Source: Reserve Bank of India
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Category: India
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MIL-OSI Banking: Money Market Operations as on March 14, 2025
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MIL-OSI Banking: Money Market Operations as on March 15, 2025
Source: Reserve Bank of India
(Amount in ₹ crore, Rate in Per cent)
Volume
(One Leg)Weighted
Average RateRange A. Overnight Segment (I+II+III+IV) 27,166.39 6.24 4.50-6.52 I. Call Money 1,461.80 6.05 5.25-6.40 II. Triparty Repo 25,438.10 6.26 5.00-6.52 III. Market Repo 266.49 5.46 4.50-6.20 IV. Repo in Corporate Bond 0.00 – – B. Term Segment I. Notice Money** 0.70 5.95 5.95-5.95 II. Term Money@@ 0.00 – – III. Triparty Repo 0.00 – – IV. Market Repo 0.00 – – V. Repo in Corporate Bond 0.00 – – Auction Date Tenor (Days) Maturity Date Amount Current Rate /
Cut off RateC. Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) & Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) I. Today’s Operations 1. Fixed Rate 2. Variable Rate& (I) Main Operation (a) Repo (b) Reverse Repo (II) Fine Tuning Operations (a) Repo (b) Reverse Repo (III) Long Term Operations^ (a) Repo (b) Reverse Repo 3. MSF# Sat, 15/03/2025 1 Sun, 16/03/2025 15,144.00 6.50 Sat, 15/03/2025 2 Mon, 17/03/2025 35.00 6.50 4. SDFΔ# Sat, 15/03/2025 1 Sun, 16/03/2025 59,714.00 6.00 Sat, 15/03/2025 2 Mon, 17/03/2025 3,269.00 6.00 5. Net liquidity injected from today’s operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]* -47,804.00 II. Outstanding Operations 1. Fixed Rate 2. Variable Rate& (I) Main Operation (a) Repo Fri, 07/03/2025 14 Fri, 21/03/2025 8,375.00 6.26 (b) Reverse Repo (II) Fine Tuning Operations (a) Repo Thu, 13/03/2025 4 Mon, 17/03/2025 50,008.00 6.26 Thu, 13/03/2025 8 Fri, 21/03/2025 9,860.00 6.26 (b) Reverse Repo (III) Long Term Operations^ (a) Repo Fri, 21/02/2025 45 Mon, 07/04/2025 57,951.00 6.26 Fri, 14/02/2025 49 Fri, 04/04/2025 75,003.00 6.28 Fri, 07/02/2025 56 Fri, 04/04/2025 50,010.00 6.31 (b) Reverse Repo 3. MSF# Fri, 14/03/2025 2 Sun, 16/03/2025 0.00 6.50 Fri, 14/03/2025 3 Mon, 17/03/2025 30.00 6.50 Thu, 13/03/2025 3 Sun, 16/03/2025 0.00 6.50 Thu, 13/03/2025 4 Mon, 17/03/2025 200.00 6.50 4. SDFΔ# Fri, 14/03/2025 2 Sun, 16/03/2025 0.00 6.00 Fri, 14/03/2025 3 Mon, 17/03/2025 11.00 6.00 Thu, 13/03/2025 3 Sun, 16/03/2025 0.00 6.00 Thu, 13/03/2025 4 Mon, 17/03/2025 2,960.00 6.00 D. Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) Availed from RBI$ 9,443.52 E. Net liquidity injected from outstanding operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]* 2,57,909.52 F. Net liquidity injected (outstanding including today’s operations) [injection (+)/absorption (-)]* 2,10,105.52 G. Cash Reserves Position of Scheduled Commercial Banks (i) Cash balances with RBI as on March 15, 2025 9,10,212.16 (ii) Average daily cash reserve requirement for the fortnight ending March 21, 2025 9,19,133.00 H. Government of India Surplus Cash Balance Reckoned for Auction as on¥ March 13, 2025 59,868.00 I. Net durable liquidity [surplus (+)/deficit (-)] as on February 21, 2025 18,854.00 @ Based on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) / Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL). – Not Applicable / No Transaction. ** Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 2 to 14 days tenor. @@ Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 15 days to one year tenor. $ Includes refinance facilities extended by RBI. & As per the Press Release No. 2019-2020/1900 dated February 06, 2020. Δ As per the Press Release No. 2022-2023/41 dated April 08, 2022. * Net liquidity is calculated as Repo+MSF+SLF-Reverse Repo-SDF. ¥ As per the Press Release No. 2014-2015/1971 dated March 19, 2015. # As per the Press Release No. 2023-2024/1548 dated December 27, 2023. ^ As per the Press Release No. 2024-2025/2082 dated February 05, 2025, Press Release No. 2024-2025/2138 dated February 12, 2025, and Press Release No. 2024-2025/2209 dated February 20, 2025. Ajit Prasad
Deputy General Manager
(Communications)Press Release: 2024-2025/2386 -
MIL-OSI Banking: Money Market Operations as on March 16, 2025
Source: Reserve Bank of India
(Amount in ₹ crore, Rate in Per cent)
Volume
(One Leg)Weighted
Average RateRange A. Overnight Segment (I+II+III+IV) 0.00 – – I. Call Money 0.00 – – II. Triparty Repo 0.00 – – III. Market Repo 0.00 – – IV. Repo in Corporate Bond 0.00 – – B. Term Segment I. Notice Money** 0.00 – – II. Term Money@@ 0.00 – – III. Triparty Repo 0.00 – – IV. Market Repo 0.00 – – V. Repo in Corporate Bond 0.00 – – Auction Date Tenor (Days) Maturity Date Amount Current Rate /
Cut off RateC. Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) & Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) I. Today’s Operations 1. Fixed Rate 2. Variable Rate& (I) Main Operation (a) Repo (b) Reverse Repo (II) Fine Tuning Operations (a) Repo (b) Reverse Repo (III) Long Term Operations^ (a) Repo (b) Reverse Repo 3. MSF# Sun, 16/03/2025 1 Mon, 17/03/2025 13,186.00 6.50 4. SDFΔ# Sun, 16/03/2025 1 Mon, 17/03/2025 60,480.00 6.00 5. Net liquidity injected from today’s operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]* -47,294.00 II. Outstanding Operations 1. Fixed Rate 2. Variable Rate& (I) Main Operation (a) Repo Fri, 07/03/2025 14 Fri, 21/03/2025 8,375.00 6.26 (b) Reverse Repo (II) Fine Tuning Operations (a) Repo Thu, 13/03/2025 4 Mon, 17/03/2025 50,008.00 6.26 Thu, 13/03/2025 8 Fri, 21/03/2025 9,860.00 6.26 (b) Reverse Repo (III) Long Term Operations^ (a) Repo Fri, 21/02/2025 45 Mon, 07/04/2025 57,951.00 6.26 Fri, 14/02/2025 49 Fri, 04/04/2025 75,003.00 6.28 Fri, 07/02/2025 56 Fri, 04/04/2025 50,010.00 6.31 (b) Reverse Repo 3. MSF# Sat, 15/03/2025 2 Mon, 17/03/2025 35.00 6.50 Fri, 14/03/2025 3 Mon, 17/03/2025 30.00 6.50 Thu, 13/03/2025 4 Mon, 17/03/2025 200.00 6.50 4. SDFΔ# Sat, 15/03/2025 2 Mon, 17/03/2025 3,269.00 6.00 Fri, 14/03/2025 3 Mon, 17/03/2025 11.00 6.00 Thu, 13/03/2025 4 Mon, 17/03/2025 2,960.00 6.00 D. Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) Availed from RBI$ 9,443.52 E. Net liquidity injected from outstanding operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]* 2,54,675.52 F. Net liquidity injected (outstanding including today’s operations) [injection (+)/absorption (-)]* 2,07,381.52 G. Cash Reserves Position of Scheduled Commercial Banks (i) Cash balances with RBI as on March 16, 2025 9,07,544.24 (ii) Average daily cash reserve requirement for the fortnight ending March 21, 2025 9,19,133.00 H. Government of India Surplus Cash Balance Reckoned for Auction as on¥ March 13, 2025 59,868.00 I. Net durable liquidity [surplus (+)/deficit (-)] as on February 21, 2025 18,854.00 @ Based on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) / Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL). – Not Applicable / No Transaction. ** Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 2 to 14 days tenor. @@ Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 15 days to one year tenor. $ Includes refinance facilities extended by RBI. & As per the Press Release No. 2019-2020/1900 dated February 06, 2020. Δ As per the Press Release No. 2022-2023/41 dated April 08, 2022. * Net liquidity is calculated as Repo+MSF+SLF-Reverse Repo-SDF. ¥ As per the Press Release No. 2014-2015/1971 dated March 19, 2015. # As per the Press Release No. 2023-2024/1548 dated December 27, 2023. ^ As per the Press Release No. 2024-2025/2082 dated February 05, 2025, Press Release No. 2024-2025/2138 dated February 12, 2025, and Press Release No. 2024-2025/2209 dated February 20, 2025. Ajit Prasad
Deputy General Manager
(Communications)Press Release: 2024-2025/2387 -
MIL-OSI Europe: Unchanged global climate policies will cost India 19% and world 15% of GDP by 2050 | Interview with The Economic Times
Source: Deutsche Bundesbank in English
The interview was conducted by Deepshikha Sikarwar & Vinay Pandey.
How do you see US president Donald Trump’s election weighing in on the entire climate debate?
We are central bankers and supervisors, so we are non-political. We are data-dependent and science-based. We are here together to discuss the impact of climate and nature-related risks on our economies. Talking about climate change in general, there are two major risks: physical risks; meaning increasing numbers of droughts, floods, hurricanes and wildfires. And transition risks, which are the costs and consequences of the transition to net zero.
If climate policy falls short then, of course, economic and financial risks will increase. That’s what central banks must look at. We analyze the data and see what kind of impact climate change has on the economy. That’s our job. We must deal with these risks, and we will address them, also towards governments.
What does the withdrawal of the US Federal Reserve mean for NGFS and its agenda?
The NGFS was founded at the end of 2017. At that time, we were only eight members. Now we are 144. The Fed, as you just mentioned, left in January. Except for the US, none of the members have exited so far. Instead, thirteen new members have joined since I took over as NGFS Chair at the start of 2024. So, we are still a growing organization.
And our agenda stays the same, because it has nothing to do with the exit of one member. If we see deregulation, if we see climate being taken off the policy agenda, then we might see increasing physical risk, meaning an acceleration of climate change. And that might mean that we even become more vocal on the risks we see.
How do you see India’s progress? What more needs to be done?
It’s not up to me to judge the stance and actions of our colleagues from the Reserve Bank of India. I just mentioned our latest update on the long-term scenarios about GDP being 15 % lower, worldwide, than in a world without climate change. For India, the GDP loss is even bigger. If the world keeps its current policies unchanged, global temperatures are expected to rise by three degrees Celsius (on average). And this could cost India roughly 19 % of GDP by 2050, compared to a world without climate change. So, for India, we show that climate change can have even more serious consequences than elsewhere. And, at the same time, the scenarios show that India is among those countries who would benefit the most from a global transition towards net zero emissions.
You’ve said your actions are data dependent. What is the data telling us in terms of the economic impact of climate change? Because there is also a pushback.
We are analytical powerhouses. Our climate scenarios are our flagship product. We have set up different long-term scenarios. For example, a current policy scenario or a fragmented world one, where climate policy is delayed, divergent and/or insufficient across the globe. Or a scenario where policy would bring us to a Paris-aligned world. We look at what those different climate scenarios mean in economic terms, for GDP, inflation, productivity, and so on.
The fifth vintage of our long-term climate scenarios was published at the start of November last year. It told us that under the current policies scenario, global GDP will be 15 % lower globally in 2050 than it would be without climate change. This is a striking number, and in fact we have reason to believe that it doesn’t even show the full picture, because we do not yet have a full set of data. It does not reflect, for example, future sea level rises, or the kind of climate migration that we might see. When we have more data, we will get more insights, and the results might even change.
What has the conversation been like at the plenary in the backdrop of the US exit and what is the assessment of the progress made so far?
We’ve never seen such a strong commitment as we see here in India today. More than 100 people from over 60 countries came from all around the world to be here in person. Another 100 people participated virtually. We’ve never had so many senior level representatives from central banks and financial supervisors. We have more than 25 governors or deputy governors here in India at our annual meeting.
What we’ve reflected on today is how political headwinds, deregulation, impact our work. And our work stays the same, because we are non-political animals, and we stick to our mandates. With so many central banks from all over the world in our network, we all have different mandates. In emerging markets or developing countries, the mandates are often not as narrow as they are in, for example, Europe. So, we do have members with broader mandates. That allows them to do different things, such as promoting green finance or other financial sector development.
Most central banks have initiated some sort of action on tackling climate change and its economic impact. What is your assessment of the progress and what more is needed?
With 144 members from all over the globe, there are members at completely different stages, depending on when they started and how big their capacities are. Some members are very advanced, like the French, the Dutch, the UK, and there are those who have just started or are so small that they barely have capacity.
What are the advanced central banks doing? They have started with climate stress testing in the banking sector. For example, in Europe, we have already done a few climate stress tests. In India, Brazil and many countries in Africa, you see that climate change strongly affects food prices. We also see, in some African countries for example, that energy prices are significantly affected by climate change. We cannot rely on past data or experiences; we need a forward-looking perspective. There’s a lot of uncertainty and non-linearity. So, we must work in terms of scenarios.
When the NGFS was set up in December 2017, there were some central banks who thought, “oh my god, there’s climate change and we do not know at all whether this will affect our work, our mandates”. We thought, “this might be such a big threat that it’s better to collaborate, put together all the resources we have and to see what will come out”. This is why the NGFS was set up. Over the years, we have not only realized that climate change really matters to the economy but also confirmed that it affects our mandates.
The whole idea of this network is that we share our knowledge amongst our members. This is the benefit of being a member of the NGFS. And we also produce public goods like the scenarios mentioned, which can be used by financial sector players and policymakers beyond the network.
Different governments have different commitments to climate change and central banks have different mandates. Given that, how effective can this body be?
Climate policy is not part of our mandate. What governments do is another thing. Of course, our analysis shows that if governments take less action on climate, it will have a huge impact on the economy, often also on inflation.
You are right, central banks globally have a wide range of different tasks and mandates. But this is also the beauty of our network. 144 different organisations learn from each other. Many members – for example emerging markets – have a lot in common with each other. These countries often form groups among peers so that they can share experience and best practice.
Any thinking on short-term scenario mapping?
