Construction of community centre/one stop centre building at village Yournath (Guskiyar)

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    32

    Construction of Tourist Information centre cum stay facility and two trekker huts at Tingret in Miyar valley, Sub-Division Udaipur Distt. LahaulSpiti.

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    33

    Nature Interpretation Centre cum Nature Park at Sissu Sub-Division Keylong Distt. LahaulSpiti.

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    34

    Installation of Off-Grid Solar Power Plants at Mountaineering Sub Centre Jispa

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    35

    Installation of Off-Grid Solar Power Plants at Health Institution of CMO Keylong

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    36

    100 KW capacity solar power plant with Battery Energy Storage System at Kaza

    Himachal Pradesh (BDP)

    L & S

    37

    Examination cum training Center (200 eater Capacity)

    Ladakh

    Kargil

    38

    Const. of Training cum Examination center(200 seater capacity) at ITI Leh

    Ladakh

    Ladakh

    39

    Construction of 2 storey building for souvenir Shop at Leh-Mana

    CIBS BDP

    Leh. UT of Ladakh

    40

    Development of Infrastructure at Central Institute of Himalayan Culture Studies (CIHCS), Arunachal Pradesh

    CIHCS

    Arunachal Pradesh

    41

    Centre for Advanced studies in Buddhist Studies at the University of Delhi (MoU)

    DU

    New Delhi

    42

    3 storey for Department of Sowa Rigpa Medicine and Surgery
    (Traditional Ayurveda) with attached College

    CIBS BDP

    Leh. UT of Ladakh

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: GOVERNMENT STRIVING TO IMPROVE SOCIO-ECONIMIC STATUS OF ALL COMMUNITIES INCLUDING MINORITY COMMUNITIES

    Source: Government of India

    Posted On: 19 MAR 2025 4:15PM by PIB Delhi

    The Government of India has been striving to improve the socio-economic status of all communities, including minority communities, through various schemes and incentives through a saturation model, thereby ensuring that socio-economic status of all communities at par with the national mainstream. The Ministry of Minority Affairs specifically implements various schemes across the country for socio-economic and educational empowerment of the six (6) centrally notified minority communities. These schemes are meant for the weaker segments of minority. The schemes/programmes implemented by Minority Affairs for the welfare of minority communities are as under:

    1.  Educational Empowerment Schemes

    (i) Pre-Matric, (ii) Post-Matric and (iii) Merit-cum-Means based scholarships

    2.  Employment and Economic Empowerment Schemes

         (i) Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS)

         (ii) Equity to National Minorities Development and Finance Corporation (NMDFC) for

               providing concessional loans to minorities.

    3. Infrastructural Development Scheme

      (i) Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakaram (PMJVK)

    All the schemes together have contributed in the acquisition of high-level skills, greater opportunities in livelihood, high employability potential, improved access to better infrastructure, improved health and in the overall welfare of the Minority Communities.

    This information was given by the Union Minister of Minority Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

    ***

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Three KC Men Indicted for Multi-State Business Burglary Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three Kansas City, Mo., men have been indicted by a federal grand jury for their roles in a conspiracy to burglarize beauty product and liquor stores across seven states.

    Gary Bailey, 24, Jermaine Threat, 25, and Dalvin Poindexter, 26, were charged in a nine-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 4, 2024. That indictment was unsealed and made public today following the arrest and initial court appearances of Bailey and Poindexter.

    The federal indictment alleges that Bailey, Threat, and Poindexter stole hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of merchandise during a series of business burglaries from March 2023 to January 2024.

    According to the indictment, the conspirators targeted beauty product and liquor stores in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Indiana, and Texas. The conspirators smashed the storefront door or window glass to enter the stores afterhours and then stole fragrances, cosmetics, liquor, spirits, and other merchandise. The conspirators allegedly used posts on Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Stories, as well as group chat text messages, to sell the stolen goods and received payment in cash or through peer-to-peer payment services like CashApp. The indictment says they also kept some of the stolen items for themselves or gave it away to their friends and family.

    In addition to the conspiracy, Bailey, Threat, and Poindexter are charged together in seven counts of transporting stolen property across state lines.

    The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Constance. It was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Olathe, Kansas, Police Department, with assistance from the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Platte County Sheriff’s Office and the police departments of Derby, KS, Belton, MO, Blue Springs, MO, Columbia, MO, Creve Coeur, MO, Edwardsville, KS, Fairview Heights, IL, Kansas City, MO, Kansas City, KS, Lawrence, KS, Leawood, KS, Lee’s Summit, MO, Lenexa, KS, Liberty, MO, Olathe, KS, Omaha, NE, Overland, Park, KS, Papillion, NE, Parkville, MO, Plainfield, IN, Plano, TX, Platte City, MO, Shawnee, KS, Springfield, MO, St. Joseph, MO, Terre Haute, IN, Topeka, KS, and West Des Moines, IA.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI: TWFG Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 and Full Year Results

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    – Total Revenues increased 30.8% for the quarter over the prior year period to $51.7 million –
    – Total Written Premium increased 20.0% for the quarter over the prior year period to $361.4 million –
    – Organic Revenue Growth Rate* of 20.5% for the quarter –
    – Diluted Earnings Per Share and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share* of $0.11 and $0.19 for the quarter, respectively –
    – Adjusted EBITDA* increased 91.7% for the quarter over the prior year period to $13.8 million –

    THE WOODLANDS, Texas, March 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TWFG, Inc. (“TWFG”, the “Company” or “we”) (NASDAQ: TWFG), a high-growth insurance distribution company, today announced results for the fourth quarter and the full year ended December 31, 2024.

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Highlights

    • Total revenues for the quarter increased 30.8% to $51.7 million, compared to $39.6 million in the prior year period
    • Net income for the quarter was $8.2 million, compared to $5.2 million in the prior year period
    • Commission income for the quarter increased 20.7% to $43.7 million, compared to $36.2 million in the prior year period
    • Contingent income for the quarter increased 371.4% to $5.0 million, compared to $1.1 million in the prior year period
    • Total Written Premium for the quarter increased 20.0% to $361.4 million, compared to $301.4 million in the prior year period
    • Organic Revenue Growth Rate* for the quarter was 20.5%
    • Adjusted Net Income* for the quarter increased 57.0% from the prior year period to $10.5 million, and Adjusted Net Income Margin* for the quarter was 20.3%
    • Adjusted EBITDA* for the quarter increased 91.7% over the prior year period to $13.8 million, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin* for the quarter was to 26.8% compared to 18.3% in the prior year period
    • Cash flow from operating activities for the quarter was $11.6 million, compared to $6.1 million in the prior year period
    • Adjusted Free Cash Flow* for the quarter was $5.7 million, compared to $6.0 million in the same prior year period

    Full Year 2024 Highlights

    • Total revenues for the year increased 18.4% to $203.8 million, compared to $172.0 million in the prior year period
    • Net income for the year was $28.6 million, compared to $26.1 million in the prior year period
    • Commission income for the year increased 15.4% to $183.2 million, compared to $158.7 million in the prior year period
    • Contingent income for the year increased 113.5% to $8.7 million, compared to $4.1 million in the prior year period
    • Total Written Premium for the year increased 18.3% to $1.5 billion, compared to $1.2 billion in the prior year period
    • Organic Revenue Growth Rate* for the year was 14.5%
    • Adjusted Net Income* for the year increased 9.8% from the prior year period to $33.0 million, and Adjusted Net Income Margin* for the year was 16.2%
    • Adjusted EBITDA* for the year increased 44.7% over the prior year period to $45.3 million, and Adjusted EBITDA Margin* for the year was 22.3% compared to 18.2% in the prior year period
    • Cash flow from operating activities for the year was $40.5 million, compared to $30.2 million in the prior year period
    • Adjusted Free Cash Flow* for the year was $28.2 million, compared to $19.7 million in the prior year period

    *Organic Revenue Growth Rate, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share are non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations of Organic Revenue Growth Rate to total revenue growth rate, Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA to net income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share to diluted earnings per share, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow to cash flow from operating activities, the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP, are outlined in the reconciliation table accompanying this release.

    Gordy Bunch, Founder, Chairman, and CEO said “Our fourth quarter results demonstrate the continued success of our agents, carriers, employees, and business model with total revenues increasing by 30.8% over the prior year period and Adjusted EBITDA increasing by 91.7%. We generated 20.5% of organic growth and increased our Adjusted EBITDA Margin to 26.8%.

    In addition, our fourth quarter recruiting efforts continued to outpace our historical growth trends. Our continued expansion throughout the US was fueled by both recruitment of start-up agencies and strategic acquisitions in the following states Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.

    Finally, I want to remind our fellow stockholders that experienced agents typically take between two to three years to become productive. We do not expect the 100-plus new branches we launched in 2024 to have a significant impact on revenues this year or next, but over the long term we expect the agents onboarded in 2024 to contribute meaningfully to our longer-term organic growth.”

    Fourth Quarter 2024 Results

    For the fourth quarter of 2024, Total Written Premium was $361.4 million, a 20.0% increase compared to the same period in the prior year. Revenues were $51.7 million, an increase of 30.8% compared to the same period in the prior year. Organic Revenues, a non-GAAP measure that excludes contingent income, fee income, and other income, for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $43.6 million compared to $34.8 million in the same period in the prior year. Organic Revenue Growth Rate in the fourth quarter was 20.5%, driven by strong new business growth, moderating retention levels, rate increases and an uptick in new business growth with one of our MGA programs.

    Total commission expense for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $28.9 million, a 11.2% increase from $26.0 million in the same period in the prior year. Commission expenses increased primarily due to the growth in the business, partially offset by the conversion of nine branches to corporate branches, which transitioned our non-employee commission-based colleagues to employees. Upon conversion, these corporate branch employees received salaries, employee benefits, and bonuses for services rendered instead of commissions. Salaries and employee benefits for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $7.7 million, up 97.8% from $3.9 million in the same period in the prior year. Approximately $1.0 million of the increase was due to equity compensation expense, while $3.0 million of the increase was due to the branch conversions and 2023 corporate branch acquisitions, along with the growth in the business. Other administrative expenses for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $5.0 million, a 69.9% increase compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase was due to growth in the business, increase in corporate branches and the absorption of public company costs.

    For the fourth quarter of 2024, net income was $8.2 million, and net income margin was 15.8%, compared to net income of $5.2 million and net income margin of 13.2%, in the same period in the prior year. Adjusted Net Income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $10.5 million, compared to $6.7 million in the same period in the prior year. Adjusted Net Income Margin for the fourth quarter was 20.3%, compared to 16.9% in the same period in the prior year.

    Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $13.8 million, an increase of 91.7% over the same period in the prior year. Our Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 26.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 18.3% in the same period in the prior year.

    Cash flow from operating activities for the fourth quarter was $11.6 million, compared to $6.1 million in the same period in the prior year.

    Adjusted Free Cash Flow for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $5.7 million, compared to $6.0 million in the same period in the prior year.

    Liquidity and Capital Resources

    As of December 31, 2024, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $195.8 million. We had $50.0 million unused capacity on our revolving credit facility of $50.0 million as of December 31, 2024. The total outstanding term notes payable balance was $5.9 million as of December 31, 2024.

    2025 Outlook

    Our guidance for the full year 2025 is as follows:

    • Organic Revenue Growth rate* for the full year 2025 is expected to be in the range of 11% to 16%
    • Adjusted EBITDA Margin* for the full year 2025 is expected to be in the range of 19% to 21%
    • Total revenues are expected to be between $235 million and $250 million

    The Company is unable to provide a reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting the timing of items that have not yet occurred, as well as quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliation.

    *For a definition of Organic Revenue Growth rate and Adjusted EBITDA Margin, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

    2025 Acquisitions

    We began 2025 acquiring two new corporate locations in Ohio and Texas. The new locations are in line with our acquisition expectations for revenue and EBITDA. Our robust pipeline provides us many quality acquisition targets to achieve the remainder of our 2025 M&A goals. Our M&A models included beginning 2025 with acquiring $3 million of revenues and $0.7 million of EBITDA with an additional $20 million of revenue and $5 million of EBITDA being acquired with a mid-year convention.