We will soon publish our short-term scenarios with a time horizon of three to five years, hopefully in the first half of the year. We think it is important to show what will happen within this time horizon.
Not many care about 2050 and 2100. Not many of us work over this time horizon. If you are a CEO, your contract lasts 3‑5 years. If you’re a politician, you want to be re-elected within 3‑5 years. A scenario which tells you what might happen in 2050, of course, really matters for human beings. But, to tell the story to someone who thinks short term, you need also short-term scenarios.
© The Times Group. All rigths reserved. -
MIL-Evening Report: Hundreds of livestock breeds have gone extinct – but some Australian farmers are keeping endangered breeds alive
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catie Gressier, Adjunct Research Fellow in Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia
Berkshire pigs JWhitwell/Shutterstock It took thousands of years to develop the world’s extraordinary range of domesticated farm animals – an estimated 8,800 livestock breeds across 38 farmed species.
But this diversity is dwindling fast. Advances in selective breeding and artificial insemination have fuelled the global spread of a small number of profitable livestock types. Their popularity has left ever more heritage breeds at risk of extinction.
Why does this matter? Each breed represents vital genetic diversity for the livestock species on which we rely, known as agrobiodiversity. As the number of breeds shrink, we lose their genetics forever.
There are bright spots amid the decline. Hundreds of passionate farmers are working hard to keep heritage breeds alive around Australia. As my new book shows, they do it primarily for love.
Which livestock breeds are disappearing – and why?
Cattle have experienced the highest number of extinctions, with at least 184 breeds lost globally.
Of all chicken breeds, one in ten is now extinct, and a further 30% are endangered.
Sheep are also rapidly losing diversity, with 160 breeds now extinct. The rise of synthetic materials has endangered the remaining breeds producing carpet wool in New Zealand and Australia, including the unique Tasmanian Elliottdale.
The fleece of Elliotdale sheep has been used to make woollen carpets.
Sue Curliss, CC BY-NC-NDPigs fare little better. Australia’s 2.5 million pigs are predominantly Large White, Landrace and Duroc crossbreeds, while none of the eight remaining purebred pig breeds in Australia currently has more than 100 sows registered with the Rare Breeds Trust. While not all sows are registered, we know breeds such as Tamworths are at dangerously low numbers.
How did this happen? Over the past century, the goal of animal husbandry has shifted from breeding hardy, multipurpose animals to increasing performance for economic gain. For livestock, performance means more of what humans value, such as pigs with extra ribs, prolific egg-laying hens and sheep with finer wool.
Huge sums have been spent on selective breeding and artificial insemination technologies. This, in turn, has made it possible for a small number of profitable livestock types to be farmed globally.
For instance, when you buy a roast chicken, it will likely be one of just two types of fast-growing broilers (meat chickens), the Ross or the Cobb. Their genetics are developed and trademarked by two multinational agribusinesses who dominate the global broiler market.
Chicken breed numbers have shrunk too, risking rare breeds such as Transylvanian naked neck cockerel bantams.
Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-NDIt’s hard to overstate how big the increases in production have been from reproductive technologies. In the dairy industry, for instance, milk yield per cow has doubled in the past 40 years. These volumes are around six times greater now than a century ago.
Holsteins, the top dairy breed, have become globally dominant. Almost 1.4 million of Australia’s 1.65 million dairy cows are Holsteins. But as Holstein numbers soar, other breeds dwindle. Many farmers have simply stopped rearing other breeds, leading to many becoming endangered or extinct.
For Holsteins themselves, this has come with a cost. Selective breeding for high milk volume has meant Holsteins suffer more medical issues such as metabolic diseases and frequent mastitis. They also have reduced fertility and longevity.
Researchers have found 99% of Holstein bulls produced by artificial insemination in the United States are descended from just two sires. This wide dissemination of limited bloodlines has led to the spread of genetic defects.
Holstein cows produce much more milk – but there’s a cost.
VanderWolf Images/ShutterstockWhat is at stake?
Our food systems face growing threats. Genetic diversity provides a safeguard for livestock species against lethal animal diseases such as H5N1 bird flu and African swine fever.
If we rely on just a few breeds, we risk a wipe out. The Irish potato famine is a catastrophic example. In the 1800s, Irish farmers took up the “lumper” variety of potatoes to feed a growing population. But when fungal rot struck in the 1840s, it turned most of the crop to mush – and led to mass starvation.
Some breeds have very useful traits, such as resistance to particular pests and diseases.
Chickens and other birds die in swathes if infected by Newcastle disease, one of the most serious bird viruses. But breeds such as the hardy Egyptian Fayoumi survive better, while the European Leghorn – whose genetics are used in commercial egg-laying breeds – is highly susceptible.
Local breeds can also have better resistance to endemic pests. The Indian zebu humped cattle breed, for example, is less prone to tick infestation than crossbreeds.
Climate change is also making life harder for livestock, and some breeds are better adapted to heat than others.
For different cultural groups, local heritage breeds also have unique symbolic and culinary value.
While it’s well-known eating less meat would benefit ecosystems, animal welfare and human health, eating meat remains entrenched in our diets and the economy. Pursuing more sustainable and higher-welfare approaches to livestock production is crucial.
Some Aussie farmers love heritage breeds
A cohort of Australian farmers is working hard to conserve dozens of endangered livestock breeds such as Large Black pigs, Shropshire sheep and Belted Galloway cattle.
A rare Belted Galloway cow with a one week old calf.
Scott Carter, CC BY-NC-NDBut these farmers are hampered by our reluctance as consumers to pay more to cover the cost of raising slower-growing breeds in free-range environments. Not only that, but meat processors are increasingly closing their doors to small-scale producers.
Why persevere? For four years, I’ve conducted ethnographic research with Australia’s heritage breed farmers. I found they were motivated by one of the most powerful conservation tools we have: love.
Of his endangered English Leicester sheep, one farmer told me:
I consider them to be family; they have been our family for over 150 years. I talk to them, and the rams in particular talk to me. Sorry if I sound like a silly old man, but you must talk to them. I gave myself a 60th birthday present by commissioning a large portrait of an English Leicester head, which hangs in our kitchen (I do not have a painting of my wife).
Love doesn’t often feature in agricultural research. But it is an important force. We know from wildlife conservation that humans will act to save what they love. This holds for livestock, too.
What can you do? If you eat meat or work with wool, seek out rare breeds and join organisations such as the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance who back farmers supporting breed diversity.
Catie Gressier receives funding from the Australian Research Council’s Discovery Project scheme as well as the European Research Council. She is affiliated with the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.
– ref. Hundreds of livestock breeds have gone extinct – but some Australian farmers are keeping endangered breeds alive – https://theconversation.com/hundreds-of-livestock-breeds-have-gone-extinct-but-some-australian-farmers-are-keeping-endangered-breeds-alive-250393
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MIL-Evening Report: Luxon meets Modi: why a ‘good’ NZ-India trade deal is preferable to a ‘perfect’ one
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chris Ogden, Associate Professor in Global Studies, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Some have said Christopher Luxon’s pledge to get a free trade deal between New Zealand and India over the line in his first term as prime minister was overly optimistic. But not all trade deals are the same, and Luxon may yet get to claim bragging rights.
Already he is managing expectations, saying a “good” deal will be better than waiting a long time for a “perfect” one. And with formal negotiations confirmed not long after Luxon touched down in New Delhi, we can perhaps expect genuine movement.
At the same time, India’s negotiating style is notoriously rigid, with its bilateral investment treaty model having proved a stumbling block to deals with many other nations or blocs, including the United Kingdom and European Union.
New Zealand first held formal negotiations with India over a decade ago. But talks derailed in 2015 over the inclusion of dairy products in any agreement. We can be fairly sure this will be the compromise Luxon’s government is ready to make now.
One model might be Australia’s Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which leaves out dairy, too. And New Zealand was able to sign a free trade deal with China in 2008 that excluded diary, with those restrictions removed in a 2022 upgrade.
Beyond the economic implications, of course, lie domestic political calculations. Luxon needs a win to counter flatlining poll numbers and speculation about his leadership future. Good news in India offers just that.
Playing the Indo-Pacific card
Using diplomatic language that plays up New Zealand being part of the Indo-Pacific region – rather than the traditional Western alliance – will be essential.
New Zealand – despite its relatively small size – is still a significant regional player, with the Indo-Pacific’s fourth highest GDP per capita.
In the context of an imminent “Asian Century”, and the region becoming a crucial zone for economic and military power, New Zealand also provides a strategic pathway into the Pacific, where India is becoming increasingly involved.
All of this will influence Luxon’s keynote address today at the 10th Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship multilateral conference on global politics and economics. He is the first leader not governing a European country to make such a speech, and is also the chief guest at the dialogue.
Luxon is already on the record as saying New Zealand and India are “very aligned” on Indo-Pacific security and concerns over Chinese regional influence, with scope for more joint defence exercises. This linkage between security and trade mirrors Wellington’s recent relations with Beijing, which have become increasingly difficult to navigate.
Solid foundations
But there is a long way to go. In 2024, India-New Zealand trade was worth a combined NZ$3.14 billion – a fraction of the $208.46 billion generated by trade with China in the same year.
Nevertheless, Luxon and his ministers have made undeniable progress. His “recalibration of a relationship that has long been neglected” bore fruit in October last year when he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ASEAN summit, and the countries announced their intention to take the relationship to “greater heights”.
The previous Labour government helped set the scene with a succession of high-level diplomatic visits and parliamentary exchanges. In 2023, the Indian government described relations with New Zealand as having “an upward trajectory”.
And there are clearly good foundations to build on – especially the 292,000 people of Indian ethnicity in New Zealand, who contribute US$10 billion to the New Zealand economy.
Great expectations
Trade is ripe for expansion, too. New Zealand primarily exports wool, iron and steel, aluminium, fruits and nuts, wood pulp and recovered paper, and imports Indian pharmaceuticals, machinery, precious metals and stones, textiles, vehicles and clothing.
There’s potential to grow trade with India in tourism (especially attractive to India’s growing middle class), and collaboration on space technology, renewable energy and agritech.
There were 8,000 Indian students in New Zealand last year, a number that may well grow given a relative drop in student numbers from China. With the US and UK becoming more hostile to immigration, New Zealand can offer a relatively safe and tolerant alternative.
In many ways, India is the new China. In 2023, India’s GDP was US$14.54 trillion, making it the world’s fourth largest economy. New Delhi is on the cusp of becoming a great power, and is being courted by all countries, big and small.
As such, while Luxon has momentum on a trade deal, he is also part of a long queue. Given the relative power imbalance between the two countries, the weight of expectation sits squarely on his shoulders.
Chris Ogden is a Senior Research Fellow with The Foreign Policy Centre, London.
– ref. Luxon meets Modi: why a ‘good’ NZ-India trade deal is preferable to a ‘perfect’ one – https://theconversation.com/luxon-meets-modi-why-a-good-nz-india-trade-deal-is-preferable-to-a-perfect-one-252036
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MIL-Evening Report: Australia’s defence – navigating US-China tensions in changing world
SPECIAL REPORT: By Peter Cronau for Declassified Australia
Australia is caught in a jam, between an assertive American ally and a bold Chinese trading partner. America is accelerating its pivot to the Indo-Pacific, building up its fighting forces and expanding its military bases.
As Australia tries to navigate a pathway between America’s and Australia’s national interests, sometimes Australia’s national interest seems to submerge out of view.
Admiral David Johnston, the Chief of the Australia’s Defence Force, is steering this ship as China flexes its muscle sending a small warship flotilla south to circumnavigate the continent.
He has admitted that the first the Defence Force heard of a live-fire exercise by the three Chinese Navy ships sailing in the South Pacific east of Australia on February 21, was a phone call from the civilian Airservices Australia.
“The absence of any advance notice to Australian authorities was a concern, notably, that the limited notice provided by the PLA could have unnecessarily increased the risk to aircraft and vessels in the area,” Johnston told Senate Estimates .
Johnston was pressed to clarify how Defence first came to know of the live-fire drill: “Is it the case that Defence was only notified, via Virgin and Airservices Australia, 28 minutes [sic] after the firing window commenced?”
To this, Admiral Johnston replied: “Yes.”
If it happened as stated by the Admiral — that a live-fire exercise by the Chinese ships was undertaken and a warning notice was transmitted from the Chinese ships, all without being detected by Australian defence and surveillance assets — this is a defence failure of considerable significance.
Sources with knowledge of Defence spoken to by Declassified Australia say that this is either a failure of surveillance, or a failure of communication, or even more far-reaching, a failure of US alliance cooperation.
And from the very start the official facts became slippery.
Our latest investigation –
AUSTRALIA’S DEFENCE: NAVIGATING US-CHINA TENSIONS
We investigate a significant intelligence failure to detect live-firing by Chinese warships near Australia, has exposed Defence weaknesses, and the fact that when it counts, we are all alone.
— Declassified Australia (@DeclassifiedAus) March 7, 2025
What did they know and when did they know it
The first information passed on to Defence by Airservices Australia came from the pilot of a Virgin passenger jet passing overhead the flotilla in the Tasman Sea that had picked up the Chinese Navy VHF radio notification of an impending live-fire exercise.The radio transmission had advised the window for the live-fire drill commenced at 9.30am and would conclude at 3pm.
We know this from testimony given to Senate Estimates by the head of Airservices Australia. He said Airservices was notified at 9.58am by an aviation control tower informed by the Virgin pilot. Two minutes later Airservices issued a “hazard alert” to commercial airlines in the area.
The Headquarters of the Defence Force’s Joint Operations Command (HJOC), at Bungendore 30km east of Canberra, was then notified about the drill by Airservices at 10.08am, 38 minutes after the drill window had commenced.
When questioned a few days later, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appeared to try to cover for Defence’s apparent failure to detect the live-fire drill or the advisory transmission.
“At around the same time, there were two areas of notification. One was from the New Zealand vessels that were tailing . .. the [Chinese] vessels in the area by both sea and air,” Albanese stated. “So that occurred and at the same time through the channels that occur when something like this is occurring, Airservices got notified as well.”
But the New Zealand Defence Force had not notified Defence “at the same time”. In fact it was not until 11.01am that an alert was received by Defence from the New Zealand Defence Force — 53 minutes after Defence HQ was told by Airservices and an hour and a half after the drill window had begun.
The Chinese Navy’s stealth guided missile destroyer Zunyi, sailing south in the Coral Sea on February 15, 2025, in a photograph taken from a RAAF P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane. Image: Royal Australian Air Force/Declassified Australia Defence Minister Richard Marles later in a round-about way admitted on ABC Radio that it wasn’t the New Zealanders who informed Australia first: “Well, to be clear, we weren’t notified by China. I mean, we became aware of this during the course of the day.