    Conference Call Information

    TWFG will host a conference call and webcast tomorrow at 10:00 AM ET to discuss these results.

    To access the call by phone, participants should register at this link, where they will be provided with the dial in details. A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on TWFG’s investor relations website at investors.twfg.com. A webcast replay of the call will be available at investors.twfg.com for one year following the call.

    About TWFG

    TWFG (NASDAQ: TWFG) is a high-growth, independent distribution platform for personal and commercial insurance in the United States and represents hundreds of insurance carriers that underwrite personal lines and commercial lines risks. For more information, please visit twfg.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this release, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance, and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. In some cases, you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “outlook,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue,” the negative of these terms and other comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us, may include projections of our future financial performance, our anticipated growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed under the captions entitled “Risk factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our prospectus (the “IPO Prospectus”) relating to our Registration Statement on Form S-1, as amended (Registration No. 333-280439), filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and in our other filings with the SEC. You should specifically consider the numerous risks outlined under “Risk factors” in the IPO Prospectus.

    Although we believe the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance or achievements. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any of these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Performance Indicators

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    Organic Revenue, Organic Revenue Growth, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Margin, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin and Adjusted Free Cash Flow included in this release are not measures of financial performance in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and should not be considered substitutes for GAAP measures, including revenues (for Organic Revenue and Organic Revenue Growth), net income (for Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Margin, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin) diluted earnings per share (Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share), and cash flow from operating activities (for Adjusted Free Cash Flow) which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures have limitations as analytical tools, and when assessing our operating performance, you should not consider these non-GAAP financial measures in isolation or as substitutes for revenues, net income, operating cash flow or other consolidated financial statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate any or all of these non-GAAP financial measures differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

    Organic Revenue. Organic Revenue is total revenue (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) for the relevant period, excluding contingent income, fee income, other income and those revenues generated from acquired businesses with over $0.5 million in annualized revenue that have not reached the twelve-month owned milestone.

    Organic Revenue Growth. Organic Revenue Growth is the change in Organic Revenue period-to-period, with prior period results adjusted to include revenues that were excluded in the prior period because the relevant acquired businesses had not reached the twelve-month-owned milestone but have reached the twelve-month owned milestone in the current period. We believe Organic Revenue Growth is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it eliminates the impact of acquisitions, which affects the comparability of results from period to period.

    Adjusted Net Income. Adjusted Net Income is a supplemental measure of our performance and is defined as net income (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before amortization, non-recurring or non-operating income and expenses, including equity-based compensation, adjusted to assume a single class of stock (Class A) and assuming noncontrolling interests do not exist. We believe Adjusted Net Income is a useful measure because it adjusts for the after-tax impact of significant one-time, non-recurring items and eliminates the impact of any transactions that do not directly affect what management considers to be our ongoing operating performance in the period. These adjustments generally eliminate the effects of certain items that may vary from company to company for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance.

    We are subject to U.S. federal income taxes, in addition to state, and local taxes, with respect to our allocable share of any net taxable income of TWFG Holding Company, LLC. Adjusted Net Income pre-IPO did not reflect adjustments for income taxes since TWFG Holding Company, LLC is a limited liability company and is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Post-IPO, the calculation incorporates the impact of federal and state statutory tax rates on 100% of our adjusted pre-tax income as if the Company owned 100% of TWFG Holding Company, LLC.

    Adjusted Net Income Margin. Adjusted Net Income Margin is Adjusted Net Income divided by total revenues. We believe that Adjusted Net Income Margin is a useful measurement of operating profitability for the same reasons we find Adjusted Net Income useful and also because it provides a period-to-period comparison of our after-tax operating performance.

    Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share. Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share is Adjusted Net Income divided by diluted shares outstanding after adjusting for the effect of (i) the exchange of 100% of the outstanding Class B common stock of the Company (the “Class B Common Stock”) and Class C common stock of the Company (the “Class C Common Stock”) (together with the related limited liability units in TWFG Holding Company, LLC (the “LLC Units”)) into shares of Class A common stock of the Company (“Class A Common Stock”) and (ii) the vesting of 100% of the unvested equity awards and exchange into shares of Class A Common Stock. This measure does not deduct earnings related to the noncontrolling interests in TWFG Holding Company, LLC for the period prior to July 19, 2024, when we did not own 100% of the business. The most directly comparable GAAP financial metric is diluted earnings per share. We believe Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share may be useful to an investor in evaluating our operating performance and efficiency because this measure is widely used by investors to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to items excluded from the calculation of such measure, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon acquisition activity and capital structure. This measure also eliminates the impact of expenses that do not relate to core business performance, among other factors.

    Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of our performance and is defined as EBITDA adjusted to reflect items such as equity-based compensation, interest income, other non-operating and certain nonrecurring items. EBITDA is defined as net income (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure of operating performance because it adjusts for significant one-time, non-recurring items and eliminates the ongoing accounting effects of certain capital spending and acquisitions, such as depreciation and amortization, that do not directly affect what management considers to be our ongoing operating performance in the period. These adjustments eliminate the effects of certain items that may vary from company to company for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. Our measure of Adjusted EBITDA is not necessarily comparable to other similarly titled captions of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the methods of calculation.

    Adjusted EBITDA Margin. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenue. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA Margin is a useful measurement of operating profitability for the same reasons we find Adjusted EBITDA useful and also because it provides a period-to-period comparison of our operating performance.

    Adjusted Free Cash Flow. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a supplemental measure of our performance. We define Adjusted Free Cash Flow as cash flow from operating activities (the most directly comparable GAAP measure) less cash payments for tax distributions, purchases of property, plant, and equipment and acquisition-related costs. We believe Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a useful measure of operating performance because it represents the cash flow from the business that is within our discretion to direct to activities including investments, debt repayment, and returning capital to stockholders.

    The reconciliation of the above non-GAAP measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measure is outlined in the reconciliation table accompanying this release.

    Key Performance Indicators

    Total Written Premium. Total Written Premium represents, for any reported period, the total amount of current premium (net of cancellation) placed with insurance carriers. We utilize Total Written Premium as a key performance indicator when planning, monitoring, and evaluating our performance. We believe Total Written Premium is a useful metric because it is the underlying driver of the majority of our revenue.

    Contacts
    Investor Contact:
    Gene Padgett, CAO for TWFG
    Email: gene.padgett@twfg.com

    PR Contact:
    Alex Bunch, CMO for TWFG
    Email: alex@twfg.com

    Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited)
    (Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Twelve Months Ended
    December 31,
      2024   2023   2024   2023
    Revenues              
    Commission income(1) $ 43,711   $ 36,228     $ 183,158   $ 158,679  
    Contingent income   5,005     1,062       8,722     4,085  
    Fee income(2)   2,751     1,968       10,562     8,311  
    Other income   276     313       1,318     968  
    Total revenues   51,743     39,571       203,760     172,043  
    Expenses              
    Commission expense   28,915     25,994       118,086     116,847  
    Salaries and employee benefits   7,663     3,874       29,064     13,970  
    Other administrative expenses(3)   4,978     2,930       16,665     10,973  
    Depreciation and amortization   3,054     1,522       12,020     4,862  
    Total operating expenses   44,610     34,320       175,835     146,652  
    Operating income   7,133     5,251       27,925     25,391  
    Interest expense   98     450       2,223     1,003  
    Interest income   2,174     421       4,376     891  
    Other non-operating income (expense), net   1     (7 )     9     (17 )
    Income before tax   9,210     5,215       30,087     25,262  
    Income tax expense   1,057           1,495      
    Net income from continuing operations   8,153     5,215       28,592     25,262  
    Net income from discontinued operation, net of tax                 834  
    Net income   8,153     5,215       28,592     26,096  
    Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests   6,561     5,215       25,847     26,096  
    Net income attributable to TWFG, Inc. $ 1,592   $     $ 2,745   $  
                   
    Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding:              
    Basic   14,811,874         14,772,115    
    Diluted   15,056,430         14,982,409    
    Earnings per share:              
    Basic $ 0.11       $ 0.19    
    Diluted $ 0.11       $ 0.19    
     

    (1) Commission income – related party of $3,562 and $1,139 for the three months ended and $9,609 and $4,203 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively
    (2) Fee income – related party of $905 and $335 for the three months ended and $2,704 and $1,593 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively
    (3) Other administrative expenses – related party of $326 and $145 for the three months ended and $1,478 and $415 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively

    Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
    (Amounts in thousands, except share/unit data)

      December 31, 2024   December 31, 2023
    Assets
         
    Current assets
         
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 195,772   $ 39,297
    Restricted cash   9,551     7,171
    Commissions receivable, net   27,067     19,082
    Accounts receivable   7,839     5,982
    Deferred offering costs       2,025
    Other current assets   1,619     1,551
    Total current assets   241,848     75,108
    Non-current assets
         
    Intangible assets, net   72,978     36,436
    Property and equipment, net   3,499     597
    Lease right-of-use assets, net   4,493     2,459
    Other non-current assets   610     837
    Total assets $ 323,428   $ 115,437
           
    Liabilities and Equity
         
    Current liabilities
         
    Commissions payable $ 13,848   $ 12,487
    Carrier liabilities   12,392     8,731
    Operating lease liabilities, current   1,013     882
    Short-term bank debt   1,912     2,437
    Deferred acquisition payable, current   601     5,369
    Other current liabilities   9,851     5,006
    Total current liabilities   39,617     34,912
    Non-current liabilities
         
    Operating lease liabilities, net of current portion   3,372     1,518
    Long-term bank debt   4,007     46,919
    Deferred acquisition payable, non-current   1,122     1,037
    Other non-current liabilities   24    
    Total liabilities   48,142     84,386
    Commitment and contingencies      
    Stockholders’/Members’ Equity
         
    Members’ Equity (631,750 common units issued and outstanding at December 31, 2023)       632
    Class A common stock ($0.01 par value per share – 300,000,000 authorized, 14,811,874 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024)   148    
    Class B common stock ($0.00001 par value per share – 100,000,000 authorized, 7,277,651 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024)      
    Class C common stock ($0.00001 par value per share – 100,000,000 authorized, 33,893,810 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024)      
    Additional paid-in capital   58,365     25,114
    Retained earnings   15,288     4,805
    Accumulated other comprehensive income   83     500
    Total stockholders’ equity attributable to TWFG, Inc. /members’ equity   73,884     31,051
    Noncontrolling interests   201,402    
    Total stockholders’/members’ equity   275,286     31,051
      Total liabilities and equity $ 323,428   $ 115,437
             
     

    Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    A reconciliation of Organic Revenue and Organic Revenue Growth Rate to Total Revenue and Total Revenue Growth Rate, the most directly comparable GAAP measures, is as follows (in thousands):

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Twelve Months Ended
    December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Total revenues $ 51,743     $ 39,571     $ 203,760     $ 172,043  
    Acquisition adjustments(1)   (105 )     (1,405 )     (3,687 )     (4,052 )
    Contingent income   (5,005 )     (1,062 )     (8,722 )     (4,085 )
    Fee income   (2,751 )     (1,968 )     (10,562 )     (8,311 )
    Other income   (276 )     (313 )     (1,318 )     (968 )
    Organic Revenue $ 43,606     $ 34,823     $ 179,471     $ 154,627  
    Organic Revenue Growth(2) $ 7,429     $ 2,527     $ 22,746     $ 15,514  
    Total Revenue Growth Rate(3)   30.8 %     7.3 %     18.4 %     11.8 %
    Organic Revenue Growth Rate(2)   20.5 %     7.8 %     14.5 %     11.2 %
                   
     

    (1) Represents revenues generated from the acquired businesses during the first 12 months following an acquisition.
    (2) Organic Revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, and for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, used to calculate Organic Revenue Growth for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, and for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, was $36.2 million, $32.3 million, $156.7 million and $139.1 million, respectively, which is adjusted to reflect revenues from acquired businesses with over $0.5 million in annualized revenue that reached the twelve-month owned mark during the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Organic Revenue Growth Rate represents the period-to-period change in Organic Revenue divided by the total adjusted Organic Revenue in the prior period.
    (3) Represents the period-to-period change in total revenues divided by the total revenues in the prior period.