“What China did was put out a notification that it was intending to engage in live firing. By that I mean a broadcast that was picked up by airlines or literally planes that were commercial planes that were flying across the Tasman.”
Later the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, told ABC that two live-fire training drills were carried out at sea on February 21 and 22, in accordance with international law and “after repeatedly issuing safety notices in advance”.
Eyes and ears on ‘every move’
It was expected the Chinese-navy flotilla would end its three week voyage around Australia on March 7, after a circumnavigation of the continent. That is not before finally passing at some distance the newly acquired US-UK nuclear submarine base at HMAS Stirling near Perth and the powerful US communications and surveillance base at North West Cape.Just as Australia spies on China to develop intelligence and targeting for a potential US war, China responds in kind, collecting data on US military and intelligence bases and facilities in Australia, as future targets should hostilities commence.
The presence of the Chinese Navy ships that headed into the northern and eastern seas around Australia attracted the attention of the Defence Department ever since they first set off south through the Mindoro Strait in the Philippines and through the Indonesian archipelago from the South China Sea on February 3.
“We are keeping a close watch on them and we will be making sure that we watch every move,” Marles stated in the week before the live-fire incident.
“Just as they have a right to be in international waters . . . we have a right to be prudent and to make sure that we are surveilling them, which is what we are doing.”
Around 3500 km to the north, a week into the Chinese ships’ voyage, a spy flight by an RAAF P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane on February 11, in a disputed area of the South China Sea south of China’s Hainan Island, was warned off by a Chinese J-16 fighter jet.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry responded to Australian protests claiming the Australian aircraft “deliberately intruded” into China’s claimed territorial airspace around the Paracel Islands without China’s permission, thereby “infringing on China’s sovereignty and endangering China’s national security”.
Australia criticised the Chinese manoeuvre, defending the Australian flight saying it was “exercising the right to freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace”.
Two days after the incident, the three Chinese ships on their way to Australian waters were taking different routes in beginning their own “right to freedom of navigation” in international waters off the Australian coast. The three ships formed up their mini flotilla in the Coral Sea as they turned south paralleling the Australian eastern coastline outside of territorial waters, and sometimes within Australia’s 200-nautical-mile (370 km) Exclusive Economic Zone.
“Defence always monitors foreign military activity in proximity to Australia. This includes the Peoples Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Task Group.” Admiral Johnston told Senate Estimates.
“We have been monitoring the movement of the Task Group through its transit through Southeast Asia and we have observed the Task Group as it has come south through that region.”
The Task Group was made up of a modern stealth guided missile destroyer Zunyi, the frigate Hengyang, and the Weishanhu, a 20,500 tonne supply ship carrying fuel, fresh water, cargo and ammunition. The Hengyang moved eastwards through the Torres Strait, while the Zunyi and Weishanhu passed south near Bougainville and Solomon Islands, meeting in the Coral Sea.
This map indicates the routes taken by the three Chinese Navy ships on their “right to freedom of navigation” voyage in international waters circumnavigating Australia, with dates of way points indicated — from 3 February till 6 March 2025. Distances and locations are approximate. Image: Weibo/Declassified Australia As the Chinese ships moved near northern Australia and through the Coral Sea heading further south, the Defence Department deployed Navy and Air Force assets to watch over the ships. These included various RAN warships including the frigate HMAS Arunta and a RAAF P-8A Poseidon intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance plane.
With unconfirmed reports a Chinese nuclear submarine may also be accompanying the surface ships, the monitoring may have also included one of the RAN’s Collins-class submarines, with their active range of sonar, radar and radio monitoring – however it is uncertain whether one was able to be made available from the fleet.
“From the point of time the first of the vessels entered into our more immediate region, we have been conducting active surveillance of their activities,” the Defence chief confirmed.
As the Chinese ships moved into the southern Tasman Sea, New Zealand navy ships joined in the monitoring alongside Australia’s Navy and Air Force.
The range of signals intelligence (SIGINT) that theoretically can be intercepted emanating from a naval ship at sea includes encrypted data and voice satellite communications, ship-to-ship communications, aerial drone data and communications, as well as data of radar, gunnery, and weapon launches.
There are a number of surveillance facilities in Australia that would have been able to be directed at the Chinese ships.
Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD) Shoal Bay Receiving Station outside of Darwin, picks up transmissions and data emanating from radio signals and satellite communications from Australia’s near north region. ASD’s Cocos Islands receiving station in the mid-Indian ocean would have been available too.
The Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN) over-the-horizon radar network, spread across northern Australia, is an early warning system that monitors aircraft and ship movements across Australia’s north-western, northern, and north-eastern ocean areas — but its range off the eastern coast is not thought to presently reach further south than the sea off Mackay on the Queensland coast.
Of land-based surveillance facilities, it is the American Pine Gap base that is believed to have the best capability of intercepting the ship’s radio communications in the Tasman Sea.
Enter, Pine Gap and the Americans
The US satellite surveillance base at Pine Gap in Central Australia is a US and Australian jointly-run satellite ground station. It is regarded as the most important such American satellite base outside of the USA.The spy base – Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (JDFPG) – showing the north-eastern corner of the huge base with some 18 of the base’s now 45 satellite dishes and covered radomes visible. Image: Felicity Ruby/Declassified Australia The role of ASD in supporting the extensive US surveillance mission against China is increasingly valued by Australia’s large Five Eyes alliance partner.
A Top Secret ‘Information Paper’, titled “NSA Intelligence Relationship with Australia”, leaked from the National Security Agency (NSA) by Edward Snowden and published by ABC’s Background Briefing, spells out the “close collaboration” between the NSA and ASD, in particular on China:
“Increased emphasis on China will not only help ensure the security of Australia, but also synergize with the U.S. in its renewed emphasis on Asia and the Pacific . . . Australia’s overall intelligence effort on China, as a target, is already significant and will increase.”
The Pine Gap base, as further revealed in 2023 by Declassified Australia, is being used to collect signals intelligence and other data from the Israeli battlefield of Gaza, and also Ukraine and other global hotspots within view of the US spy satellites.
It’s recently had a significant expansion (reported by this author in The Saturday Paper) which has seen its total of satellite dishes and radomes rapidly increase in just a few years from 35 to 45 to accommodate new heightened-capability surveillance satellites.
Pine Gap base collects an enormous range and quantity of intelligence and data from thermal imaging satellites, photographic reconnaissance satellites, and signals intelligence (SIGINT) satellites, as expert researchers Des Ball, Bill Robinson and Richard Tanter of the Nautilus Institute have detailed.
These SIGINT satellites intercept electronic communications and signals from ground-based sources, such as radio communications, telemetry, radar signals, satellite communications, microwave emissions, mobile phone signals, and geolocation data.
Alliance priorities
The US’s SIGINT satellites have a capability to detect and receive signals from VHF radio transmissions on or near the earth’s surface, but they need to be tasked to do so and appropriately targeted on the source of the transmission.For the Pine Gap base to intercept VHF radio signals from the Chinese Navy ships, the base would have needed to specifically realign one of those SIGINT satellites to provide coverage of the VHF signals in the Tasman Sea at the time of the Chinese ships’ passage. It is not known publicly if they did this, but they certainly have that capability.
However, it is not only the VHF radio transmission that would have carried information about the live-firing exercise.
Pine Gap would be able to monitor a range of other SIGINT transmissions from the Chinese ships. Details of the planning and preparations for the live-firing exercise would almost certainly have been transmitted over data and voice satellite communications, ship-to-ship communications, and even in the data of radar and gunnery operations.
But it is here that there is another possibility for the failure.
The Pine Gap base was built and exists to serve the national interests of the United States. The tasking of the surveillance satellites in range of Pine Gap base is generally not set by Australia, but is directed by United States’ agencies, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) together with the US Defense Department, the National Security Agency (NSA), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Australia has learnt over time that US priorities may not be the same as Australia’s.
Australian defence and intelligence services can request surveillance tasks to be added to the schedule, and would have been expected to have done so in order to target the southern leg of the Chinese Navy ships’ voyage, when the ships were out of the range of the JORN network.
The military demands for satellite time can be excessive in times of heightened global conflict, as is the case now.
Whether the Pine Gap base was devoting sufficient surveillance resources to monitoring the Chinese Navy ships, due to United States’ priorities in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, North Korea, and to our north in the South China Sea, is a relevant question.
It can only be answered now by a formal government inquiry into what went on — preferably held in public by a parliamentary committee or separately commissioned inquiry. The sovereign defence of Australia failed in this incident and lessons need to be learned.
Who knew and when did they know
If the Pine Gap base had been monitoring the VHF radio band and heard the Chinese Navy live-fire alert, or had been monitoring other SIGINT transmissions to discover the live-fire drill, the normal procedure would be for the active surveillance team to inform a number of levels of senior officers, a former Defence official familiar with the process told Declassified Australia.Inside an operations room at the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) head office at the Defence complex at Russell Hill in Canberra. Image: ADF/Declassified Australia Expected to be included in the information chain are the Australian Deputy-Chief of Facility at the US base, NSA liaison staff at the base, the Australian Signals Directorate head office at the Defence complex at Russell Hill in Canberra, the Defence Force’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command, in Bungendore, and the Chief of the Defence Force. From there the Defence Minister’s office would need to have been informed.
As has been reported in media interviews and in testimony to the Senate Estimates hearings, it has been stated that Defence was not informed of the Chinese ships’ live-firing alert until a full 38 minutes after the drill window had commenced.
The former Defence official told Declassified Australia it is vital the reason for the failure to detect the live-firing in a timely fashion is ascertained.
Either the Australian Defence Force and US Pine Gap base were not effectively actively monitoring the Chinese flotilla at this time — and the reasons for that need to be examined — or they were, but the information gathered was somewhere stalled and not passed on to correct channels.
If the evidence so far tendered by the Defence chief and the Minister is true, and it was not informed of the drill by any of its intelligence or surveillance assets before that phone call from Airservices Australia, the implications need to be seriously addressed.
A final word
In just a couple of weeks the whole Defence environment for Australia has changed, for the worse.The US military announces a drawdown in Europe and a new pivot to the Indo-Pacific. China shows Australia it can do tit-for-tat “navigational freedom” voyages close to the Australian coast. US intelligence support is withdrawn from Ukraine during the war. Australia discovers the AUKUS submarines’ arrival looks even more remote. The prime minister confuses the limited cover provided by the ANZUS treaty.
Meanwhile, the US militarisation of Australia’s north continues at pace. At the same time a senior Pentagon official pressures Australia to massively increase defence spending. And now, the country’s defence intelligence system has experienced an unexplained major failure.
Australia, it seems, is adrift in a sea of unpredictable global events and changing alliance priorities.
Peter Cronau is an award-winning, investigative journalist, writer, and film-maker. His documentary, The Base: Pine Gap’s Role in US Warfighting, was broadcast on Australian ABC Radio National and featured on ABC News. He produced and directed the documentary film Drawing the Line, revealing details of Australian spying in East Timor, on ABC TV’s premier investigative programme Four Corners. He won the Gold Walkley Award in 2007 for a report he produced on an outbreak of political violence in East Timor. This article was first published by Declassified Australia and is republished here with the author’s permission.
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MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s English language order upends America’s long multilingual history
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Mark Turin, Associate professor, Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia
Across its nearly 250-year history, the United States has never had an official language. On March 1, U.S. President Donald Trump changed that when he signed an executive order designating English as the country’s sole official language. The order marks a fundamental rupture from the American goverment’s long-standing approach to languages.
“From the founding of our Republic, English has been used as our national language,” Trump’s order states. “It is in America’s best interest for the federal government to designate one — and only one — official language.”
This new order also revokes a language-access provision contained in an earlier executive order from 2000 that aimed to improve access to services for people with limited English. Federal agencies now seem to have no obligation to provide vital information in other languages.
Despite some reactions in the New York Times, Washington Post and elsewhere, it remains unclear whether Trump’s executive order will face legal or political challenges. Amid continual attacks from the Trump administration on established norms, this decree may pass with relatively little resistance, despite a deeper meaning that extends far beyond language.
Multilingual realities and monolingual fantasies
The U.S. has a long multilingual history, beginning with the hundreds of Indigenous languages indelibly linked to these lands. The secondary layer are colonial languages and their variants, including French in Louisiana and Spanish in the Southwest. In all historical periods, immigrant languages from around the world have added substantially to the linguistic mix that makes up the U.S.
Today, New York is one of world’s most linguistically diverse cities, with other U.S. coastal cities not far behind. According to data from the Census Bureau, one-fifth of all Americans can speak two or more languages. The social, economic and cognitive benefits of bilingualism are well-established, and there is no data to support the assertion that speaking more than one language threatens the integrity of the nation state.
A building in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, which hosts speakers of diverse South Asian languages and their associations, April 17, 2017.
(Ross Perlin)English has long functioned as a pragmatic lingua franca for the U.S. Yet an American tendency towards ideological monolingualism is gathering momentum.
The emergence of Spanish as the nation’s second language, with well over 40 million speakers, has generated a particular anxiety. During the last few decades, more than 30 American states have enshrined English as an official language.
Linguistic insecurity
The March 1 executive order is a crowning achievement for the “English-only movement.” Trump has tapped directly into this sentiment and its xenophobic preoccupations, rooted in white fragility and white supremacy.
In 2015, during his first bid for the Oval Office, Trump reprimanded Jeb Bush, the bilingual former governor of Florida, during a televised debate, stating: “This is a country where we speak English, not Spanish.”
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February 2024, Trump gave voice to his own linguistic insecurity:
“We have languages coming into our country. We don’t have one instructor in our entire nation that can speak that language…These are languages — it’s the craziest thing — they have languages that nobody in this country has ever heard of. It’s a very horrible thing.”
Beyond the brazen untruths and intentional exaggerations, such statements only reflect weakness and fear. The March 1 executive order states that “a nationally designated language is at the core of a unified and cohesive society.”
It is in fact a sign of strength that Americans have not needed such a mandate until now, effectively navigating their complex multilingual reality without top-down legislation.
English around the world
It’s instructive to compare the language policy of the U.S. with other settler colonial contexts where English is dominant.
In neighbouring Canada, the 1969 Official Languages Act grants equal status to English and French — two languages that were brought European migrants — and requires all federal institutions to provide services in both languages on request. Revealingly, only 50 years later did Canada finally pass an Indigenous Languages Act granting modest recognition to the original languages of the land.
While Australia’s constitution specifies no official language, the government promotes English as the “national language,” and then offers to translate some web pages into other languages.
Navigating the distinction between de facto and de jure, New Zealand has taken a more considered approach. Recognizing that English is unthreatened and secure, even without legal backing, New Zealand legislators have focused their attention elsewhere. Te reo Māori was granted official language status in 1987, followed by New Zealand Sign Language in 2006.
Even the colonial centre and origin point for the global spread of English, the United Kingdom assumes a nuanced position on language policy. Welsh and Irish have both received some official recognition, while in Scotland, the Bòrd na Gàidhlig continues to advocate for official recognition of Gaelic.
Principle and practice
Trump’s recent executive order is both practical and symbolic.
Practically, it remains unclear what the order means for Spanish in Puerto Rico, the Indigenous languages of Hawaii and Alaska — which have received official recognition — for American Sign Language and for all the multilingual communities that make up the nation.
Language access can be a matter of life or death.
Interpretation in courts, hospitals and schools is a fundamental human right. No one should be barred from accessing vital services simply because they don’t speak English, whether that’s when dealing with a judge, a doctor or a teacher. The consequences of government agencies abandoning their already limited efforts at translation and interpretation could have huge ramifications.
Symbolically, Trump’s order is red meat for his MAGA followers. Associating national integrity with the promotion of one language above others might seem to reflect American exceptionalism, but it in fact destroys the cultural and linguistic diversity that makes the U.S. exceptional.
Ironically, this executive order brings the U.S. into alignment with most of the world’s other nation-states — albeit not the ones that speak English as their first language — which seek to impose the standardized language of an ethnic majority on all of their citizens. The consequences can be both polarizing and homogenizing.
Most of the world’s people are resolutely multilingual and are only becoming more so. Americans will not stop speaking, writing and signing in languages other than English because of an executive order. The linguistic dynamism of the U.S. is essential to the country’s social fabric. It should be nurtured and defended.
Mark Turin receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Tokyo College, the University of Tokyo.
Ross Perlin has received funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
– ref. Trump’s English language order upends America’s long multilingual history – https://theconversation.com/trumps-english-language-order-upends-americas-long-multilingual-history-252163
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MIL-OSI Global: Donald Trump thinks some accents are ‘beautiful,’ but what makes them so?
Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Nicole Rosen, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Language Interactions, University of Manitoba
United States President Donald Trump has recently been commenting on accents while meeting foreign leaders and taking questions from foreign journalists. Trump praised British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s “beautiful” accent, saying he would have been president 20 years ago if he’d had that accent.
He didn’t answer an Afghan journalist’s question, saying her accent was “beautiful” but that he didn’t understand it, and he completely dismissed the question of a journalist from India during a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he didn’t understand his accent before abruptly moving on.
What is a “beautiful” accent, and what makes one hard to understand? There is much evidence showing that opinions on language are not based in any objective standards of beauty or aesthetics, but rather on our attitudes about the people speaking them.
Accent attitudes reflect our biases
Consider long-standing attitudes regarding the southern American accent. Some might automatically assess an accent from Tennessee or Kentucky as sounding less smart than one from Michigan or California. However, there is no scientific relationship between accent and intelligence; these stereotypes are learned behaviour.
Research shows young children of about five or six, for example, do not discriminate between U.S. northern and southern accents. As they get older, they start to develop the same attitudes of the adults around them, and by age 10 they start to find that northern-accented speakers sound “smarter” and more “in charge” than southern-accented speakers.
Many negative stereotypes about accents and the people who have them are often based in racism or classism. Take, for example, the following quote from American writer Edward Larocque Tinker’s 1935 essay on “Gombo,” the dialect of French spoken by the Black population in Louisiana:
“French, which had taken centuries to develop into a most subtle intricate form — the height of sophistication — was far too complex for these simple savages to learn. So they did their poor, primitive best and contrived a queer, simplified ‘pidgin’ French dialect of their own.”
It is quite clear this judgment is not based in scientific fact, but rather on racist attitudes toward Black people. Today, language attitudes may be more subtle in their racism or classism, but they persist, using our biases about a group of people to affect how we feel about their way of speaking.
How people judge accents
Studies show that speakers tend to rate their own dialects as very pleasant. Research also shows that when people are unfamiliar with accents, they tend to not discriminate between them. In other words, when unfamiliar listeners have no knowledge about an accent or its place of origin, they rate accents equally.
When speakers are familiar with an accent or dialect, however, they use their social knowledge to make judgments about the esthetics, determining which is more pleasing than another. This means that it’s not always the actual phonetic aspects of the language that drive our preferences, but rather social knowledge about the people who speak with that accent that we are assessing.
In terms of foreign accents in particular, our native language shapes the way we categorize the sounds of other languages. When languages have unfamiliar sounds, our brains need a little more time to process the correspondences between the foreign accent and our own so we can accurately categorize the sounds in the foreign-accented speech. Understanding different accents is a skill that develops over time, and greater exposure to speakers with a particular accent helps us understand that accent more easily.
Processing accents is more demanding for the brain. For example, in a noisy room, our brains might have to work more than usual to separate out the sounds in order to hear. On the telephone or when the speaker is wearing a mask, the listener doesn’t have access to cues such as lip movements. Older adults with hearing loss also have a harder time understanding foreign accents, as do people with dementia.
The attitude we have about foreign accents is affected by our social knowledge of a person, their accent and where they come from. Having more frequent and positive associations with people from a particular region will make us more likely to find the accent pleasing and worth deciphering. Our ability to understand reflects the cognitive load that our brain is put through in order to categorize the different sounds that we are hearing.
Putting these two together, it is easy to see how the historical prestige associated with European accents, as well as the political power of leaders like Emmanuel Macron of France, Starmer from the United Kingdom or Modi of India would be reflected in Trump’s positive attitude towards them.
Similarly, he might consider a foreign journalist’s position on the world stage to be far less worth doing the cognitive work necessary to understand them.
Fundamentally, there is no objective criteria for determining the “beauty” of someone’s accent. Our attitudes towards particular accents are often much more rooted in our biases and how we see others in our world.
Nicole Rosen 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. Donald Trump thinks some accents are ‘beautiful,’ but what makes them so? – https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-thinks-some-accents-are-beautiful-but-what-makes-them-so-251458
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MIL-OSI New Zealand: NZ & India launch Comprehensive FTA negotiations
Source: New Zealand Government
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay today announced New Zealand and India have formally launched negotiations on a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.
Mr McClay held extensive discussions with his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal in New Delhi today, where they agreed to launch negotiations.
“This announcement is a major breakthrough in the economic relationship between India and New Zealand,” Christopher Luxon says.
“When we came into Government 16 months ago, we made it clear that closer economic ties with India was a key priority.
“Currently the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a population of 1.4 billion people, India holds significant potential for New Zealand and will play a pivotal role in doubling New Zealand’s exports by value over the next ten years.
“This announcement comes off the back of a major lift in political engagement with India. Todd McCay has visited five times and had eight meetings with his Indian counterpart. Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has also visited, and I had a highly productive meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.
A Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement is only one part of the Government’s commitment to stepping up all facets of the New Zealand-India relationship.
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay says alongside trade agreement negotiations, New Zealand will continue to invest in stronger, deeper, more sustainable connections with India across all pillars of the relationship, including our political, defence and security, sporting, environmental, and people-to-people connections.
“One in four Kiwi jobs rely on trade and last year our export revenue added $100 billion to the economy. Strong agreements and relationships like this ensure every New Zealander has good job opportunities, higher wages and access to world-class public services,” Mr McClay says.
Negotiations will start next month.
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MIL-OSI Africa: The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sandiso Mnguni, Honorary Research Associate, University of the Witwatersrand
Thrips are tiny insects – their sizes range between 0.5mm and 15mm in length and many are shorter than 5mm. But the damage they cause to crops is anything but small. A 2021 research paper found that in Indonesia “the damage to red chilli plants caused by thrips infestation ranges now from 20% to 80%”. In India, various thrips infestations in the late 2010s and early 2020s “damaged 40%-85% of chilli pepper crops in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”.
In Africa, a number of thrips species feed on sugarcane and have been known to damage nearly 30% of the crop in a single hectare of a farm. High rates of destruction have been recorded in Tanzania and Uganda on onion and tomato crops.
Now it’s emerged that thrips are hardly new to the African continent and the southern hemisphere more broadly. South Africa’s first and only Black palaeoentomologist, Sandiso Mnguni, who studies fossil insects, recently described a fossil thrips from Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana that’s more than 90 million years old. He discussed his unique fossil find with The Conversation Africa.
What are thrips and how do they cause damage?
Thrips, also known as thunderflies, thunderbugs or thunderblights, are small, slender and fragile insects. They can be identified by their typically narrow, strap-like, fringed and feathery wings. Over time, they have also evolved distinctive asymmetrical rasping-sucking mouthparts consisting of a labrum, labium, maxillary stylets and left mandible. Most species use these to feed primarily on fungi. Some feed on plants and eat the tender parts of certain crops like sugarcane, tomatoes, pepper, onions, avocado, legumes and citrus fruits, focusing on the buds, flowers and young leaves.
This, along with their habit of accidentally distributing fungal spores while feeding or hunting, makes them destructive crop pests. They tend to feed as a group in large numbers, causing distinctive silver or bronze scarring on the surfaces of stems or leaves.
However, not all thrips are harmful. A small fraction of the 6,500 species that have already been described so far are pollinators of flowering plants; and a handful are predators or natural enemies of moths and other smaller animals such as mites.
Larva, pupa and adult Weeping fig thrips (Gynaikothrips uzeli) fcafotodigital Tell us about the fossil thrips you’ve discovered
This is the first time that a fossil thrips has been recorded anywhere in Africa – or the entire southern hemisphere.
The Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana is one of the most important fossil deposits on the continent. It’s about 90 million years old, dating back to the Cretaceous period.
Read more: Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past
The deposit is situated 960 metres above sea level in the Kalahari Desert, about 250km due west of Francistown in Botswana, and 824km away from Johannesburg in South Africa. It was first discovered in 1967 and started producing carat diamonds in 1971.
Roughly 90 million years go, steam and gas caused a double eruption of diamondiferous kimberlites. These are vertical, deep-source volcanic pipes that form when magma rapidly rises from the Earth’s mantle, carrying diamonds and other minerals up to the surface. They create a distinctive rock formation that gets studied by geologists. This explosive volcanic eruption formed a deep crater lake at the centre of the mine.
Mining excavations during the 1980s and earlier uncovered and exposed fine-grained sedimentary rocks containing well preserved fossil plants and insects. These have already been studied by many researchers in the past. At the time, geology and palaeontology researchers from what was then the Bernard Price Institute, which has since been renamed the Evolutionary Studies Institute, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, were invited to collect the fossil material.
Although some of the material has been studied in the past, the fossil thrips hadn’t yet been put under the microscope. And that’s just what we did. By using its body characteristics and comparing it to living thrips, we can say for sure that it’s a thrips. But we didn’t give it a formal scientific name because it doesn’t have enough characteristics to classify it at the species level and describe it either as a new species or one that still exists today.
We think that the thrips either flew into the palaeolake that was formed by the volcanic eruption or was transported there through grass from a bird’s nest.
Why is this useful to know?
This discovery sheds light on the biodiversity and biogeography of thrips and many other groups of insects during a time when we know flowering plants that heavily relied on insect pollination were rapidly diversifying. This plant-insect reciprocal interaction goes back to the Devonian period, a time when there was a large super-continent called Gondwana. That’s when the first land plants evolved and dominated the Earth, and inadvertently led to many groups of insects, including thrips, diversifying to keep up with drastic changes in their preferred plant diets and habitats due to the dramatic environmental and climatic changes.
Read more: Fossil insects help to reconstruct the past: how I ended up studying them (and you can too)
The fossil find also contributes to a more accurate documentation of life on Earth during the Cretaceous and helps scientists in reconstructing the past environment and climate in Botswana.
Hopefully there are more fossil insects waiting to be discovered in Botswana and elsewhere in Africa, to keep improving our picture of this long-ago world, and preserve the heritage of our continent.
– The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago
– https://theconversation.com/the-first-fossil-thrips-in-africa-this-tiny-insect-pest-met-its-end-in-a-volcanic-lake-90-million-years-ago-249077 -
MIL-OSI Global: The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago
Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Sandiso Mnguni, Honorary Research Associate, University of the Witwatersrand
The fossil thrips discovered in the Orapa Diamond Mine. Dr Sandiso Mnguni, CC BY-NC-ND Thrips are tiny insects – their sizes range between 0.5mm and 15mm in length and many are shorter than 5mm. But the damage they cause to crops is anything but small. A 2021 research paper found that in Indonesia “the damage to red chilli plants caused by thrips infestation ranges now from 20% to 80%”. In India, various thrips infestations in the late 2010s and early 2020s “damaged 40%-85% of chilli pepper crops in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana”.
In Africa, a number of thrips species feed on sugarcane and have been known to damage nearly 30% of the crop in a single hectare of a farm. High rates of destruction have been recorded in Tanzania and Uganda on onion and tomato crops.
Now it’s emerged that thrips are hardly new to the African continent and the southern hemisphere more broadly. South Africa’s first and only Black palaeoentomologist, Sandiso Mnguni, who studies fossil insects, recently described a fossil thrips from Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana that’s more than 90 million years old. He discussed his unique fossil find with The Conversation Africa.
What are thrips and how do they cause damage?
Thrips, also known as thunderflies, thunderbugs or thunderblights, are small, slender and fragile insects. They can be identified by their typically narrow, strap-like, fringed and feathery wings. Over time, they have also evolved distinctive asymmetrical rasping-sucking mouthparts consisting of a labrum, labium, maxillary stylets and left mandible. Most species use these to feed primarily on fungi. Some feed on plants and eat the tender parts of certain crops like sugarcane, tomatoes, pepper, onions, avocado, legumes and citrus fruits, focusing on the buds, flowers and young leaves.
This, along with their habit of accidentally distributing fungal spores while feeding or hunting, makes them destructive crop pests. They tend to feed as a group in large numbers, causing distinctive silver or bronze scarring on the surfaces of stems or leaves.
However, not all thrips are harmful. A small fraction of the 6,500 species that have already been described so far are pollinators of flowering plants; and a handful are predators or natural enemies of moths and other smaller animals such as mites.
Larva, pupa and adult Weeping fig thrips (Gynaikothrips uzeli)
fcafotodigitalTell us about the fossil thrips you’ve discovered
This is the first time that a fossil thrips has been recorded anywhere in Africa – or the entire southern hemisphere.