    Applying the use of enhanced data consistently throughout the prior periods, revenue growth rate for the three months ended and twelve months ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 would have been 9.9% and 14.9%, respectively, and Organic Revenue Growth Rate for the three months ended and twelve months ended December 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 would have been 10.7% and 14.5%, respectively.

    A reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Margin to Net Income and Net Income Margin, the most directly comparable GAAP measures, for each of the periods indicated is as follows (in thousands):

    Revised Calculation Methodology Applied to Current Period
      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Twelve Months Ended
    December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Total revenues $ 51,743     $ 39,571     $ 203,760     $ 172,043  
    Net income $ 8,153     $ 5,215     $ 28,592     $ 26,096  
    Income tax expense   1,057             1,495        
    Acquisition-related expenses   20       36       20       204  
    Restructuring and related expenses                     17  
    Discontinued operation income                     (834 )
    Equity-based compensation   1,207             2,219        
    Other non-recurring items(1)   257             (1,220 )      
    Amortization expense   2,950       1,451       11,721       4,594  
    Adjusted income before income taxes   13,644       6,702       42,827       30,077  
    Adjusted income tax expense(2)   (3,123 )           (9,802 )      
    Adjusted Net Income $ 10,521     $ 6,702     $ 33,025     $ 30,077  
    Net Income Margin   15.8 %     13.2 %     14.0 %     15.2 %
    Adjusted Net Income Margin   20.3 %     16.9 %     16.2 %     17.5 %
                   
     
    Legacy Calculation Methodology Applied to Current Period
      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Twelve Months Ended
    December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Total revenues $ 51,743     $ 39,571     $ 203,760     $ 172,043  
    Net income $ 8,153     $ 5,215     $ 28,592     $ 26,096  
    Income tax expense   1,057             1,495        
    Acquisition-related expenses   20       36       20       204  
    Restructuring and related expenses                     17  
    Discontinued operation income                     (834 )
    Equity-based compensation   1,207             2,219        
    Other non-recurring items(1)   257             (1,220 )      
    Adjusted income before income taxes   10,694       5,251       31,106       25,483  
    Adjusted income tax expense(2)   (2,447 )           (7,119 )      
    Adjusted Net Income $ 8,247     $ 5,251     $ 23,987     $ 25,483  
    Net Income Margin   15.8 %     13.2 %     14.0 %     15.2 %
    Adjusted Net Income Margin   15.9 %     13.3 %     11.8 %     14.8 %
                   
     

    (1) Represents a one-time adjustment reducing commission expense, which resulted from the branch conversions. In January 2024, nine of our Branches converted to Corporate Branches. Upon conversion, agents of the newly converted Corporate Branches became employees and received salaries, employee benefits, and bonuses for services rendered instead of commissions. As a result, we released a portion of the unpaid commissions related to the converted branches that we no longer are required to settle.
    (2) Post-IPO, we are subject to United States federal income taxes, in addition to state, local, and foreign taxes, with respect to our allocable share of any net taxable income of TWFG Holding Company, LLC. For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the calculation of adjusted income tax expense is based on a federal statutory rate of 21% and a blended state income tax rate of 1.88% on 100% of our adjusted income before income taxes as if we owned 100% of the TWFG Holding Company, LLC.

    A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin to Net Income and Net Income Margin, the most directly comparable GAAP measures, for each of the periods indicated is as follows (in thousands):

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Twelve Months Ended
    December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Total revenues $ 51,743     $ 39,571     $ 203,760     $ 172,043  
    Net income $ 8,153     $ 5,215     $ 28,592     $ 26,096  
    Interest expense   98       450       2,223       1,003  
    Interest income(2)   2,174       421       4,376       891  
    Depreciation and amortization   3,054       1,522       12,020       4,862  
    Income tax expense   1,057             1,495        
    EBITDA   10,188       6,766       39,954       31,070  
    Acquisition-related expenses   20       36       20       204  
    Restructuring and related expenses                     17  
    Equity-based compensation   1,207             2,219        
    Interest income(2)   2,174       421       4,376       891  
    Discontinued operation income                     (834 )
    Other non-recurring items(1)   257             (1,220 )      
    Adjusted EBITDA $ 13,846     $ 7,223     $ 45,349     $ 31,348  
    Net Income Margin   15.8 %     13.2 %     14.0 %     15.2 %
    Adjusted EBITDA Margin   26.8 %     18.3 %     22.3 %     18.2 %
                   
     

    (1) Represents a one-time adjustment reducing commission expense, which resulted from the branch conversions. In January 2024, nine of our Branches converted to Corporate Branches. Upon conversion, agents of the newly converted Corporate Branches became employees and received salaries, employee benefits, and bonuses for services rendered instead of commissions. As a result, we released a portion of the unpaid commissions related to the converted branches that we no longer are required to settle.
    (2) Interest income reflects interest and other earnings on cash balances held by the Company. This income is included in Adjusted EBITDA as we view our total interest and investment income as an integral part of our business model and earnings stream until deployed. 

    A reconciliation of Adjusted Free Cash Flow to Cash Flow from Operating Activities, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for each of the periods indicated is as follows (in thousands):

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Twelve Months Ended
    December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
    Cash Flow from Operating Activities $ 11,600     $ 6,051     $ 40,479     $ 30,154  
    Purchase of property and equipment   (2,921 )     (43 )     (3,201 )     (260 )
    Tax distribution to members(1)   (3,002 )           (9,106 )     (9,526 )
    Acquisition-related expenses         36       20       204  
    Net cash flow provided by operating activities from discontinued operation                     (839 )
    Adjusted Free Cash Flow $ 5,677     $ 6,044     $ 28,192     $ 19,733  
                   
     

    (1) Tax distributions to members represents the amount distributed to the members of TWFG Holding Company, LLC in respect of their income tax liability related to the net income of TWFG Holding Company, LLC allocated to its members.

    A reconciliation of Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share to diluted earnings per share, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is as follows:

      Three Months Ended
    December 31,
      Twelve Months Ended
    December 31,
      2024   2024
    Earnings per share of common stock – diluted $ 0.11   $ 0.19
    Plus: Impact of all LLC Units exchanged for Class A Common Stock(1)   0.04     0.32
    Plus: Adjustments to Adjusted net income(2)   0.04     0.08
    Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 0.19   $ 0.59
           
    Weighted average common stock outstanding – diluted   15,056,430     14,982,409
    Plus: Impact of all LLC Units exchanged for Class A Common Stock(1)   41,171,461     41,171,461
    Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share diluted share count   56,227,891     56,153,870
           
     

    (1) For comparability purposes, this calculation incorporates the net income that would be distributable if all shares of Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock, together with the related LLC Units, were exchanged for shares of Class A Common Stock. For the three months ended and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, this includes $6.6 million and $25.8 million of net income, respectively, on 56,227,891 and 56,153,870 weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding – diluted, for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively. For both the three months ended and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, 41,171,461 weighted average outstanding Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock were considered dilutive and included in the 56,227,891 and 56,153,870 weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding – diluted within diluted earnings per share calculation.

    (2) Adjustments to Adjusted Net Income are described in the footnotes of the reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income to Net Income in “Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Margin”, which represent the difference between Net Income of $8.2 million and $28.6 million and Adjusted Net Income of $10.5 million and $33.0 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024, respectively. For the three and twelve months ended months ended December 31, 2024, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share include adjustments of $2.3 million and $4.4 million to Adjusted Net Income, respectively, on 56,227,891 and 56,153,870 weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding – diluted for both periods presented, respectively.

    Key Performance Indicators

    The following presents the disaggregation of Total Written Premium by offerings, business mix and line of business (in thousands):

      Three Months Ended December 31,   Twelve Months Ended December 31,
        2024       2023       2024       2023  
      Amount   % of Total   Amount   % of Total   Amount   % of Total   Amount   % of Total
    Offerings:
                                 
    Insurance Services                              
    Agency-in-a-Box $ 246,116   68 %   $ 237,678   79 %   $ 982,815   66 %   $ 998,938   80 %
    Corporate Branches   61,642   17       18,806   6       275,331   19       53,963   4  
    Total Insurance Services   307,758   85       256,484   85       1,258,146   85       1,052,901   84  
    TWFG MGA   53,602   15       44,961   15       218,214   15       195,194   16  
    Total written premium $ 361,360   100 %   $ 301,445   100 %   $ 1,476,360   100 %   $ 1,248,095   100 %
                                   
    Business Mix:
                                 
    Insurance Services                              
    Renewal business $ 236,033   65 %   $ 203,338   67 %   $ 975,657   66 %   $ 827,112   66 %
    New business   71,725   20       53,146   18       282,489   19       225,789   18  
    Total Insurance Services   307,758   85       256,484   85       1,258,146   85       1,052,901   84  
    TWFG MGA                              
    Renewal business   37,741   10       37,797   13       163,105   11       165,348   13  
    New business   15,861   5       7,164   2       55,109   4       29,846   3  
    Total TWFG MGA   53,602   15       44,961   15       218,214   15       195,194   16  
      Total written premium $ 361,360   100 %   $ 301,445   100 %   $ 1,476,360   100 %   $ 1,248,095   100 %
                                   
    Written Premium Retention:
                                 
    Insurance Services     92 %       92 %       93 %       95 %
    TWFG MGA     84         88         84         89  
    Consolidated     91         91         91         94  
                                   
    Line of Business:
                                 
    Personal lines $ 292,750   81 %   $ 239,134   79 %   $ 1,197,122   81 %   $ 997,431   80 %
    Commercial lines   68,610   19       62,311   21       279,238   19       250,664   20  
    Total written premium $ 361,360   100 %   $ 301,445   100 %   $ 1,476,360   100 %   $ 1,248,095   100 %
                                     
     

    The MIL Network

  • MIL-OSI Global: How Canadian small businesses can expand into Asian markets and reduce their dependence on the U.S.

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Michael Joseph Dominic Roberts, Associate Dean & Associate Professor, Faculty of Business and Communications Studies, Mount Royal University

    The recent escalation of trade tensions under United States President Donald Trump has significantly increased uncertainty for Canadian SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises), particularly in the high-value service sector.

    Examples of this sector include financial technology and investment services, aerospace and advanced manufacturing, and clean technology sectors focused on renewable energy and sustainable resource management.

    For decades, Canadian businesses have relied on a stable trade relationship with the U.S. But under Trump’s “America First” protectionist policies, that stability has crumbled.

    With tariffs, trade barriers and shifting political dynamics making North American markets increasingly unpredictable, many Canadian businesses are searching for ways to reduce their dependence on the U.S. and expand elsewhere.

    Expanding into Asia

    Asia has emerged as an attractive alternative for businesses due to its rapidly expanding middle class, growing investments in infrastructure and technology, and rising demand for specialized expertise.

    This trend is particularly evident in the energy sector. The Asia-Pacific region — though currently accounting for only eight per cent of the global market — is expected to grow significantly as countries expand energy infrastructure and seek advanced technologies to improve resource extraction for environmental sustainability.




    Read more:
    Trump’s tariff threat is a sign that Canada should be diversifying beyond the U.S.


    This presents promising growth opportunities for Canadian businesses in sectors like engineering consulting, technology, energy and environmental services, where they already have a competitive edge.

    However, entering Asian markets presents unique challenges, requiring businesses to rethink their strategies.

    Breaking into Asian markets

    Expanding into Asian markets is no easy task for SMEs. These businesses face substantial barriers, including significant differences in regulatory environments, business practices and customer expectations.

    For service-based businesses, the challenge is even greater. Unlike physical products, which can be easily displayed and tested, services are harder to quantify and prove to new clients. This makes it more difficult for SMEs to build credibility and demonstrate their value in unfamiliar markets.

    Our recent study explored how Canadian SMEs in the service sector can successfully overcome these barriers when entering Asian markets like China, India and South Korea.

    We brought together industry experts, government officials and senior executives from SMEs already operating successfully in Asia for a two-day workshop. We analyzed their firsthand experiences, challenges and recommendations to develop a clear and actionable framework called the 4P strategy (potential, proposition, presence and policy).

    These four steps offer SMEs a structured approach to understanding local conditions, differentiating offerings, establishing trusted partnerships and gaining government support.

    1. Potential: Understand the local market

    SMEs must understand Asian market regulations, business culture and market structures. Unlike North America’s relatively stable environment, Asian markets often feature rapidly evolving regulations and unpredictable policy changes.

    Businesses should balance these regulatory uncertainties against economic opportunities and be prepared to swiftly adapt when necessary. For example, policy changes in Asian markets, such as shifting foreign investment regulations or evolving environmental standards, can create uncertainty for SMEs operating abroad.

    Companies must remain agile to navigate regulatory shifts while leveraging the relative economic stability of the region.

    Patience and flexibility are also critical. In many Asian markets, business deals take longer to close due to hierarchical, relationship-driven decision-making. SMEs should anticipate these extended timelines and factor them into their planning.

    Our study found that deals that might be finalized quickly in North America can take years to develop in Asia, requiring firms to exercise patience before realizing significant profits. Successful market entry depends on a long-term approach and the ability to adapt to extended gestation periods.

    2. Proposition: Adapt services to fit local needs

    SMEs need to localize their offerings beyond language translation, adapting their branding, marketing and customer-engagement strategies to fit local contexts.

    A clearly defined and differentiated service offering is critical. Businesses must clearly define what sets them apart from local competitors and ensure their services address specific market needs.

    Pricing strategies should also align with local market expectations. Many Asian markets, especially in business-to-business services, are highly price-sensitive. SMEs must balance competitive pricing with value.

    In some cases, businesses may need to use performance-based pricing models — where clients pay based on results rather than a fixed fee — to remain competitive while protecting profit margins.

    3. Presence: Build a local network and partnerships

    A strong local presence is vital for success in Asia. SMEs should invest in trusted local partnerships or regional offices to build credibility, facilitate smoother operations and better understand local customer needs.

    Relationships play a central role in doing business in Asia. Unlike in North America, where successful transactions often lead to partnerships, in Asia, relationships must be built first.

    This relationship-first approach is deeply embedded in business culture, requiring firms to prioritize long-term engagement over immediate gains. Research has shown that trust-building is essential for long-term success in Asian markets, as strong relationships ultimately lead to transactions.

    Canadian SMEs entering these markets should be prepared to shift their approach, recognizing that sustained commitment and relationship-building are key to unlocking business opportunities.

    4. Policy: Take advantage of government support

    Many Canadian SMEs underestimate the extent of available government support and miss out on resources that reduce risks and make it easier to establish a foothold abroad.

    Our study found that SMEs expanding to Asia can access valuable support from government departments and trade commissioners at Canadian embassies. In energy services subsectors, government and non-governmental organizations can assist SMEs in forming partnerships with Asian firms.

    Additionally, agencies like Export Development Canada offer training, financial support and market-entry resources that many SMEs overlook. Taking advantage of these programs can help businesses navigate regulatory challenges and accelerate their international expansion.

    Government-backed programs also support research, development and technology adaptation to help businesses tailor their services to local markets. Our study found that making use of these resources reduces barriers, lowers entry risks and significantly enhances businesses’ likelihood of success in Asia.

    Seizing the opportunity

    Rather than merely serving as an alternative to the increasingly restrictive U.S. market, Asia presents significant growth opportunities for Canadian SMEs but demands strategic patience, adaptability and sustained commitment.

    However, success in Asia won’t come overnight. Unlike the relatively familiar North American market, expanding into Asia requires a patience, adaptability and a willingness to learn a different business culture.

    By adopting the 4P strategies, Canadian businesses can effectively navigate market-entry barriers and position themselves for success in an era of shifting global trade dynamics.

    Etayankara Muralidharan receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

    Michael Joseph Dominic Roberts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    ref. How Canadian small businesses can expand into Asian markets and reduce their dependence on the U.S. – https://theconversation.com/how-canadian-small-businesses-can-expand-into-asian-markets-and-reduce-their-dependence-on-the-u-s-251991

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-Evening Report: In 2000, Australia was defined by the Olympics, border politics and reconciliation. So what really has changed?

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Visitor, School of History, Australian National University

    The world had its eyes on Sydney in 2000. A million people lined the harbour to ring in the new millennium (though some said it was actually the final year of the old one) on January 1.

    US television reporters called it “the biggest party in Australian history”. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, whose corporation seemed to represent the coming age, was among those watching on.

    Sydney offered not only a world-leading party, but also a litmus test for the much-feared Y2K bug, which threatened to knock planes out of the sky and bring the global economy to a halt. Australia and New Zealand were said to be the “tripwire for the world’s computer systems”.

    It was fine in the end, although plenty of work had in fact been undertaken behind the scenes to make Australia’s systems more millennium-proof than they might have been.

    This was arguably the defining feature of Australia in the year 2000: a confident display for the world concealing a lot of angst and uncertainty. Australia was the “oldest continent on Earth”, the US broadcasters told their viewers, but it was “much more of an Asian nation”, and much closer to the rest of the world “thanks to technology”.

    Those confident claims would probably have surprised many Australians. Theirs was an old country trying to keep up with a new, interconnected world, and also a relatively young one trying to reconcile itself with the ancient cultures that its settler forebears had dispossessed.

    A curated Australia

    In September, the world’s sporting and political elite, followed by a train of journalists, arrived in Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games. It had been years in the making, and every level of government was involved. There were no fewer than 47,000 volunteers.

    There was something for everyone in the well-curated opening ceremony. The event opened with the crack of a stockman’s whip and a fleet of flag-waving bushmen on horseback. There were highly sanitised displays of European arrival, pastoral settlement and a tribute to an armour-clad colonial Victorian bushranger that must have baffled those viewers watching from abroad who had not seen a Sidney Nolan painting before.

    Ancient stories and new cultural sensibilities were on display too. There were stylised performances of the Dreaming, striking First Nations dances and the distinctive sounds of the didgeridoo. A section entitled “Arrivals” recognised the importance of migration in the nation’s story.

    A young Aboriginal sprinter, Cathy Freeman, lit the cauldron in what became one of the iconic images of the year. The cauldron’s hydraulics unfortunately got stuck as it ascended, and the flame was mere seconds from snuffing out in what could have been a global embarrassment. But big ambitions incur big risks.

    This global performance of Australian-ness was arrestingly simple: that of a nation confident in its own diversity and capable of catering to everyone’s tastes.

    Even the musical selections seemed to reconcile the needs of the youth (with performances from a young Vanessa Amorosi and even younger Nikki Webster), and the more mature (represented by John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John).

    Australia’s athletes had their best ever showing with 58 medals, including Freeman’s own gold.

    Not quite comfortable, not quite relaxed

    The Olympics masked as much as they revealed.

    In 2000, many white Australians still weren’t sure if theirs was, or should be, a multicultural society.

    The reactionary Pauline Hanson was out of parliament for the time being, but her One Nation Party had won 7.5% of the vote in New South Wales in the March 1999 state election, and nearly 23% of the vote in Queensland the year before.

    Eight weeks before millennium day, Australians had roundly rejected two referendum proposals, one to become a republic, and for a Constitutional preamble that, among other things, recognised Indigenous Australians as “the nation’s first people”.

    But whether Hanson liked it or not, her lifetime had coincided with great demographic and social change.

    In 1976, roughly 1.8% of the population said they were born in Asia or the Middle East. In the 2001 census, 1.6% of the population were born in China or Vietnam alone, and many more were the descendants of migrants from these places.

    The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population had more than doubled over the same period, while those identifying as Christian decreased from nearly 79% in 1976 to 56% in 2001.

    This increasingly diverse Australia claimed to be on a journey to “reconciliation”. That process had been sorely tested during the nasty debates about land rights and the Stolen Generations.

    Corroboree 2000, held on May 27 in Sydney, saw the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation and the nation’s political leaders present their visions for the next phase of national healing. The leaders symbolically left their handprints on a “reconciliation canvas”.

    The following day, 250,000 Australians walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a moving display of togetherness. John Howard, the prime minister, declined to participate.

    But his treasurer, Peter Costello, made a point of showing up for a similar event in Melbourne that December, leading Victorian Liberals and another 200,000 or so Australians.

    Their different approaches showed that the past was still a troubling present. Howard rebuffed suggestions of a treaty between Indigenous and settler Australians and maintained his refusal to apologise on behalf of the Commonwealth to the Stolen Generations, though all the states had done so by this time.

    The idea of such an apology was not as popular then as it seemed later on. The prime minister was sensitive to the fact that his was “an unpopular view with a lot of people”, but an opinion poll in The Australian newspaper showed a majority of voters were opposed to a national apology.

    Two survivors of the Stolen Generations, Peter Gunner and Lorna Cubillo, sued the Commonwealth for damages in 2000, giving their opponents the chance to challenge the legitimacy of their experiences. None of this looked like a nation that was as “comfortable and relaxed” as Howard had hoped it would be under his watch.

    Border politics

    Australian collective memory often gravitates toward 2001, the year of the Tampa affair and the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York.

    But Australia’s border was already highly politicised in 2000.

    In January, a boat arrived from Indonesia carrying 54 Christians fleeing religious conflict. They spent ten weeks at Port Hedland Immigration Detention facility, from which 39 went back to Indonesia and only 15 moved on to Adelaide to build new lives.

    Port Hedland and other detention centres made the news for all the wrong reasons. There were riots, hunger strikes and multiple breakouts. Authorities responded with upgraded security perimeters, character checks, and strip searches without warrants.

    Frustrated refugees set fire to South Australia’s Woomera facility, which former prime minister Malcolm Fraser publicly condemned as a “hell-hole”.

    In an end-of-year reflection for The Age newspaper, Gary Tippet said there had been a “touch of mean-spiritedness” about the handling of it all. Chris Wallace rightly suggests 2000 was a crucial moment in the “march towards an absolute offshore, extraterritorial approach” to refugees in Australia.

    In the intervening quarter-century, Australian officials have made mean-spiritedness an art form at the border and on the seas.

    First-rate democracy, third-rate economy

    Compared to the many legal challenges that came out of the US presidential contest in November 2000, Australia’s elections looked pretty smooth and sensible. The US seemed to have a backward democracy grafted onto its world-leading, information-age economy.

    Australia looked the opposite: a first-rate democracy with what looked increasingly like a “branch-office economy”.

    Reformers had tried for 20 years to make Australia efficient and competitive, but as one editorial in The Australian Financial Review explained, the country still suffered from its “old economy image”.

    The tech boom would soon become the tech wreck.
    Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

    Certainly, Australia still sold its minerals and farm products to the world in exchange for quality cars and cutting-edge computers.

    With global capitalists still enthralled by the global tech boom (though it was soon to become the “tech wreck”), they had little need for the Aussie dollar.

    The currency’s value declined through the year to just 50 US cents, and it would fall further in the following months. On its own, this mattered little, but a quarter of negative growth at the end of the year meant, as Paul Kelly later wrote, an “election-year recession” seemed a “real threat”.

    In the meantime, the much-debated Goods and Services Tax took effect around midnight on June 30 (a few hours later for businesses trading through the night).

    The 10% consumption tax was a big deal. Costello said in his memoir the “prices of three billion products were to change all at the same time”.

    The measure was politically brave, but soon became unpopular, helping raise petrol prices and alienate small business owners.

    The punters were pretty confident the Howard government was heading for defeat in 2001. They were wrong.

    Between the old and new

    The pace of social change accelerated from 2000.

    In the 2021 census, 2.6% of the population said they were born in India, and a further 3.2% in China and Vietnam. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians had more than doubled over two decades, such that they made up 3.2% of the total population in 2021.

    People increasingly related to their economy differently, too. Half of the workforce had been unionised in the 1980s, but coverage fell to roughly a quarter in 2000 and just 12.5% in 2022.

    These and other changes make our politics look different from that of 25 years ago. Nailbiter elections are now more common than thumping majorities and attitudes toward the once-feared “minority government” have softened.

    For all that, many of the challenges of 2000 are still with us.

    Many Australians are less tolerant of overt racism than they once were, but the 2023 Voice referendum and our offshore detention regime remind us that race still matters in this country.