The Orapa Diamond Mine in Botswana is one of the most important fossil deposits on the continent. It’s about 90 million years old, dating back to the Cretaceous period.
Read more:
Fossil beetles found in a Botswana diamond mine help us to reconstruct the distant past
The deposit is situated 960 metres above sea level in the Kalahari Desert, about 250km due west of Francistown in Botswana, and 824km away from Johannesburg in South Africa. It was first discovered in 1967 and started producing carat diamonds in 1971.
Roughly 90 million years go, steam and gas caused a double eruption of diamondiferous kimberlites. These are vertical, deep-source volcanic pipes that form when magma rapidly rises from the Earth’s mantle, carrying diamonds and other minerals up to the surface. They create a distinctive rock formation that gets studied by geologists. This explosive volcanic eruption formed a deep crater lake at the centre of the mine.
Mining excavations during the 1980s and earlier uncovered and exposed fine-grained sedimentary rocks containing well preserved fossil plants and insects. These have already been studied by many researchers in the past. At the time, geology and palaeontology researchers from what was then the Bernard Price Institute, which has since been renamed the Evolutionary Studies Institute, at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, were invited to collect the fossil material.
Although some of the material has been studied in the past, the fossil thrips hadn’t yet been put under the microscope. And that’s just what we did. By using its body characteristics and comparing it to living thrips, we can say for sure that it’s a thrips. But we didn’t give it a formal scientific name because it doesn’t have enough characteristics to classify it at the species level and describe it either as a new species or one that still exists today.
We think that the thrips either flew into the palaeolake that was formed by the volcanic eruption or was transported there through grass from a bird’s nest.
Why is this useful to know?
This discovery sheds light on the biodiversity and biogeography of thrips and many other groups of insects during a time when we know flowering plants that heavily relied on insect pollination were rapidly diversifying. This plant-insect reciprocal interaction goes back to the Devonian period, a time when there was a large super-continent called Gondwana. That’s when the first land plants evolved and dominated the Earth, and inadvertently led to many groups of insects, including thrips, diversifying to keep up with drastic changes in their preferred plant diets and habitats due to the dramatic environmental and climatic changes.
Read more:
Fossil insects help to reconstruct the past: how I ended up studying them (and you can too)
The fossil find also contributes to a more accurate documentation of life on Earth during the Cretaceous and helps scientists in reconstructing the past environment and climate in Botswana.
Hopefully there are more fossil insects waiting to be discovered in Botswana and elsewhere in Africa, to keep improving our picture of this long-ago world, and preserve the heritage of our continent.
Sandiso Mnguni receives funding from the GENUS: DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences (Grant 86073). He is affiliated with the Agricultural Research Council Plant Health and Protection (ARC-PHP) and the Sophumelela Youth Development Programme (SYDP).
– ref. The first fossil thrips in Africa: this tiny insect pest met its end in a volcanic lake 90 million years ago – https://theconversation.com/the-first-fossil-thrips-in-africa-this-tiny-insect-pest-met-its-end-in-a-volcanic-lake-90-million-years-ago-249077
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MIL-OSI Australia: Television interview – Sunday Agenda, Sky News
Source: Minister for Trade
Andrew Clennell: The Trade Minister, Don Farrell, joins me now from Adelaide. Don Farrell, thanks for your time. You’re due to talk to the US Trade Ambassador tomorrow.
Minister for Trade: Pleased to be with you.
Andrew Clennell: And you spoke at two o’clock Friday morning to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. How did your chat with Mr Lutnick go and what are you hoping to achieve with Mr Greer?
Minister for Trade: Look, Andrew, I did speak with Commerce Secretary Lutnick. That’s the second contact we’ve had with one another since he just recently was appointed to that position. I obviously expressed my disappointment that we had not been able to reach an agreement over the suspension of tariffs on steel and aluminium. But I did say that there’s obviously a further review, and you’ve talked about some of the issues that potentially arise, that the U.S. Government is undertaking by the early part of April. I indicated to him that we want to continue to talk with them. I find that discussion is the best way to resolve these issues. Not retaliatory tariffs, but discussion. What we need to do, Andrew, is find out what it is that the Americans want in terms of this relationship between Australia and the United States and then make President Trump an offer he can’t refuse.
Andrew Clennell: And did Howard Lutnick give you any indication of what they might be after? Because obviously you offered them some form of critical minerals deal. Did he give any, any ray of light you had a chance? I mean, I think you’ve said that President Trump allowed Australia or the Prime Minister to believe there was a chance when there wasn’t. Has he given you any suggestion there’s a chance, or was he holding the line and saying, look, this is our America First policy, that’s it.
Minister for Trade: Look, it wasn’t a pessimistic conversation, I’m pleased to say, Andrew. but look, he gave, you know, no assurances about what might happen in the next round of negotiations. Our job is to sit down and continue to talk. I think the important thing here to understand, Andrew, is that when President Trump, in his first iteration, gave Australia an exemption to Prime Minister Turnbull, it was one of over 30 exemptions that the United States gave to a range of countries around the world. So, more than 30 countries, including most of our competitors in the American market, were able to get an exemption. On this occasion, not one country, not one country got an exemption on either steel or aluminium. Now, that’s obviously, we think that’s bad news. We think it’s bad news, obviously, for the companies that trade in Australia with the United States. It’s also bad news for the Americans because what that has done is simply pushed up the price of steel and aluminium in the US market and that has to have an impact both on, on inflation and on jobs. So, part of my job is to continue to put the arguments to the Americans that in fact, this is the wrong policy to adopt. We should actually be doing the opposite. We should be making more free trade, more fair trade, rather than less trade.
And of course, one of the things that we’ve done in government is diversify our trading relationship. So, we have new agreements with the United Kingdom, we’ve got new agreements with India. I think we’re just about to get another offer from the Indians to even expand our trading relationship with India. We’ve signed a new agreement with the United Arab Emirates. This is like dealing with the Woolies warehouse of the Middle East. If you can get your products into the United Arab Emirates, then you can get it all around the Middle East. On Tuesday night, I spoke with my Korean counterpart, Mr. Ahn, and we’ve got identical problems with the United States. Of course, they sell a lot more steel into the United States than we do. But we are talking about how we can expand our relationship with Korea so that we can sell more product into Korea.
So, it’s a two-pronged approach. Andrew, we are continuing the discussions with the United States. We’ll continue to discuss. We’re not going down the track of some countries in applying retaliatory tariffs. I don’t think that will work, it hasn’t worked for any other country, why would it work for us? We want to explain our position and we want to get those exemptions for Australian companies because it’s good for prosperity in the United States, but it’s also good for prosperity in Australia.
Andrew Clennell: Well, I think you’ve got Buckley’s chance of arguing free and fair trade to the Trump administration, to be frank Minister, but what’s the worst-case scenario here? What’s the worst-case scenario? $30 billion, our exports to the U.S. Could we lose it all?
Minister for Trade: Look, I don’t believe so, Andrew. And just on that first point you made, Buckley’s chance. When I came to this job three years ago, we had $20 billion worth of trade bans in China. People told me, look, you will never, never, ever get that trade back. At the end of last year, the last of the products that had been subject to those trade impediments, namely crayfish, we got back into China. And since then, in the first month of that new trade, we got $188 million of crayfish sold into China. You can reverse these decisions, Andrew, so, don’t give up on us just yet. You can get countries to realise. You can get countries if you keep talking to them and you keep making your arguments, which is exactly what I intend to do. If you keep making your arguments, you can in fact convince countries that the policies that they are adopting are in fact counterproductive, just as they were with China.
Andrew Clennell: Okay, but what’s the worst-case scenario? What’s the worst-case scenario here?
Minister for Trade: Look, I wish I could tell you exactly what the American Government is finally going to do. To be honest with you, I suspect they don’t even know themselves right now. They’re conducting this review. They’re conducting the review in respect of every single trade agreement they have. It’s not just Australia, it’s every country. And my job in the discussions that go on in this coming week and in the weeks ahead is to get the best result for Australian producers, and that’s what I intend to do. And it’ll only be by reaching out, by having discussions, by putting our point of view that we’re going to get an acceptable outcome here.
Andrew Clennell: In any of these discussions, do you talk about the prospect of a phone call between Prime Minister Albanese and President Trump?
Minister for Trade: Oh, that’s way above my pay grade, I’m afraid, Andrew.
Andrew Clennell: Is it though? Kevin Rudd asks.
Minister for Trade: Well, he’s the ambassador, of course he asks, and that’s the job of the ambassador to do that representation on behalf of the Australian Prime Minister.
Andrew Clennell: How many times has he asked, do you know?
Minister for Trade: No, I don’t know the answer to that question, Andrew. But you know, we were amongst the first countries to ring President Trump when he was elected and congratulated him. The Prime Minister did that. And we of course got a second phone call with him to express our concerns about the direction that he was taking in respect of tariffs.
To the best of my knowledge, we were the only country in the world where he said, I’m going to give some consideration to not applying these tariffs to you. Now, I know we didn’t get the exemption in the end, but we were the only country that at least got him to say, look, we’re going to give some consideration to this. Ultimately, the consideration was that they would not do it.
As I’ve said on Sky previously, the people around President Trump, particularly Mr. Navarro, I think, were determined that they weren’t going to go down the track that they went down last time. So, I mentioned before over 30 countries got exemptions for steel and aluminium. They were determined, the people around President Trump were determined not to go down that track again. They were going to apply the tariffs, the 25 per cent tariffs, and no country was going to get an exemption. But look, we will continue to talk. As I said, I’ve spoken to Commerce Secretary Lutnick on Friday morning, tomorrow US time, so, Tuesday morning, I think 7:30, I’m going to have my conversation with Jamieson Greer. We’re going to work out firstly what it is that the Americans want out of this arrangement, because it’s still not clear to me what it is that they are seeking. But once we find that out, we’ll work through this issue and we’ll work through it in Australia’s national interest.
Andrew Clennell: Why haven’t you been to the US, yourself?
Minister for Trade: Look, can I say this, Andrew, modern communications these days, a telephone call, a video conference, which is what I’ll be doing with Jamieson Greer, Ambassador Greer, on Tuesday, we’re getting our message across. After that first conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Albanese, we embarked on a course of action which was determined in consultation with the officials in the United States about how best to progress our concerns about the introduction or the reintroduction of tariffs. We followed that. We followed that course of action and we followed it until last Wednesday when it became clear that the Americans were not going to give us an exemption. So, we had a plan. We had a plan for how we deal with this issue. We were hopeful, certainly based on early discussions, that we would get a successful result here. In the event that that didn’t happen. But we’re not giving up. We’re continuing the talks. And in fact, in lots of ways, the talks will be beefed up in the weeks and the months ahead as we try and resolve all of these issues, but these are not easy issues, Andrew.
Andrew Clennell: No, they’re not. But Peter Dutton says you haven’t got the relationships. He’s pointed the finger at Kevin Rudd. The suggestion is Albanese, the Prime Minister, was seen as too close to Joe Biden. Penny Wong found out from the media that this had occurred. What do you say to all that? I mean, his contention as we go into an election campaign is their government would have better luck with the US Administration. What do you say to that?
Minister for Trade: Look, Peter Dutton couldn’t go two rounds with a revolving door Andrew. What happened? When we came to government, there were $20 billion worth of tariffs and trade impediments with the Chinese. If Peter Dutton’s so good at building relationships and solving problems, they didn’t get a cent, they didn’t get a cent or a single tariff removed in that previous three years in government. We got the best result or the best response of any country in the world. We got a consideration by the President to review these tariffs. Now ok, it didn’t ultimately result in us getting the tariffs removed and we accept that. We accept that situation. I’d ask your listeners, who do you think is going to be better to negotiate with the United States? Somebody with a proven record of getting results or somebody, when they had the opportunity to get some results, did nothing. Did nothing. They did nothing.
Andrew Clennell: What would a tariff do to the beef industry?
Minister for Trade: It would certainly have a clearly a negative impact. The United States I think is, if it’s not the largest export market for our beef industry, it would have a significant impact. We are expanding our beef exports, our beef exports right now thanks to the Albanese Labor Government, are the best that they’ve ever been. We’re exporting more beef than we ever have. The significance, of course to the United States about our beef exports is that most of it goes into McDonald’s hamburgers. And if you push up the price of those beef exports by 25 per cent or 10 per cent or whatever the figure is, then you simply push up the price of hamburgers in the United States. It doesn’t make any sense, Andrew. It doesn’t make any sense at all.
Andrew Clennell: Sure.
Minister for Trade: You want to be pushing prices down. You don’t want to be pushing them up.
Andrew Clennell: Indeed. There’s also speculation the trade war could harm the PBS somehow and cause pharmaceutical prices to go up. How would that occur and what do you make of that speculation?
Minister for Trade: Well, it simply is speculation. That’s all it is, Andrew. I’ve not heard one comment from any person in the United States that refers to the PBS. We’ve got a terrific health system. We’re continuing to improve all the time. Minister Butler is always coming up with new ideas to improve our health system. The PBS is an essential part of our health system and there will be absolutely nothing that the Americans can do to impact on our health system or the PBS system. And we certainly, we certainly would not contemplate doing anything at any stage that makes our health system more expensive. We want to put downward pressure on the cost of health and we’re going to continue to do that, especially if we get re-elected in a few weeks’ time.
Andrew Clennell: It’s been reported the deal that Australia put on the table was access to our critical minerals like lithium, manganese, what’s the nature of that deal? Presumably America would still have to pay for the minerals. Would they get the minerals at a cheaper rate? Would they have the first right of refusal on the minerals? What are the minerals to be used for? Making mobile phones, electric cars and the like?
Minister for Trade: Yeah, look, Australia is very fortunate in the sense that we have either the largest or the second largest reserves of all critical minerals and rare earths in the world. Now, critical minerals are different from other minerals. If you go up to the Pilbara, you can see iron ore as far as the eye can see, Andrew. Critical minerals tend to be in much smaller deposits and they’re much deeper down. Two things about that. They are more expensive to extract and they take longer to dig out of the ground and they don’t last as long so you’ve got to keep finding new resources. What this means for what we were proposing to the Americans was continued and improved investment in getting access to those critical minerals. We’ve got some of the most sophisticated miners in Australia, Andrew. We’ve got a very sophisticated mining operation here, much more sophisticated than the Americans. But the thing we often don’t have is access to capital. So, the offer to the Americans was, look, we’ll work with you. You want these critical minerals, you want them for electric batteries in cars, you’ve mentioned some of the other things, mobile phones, all of these sorts of things. But the process of extraction is expensive, we need capital. We want to work with other countries. We want to particularly work, for instance, with the Europeans. We’ve made them some offers in this regard. It’s not about cheaper prices, it’s not about preferred access. It’s about ensuring that they’ve got a reliable supply chain to ensure that when they need these critical minerals, you’ve got a reliable country like Australia who can provide them.
Andrew Clennell: So, would that be Australian money or American money? When you talk about increased investment –
Minister for Trade: Both. Both.
Andrew Clennell: Okay. So, an Australian financial offer was put on the table?
Minister for Trade: No, it wasn’t a financial offer in that sense. It was a way forward to try and get support both in Australia and in the United States for extracting these critical minerals. So, if we’re going to go down the track of decarbonising our economies, this is the way we need to go. But it’s going to require investment, significant investment. The Australian Government is already making significant investments in this area. But to get to where we want to get to in terms of that net zero project, then we need more investment and –
Andrew Clennell: Do you see the hand of Elon Musk? Do you see the hand of Elon Musk in any of this? The keenness of the Americans for these critical minerals.
Minister for Trade: Well, look, they didn’t accept our offer. So, if Mr Musk was involved in this, then he doesn’t appear to have influenced the result, if that was what he was after. To the best of my knowledge, Mr. Musk was not involved in any of these discussions that I –
Andrew Clennell: All right, no worries. We’re nearly out of time. Overnight, the PM reiterated in a meeting with European leaders he would consider sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if there was peace. That’ll be controversial with a lot of Australians because it’s not our region. We know Peter Dutton doesn’t support this. Is the PM trying to muscle up here after Peter Dutton has continually called him weak? What’s the motivation to get involved in this conflict?
Minister for Trade: Andrew, for the last 80 years, in other words, since the end of World War II, Australia has been involved in peacekeeping missions all the way around the world. We’ve come out right from day one, Prime Minister Albanese has been very clear and very strong on this, we support Ukraine. Ukraine’s fight for democracy. Ukraine’s fight for its sovereignty is Australia’s fight. It’s Australia’s fight. We’ve made significant financial contributions to Ukraine to ensure that they can defend themselves from this illegal and immoral monster, Putin, and we’ll continue to do that. And if Prime Minister Starmer says, look, will you contribute to peacekeeping? I think that’s the right thing to do. Look, it’s not all about popularity and so forth, but it’s the right thing to do. We want to see peace around the world. The best thing that Australia can do in terms of any international relationship is to support peace. And if we can make a contribution to that peacekeeping effort, then I think we should. And I think Mr. Dutton is completely on the wrong track here. Australians support the Ukrainian fight. I was on the steps of Parliament House just a couple of weeks ago with Premier Malinauskas. His background is Lithuanian. He knows exactly what happens if you don’t stand up to bullies like Putin. It’s in our interest to defend democracy in Ukraine. It’s in our interest to be part of a peacekeeping force when there’s peace.
Andrew Clennell: Finally, and briefly, there was something of a blow to the government late last week with the default market offer out, that Australians face price rises of up to 10 per cent on their power bills. Will the government’s electricity subsidy be extended and increased in the budget?
Minister for Trade: Well, you know the answer to that question, Andrew. You’ll have to ask the Treasurer, and you’ve only got a few more sleeps to find out what’s going to be in the next budget.
Andrew Clennell: Well, I might ask him on the show next week. Thanks very much, Don Farrell.
Minister for Trade: Nice talking with you Andrew.
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MIL-OSI USA: President Trump Is Standing Up to Terrorism and Protecting International Commerce
US Senate News:
Source: The White House
It has been over a year since a U.S.-flagged commercial ship safely sailed through the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, or the Gulf of Aden. No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.
Our economic and national security have been under attack by the Houthis for too long. Today, President Trump’s action and leadership are moving to end this.
Shipping Disruption
Houthi attacks against shipping since 2023 have caused a sustained negative effect on global trade and the economic security of the United States. A 2024 Defense Intelligence Agency report detailed how container shipping through the Red Sea has precipitously declined due to Houthi attacks.
Before their attacks, 25,000 merchant ships passed through the Red Sea annually. The current number has dropped to around 10,000 ships annually.
Imports of consumer goods and cars to the United States, as well as agricultural exports from our own Gulf of America, have been rerouted due to the Houthi attacks.
In November 2023, the Houthis seized the ship M/V Galaxy Leader and began to attack commercial ships with anti-ship missiles and unmanned vehicles.
Houthi attacks caused approximately 75% of U.S.- and UK-affiliated vessels to reroute around Africa instead of transiting the Red Sea. Traveling around Africa takes an average of ten days longer than sailing through the Red Sea. Additional fuel costs are roughly one million dollars more for each voyage around Africa.
Higher shipping rates caused by Houthi attacks probably increased global consumer goods inflation between 0.6 and 0.7 percent in 2024.
Impacts to Allies and Partners
The Red Sea serves a primary conduit for trade between Europe and Asia. Around 95% of ships traveling between Europe and Asia normally would go through the Red Sea.
Out of the top ten importers (by value) of trade through the Red Sea, five are EU nations.
Houthi attacks caused approximately 60% of EU-affiliated vessels to reroute around Africa instead of transiting the Red Sea
The Houthis have attacked U.S. warships 174 times and commercial vessels 145 times since 2023.2023
October 19, 2023: The USS Carney, a U.S. Navy destroyer, intercepted multiple missiles launched from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen. These missiles posed a threat to U.S. forces.
November 19, 2023: The Houthis attacked and seized the M/V Galaxy Leader and held the multinational crew hostage for over a year.
December 3, 2023: Houthi forces launched missiles and drones targeting three commercial ships in the Red Sea. The USS Carney responded to distress calls and intercepted three drones during this assault.
December 16, 2023: The USS Carney engaged and destroyed 14 drones launched by the Houthis in the southern Red Sea, preventing potential attacks on U.S. military and commercial maritime vessels.
December 26, 2023: The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Gravely responded to a distress call from the commercial vessel Maersk Hangzhou, which was under attack by Houthi forces. U.S. Navy helicopters engaged, resulting in the sinking of three Houthi boats.
December 30, 2023: Houthi forces fired anti-ship ballistic missiles targeting the USS Gravely. The destroyer successfully intercepted the incoming missiles, preventing any damage.
2024
January 10, 2024: The Houthis launched a large-scale missile and drone attack against U.S. and UK naval forces in the Red Sea. The coordinated defense successfully neutralized all incoming threats.
January 15, 2024: The Houthis rebels targeted the U.S.-owned M/V Gibraltar Eagle with a missile, resulting in damage to the vessel.
January 17, 2024: The Houthi rebels targeted the U.S.-owned cargo ship Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden using drones, resulting in damage to the vessel.
January 26, 2024: The oil tanker Marlin Luanda, linked to British interests, was attacked by Houthi missiles in the Gulf of Aden, causing a fire onboard.
August 21, 2024: The Houthi rebels attack the Greek-flagged oil tanker M/V Sounion, threatening a massive oil-spill and followed by a months-long salvage effort.
September 27, 2024: The USS Spruance, USS Stockdale, and USS Indianapolis were targeted by a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Houthi forces in the Red Sea. All threats were intercepted without any damage to the U.S. warships.
November 11, 2024: Houthi forces launched a coordinated attack involving drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles against the USS Spruance and USS Stockdale in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The U.S. destroyers successfully intercepted all incoming threats.
December 1, 2024: While escorting U.S.-flagged merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, the USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane intercepted multiple missiles and drones launched by Houthi forces, ensuring the safety of the convoy.
December 9–10, 2024: The USS Stockdale and USS O’Kane again faced Houthi-launched drones and missiles while escorting merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. All threats were neutralized without any damage. -
MIL-OSI USA: VIDEO: Columbia University Student Whose Visa Was Revoked for Supporting Hamas and Terrorist Activities Used CBP Home App to Self-Deport
Source: US Federal Emergency Management Agency
Headline: VIDEO: Columbia University Student Whose Visa Was Revoked for Supporting Hamas and Terrorist Activities Used CBP Home App to Self-Deport
lass=”text-align-center”>Another student who supported Hamas was arrested by ICE HSI for overstaying her student visa
WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that one of the Columbia students who had her student visa revoked for advocating for violence and terrorism self-deported using the CBP Home App and ICE arrested a Palestinian student for overstaying her expired F-1 visa
Ranjani Srinivasan, a citizen and national of India, entered the United States on a F-1 student visa as doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia UniversitySrinivasan was involved in activities supporting Hammas, a terrorist organization
On March 5, 2025, the Department of State revoked her visa
The Department of Homeland Security has obtained video footage of her using the CBP Home App to self-deport on March 11
Another student Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from West Bank, was arrested by ICE HSI Newark officers for overstaying her expired F-1 student visaHer visa terminated on January 26, 2022, for lack of attendance
Previously, in April 2024 Kordia was arrested for her involvement in pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University in New York City
The below statement is attributable to Secretary Noem:
“It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of AmericaWhen you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country
I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport
”
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MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Electronics Technology for Hyperloop Project to be developed at ICF Chennai: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
Source: Government of India (2)
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 9:57PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, informed that the electronics component technology for the Hyperloop project will be developed at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. He visited the Hyperloop testing facility at IIT Madras Discovery Campus and witnessed a live demonstration.
Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, stated that the 410-meter-long Hyperloop test tube located at IIT Chennai is the longest Hyperloop test facility in Asia.
Speaking to the journalists, the Minister said that the entire testing system for Hyperloop transportation has been developed using indigenous technologies, and he congratulated all the young innovators for this achievement.
The Minister expressed confidence that India will soon be ready for Hyperloop transportation, as the Hyperloop transportation technology, which is currently under development, has yielded good results in the tests conducted so far.
The Railway Ministry has been provided financial funding and technical assistance to the Hyperloop project, and now, all the electronics technology for this Hyperloop project will be developed at ICF Chennai. The Minister stated that highly skilled experts at the ICF factory have successfully developed larhe electronics systems for Vande Bharat high-speed trains, and the electronics technology for this Hyperloop project will also be developed at ICF.
The Minister congratulated the young innovators team of IIT Chennai and the Avishkar organization for this successful testing.
Later, the Minister visited the IIT Chennai campus in Guindy, where he inspected the exhibition organized by the IIT’s Center for Innovation titled Open House 2025. He interacted with students and young innovators. During the interaction, he stated that India will become a leading country in all sectors under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Minister noted that the youth are performing efficiently in the fields of data science, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors, and that India has the highest number of skilled youth in the world, who will play a significant role in making India a developed nation. He also announced that presently there are five semiconductor facilities operational in the country and the first India made semiconductor will be rolled out by the end of this year.
The Minister presented prizes and shields to the winners of the innovation competition held during the exhibition and encouraged them to create more new inventions. Dr. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Chennai, was also present at the event.
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AD/KV
(Release ID: 2111564) Visitor Counter : 41
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MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: INS IMPHAL COMPLETES VISIT TO PORT LOUIS FOR NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATIONS
Source: Government of India (2)
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 7:04PM by PIB Delhi
INS Imphal completed her port visit to Mauritius and left Port Louis on 14 Mar 25. The ship was at Mauritius to participate in the 57th Mauritius National Day celebrations, representing India with a marching contingent, the Indian Navy band and flypast by two MH 60R helicopters. Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister was the Chief Guest at the spectacular parade.
During the port visit, the ship also held several professional interactions, cultural engagements, sports fixtures and community outreach activities to further strengthen the robust bonds between the two countries.
Training capsules were conducted onboard the ship for Mauritius National Coast Guard (NCG) personnel on practical aspects of harbour and sea watchkeeping, VBSS (Visit, Board, Search and Seizure), force protection, shipborne helicopter operations, firefighting and damage control.
A medical camp for the elderly at Gayasingh Ashram was also conducted by the ship’s crew.
The ship was opened to the public on 12 March on the occasion of Mauritius National Day and saw over 1,300 visitors.
The ship’s crew visited key security establishments at Port Louis, including the Mauritius Police and NCG Headquarters.
Capt Kamal K Choudhury, the ship’s Commanding Officer, called on key dignitaries and high-ranking officials of the Mauritius Government and Mauritius Police Force (MPF).
The ship hosted a deck reception along with the High Commission of India, that was attended by senior ministers and officials from Mauritius and members of local diplomatic corps.
After her departure from Port Louis, INS Imphal undertook a bilateral Passage Exercise and Joint EEZ surveillance with MCGS Victory, to consolidate the synergy and collaboration between the Indian Navy and the National Coast Guard of Mauritius.
This landmark deployment of INS Imphal provided a renewed impetus to the robust bilateral ties between the two nations and reaffirmed India’s commitment to act swiftly as the ‘First Responder’ and the ‘Preferred Security Partner’ to address maritime challenges in the IOR.
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VM/SKS 58/25
(Release ID: 2111518) Visitor Counter : 82
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MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Prime Minister engages in an insightful conversation with Lex Fridman
Source: Government of India (2)
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 7:01PM by PIB Delhi
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi recently had an engaging and thought-provoking conversation with renowned podcaster and AI researcher Lex Fridman. The discussion, lasting three hours, covered diverse topics, including Prime Minister Modi’s childhood, his formative years spent in the Himalayas, and his journey in public life. This much-anticipated three-hour podcast with renowned AI researcher and podcaster Lex Fridman is set to be released tomorrow, March 16, 2025. Lex Fridman described the conversation as “one of the most powerful conversations” of his life.
Responding to the X post of Lex Fridman about the upcoming podcast, Shri Modi wrote on X;
“It was indeed a fascinating conversation with @lexfridman, covering diverse topics including reminiscing about my childhood, the years in the Himalayas and the journey in public life.
Do tune in and be a part of this dialogue!”
It was indeed a fascinating conversation with @lexfridman, covering diverse topics including reminiscing about my childhood, the years in the Himalayas and the journey in public life.