    Kevin Rudd apologised to the Stolen Generations in 2008, but Treaty and Truth-Telling are left unresolved.

    And for all our talk about human capital and the digital economy, resources make up a much higher share of our total export mix today than in 2000.

    A quarter-century on, Australia is still caught between the old and the new.

    Dr Joshua Black is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Australia Institute.

    ref. In 2000, Australia was defined by the Olympics, border politics and reconciliation. So what really has changed? – https://theconversation.com/in-2000-australia-was-defined-by-the-olympics-border-politics-and-reconciliation-so-what-really-has-changed-250791

    MIL OSI AnalysisEveningReport.nz

  • MIL-OSI Security: Salt River Man Convicted of Murder and Conspiracy

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News

    PHOENIX, Ariz. – On Wednesday, March 12, 2025, a jury found Clifton Nez Hamalowa, 47, of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, guilty of First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Discharging a Firearm During, In Relation to, and in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. The guilty verdict followed a seven-day jury trial before United States District Court Judge John J. Tuchi.

    During trial, evidence showed that Hamalowa became angry with the victim one evening and then shot the victim in the head multiple times the following morning, August 29, 2020. Hamalowa dumped the victim’s body in a remote area of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation. Meanwhile, Hamalowa’s brother disposed of the victim’s car in Parker, Arizona, and Hamalowa’s sister made her daughter clean the victim’s blood from the crime scene on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Over the next two weeks, Hamalowa and his sister also intimidated witnesses into silence. Eventually, a witness was able to contact the Gila River Police Department so that officers could rescue the victim’s minor child who was still in the victim’s home.

    Hamalowa’s brother, Thomas Leon Hamalowa, pleaded guilty to Accessory-After-the-Fact to Murder and was sentenced to 108 months in prison on October 23, 2023. Hamalowa’s sister, Devonne Beth Hamalowa, pleaded guilty to Accessory-After-the-Fact to Murder and was sentenced to 84 months in prison on April 1, 2024.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Gila River Police Department jointly investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer E. LaGrange and Travis L. Wheeler, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
     

    CASE NUMBER:           CR-22-00751-PHX-JJT
    RELEASE NUMBER:    2025-037_Hamalowa

    # # #

    For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
    Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Mar 19, 2025 1630 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    SPC AC 191559

    Day 1 Convective Outlook
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1059 AM CDT Wed Mar 19 2025

    Valid 191630Z – 201200Z

    …THERE IS AN ENHANCED RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
    AFTERNOON/EVENING FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL/NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND WEST
    CENTRAL INDIANA…

    …SUMMARY…
    Scattered severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon/evening
    from central/northern Illinois to western Indiana. A few tornadoes,
    large hail, and damaging wind gusts will be possible.

    …IL/IN vicinity into early tonight…

    A deep (990mb) surface low over northwest MO this morning will
    continue to shift east into northern IL through late afternoon, and
    into IN/MI and southern Ontario overnight. Meanwhile, the exit
    region of a 90-100+ kt 500 mb jet will overspread IL/IN this
    afternoon into early evening.

    Cloud cover and elevated convection this morning across IA and
    northern IL, along with lofted dust moving over the region may
    inhibit heating to some degree into the afternoon. Furthermore,
    boundary layer moisture is expected to remain modest, most likely in
    the 51-54 F range given 15z upstream observations in the low 50s F.
    If any stronger heating occurs, mixing may further limit dewpoints
    from climbing into the mid/upper 50s F as suggested by some forecast
    guidance. Nevertheless, cold temperatures aloft (-17 C on 12z RAOBs
    from DVN) will support steep midlevel lapse rates and modest
    destabilization into the early afternoon. A dryline is noted across
    central MO at 15z. This feature will continue to sweep east into the
    afternoon and become a focus for stronger thunderstorm development
    across IL by 18-19z.

    Vertical shear will be favorable for supercells given elongated
    hodographs with enlarged, looping low-level hodographs. These
    vertical wind profiles are already evident in VWP data from DVN and
    LOT where a west to east oriented surface warm front is roughly
    aligned across east-central IA/northern IL. Evolution of modest
    boundary layer moisture will be key for determining the tornado risk
    this afternoon across IL/IN. If dewpoints can reach 55-56 F, a
    localized area of enhanced tornado potential may develop. While some
    risk for tornadoes will still exist with lower dewpoints, the risk
    would be more muted and likely less intense. Given the conditional
    risk for a strong tornado or two, will maintain the 10 percent SIG
    tornado risk. Otherwise, somewhat low-topped supercells will also
    pose a risk for damaging gusts of 60-70 mph and isolated large hail
    up to 1-1.5 inches in diameter. Isolated convection may develop
    southward along the dryline/cold front into western/central KY by
    late afternoon before convection weakens after sunset.

    …TN/MS/AL vicinity this afternoon/evening…

    Dewpoints have gradually increased into the mid 50s late this
    morning. Continued warm advection ahead of a wind shift this
    afternoon should allow dewpoints to reach the upper 50s to low 60s
    F. While forcing for ascent will be weak compared to further north,
    it should be sufficient to erode capping in the persistent warm
    advection regime. Instability will remain modest, generally
    near/less than 500 J/kg MLCAPE. While vertical shear will be quite
    strong, this should limit updraft intensity/longevity. A broken band
    of storms may still pose a risk for a few strong gusts.

    ..Leitman/Bunting.. 03/19/2025

    CLICK TO GET WUUS01 PTSDY1 PRODUCT

    NOTE: THE NEXT DAY 1 OUTLOOK IS SCHEDULED BY 2000Z

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Mar 19, 2025 1300 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

     For best viewing experience, please enable browser JavaScript support.

    Mar 19, 2025 1300 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook

    Updated: Wed Mar 19 12:45:23 UTC 2025 (Print Version |   |  )

    Probabilistic to Categorical Outlook Conversion Table

     Forecast Discussion

    SPC AC 191245

    Day 1 Convective Outlook
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    0745 AM CDT Wed Mar 19 2025

    Valid 191300Z – 201200Z

    …THERE IS AN ENHANCED RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS THIS
    AFTERNOON/EVENING FOR PARTS OF CENTRAL/NORTHERN ILLINOIS AND WEST
    CENTRAL INDIANA…

    …SUMMARY…
    Scattered severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon/evening
    from central/northern Illinois to western Indiana. A few tornadoes,
    large hail, and damaging wind gusts will be possible.

    …IL/IN this afternoon into early tonight…
    A deep (989 mb) cyclone near the northeast KS/northwest MO border
    will move northeastward to northern IL by this evening and Lower MI
    overnight, in conjunction with a deep midlevel trough and 100+ kt
    midlevel jet streak. Elevated convection is ongoing this morning in
    a zone of focused ascent with warm advection/frontogenesis across
    IA, where isolated large hail may occur with MUCAPE around 500 J/kg
    and steep midlevel lapse rates/cool midlevel temperatures. The warm
    sector of the cyclone is characterized by a narrow/modest corridor
    of returning moisture (low-mid 50s boundary-layer dewpoints) that
    will overspread MO/IL through the afternoon. Surface heating in
    cloud breaks, continued moisture advection and relatively cool
    midlevel temperatures will all contribute to warm sector
    destabilization (MLCAPE 500-750 J/kg) through the afternoon across
    IL.

    Surface-based thunderstorm development will become probable by
    early-mid afternoon in a broken band along and just ahead of a
    remnant dryline moving from MO into IL, and storms will subsequently
    move eastward/northeastward into IN by early tonight before
    weakening gradually. The deeper buoyancy profiles will be on the
    cyclonic side of the midlevel jet, where 500 mb temperatures will be
    < -20 C. Forecast wind profiles suggest supercell potential with long hodographs (effective bulk shear vectors >50 kt), and
    sufficient low-level hodograph curvature/shear for tornado
    potential. The primary uncertainty centers of the degree of
    low-level moistening/destabilization, and the current forecast
    represents a conditional/reasonable worst case scenario. Otherwise,
    occasional large hail (1-1.5 inches in diameter) will be possible in
    IL this afternoon/evening, and the threat for damaging gusts (60-70
    mph) and a couple of tornadoes will persist into IN through early
    tonight.

    …TN/MS/AL this afternoon/evening…
    Boundary-layer dewpoints will slowly increase to the upper 50s/lower
    60s ahead of the surface wind shift moving across AR/LA this
    afternoon. Forcing for ascent should be sufficient to remove the
    cap, allowing some deep convection in a broken band this
    afternoon/evening. Buoyancy will be relatively weak compared to the
    vertical shear, so it will be difficult to get sustained severe
    storms and isolated wind damage will be the most probable threat.

    ..Thompson/Dean.. 03/19/2025

    CLICK TO GET WUUS01 PTSDY1 PRODUCT

    .html”>Latest Day 2 Outlook/Today’s Outlooks/Forecast Products/Home

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Tornado Watch 57

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Note:  The expiration time in the watch graphic is amended if the watch is replaced, cancelled or extended.Note: Click for Watch Status Reports.
    SEL7

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 57
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1215 PM CDT Wed Mar 19 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    Far Eastern Iowa
    Northern and Central Illinois
    Western Indiana

    * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 1215 PM
    until 900 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    A few tornadoes and a couple intense tornadoes possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    Scattered large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

    SUMMARY…Scattered supercell thunderstorms are expected to develop
    northeast through the early evening. These storms may produce a few
    tornadoes, damaging gusts, and hail.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 90 statute miles
    east and west of a line from 25 miles west northwest of Marseilles
    IL to 60 miles east of Salem IL. For a complete depiction of the
    watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
    tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
    area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
    threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
    and possible warnings.

    &&

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 400. Mean
    storm motion vector 22035.

    …Leitman

    SEL7

    URGENT – IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
    Tornado Watch Number 57
    NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
    1215 PM CDT Wed Mar 19 2025

    The NWS Storm Prediction Center has issued a

    * Tornado Watch for portions of
    Far Eastern Iowa
    Northern and Central Illinois
    Western Indiana

    * Effective this Wednesday afternoon and evening from 1215 PM
    until 900 PM CDT.

    * Primary threats include…
    A few tornadoes and a couple intense tornadoes possible
    Scattered damaging wind gusts to 70 mph possible
    Scattered large hail events to 1.5 inches in diameter possible

    SUMMARY…Scattered supercell thunderstorms are expected to develop
    northeast through the early evening. These storms may produce a few
    tornadoes, damaging gusts, and hail.

    The tornado watch area is approximately along and 90 statute miles
    east and west of a line from 25 miles west northwest of Marseilles
    IL to 60 miles east of Salem IL. For a complete depiction of the
    watch see the associated watch outline update (WOUS64 KWNS WOU7).

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    REMEMBER…A Tornado Watch means conditions are favorable for
    tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch
    area. Persons in these areas should be on the lookout for
    threatening weather conditions and listen for later statements
    and possible warnings.

    &&

    AVIATION…Tornadoes and a few severe thunderstorms with hail
    surface and aloft to 1.5 inches. Extreme turbulence and surface wind
    gusts to 60 knots. A few cumulonimbi with maximum tops to 400. Mean
    storm motion vector 22035.

    …Leitman

    Note: The Aviation Watch (SAW) product is an approximation to the watch area. The actual watch is depicted by the shaded areas.
    SAW7
    WW 57 TORNADO IA IL IN 191715Z – 200200Z
    AXIS..90 STATUTE MILES EAST AND WEST OF LINE..
    25WNW MMO/MARSEILLES IL/ – 60E SLO/SALEM IL/
    ..AVIATION COORDS.. 80NM E/W /30NE BDF – 43N PXV/
    HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..1.5 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS.
    MAX TOPS TO 400. MEAN STORM MOTION VECTOR 22035.

    LAT…LON 41498739 38638619 38638953 41499087

    THIS IS AN APPROXIMATION TO THE WATCH AREA. FOR A
    COMPLETE DEPICTION OF THE WATCH SEE WOUS64 KWNS
    FOR WOU7.

    Watch 57 Status Report Message has not been issued yet.

    Note:  Click for Complete Product Text.Tornadoes

    Probability of 2 or more tornadoes

    Mod (50%)

    Probability of 1 or more strong (EF2-EF5) tornadoes

    Mod (30%)

    Wind

    Probability of 10 or more severe wind events

    Mod (50%)

    Probability of 1 or more wind events > 65 knots

    Low (20%)

    Hail

    Probability of 10 or more severe hail events

    Mod (40%)

    Probability of 1 or more hailstones > 2 inches

    Low (20%)

    Combined Severe Hail/Wind

    Probability of 6 or more combined severe hail/wind events

    High (80%)

    For each watch, probabilities for particular events inside the watch (listed above in each table) are determined by the issuing forecaster. The “Low” category contains probability values ranging from less than 2% to 20% (EF2-EF5 tornadoes), less than 5% to 20% (all other probabilities), “Moderate” from 30% to 60%, and “High” from 70% to greater than 95%. High values are bolded and lighter in color to provide awareness of an increased threat for a particular event.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Security: Indian National Found Guilty of Possession with Intent to Distribute More than 170 Pounds of MDMA in Eastern Washington

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced today that a jury returned a verdict in the federal trial of Jaskaran Singh, age 31, who is a native of Gujarat, India. Singh was found guilty of Possession with Intent to Distribute 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is more commonly known as “Ecstasy” or “Molly.” United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice presided over Singh’s trial, which began March 17, 2025. At sentencing, which is set for June 25, 2025, Singh faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty years. He may also face removal from the United States.

    The evidence presented at trial established that on April 29, 2023, at approximately 10:00 p.m., three unknown individuals tripped motion sensor cameras in a remote area just south of the U.S.-Canada border, approximately one-half-mile west of the Danville, Washington port of entry. U.S. Border Patrol officials at the Curlew Border Patrol Station saw images of these individuals, who had crossed into the United States from Canada and were carrying backpacks and a suitcase. From the U.S. side of the border, the only route to drive into or out of this area is an unestablished dead end, dirt road known as Fourth of July Creek Road.

    Minutes later, Border Patrol observed a 2014 Honda Odyssey traveling east on Fourth of July Creek Road. Border Patrol Agents responded to the area and stopped Singh, who was driving the rented Honda Odyssey away from the U.S. Canada border.

    From outside the van, Border Patrol agents observed backpacks and suitcase in the rear cargo area of the Odyssey. The backpacks and suitcase were same as those carried across the border by the three individuals, who tripped the motion sensor cameras just a few minutes earlier. Border Patrol Agents obtained authorization to search the van and seized 173.7 pounds of MDMA stored inside the backpacks and suitcase.  Investigators later located a map of the area on Singh’s phone and messages detailing where Singh should go, when he should arrive, and directing him to “leave the back hood open.”

    Testimony at trial established that the three men transported the MDMA from the Canadian side of the border by carrying the backpacks and suitcase through approximately 300 yards of remote wilderness to where Singh had parked the rented Odyssey van.  The three men then returned to the Canadian side of the border, escaping apprehension by law enforcement.

    Just one day before the massive seizure, Singh traveled from Northern California to Washington State. Singh had purchased his ticket just prior to the flight and then rented a car in Seattle, before driving to the remote area where the drugs were smuggled across the U.S.-Canada border.

    “Mr. Singh trafficked more than 170 pounds of illegal drugs across our northern border into the United States,” stated Acting United States Attorney Richard Barker. This seizure, which was one of the largest ever in Eastern Washington, had a street value exceeding $7.8 million. Today’s guilty verdict sends a clear message that those who seek to exploit our nation’s borders by flooding our communities with dangerous controlled substances will be held accountable for their crimes.”

    “The transnational drug trafficking organization for whom Singh worked had identified the ideal, isolated location in rural Washington to smuggle illegal drugs across the northern border,” continued Acting United States Attorney Barker. “Fortunately, our team of experienced Border Patrol agents were ready, and they intercepted this poison before it could harm communities in Eastern Washington.”

    “International drug traffickers like Mr. Singh profit by flooding our country with illicit, dangerous drugs that harm our citizens,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “I am gratified that we, at the Drug Enforcement Administration, can stand with our partners in the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold people like Mr. Singh accountable for their crimes.”

    “Spokane Sector agents are vigilantly safeguarding our borders, swiftly detecting, and interdicting cross-border smuggling activities. This conviction highlights the Spokane Border Patrol Sector’s unwavering commitment to protecting communities from illicit drugs and those who attempt to smuggle them across our borders,” said Jason Liebe, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the Spokane Sector for the U.S. Border Patrol.

    This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alison L. Gregoire and Dan Fruchter.

    2:23-cr-00052-TOR

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Federal government invests in natural infrastructure enhancements across British Columbia

    Source: Government of Canada News

    West Vancouver, British Columbia, March 19, 2025 — Three communities across British Columbia will see improvements to natural infrastructure that will increase their resilience while protecting local environments, after an investment of more than $1.6 million from the federal government.

    North of Kamloops, along the North Thompson River, funding will help Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band protect reserve lands and community infrastructure that are situated on the floodplain. The construction of a bioengineered living revetment will include brush and hedge brush layering, which will utilize live cuttings and rooted plants to stabilize approximately 130 metres of shoreline. This will reduce loss of land due to erosion, protect critical habitat, and increase flood resiliency in the community.

    In Tsay Keh Dene Nation (TKDN) Territory, funding will restore a portion of an existing wetland and construct a wetland park, featuring an interpretive trail with signage in both English and Tsek’ene (Sekani) languages. The project will address the loss of wetland area in TKDN Territory, following flooding and blocked waterways caused by the construction of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam and resulting Williston Reservoir.

    Additionally, funding will support the District of West Vancouver in developing and implementing a tree planting program to enhance local tree canopy cover in the community. 500 trees of varying species will be planted in high density areas, on streets and on slopes where trees are needed to provide shading and to minimize runoff and erosion during heavy rain by absorbing excess water. The planting program will support the District’s target of 52% tree canopy cover.

    These projects will help the Whispering Pines/Clinton Indian Band, Tsay Keh Dene Nation, and West Vancouver adapt to and increase resiliency against the impacts of climate change and better protect their communities by leveraging natural infrastructure.

    MIL OSI Canada News

  • MIL-OSI USA: INDIANA COUNTY – Lt. Gov. Davis and DEP Acting Secretary Shirley to Unveil New Blacklick Abandoned Mine Treatment Facility

    Source: US State of Pennsylvania

    March 20, 2025Vintondale, PA

    ADVISORY – INDIANA COUNTY – Lt. Gov. Davis and DEP Acting Secretary Shirley to Unveil New Blacklick Abandoned Mine Treatment Facility

    Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley, and other local/county officials, will tour Pennsylvania’s newest Abandoned Mine Drainage (AMD) Treatment Facility. The facility will help clean up 25 miles of waterways.
    The Open House, which is also open to community members, is an opportunity to tour the Blacklick Treatment Facility and learn how it will eliminate uncontrolled discharges of untreated mine water into Blacklick Creek. Tours will be available from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM, with a short ceremony beginning at 1:00 PM.

    WHAT: Blacklick Treatment Facility Open House event
    WHEN: March 20, 2025, 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM
    WHERE: 4252 Wehrum Road, Vintondale, PA 15961
    MEDIA CONTACT: Tom Decker, thomadecke@pa.gov// 814-332-6615

    For more information, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s website, or follow DEP on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), or LinkedIn.

    MIL OSI USA News

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Sanjay Malhotra: Transforming grievance redress – the AI advantage

    Source: Bank for International Settlements

    I am delighted to participate in this year’s Annual Conference of the RBI Ombudsmen. The Reserve Bank has been organising this conference on or around the World Consumer Rights Day, that is, 15th March. World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated every year with the aim of raising global awareness about consumer rights and needs. We organise this conference to reflect on our achievements with regard to consumer services and to deliberate on how to improve services and reduce grievances. We need to improve consumer services, not only because it is our duty to do so, but because it is in our selfish interest to do so. In this age of competition, we would not survive long if we do not provide quality service to our consumers.

    We have made tremendous strides in improving consumer services over the years. We have enabled internet banking and mobile banking. Most of the banking services, be it opening a deposit account, or taking a small loan have been digitised, adding to the convenience and speed. We are making record number of digital transactions through UPI and other means of digital payments. Many among the younger generation may have never visited a bank branch. We have even enabled opening of accounts using video KYC.

    While we have enhanced customer experience over the years, the high number of customer grievances continues to be a matter of serious concern. I am told that last year (2023-24), the 95 Scheduled Commercial Banks alone received over 10 million complaints from their customers. If we take into account the complaints received at other RBI-regulated entities (REs), the number would be even higher. One may argue that this amounts to only four complaints per thousand accounts per year as there are about 2.5 billion bank accounts. But, for us, even one complaint is a cause of concern. We have 10 million complaints and with the rapidly growing customer base and expanding suite of products, this may grow, if we do not get our act together.

    Customer satisfaction – a cornerstone for banking and other financial services

    Excellent customer service, in fact excellent customer experience is a sine qua non in any service industry. Our effort should be to enhance the total customer experience. The experience should be such that there is no cause for a grievance that requires a redress. Let me state a fundamental truth: every complaint is a test of trust. When a consumer files a grievance – whether for a disputed transaction, a lapse in service, inappropriate pricing or charges or an unfair practice – it is a signal that our system has fallen short. Left unresolved, such issues can erode consumer confidence and tarnish the entire ecosystem.

    I am reminded of a real story about customer service. Some of you, especially the management graduates, may have heard it but it is so appropriate for today’s theme that it is worth being retold. In the winter of 1975, in a town in Alaska, a man walked into a store and complained to the salesman present that the snow tyres that he bought some time ago were not holding. The salesman was a little puzzled. He said that he could not replace them but will check what he could do and went to the back of the store. Those of you, who have visited departmental stores in the USA, would know that refunds are processed at the back of the store. The salesman came back after some time and handed over some cash as refund and the customer left satisfied. Can anyone guess why this was unique, as no questions asked policy for refunds is fairly common in the USA? It is because the company in question is Nordstrom which does not even sell tyres. It sells apparel and shoes. But, for Nordstrom, customer comes first. Trusting him and winning his trust is more important than anything else.

    Some say that this is not a true story. How is this possible? How could a company offer refund for a product which it never sold? Nordstrom, however, insists that this incident did take place. Nordstrom had acquired three stores from another company that sold miscellaneous articles including tyres. The customer did not realise that the store had changed and walked in with his complaint. The key message is that Nordstrom saw itself being in the business of customer service, and not just selling goods. We too need to realise that we are in the business of providing unalloyed customer service and not just selling banking and other financial services.

    Top management to accord priority to customer service

    I am sure you will all agree that we are indeed in the business of customer service. However, I suspect that we are not spending enough time on customer service and grievance redressal as a result of which not only are there a large number of complaints being received by banks and NBFCs but in the absence of satisfactory resolution, a large number of them are getting escalated to RBI Ombudsmen.

    Let me give you some perspective. The number of complaints received under RBI’s Integrated Ombudsman Scheme increased at a compounded average growth rate of almost 50 per cent per year over last two years to 9.34 lakh in 2023-24. The number of complaints processed at the Office of RBI Ombudsman increased by 25 per cent from about 2,35,000 in 2022-23 to almost 2,94,000 in 2023-24. Not only are large number of complaints getting escalated, a large proportion of them – nearly 57 per cent of the maintainable complaints last year – required mediation or formal intervention by the RBI Ombudsmen. You would all agree that this is a highly unsatisfactory situation and needs our urgent attention.

    I would, therefore, strongly urge all the MD&CEOs, Zonal and Regional Managers and the Branch Managers to spend some time every week, if not every day on grievance redressal. This is a must. All great CEOs find time to do it. We too must keep some time in our diary for improving customer service and grievance redressal.

    Improving customer service systems

    Customer complaints aren’t a nuisance – they are in fact opportunities to improve, innovate, and build trust. Handling them well can define your success. Each unresolved grievance is a missed opportunity for regulated entities to reaffirm customer trust and loyalty. It is also a warning signal as repeat complaints are often signs of systemic flaws. Today, complaints often surface on social media even before reaching official channels, highlighting the need for proactive measures.