Do tune in and be a part of this dialogue! https://t.co/QaJ04qi1TD
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 15, 2025
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MJPS/ST
(Release ID: 2111517) Visitor Counter : 29
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MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: In the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, the transfer of Assam Rifles Battalion land to the Government of Mizoram and the formal exchange of maps takes place in Aizawl, Mizoram
Source: Government of India (2)
In the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, the transfer of Assam Rifles Battalion land to the Government of Mizoram and the formal exchange of maps takes place in Aizawl, Mizoram
Due to an important decision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, a three decade-old demand of the people of Mizoram is being fulfilled todayPM Modi’s visionary decision will make a large area of land available in a key region of Mizoram, giving a new direction to the state’s development
This decision stands as a testament to Modi government’s responsibility towards the people of Mizoram and its commitment to the state’s progress
The Modi government is fully dedicated to building a developed, peaceful, secure, and beautiful Mizoram
Since the establishment of the first army camp in Aizawl in 1890, this marks the most significant decision for the region
From tourism to technology, sports to space, and agriculture to entrepreneurship, Modi government is shaping new dimensions of development in the North-East
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 6:10PM by PIB Delhi
In the presence of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah, the transfer of Assam Rifles Battalion land to the Government of Mizoram and the formal exchange of maps took place today in Aizawl, Mizoram. The event was attended by several dignitaries, including Mizoram Chief Minister Shri Lalduhoma, the Union Home Secretary, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau, and the Director General of Assam Rifles.
On this occasion, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, described the event as a significant milestone in Mizoram’s development. He noted that for nearly 35 years a long-standing demand was there to relocate Assam Rifles to interior areas due to space constraints caused by topography and facilitate overall development of Mizoram, including Aizawl. He highlighted the acute shortage of space in Aizawl is stifling its modernisation and increase of public facilities. Shri Shah credited Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s crucial decision for fulfilling this decades-old demand today.
Shri Amit Shah said that this decision is not merely an administrative move but is a testament to Modi government’s responsibility towards the people of Mizoram and its commitment to the state’s progress. He said Prime Minister Modi’s visionary decision will make a large area of land available in a key region of Mizoram, giving a new direction to the state’s development. Shri Shah also noted that this will be regarded as the most significant decision in the history since the establishment of the first army camp in Aizawl in 1890.
Union Home Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Government of India has been actively working for the past 10 years to strengthen and integrate the entire North-East. He highlighted that the Modi government is driving unprecedented development in the region, spanning sectors from tourism to technology, sports to space, and agriculture to entrepreneurship. Shri Shah pointed out that from independence until 2014, all previous Prime Ministers collectively visited the North-East 21 times, whereas since 2014, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi alone has made 78 visits. Additionally, he noted that before 2014, Union Ministers, apart from those from the North-East, had visited the region only 71 times, whereas in the past decade, the number of visits by Union Ministers has exceeded 700.
Shri Amit Shah stated that under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s leadership, the North-East is not only witnessing rapid development but also experiencing unprecedented peace. He highlighted major infrastructure projects in Mizoram, including the initiation of Package-1 and Package-3 on National Highway 502-A at a cost of ₹2,500 crore. Additionally, a four-lane road on National Highway 6 in Aizawl and Kolasib districts is being developed for ₹1,742 crore, while the double-laning of the Aizawl-Tuipam section of National Highway 54 is underway at a cost of ₹1,006 crore. Further, bamboo link roads are being constructed across Mizoram at an investment of ₹100 crore. Shri Shah emphasized that the Modi government has undertaken road construction projects worth ₹5,000 crore in Mizoram over the last decade. He noted that 10 helipads have been built for ₹2 crore, and the Bairabi-Sairang Railway project has been launched at an investment of ₹5,000 crore. Moreover, a 164-bed super-specialty research center is being constructed at a cost of ₹600 crore, while the ₹1,300 crore Tuirial Hydro Power Project has also been initiated. To enhance connectivity, 314 mobile towers have been installed across the state. Union Home Minister reaffirmed the Government of India’s unwavering commitment to building a developed, peaceful, secure, and beautiful Mizoram.
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RK/VV/PR/PS
(Release ID: 2111509) Visitor Counter : 57
Read this release in: Hindi -
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Bureau of Indian Standards cracks down on E-Commerce platforms selling unsafe Non-Certified products
Source: Government of India
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 5:49PM by PIB Delhi
To curb the distribution of non-compliant products through e-commerce platforms, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has carried out search and seizure operations at multiple warehouse locations of leading e-commerce platforms, including Amazon and Flipkart, in cities like Lucknow, Gurugram and Delhi.
In a recent raid conducted on 07 March 2025 at an Amazon warehouse in Lucknow, BIS seized 215 toys and 24 hand blenders, all lacking mandatory BIS certification. Earlier, in February 2025, a similar operation at an Amazon warehouse in Gurugram resulted in the seizure of 58 aluminium foils, 34 metallic water bottles, 25 toys, 20 hand blenders, 7 PVC cables, 2 food mixers and 1 speaker – all found to be non-certified.
Similarly, in a raid at a Flipkart warehouse in Gurugram, operated by Instakart Services Pvt Ltd, BIS seized 534 stainless steel bottles (vacuum insulated), 134 toys and 41 speakers, that were not certified. BIS’s investigations into multiple violations on both Amazon and Flipkart traced non-certified products back to Techvision International Pvt Ltd. Acting on this lead, BIS conducted raids at two different facilities of Techvision International in Delhi, uncovering approximately 7,000 electric water heaters, 4,000 electric food mixers, 95 electric room heaters, and 40 gas stoves, without BIS certification. Non-certified products seized include brands like Digismart, Activa, Inalsa, Cello Swift, Butterfly among others.
Following the seizure of material, BIS initiates legal action under BIS Act, 2016 to hold the responsible entities accountable. BIS has already filed two court cases against M/s Techvision International Pvt Ltd for violations of Sections 17(1) and 17(3) of the BIS Act, 2016. Additional cases are in the process of being filed for other seizure operations. Under Section 17 of the BIS Act, 2016, defaulters face a penalty not less than two lakh rupees, which may extend up to ten times the value of the goods sold or offered for sale. Furthermore, depending on the severity of the violation, offenders may also face imprisonment of up to two years.
BIS is actively conducting market surveillance to ensure that consumer products available in the market, including on e-commerce platforms, comply with applicable safety and quality standards. As part of surveillance, BIS purchases various consumer products and subjects them to rigorous testing to verify compliance with the prescribed standards.
The products under market surveillance include commonly used consumer goods such as domestic pressure cookers, hand-held blenders, food mixers, electric irons, room heaters, PVC cables, gas stoves, toys, two-wheeler helmets, switches, sockets, and aluminium foils for food packaging. Considering the potential hazards posed by substandard quality products, the Central Government has made BIS certification mandatory for these products in the public interest.
However, during its surveillance activities, BIS has identified that several non-certified products are being sold on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Myntra, BigBasket even though BIS certification has been made mandatory for these products. Non-certified products include those that do not bear ISI Mark or bear an ISI Mark with an invalid license number (CM/L number). These non-certified products pose significant safety risks to consumers as they have not undergone independent third-party testing to ensure they meet minimum safety and performance standards.
These large-scale seizures highlight the widespread issue of unsafe non-certified products being sold online, underscoring the urgent need for e-commerce platforms to exercise greater due diligence in ensuring that only BIS-certified products are listed for sale, wherever mandated by Central Government. In this regard, BIS has issued notices to all these e-commerce platforms, directing them to ensure that products requiring BIS certification are duly certified before being made available to consumers.
BIS urges consumers to make informed purchasing decisions by utilizing the BIS Care app. This app provides consumers with crucial information on products that require mandatory BIS certification and allows them to verify the authenticity of a product’s BIS certification by checking the ISI Mark and the manufacturer’s license number (CM/L). Additionally, consumers can use the BIS Care app to lodge complaints about products that do not bear the ISI Mark or report quality concerns regarding BIS-certified products.
BIS remains committed to safeguarding consumer interests and encourages the public to connect with BIS through the BIS Care app to ensure safer markets and improved product quality.
For further information, consumers may visit BIS website www.bis.gov.in.
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Abhishek Dayal/Nihi Sharma
(Release ID: 2111506) Visitor Counter : 105
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MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to Inaugurate Fit India Carnival at JLN Stadium
Source: Government of India (2)
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to Inaugurate Fit India Carnival at JLN Stadium
Union Minister Smt Raksha Khadse and Film Star Ayushmann Khurrana will also Grace the OccasionPosted On: 15 MAR 2025 5:18PM by PIB Delhi
The first-ever Fit India Carnival is set for a grand inauguration on March 16 at the JLN Stadium here, in the presence of Hon’ble Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Smt Raksha Khadse and a host of special guests, including Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana, wrestler and fitness enthusiast Sangram Singh, and wellness guru Mickey Mehta.
The event will also be used to unveil the mascot, logo and anthem of the upcoming Khelo India Para Games, scheduled between March 20 and 27 in the national capital.
The Fit India Carnival, a three-day fitness and wellness festival, to take place on March 16, 17, 18, aims to promote a healthy and active lifestyle, aligning with the Fit India Movement’s vision of a fitter, healthier, and obesity-free nation. The chief guests will also indulge in lively interaction, including fun fitness challenges.
A host of sports activities including rope skipping, stationary cycling, arm wrestling, cricket bowling, squat and push-up challenges, etc will be the highlights over the three days at the Fit India carnival. There will also be presence of Sports Authority of India National Centre of Sports Sciences and Research (NCSSR) doctors, nutritionists and psychologists who will provide assessments free of cost to people visiting the carnival.
Captivating performances including Kalaripayattu, Mallakhamb and Gatka acts, as well as cultural performances centered on the theme of “Fitness through Dance”, LIVE DJ music, band performances, etc. will take place over the course of the three days.
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Himanshu Pathak
(Release ID: 2111500) Visitor Counter : 56
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MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah inaugurates Lachit Barphukan Police Academy in Dergaon, Assam
Source: Government of India (2)
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah inaugurates Lachit Barphukan Police Academy in Dergaon, Assam
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Assam is now progressing on the path of developmentThe seed planted today in the form of Lachit Barphukan Police Academy will one day grow into a banyan tree, and will serve the cause of policing in the entire country
The saga of great warrior Lachit Barphukan was once limited to Assam, but under the Modi government, his biography is now available in 23 languages in libraries across the country
In Assam, once known for movements, insurgency, and gunfights, efforts are underway to establish a semiconductor industry worth ₹27,000 crore
The double-engine government has increased the conviction rate in Assam from 5 per cent to 25 per cent
In Assam, the police, which were once limited to fighting terrorism, are now working to protect the rights of citizensEarlier, Assam was plunged into the flames of riots, keeping the region in a state of unrest, however, under the Modi government, peace has been established here, and with world-class infrastructure, large industries are now being set up
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 5:15PM by PIB Delhi
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, today inaugurated the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy in Dergaon, Assam. On this occasion, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister Shri Sarbananda Sonowal, and many other dignitaries were present.
In his address, Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah said that in the next 5 years, the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy will be ranked first among all police academies across the country. He mentioned that Assam’s brave warrior and legendary, Lachit Barphukan, had led Assam to victory against the Mughals. He further stated that saga of bravery of Lachit Barphukan was once kept limited to Assam, but due to the efforts of the Modi Government, today his biography has been translated into 23 languages and is available in libraries across the country for children. Shri Shah praised the Assam government for ensuring that the entire nation learns about and draws inspiration from this great son of Assam. He added that the seed planted today in the form of the Lachit Barphukan Police Academy would one day grow into a banyan tree, and will serve the cause of policing in the entire country. It will be an apex police academy not only for Assam but for entire Northeast, similar to Kashi among pilgrimage sites; the site will be a new beginning for peace in the region
Shri Amit Shah said that the first phase of the Lachit Barphukan Academy has been completed at a cost of ₹167 crore, and a total of ₹1050 crore will be spent on all three phases. He mentioned that the academy is equipped with several state-of-the-art facilities and will become the best police academy in the entire country. He further highlighted that earlier, Assam’s police had to go to other states for training, but in the last 8 years, under the state’s governance, such a transformation has taken place that now, 2,000 police personnel from Goa and Manipur have received training at this police academy.
Union Home Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Assam is now progressing on the path of development. He mentioned that in the last 10 years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, several peace agreements have been signed: the Assam-Bodoland Agreement in 2020, the Karbi Anglong Agreement in 2021, the Tribal Peace Agreement in 2022, and the ULFA, Assam-Meghalaya, and Assam-Arunachal Agreements in the year 2023. Shri Shah stated that as a result of these peace agreements made by the Modi government, more than 10,000 youths have laid down their weapons and joined the mainstream. He added that in Assam, once known for movements, insurgency, and gunfights, efforts are underway to establish a semiconductor industry worth ₹27,000 crore.
Shri Amit Shah said that a recent investment and infrastructure conference named Advantage Assam 2.0 was held in Assam, where MoUs worth ₹5.18 lakh crore were signed, and most of these MoUs will be implemented on the ground. He further mentioned that the Modi government is bringing infrastructure projects worth ₹3 lakh crore for the development of Assam. He emphasized that these projects, totaling ₹8 lakh crore, will create a large number of employment opportunities for the youth of Assam.
Union Home and Cooperation Minister said that during the 10 years of the previous government’s rule, Assam received a devolution grant and grant-in-aid of ₹1.27 lakh crore, which has been increased fourfold to₹4.95 lakh crore in Prime Minister Modi’s 10 years. He further stated that the previous governments had pushed Assam into the fire of riots for many years, did not provide grants, failed to set up proper education systems, did not build infrastructure, and did not allow peace to prevail.Shri Shah said that during Prime Minister Modi’s 10-year tenure, infrastructure has been developed, peace has prevailed, and various industries have been established. He mentioned several projects undertaken by the Modi government, including the Bharat Mala project, which is more than 200 kilometers long and worth ₹10,000 crore, the Dhubri-Phulwari bridge worth ₹3,000 crore, rural roads spanning 3,700 kilometers at a cost of ₹3,400 crore, and the four-laning of the Silchar-Churaibari corridor. Additionally, he highlighted the work being done on a new embankment and road on Majuli Island worth ₹1,000 crore. He further stated that a six-lane bridge over the Brahmaputra River is under construction, and at a cost of ₹382 crore, National Highway 715-K is connecting Majuli and Jorhat. He also mentioned the expansion of an airport named after Gopinath Ji at a cost of ₹1,100 crore, the inauguration of ₹9,000 crore worth of railway projects, a ₹1,000 crore AIIMS project, and the establishment of medical colleges in Tamulpur, Kokrajhar, Nalbari, and Dhubri, along with many other infrastructure projects under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.
Shri Amit Shah said that the Modi government and the Assam government have carried out several welfare programs for the poor. He mentioned that for the first time, tap water was provided to 58 lakh homes, free treatment up to ₹5 lakh was provided to 1.8 crore people, toilets were built in 43 lakh homes, 2.32 crore poor people were given 5 kilograms of free rice per person every month, and the Modi government and Assam government also provided 51 lakh gas cylinders and 21 lakh houses.