    The effort thus should be to not only resolve the complaints but also to ensure that the same type of complaint does not arise again. Many of the complaints like digital transaction disputes, unauthorized charges, or miscommunication frequently recur. These are clearcut symptoms of underlying issues in the overall customer service framework of the regulated entities. A thorough root cause analysis should be performed for each complaint so as to enable remedial action and avoid repetition of same type of complaint.

    In fact, I would go a step further. Best service is not one in which there is no occasion for grievance redressal but one in which there is no occasion for the customer service department to step in. Systems should work seamlessly and conveniently so that customers do not have to call the branch or the customer service centre or talk to anyone in the Bank or NBFC. Systems have to be so user-friendly that customers can rely on self-service rather than being dependent on anyone else.

    Improving internal grievance redressal systems

    While improving systems to reduce grievances is important, setting up a robust grievance redressal system is equally important for all regulated entities. I would urge you all to review the same. While the regulations do not make any prescription for the organisational structure for grievance redressal, my experience suggests that there should be at least two levels for grievance redressal in large REs, with unresolved grievances getting escalated from the lower to the higher level. The highest level should be at a fairly high rank. This to ensure that requests do not get rejected without having been examined by a senior functionary who is empowered to take decisions in consumer interest. This will help reduce grievances getting escalated to the Ombudsman. It must also be ensured that there are sufficient number of grievance redress officers at all levels including in the Internal Ombudsman office.

    I would also like to draw your attention to the misclassification of complaints as requests, queries, and disputes by the regulated entities. This results in the complainants’ grievances remaining unaddressed. Moreover, this is also a gross regulatory violation.

    Major areas of service improvement

    Let me now briefly allude to some of the major areas where we need to improve. These relate to KYC, digital frauds, mis-selling, and aggressive recovery practices.

    As for KYC, we need to ensure that once a customer has submitted documents to a financial institution, we do not insist on obtaining the same documents again. Once the customer has updated his details, for example, his residential address, with one regulated entity of any financial sector regulator, it gets updated in CKYCR and other REs are notified of the updation. PML Rules made by the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance and RBI’s Master Directions on KYC mandate regulated entities to check the CKYCR system before seeking KYC documents for opening an account. However, most banks and NBFCs have not enabled the same in their branches/business outlets, causing avoidable inconvenience to customers. This may be facilitated early. This will be in the interest of all.

    Another important issue connected to customer protection is rising digital frauds. It is a matter of great concern that innocent customers continue to fall prey to scamsters. While this could be attributed to rise in digital transactions and innovative methods adopted by fraudsters, lack of customer awareness is also a major reason for the same. To mitigate this menace, REs not only need to put in place robust internal controls but also enhance digital financial literacy.

    The issues of mis-selling and aggressive recovery practices have been highlighted earlier too. In this context too, I would request you to keep consumer interest supreme.

    Embracing technology – the AI way

    Let me now come to the theme of this year’s conference: AI’s potential to revolutionize grievance redressal. We are entering an exciting era where technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), can drive remarkable improvements in speed, accuracy, and fairness of complaint resolution.

    AI can help categorize incoming complaints by urgency, complexity, or subject area, ensuring minimal delay in reaching the right people or the right team. AI can also help in optimising complaint routing. Further, it can assist in decision-making and reducing processing time.

    Secondly, AI can be used to pinpoint systemic gaps by analysing both structured and unstructured data such as emails, chat logs, and call transcripts. This will aid in identifying training needs and guiding necessary process reforms. Using data from millions of consumer branch visits, call centre logs, mobile apps, and social media, a unified, AI-driven view of all these interactions can help identify common pain points more efficiently. Leveraging data analytics, sentiment analysis, and predictive models, AI can be used to analyse large volumes of data to detect spikes in issues – such as ATM failures or erroneous charges – and alert REs pre-emptively.

    Lastly, in a linguistically diverse country like India, AI-driven chatbots and voice recognition tools can eliminate language barriers by operating in local languages. Moreover, the implementation of conversational AI in chatbots, voicebots, and advanced IVR systems can handle routine queries round the clock, thereby freeing people to focus on cases that require empathy and complex problem-solving.

    In short, integrating AI at every stage – from complaint lodging to closure – can result in a seamless, efficient, and data-driven grievance redressal system. Such a framework not only reduces processing times and addresses repetitive complaints but also fosters equitable outcomes by mitigating human biases. It is time that the banking industry explores and pioneers the integration of technology – including AI – to strengthen the grievance resolution mechanisms and make it best in class across the globe.

    Challenges and guardrails in AI driven grievance redressal system

    While AI presents unparalleled opportunities, we need to be cognizant of the challenges and risks that its adoption poses. There are concerns on data privacy, algorithmic bias and complexity in AI-driven models. As we embrace AI in grievance redressal or any other process, we must also remain mindful of ethical considerations. Human oversight, bias mitigation and data privacy must be integrated into the AI Systems to ensure transparent and consistent outcomes.

    Investing in human resources

    While technology in all its forms is a powerful enabler, I would like to emphasise that it is no substitute for integrity, empathy, and human judgment. In a world increasingly driven by data, algorithms, and automation, it is all too easy to lose sight of the human element. Every transaction represents not just a number in a ledger, but the hard-earned savings of a family, the dreams of a small entrepreneur, or the lifelong savings of a senior citizen. It is, therefore, critical that REs continue to invest in human resources dedicated for customer service and grievance redressal. It is essential to invest in training of staff, especially in behavioural aspects of customer service. Moreover, the staff needs to be empowered to take decisions based on their judgement to redress consumer grievances, enhance customer satisfaction and win consumer trust.

    RBI as a facilitator

    In the end, I would like to assure you that, while we exhort you to provide services efficiently to customers, we in the Reserve Bank shall also provide various services, approvals, clarifications, etc. to the regulated entities in a timely manner. We already have a citizen’s charter. We are in the process of reviewing the charter. We will make the charter comprehensive to include all services that we offer either to the REs or directly to citizens. Moreover, we are reviewing the timelines for each service. It will be our endeavour to provide all approvals, etc. within the timelines. We are also making mandatory the use of PRAVAAH, which is RBI’s secure and centralised web-based portal for any individual or entity to seek authorisation, license or regulatory approval on any reference made to the Reserve Bank in a timely manner. This will help us in expediting the disposal of applications received by the Reserve Bank.

    Conclusion

    We stand at a pivotal juncture as India looks to realise its dream of a more resilient and inclusive Viksit Bharat. With the financial sector touching the lives of almost the entire population, we have a critical role. To succeed in this role, we must continue to enhance customer service and customer protection.

    Thank you !

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI Global: Only 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change?

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Doug Specht, Reader in Cultural Geography and Communication, University of Westminster

    Svet Foto/Shutterstock

    The latest deadline for countries to submit plans for slashing the greenhouse gas emissions fuelling climate change has passed. Only 15 countries met it – less than 8% of the 194 parties currently signed up to the Paris agreement, which obliges countries to submit new proposals for eliminating emissions every five years.

    Known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, these plans outline how each country intends to help limit average global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, or at most 2°C. This might include cutting emissions by generating more energy from wind and solar, or adapting to a heating world by restoring wetlands as protection against more severe floods and wildfires.

    Each new NDC should outline more stringent emissions cuts than the last. It should also show how each country seeks to mitigate climate change over the following ten years. This system is designed to progressively strengthen (or “ratchet up”) global efforts to combat climate change.

    The February 2025 deadline for submitting NDCs was set nine months before the next UN climate change conference, Cop30 in Belém, Brazil.

    Without a comprehensive set of NDCs for countries to compare themselves against, there will be less pressure on negotiators to raise national ambitions. Assessing how much money certain countries need to decarbonise and adapt to climate change, and how much is available, will also be more difficult.

    While countries can (and some will) continue to submit NDCs, the poor compliance rate so far suggests a lack of urgency that bodes ill for avoiding the worst climate outcomes this century.

    Who submitted?

    The 15 countries that submitted NDCs on time include the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Switzerland, Ecuador and a number of small states, such as Andorra and the Marshall Islands.

    Cop30 host Brazil submitted a pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 59-67% by 2035, compared to 2005 levels. This is up from its previous commitment, a 37% reduction by 2025 and 43% by 2030. Unfortunately, Brazil is not on track to meet its 2025 target and has set a more recent emissions baseline that will make any reductions more modest than they’d otherwise be.

    Japan aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60% in 2035 and 73% in 2040, compared to 2013 levels. Japan’s previous target was for a 46% reduction by 2030. This demonstrates how the ratchet system is supposed to work.

    The UK’s NDC, which pledges to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions by at least 81% by 2035, compared to 1990 levels, was described by independent scientists as “compatible” with limiting global heating to 1.5°C.

    The US submitted a plan to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by 61-66% below 2005 levels by 2035. However, this was before Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris agreement (for the second time), so the commitment of one of the world’s largest polluters is in doubt.

    Who didn’t submit?

    Some of the world’s largest emitters failed to submit new NDCs, including China, India and Russia.

    India pledged to reduce its emissions by 35% below 2005 levels by 2030 at the signing of the Paris agreement. All of the country’s subsequent NDCs have been rated as “insufficient” by independent scientists. India’s recent national budget announcement offered scant additional funding for climate mitigation and adaptation measures.

    China also made big promises in 2015 with its aim to lower its CO₂ emissions by 65% by 2030, from a 2005 baseline. However, China has been responsible for over 90% of global CO₂ emissions growth since the Paris agreement was signed. China and the US also suspended formal discussions on climate change in 2022. Increased economic competition between these two nations has resulted in export control restrictions and tariffs which have made green technologies like electric vehicles more expensive, which is certain to slow down the shift from fossil fuels.

    Russia joined the Paris agreement in 2019. Its first NDC was labelled “critically insufficient” by scientists, and its follow-up in 2020 did not include increased targets. Russia is maximising the extraction of resources such as oil, gas and minerals and its 2035 strategy for the Arctic included plans to sink several oil wells on the continental shelf.

    With the USA’s 2025 NDC in limbo, President Trump is eyeing mineral reserves in Ukraine and Greenland, further ramping up oil production and cutting international climate research funding.

    The European Union could have positioned itself as a leader of global climate action, in lieu of US involvement. But the EU, which submits NDCs as a bloc alongside individual country submissions, also failed to submit on time.

    Global shifts

    The failure of most nations to submit new emission plans suggests that the era of cooperation on climate change is over. The largest and most powerful of these nations are growing their military and diplomatic presence around the world, particularly in countries with large reserves of critical minerals for electric vehicles and other technology relevant to decarbonisation. The lack of NDCs from these nations may be less a matter of middling green ambitions, more an attempt to disguise their planned exploitation of other countries’ resources.

    If countries keep failing to submit enhanced NDCs, or even withdraw from their commitments entirely, scientists warn that global heating could reach a catastrophic 4.4°C by 2100. This scenario assumes the continued, unabated use of fossil fuels, with little regard for the climate.

    In a more optimistic scenario, countries could limit warming to around 1.8°C by 2100. This will require global cooperation and significant investment in green technology, and entail a transition to net zero emissions by mid-century. This is a process that must include everyone. Simply having the most powerful nations decarbonise by exploiting and hoarding resources will imperil this critical target.

    The actual outcome will probably fall somewhere between these two scenarios, depending on forthcoming NDCs and how quickly and thoroughly they are implemented. All of the scenarios envisaged by climate scientists will involve warming continuing for decades.

    The effects of this warming will vary, however, based on the path we choose today.


    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 40,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.


    Doug Specht does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    ref. Only 15 countries have met the latest Paris agreement deadline. Is any nation serious about tackling climate change? – https://theconversation.com/only-15-countries-have-met-the-latest-paris-agreement-deadline-is-any-nation-serious-about-tackling-climate-change-250847

    MIL OSI – Global Reports

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Real Estate CEO Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Manipulating WeWork Stock with Fraudulent Tender Offer Scheme

    Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)

    Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JONATHAN MOYNAHAN LARMORE was sentenced today to five years in prison for manipulating the stock price of WeWork, Inc. (“WeWork”) with a fake tender offer designed to fraudulently inflate the value of LARMORE’s own WeWork securities. LARMORE’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, who also presided over a one-week trial after which LARMORE was convicted of one count of tender offer fraud and one count of securities fraud.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Jonathan Larmore treated the stock market like a game he could rig to obtain instant riches at the expense of innocent investors. As today’s sentence shows, this Office will continue to advocate for significant penalties against those who manipulate our markets and defraud investors.”

    According to the evidence presented in court during the trial:

    LARMORE is the former CEO of Arciterra Companies LLC, a real estate investment and management firm. In the fall of 2023, LARMORE perpetrated a scheme to use a false and fraudulent tender offer to manipulate the stock price of WeWork, a co-working space company that was publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

    To execute his scheme, LARMORE created a sham real estate investment firm called Cole Capital Funds LLC (“Cole Capital”). LARMORE then spent more than $775,000 buying tens of thousands of cheap, short-dated, out-of-the-money WeWork call options and hundreds of thousands of shares of WeWork common stock. On November 3, 2023, LARMORE published a fake press release announcing that Cole Capital proposed to acquire 51% of all outstanding shares owned by minority shareholders of WeWork at a more-than-700% premium in an all-cash offer worth more than $77 million. At the time, WeWork was on the verge of bankruptcy. The press release itself contained a number of false and misleading claims about LARMORE and Cole Capital, and their ability to carry through with the purported tender offer.

    In fact, neither LARMORE nor Cole Capital had the intent or ability to execute the announced tender offer. Instead, LARMORE intended for news of the tender offer to fraudulently inflate WeWork’s share price and, thereby, to increase the value of LARMORE’s newly acquired WeWork call options and shares.

    Approximately one minute after LARMORE’s press release about his fraudulent tender offer was published, WeWork’s share price quickly increased during after-hours trading by more than 70% and continued to rise to a high of more than 150% over the stock price prior to the publication of the press release. The WeWork call options LARMORE purchased could have made him tens of millions of dollars with a big enough spike to WeWork’s stock price, but the vast majority of the options expired before LARMORE could publish his manipulative press release. The following Monday, November 6, 2023, WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. LARMORE never followed through on his fraudulent tender offer.

    *               *                *

    In addition to the prison term, LARMORE, 51, of Syracuse, Indiana, was sentenced to three years of supervised release during which the defendant must perform 500 hours of community service.

    Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed a civil action against LARMORE, for its assistance and cooperation in the investigation.

    This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam S. Hobson, Sarah Mortazavi, and Justin V. Rodriguez are in charge of the prosecution. 

    MIL Security OSI

  • MIL-OSI Economics: APAC deal activity faces challenges in early 2025, but some pockets of growth exist, finds GlobalData

    Source: GlobalData

    APAC deal activity faces challenges in early 2025, but some pockets of growth exist, finds GlobalData

    Posted in Business Fundamentals

    The Asia-Pacific (APAC) deal landscape has experienced a notable shift in early 2025, reflecting a complex interplay of market dynamics and economic conditions. In the first two months of 2025, the total deal volume* in the APAC region has seen a decline of approximately 8% compared to the same period in 2024. However, few countries in the region witnessed an increase in deal volume, reflecting that some pockets of growth still exist for funding activity, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

    Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Analyzing the trend across various deal types and key markets reveals both challenges and opportunities that stakeholders must navigate.”

    An analysis of GlobalData’s Deals Database revealed that the overall downturn is majorly driven by a significant reduction in venture financing activity, which contracted by around 13% during January-February 2025 compared to January-February 2024, reflecting a cautious approach from investors in the current economic climate.

    The impact was pronounced in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, which contracted by 5%. M&A transactions, traditionally a barometer of corporate confidence and strategic growth, appear to be under pressure as companies reassess their expansion strategies.

    Conversely, private equity deals have shown resilience, with deal volume mostly remaining at the same level during the review period.

    Bose adds: “Meanwhile, a closer examination of the deal volume across select top markets within the APAC region reveals a mixed picture.”

    China, historically a powerhouse in deal-making, experienced a substantial decline of more than 20% in deal volume. This drop can be attributed to regulatory challenges and economic slowdown. In contrast, India emerged as a bright spot, with a growth of more than 10% in deal volume. This growth underscores India’s potential as a burgeoning market for deal-making.

    Japan has also demonstrated remarkable resilience with a growth rate of around 35%. Meanwhile, Australia and South Korea have both seen significant declines. These declines highlight the challenges faced by these markets, including economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions that may be impacting investor sentiment.

    Other markets such as Singapore and Malaysia have also reported declines. This trend suggests that even established financial hubs are not immune to the broader market pressures affecting the region.

    Bose concludes: “Although the APAC deal landscape in early 2025 is characterized by a decline, pockets of growth, particularly in India and Japan, suggest that opportunities still exist for savvy investors.”

    *Coverage includes mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture financing deals

    Note: Historic data may change in case some deals get added to previous months because of a delay in disclosure of information in the public domain

    MIL OSI Economics

  • MIL-OSI Global: Fires, wars and bureaucracy: The tumultuous journey to establish the US National Archives

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elizabeth Call, University Archivist, RIT Libraries and Archives, Rochester Institute of Technology

    The 1952 procession to deliver the Declaration of Independence and Constitution from the Library of Congress to the National Archives included military guards and a tank. National Archives

    Some of the United States’ most important historical documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Emancipation Proclamation, are housed in the U.S. National Archives. Beyond these high-profile items, it also preserves lesser-known but no less vital records, such as national park master plans, polar exploration documents and the records of all U.S. veterans. Together, these materials stand as a testament to the country’s commitment to preserving its history.

    While these crucial documents in U.S. history now have a home in the National Archives, the road to establishing this institution was paved with catastrophic losses and bureaucratic inertia.

    Creating the National Archives required decades of advocacy by historians, politicians and government officials. The National Archives was not simply an administrative convenience – it was a necessity born from repeated disasters that underscored the fragility of government records. And with President Donald Trump’s firing of the head archivist in February 2025, as well as the loss of several high-level archives staff members, the organization faces a new era of uncertainty.

    Documentary heritage – the recorded memory of a nation that preserves its cultural, historical and legal legacy – is essential for a country as it safeguards its identity, informs its governance and ensures that future generations can understand and learn from the past.

    I am a university archivist with two decades of experience in the library and archives field. I oversee the preservation and accessibility of historical records at Rochester Institute of Technology, advocate for inclusivity, and engage in national conversations on the evolving role of archives in the digital age.

    Understanding the precarious nature of historical records, it’s clear to me that maintaining, staffing and funding the National Archives is a necessary safeguard against the destruction of the nation’s documentary heritage.

    People line up to view the original Emancipation Proclamation on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 19, 2004, at the National Archives building in Washington, D.C.
    Tim Sloan/AFP-Getty Images

    Destroyed by fire

    The idea of preserving the government’s records dates back to the country’s founding. Charles Thomson, secretary of the Continental Congress during the American Revolution and then secretary of Congress under the Articles of Confederation, recognized the need for proper storage of the Congress’ records.

    But the young nation lacked the money and infrastructure to act. Many of the Continental Congress’ records were kept by Thomson himself for years, and while some were later transferred to the Department of State, others were lost.

    Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, fires repeatedly ravaged federal records. Fires were very common in the 19th century due to a combination of highly flammable building materials, open frames used for lighting and heating, and the lack of modern fire safety measures such as sprinklers and fire-resistant construction.

    In 1800, a blaze destroyed the War Department’s archives, a loss that severely hampered government operations. In 1810, Congress authorized better housing for government records, but the law was never fully executed. Instead, different parts of the government, from the Department of State to the Department of Treasury, continued maintaining their own records.

    The Treasury Department suffered fires in 1801 and again in 1833, further erasing crucial financial records. The Patent Office, home to invaluable documentation of American innovation, burned in 1877, having already been damaged by an 1836 fire.

    Storage at the federal Office of Indian Affairs in 1935.
    National Archives Foundation

    One of the most devastating losses occurred in 1921 when a fire at the Department of Commerce destroyed nearly all records from the 1890 federal census. This loss had far-reaching consequences, particularly for genealogical and demographic research.

    Fires weren’t the only threat to the government’s records.

    “It is a matter of common report that during the civil war, great quantities of documents stored in the Capitol were thrown away to make quarters for soldiers,” Historian and founding member of the American Historical Association J. Franklin Jameson noted in a 1911 Washington Post article.

    “At a later date,” he added, “the archives of the House of Representatives were systematically looted for papers having a market value because of their autographs.”

    Jameson spent decades lobbying Congress for a centralized repository. His persistence, coupled with the advocacy of key officials, laid the groundwork for future action.

    A bound copy of George Washington’s account of expenses while commander in chief of the Continental Army.
    National Archives and Records Administration

    These repeated disasters illuminated a glaring issue: The federal government lacked a centralized, protected repository to safeguard its records.

    Finding a home

    Momentum for a dedicated archives building gained traction in the late 19th century. In 1903, a bipartisan bill passed Congress giving the OK to purchase land in Washington, D.C., for a Hall of Records.

    But the legislation didn’t lead to any action. Government records remained scattered, vulnerable and neglected. That same year, Congress authorized that any records not needed for daily business be transferred to the Library of Congress.

    In 1912, President William H. Taft issued executive order 1499, aptly named Disposal of Useless Papers, requiring agencies to consult the librarian of Congress before disposing of documents.

    This established a formal review process for government document disposal, but agencies still discarded records, often haphazardly, until stricter records management laws were enacted.

    In 1926, Congress passed the Public Buildings Act, authorizing construction of an archives facility in Washington, D.C. Departing president Herbert Hoover laid the cornerstone of the new building on Feb. 20, 1933. He then deposited facsimiles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, an American flag and daily newspapers from that day underneath the cornerstone.

    Growth and standardization

    President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who took office two weeks later, was himself a meticulous record-keeper. He understood the importance of historical preservation. Roosevelt kept all of his personal and presidential records and books in a fire-safe space he built on his Hyde Park, New York, property, which he donated to the government after he died. This building and the materials inside became part of the National Archives as the first U.S. presidential library.

    The National Archives, an independent agency, was officially established under Roosevelt in the 1934 National Archives Act. The head archivist was to be appointed by the president. The first archivist, Robert D.W. Connor, took office that year with a mandate to organize, preserve and make accessible the nation’s records.

    Initially, the National Archives was simply a building – an impressive neoclassical structure in Washington, D.C., that opened in 1935. The very first records deposited there came from three World War I-era regulatory agencies – the U.S. Food Administration, the Sugar Equalization Board and the U.S. Grain Corporation.

    Initially, the Archives lacked a formalized records management program. There were no clear guidelines on what to keep and what to discard, so agencies made their own decisions. This led to inconsistent preservation.

    The creation of the first federal records administration program in 1941, together with the 1943 Records Disposal Act, codified things. These policies granted the National Archives authority to establish a structured approach to determining which records held historical value and should be preserved, while allowing for the responsible disposal of other documents.

    A 1950 law gave the National Archives more power to decide what should be kept and what could be discarded, creating a more organized and accountable system for preserving the nation’s history.

    As the volume of records increased and their formats changed, the archives adapted. By 2014, amendments to the Federal Records Act explicitly included electronic records, recognizing the shift toward digital documentation.

    Stacks at the National Archives in Washington in 1950, where rare photographs and national records are ordered and stored.
    Three Lions/Getty Images

    Ensuring accountability

    Beyond mere storage, the National Archives plays a vital role in upholding democracy.

    It ensures transparency by preserving government accountability, preventing manipulation or loss of records that could distort historical truth. The National Archives also provides public access to documents that shape civic awareness and historical knowledge, from the Declaration of Independence to declassified government files.

    In an era of digital misinformation and contested narratives, the National Archives stands as a guardian of primary sources. Its existence reminds the nation that history is not a matter of convenience, but a cornerstone of informed governance.

    Elizabeth Call is a member of the Society of American Archivists.

    ref. Fires, wars and bureaucracy: The tumultuous journey to establish the US National Archives – https://theconversation.com/fires-wars-and-bureaucracy-the-tumultuous-journey-to-establish-the-us-national-archives-250857

    MIL OSI – Global Reports