Union Home Minister said that the Modi government has not only made efforts to bring peace to Assam but has successfully established it. He mentioned that the Modi government has built infrastructure, and now, under the leadership of Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, an investment of ₹5 lakh crore is coming into the state, which will lay the foundation for a golden future for the youth of Assam. He further stated that the conviction ratio in Assam has increased from 5 per cent to 25 per cent. He highlighted that earlier, people did not want to file FIRs because the police were only seen as fighting against terrorists, but today, the police are focused on protecting the rights of citizens and effectively implementing the three new criminal laws introduced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
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RK/VV/ASH/PS
(Release ID: 2111498) Visitor Counter : 65
Read this release in: Hindi -
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Nominations for Padma Awards-2026 begins
Source: Government of India
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 3:50PM by PIB Delhi
Nominations/recommendations for the Padma Awards-2026 to be announced on the occasion of Republic Day, 2026 have started on 15th March, 2025. The last date for nominations for Padma Awards is 31st July, 2025. The nominations/recommendations for Padma Awards will only be received online on the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal (https://awards.gov.in ).
The Padma Awards, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, are amongst the highest civilian awards of the country. Instituted in 1954, these Awards are announced on the occasion of the Republic Day every year. The Award seeks to recognize ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields/disciplines, such as Art, Literature and Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service, Trade and Industry etc. All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these Awards. Government servants including those working with PSUs, except Doctors and Scientists, are not eligible for Padma Awards.
The Government is committed to transform Padma Awards into “People’s Padma”. All citizens are, therefore, requested to make nominations/recommendations, including self-nomination. Concerted efforts may be made to identify talented persons whose excellence and achievements really deserve to be recognized from amongst women, weaker sections of the society, SCs & STs, divyang persons and who are doing selfless service to the society.
The nominations/recommendations should contain all relevant details specified in the format available on the above said Portal, including a citation in narrative form (maximum 800 words), clearly bringing out the distinguished and exceptional achievements/service of the person recommended in her/his respective field/discipline.
Details in this regard are also available under the heading ‘Awards and Medals’ on the website of Ministry of Home Affairs (https://mha.gov.in) and on the Padma Awards Portal (https://padmaawards.gov.in). The statutes and rules relating to these awards are available on the website with the link https://padmaawards.gov.in/AboutAwards.aspx .
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RK/VV/PR/PS
(Release ID: 2111486) Visitor Counter : 10
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MIL-OSI United Nations: Climate Change Performance Index
Source: UNISDR Disaster Risk Reduction
Mission
The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), published annually since 2005, is an independent monitoring tool for tracking countries’ climate mitigation performance. It increases transparency in national and international climate policy and enables comparison of individual countries’ climate action efforts and progress.
The CCPI indicates the climate mitigation efforts of 63 countries and the EU, which collectively account for over 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Results are compiled with the aid of 450 national experts evaluating their countries’ most recent national and international climate policies.
The CCPI is distributed to key media worldwide (e.g. The Guardian, China Daily, The Times of India) and frequently triggers debates in national parliaments and governments.
The Paris Agreement is now entering a crucial phase of national and regional implementation. The CCPI provides long-standing and reliable analysis conducted on the leaders and laggards in climate protection. This makes it usable as a powerful instrument to hold governments accountable for their responsibility to act on the climate crisis, to inform the process of raising climate ambition, and to stimulate a race to the top in climate action. -
MIL-OSI Africa: SA’s narrative therapist nominated for Women Changing the World Awards
Source: South Africa News Agency
South Africa’s world-renowned Narrative Therapist and Psychosocial Specialist, Ncazelo Mlilo, has been nominated in the prestigious Women Changing the World Awards.
The awards, according to a statement by psychosocial organisation, Phola, are like the Grammy Awards for recognising women across the world who are doing incredible work, making a positive difference in various industries and areas, including business, sustainability, leadership, health, education, product development, innovation, and technology.
Mlilo, who is based in Johannesburg, has been selected for two categories, the People’s Choice Award for Non-Profit and Social Enterprise, and the Women in Therapy and Counselling Services Award.
This recognition celebrates the groundbreaking work in mental health, her development of Afrocentric, culturally sensitive narrative-based methodologies, and her dedication to empowering communities worldwide.
The awards ceremony will take place during a summit in London, in the United Kingdom on 2-3 April 2025.
Mlilo has over 25 years’ experience in trauma counselling.
She has worked with children, youth, women, families, and communities to address the effects of HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence (GBV), poverty, conflict, and other hardships.
Mlilo co-created the Tree of Life (ToL) Methodology, currently used in over 60 countries including the USA, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Iran, India, Germany, Japan, Sweden, and across Africa.
She has developed other methodologies like COURRAGE, the Narratives in the Suitcase Project, O.U.T.R.R.A.G.E.D. for GBV prevention.
Mlilo trains over 1 000 mental health practitioners worldwide every year, with her work reaching an estimated 100 000 people, annually.
She is also a prominent keynote speaker at international conferences, including the Trust’s Collective Narrative Practices Conference, held in 2024 in Australia, the Narrative Therapy Centre Conference, where she spoke about the Narratives in the Suitcase, held in Australia in 2023, among others.
As a result, her work is the intervention of choice in these global institutions, like the Dulwich Centre Foundation in Australia and NHS Foundation Trust in the UK. – SAnews.gov.za
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MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: India Participates in 353rd Governing Body Meeting of International Labour Organisation in Geneva
Source: Government of India (2)
India Participates in 353rd Governing Body Meeting of International Labour Organisation in Geneva
Ms. Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Labour & Employment Leads Delegation and Makes Interventions on Key Global Labour and Employment IssuesSecretary, L&E Holds Bilateral Discussions with Director-General and Senior Experts of ILO and Representatives of Other Countries
India Reaffirms its commitment to Continue to Act as a Leading Voice on Advancing Labour Welfare, Quality Employment and Social Justice at Global Forum
Social Protection, Responsible Business Conduct, Living Wages, AI and Future of Work, and Fair Global Migration Emerge as Key Areas of India-ILO Collaboration
Posted On: 15 MAR 2025 12:34PM by PIB Delhi
The 353rd Governing Body meeting of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, from March 10 to March 20, 2025. The meeting brings together the tripartite constituents of ILO i.e. representatives from governments, workers, and employers, to discuss crucial matters relating to the world of work and the governance of ILO.
The Indian delegation, led by Ms. Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, made several interventions on key issues, showcasing India’s achievements, learnings and perspectives to advance the shared agenda of promoting labour welfare, social justice and quality employment generation globally.
Second World Summit for Social Development
India extended its support to ILO on the organization of the UN led Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar later this year, as it aims at reinforcing the social dimension of the 2030 Agenda for Social Development. India’s inspiring progress in promoting social justice and development was highlighted, as India has doubled its social protection coverage to 48.8 percent, increasing the average global social protection coverage by over 5 percent.
In this context, contribution of India’s flagship institutions and schemes such as EPFO (7.37 crore contributing members), ESIC (14.4 crore beneficiaries), e-Shram Portal (30.6 crore registered unorganized members), PM Jan Arogya Yojana (60 crore beneficiaries) and Targeted PDS (food security to 81.35 crore beneficiaries) was acknowledged.
ILO Fair Migration Agenda and Action
India, as one of the largest countries of origin of migrant workers and recipient of highest remittances, reiterated its support for greater global cooperation in promoting well-managed, skills-based migration pathways. ILO was urged to enhance efforts towards generating global momentum for securing social protection and rights for migrant workers through bilateral labour migration and social security agreements. Support was extended for ILO’s proposal to convene the first Tripartite Global Forum on Migration under the ILO based Global Coalition for Social Justice, by India as a leading partner of the Global Coalition.
Global Framework on Chemicals
India reaffirmed its commitment towards playing a leading role towards ensuring a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste, safeguarding workers, communities and the environment. The actions being undertaken by ILO in follow up to the Bonn Declaration were acknowledged.
Key initiatives taken by India towards safeguarding the health and safety of workers and communities including Factories Act, 1948 and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, were underscored. Capacity-building measures under the Viksit Bharat 2047 Action Plan towards ensuring workplace safety in Major Accident Hazardous (MAH) units were highlighted.
The Indian delegation also held several bilateral discussions with the Director General and senior experts of ILO, and representatives of other countries on labour and employment matters of keen interest to India.
Bilateral Discussion with Director General-ILO
Ms. Dawra met Mr. Gilbert F. Houngbo, the DG-ILO and congratulated him for his flagship initiative the Global Coalition for Social Justice, which has emerged as a robust platform for global collaboration to promote social justice. She also reiterated the need for ILO to consider in-kind benefits while assessing social protection coverage.
This is crucial as India has commenced a State Specific Data Pooling exercise in collaboration with ILO to get a more accurate assessment of India’s social protection coverage.
DG-ILO appreciated India for playing a leading role in the Global Coalition by championing the key Coalition intervention “Responsible business for sustainable and inclusive societies,” and successfully organizing the first ever “Regional Dialogue on Social Justice” at New Delhi last month. He added, “This has inspired other Coalition countries (partners) to enhance their contribution to the Coalition’s agenda”.
Mr. Houngbo invited India to participate pro-actively in the upcoming Annual Forum on Social Justice, and showcase best practices of Indian industry in terms of Responsible Business Conduct, payment of Living Wages, and harnessing AI for a socially just Future of Work.
The DG also expressed his appreciation for India’s first ever voluntary financial support to ILO towards conduct of a feasibility study on development of international reference classification of occupations by ILO and OECD. This India led initiative will facilitate in galvanizing global employment opportunities for Indian youth through benchmarking, and mutual recognition of skills and qualifications. Development of the international classification is a historic commitment made by the G20 leaders under India’s G20 presidency of 2023.
India discussed future collaborations in pipeline with ILO on shared priorities including determination and operationalization of living wages, gig and platform workers’ welfare and decent work in value chains. The Indian delegation included Shri Rakesh Gaur, Deputy Director, Ministry of Labour & Employment.
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Himanshu Pathak
(Release ID: 2111473) Visitor Counter : 155
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MIL-OSI USA: SBA Offers Disaster Relief to Illinois Businesses, Nonprofits and Residents Affected by the Tatra Multi-Family Apartment Complex Fire
Source: United States Small Business Administration
WASHINGTON – In response to an administrative disaster declaration issued March 13, 2025, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the availability of low interest federal disaster loans for Illinois businesses, nonprofits and residents affected by the Tatra Multi-Family Apartment Complex fire occurring on Jan. 25.
The disaster declaration covers Cook County, which is eligible for both Physical damage loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) from the SBA. Small businesses and most private nonprofit (PNP) organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA EIDLs: DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will; as well as Lake in Indiana.
Businesses and nonprofits are eligible to apply for business physical disaster loans and may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster-damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets.
Homeowners and renters are eligible to apply for home and personal property loans and may borrow up to $100,000 to replace or repair personal property, such as clothing, furniture, cars, and appliances. Homeowners may apply for up to $500,000 to replace or repair their primary residence.
Applicants may also be eligible for a loan increase of up to 20% of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA, for mitigation purposes. Eligible mitigation improvements include strengthening structures to protect against high wind damage, upgrading to wind rated garage doors, and installing a safe room or storm shelter to help protect property and occupants from future damage.
SBA’s EIDL program is available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, nurseries, and PNPs impacted by financial losses directly related to the disaster. The SBA is unable to provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, except for small aquaculture enterprises.
EIDLs are for working capital needs caused by the disaster and are available even if the business or PNP did not suffer any physical damage. They may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills not paid due to the disaster.
Interest rates are as low as 4% for small businesses, 3.625% for PNPs, and 2.563% for homeowners and renters, with terms up to 30 years. Interest does not begin to accrue, and payments are not due, until 12 months from the date of the first loan disbursement. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
Beginning Wednesday, March 19, SBA customer service representatives will be on hand at the Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC) in Cook County to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their application. Walk-ins are accepted, but you can schedule an in-person appointment in advance at appointment.sba.gov. The DLOC hours of operation are listed below:
Disaster Loan Outreach Center (DLOC)
Cook CountyChicago Ridge Village Hall
10455 S Ridgeland Avenue
Chicago Ridge, Illinois 60415
Opening: Wednesday, March 19, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Hours: Monday – Friday – 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday – 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Closed: Sunday
“SBA’s Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOCs) have consistently proven their value to business owners and homeowners following a disaster,” said Chris Stallings, associate administrator of the Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience at the SBA. “Homeowners and Business owners can visit the DLOC to meet face-to-face with specialists who will guide them through the disaster loan application process and connect them with resources to support their recovery.”
Disaster survivors should not wait to settle with their insurance company before applying for a disaster loan. If a survivor does not know how much of their loss will be covered by insurance or other sources, SBA can make a low-interest disaster loan for the total loss up to its loan limits, provided the borrower agrees to use insurance proceeds to reduce or repay the loan.
To apply online, visit SBA.gov/disaster. Applicants may also call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov for more information on SBA disaster assistance. For people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is May 12, 2025. The deadline to return economic injury applications is Dec. 15, 2025.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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MIL-OSI Security: VIDEO: Columbia University Student Whose Visa Was Revoked for Supporting Hamas and Terrorist Activities Used CBP Home App to Self-Deport
Source: US Department of Homeland Security
Another student who supported Hamas was arrested by ICE HSI for overstaying her student visa.
WASHINGTON – Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced that one of the Columbia students who had her student visa revoked for advocating for violence and terrorism self-deported using the CBP Home App and ICE arrested a Palestinian student for overstaying her expired F-1 visa.
Ranjani Srinivasan, a citizen and national of India, entered the United States on a F-1 student visa as doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University. Srinivasan was involved in activities supporting Hammas, a terrorist organization. On March 5, 2025, the Department of State revoked her visa. The Department of Homeland Security has obtained video footage of her using the CBP Home App to self-deport on March 11.
Another student Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from West Bank, was arrested by ICE HSI Newark officers for overstaying her expired F-1 student visa. Her visa terminated on January 26, 2022, for lack of attendance. Previously, in April 2024 Kordia was arrested for her involvement in pro-Hamas protests at Columbia University in New York City.
The below statement is attributable to Secretary Noem:
“It is a privilege to be granted a visa to live and study in the United States of America. When you advocate for violence and terrorism that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country. I am glad to see one of the Columbia University terrorist sympathizers use the CBP Home app to self-deport.”
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MIL-OSI Economics: Statement on IndusInd Bank Limited
Source: Reserve Bank of India
There has been some speculation relating to IndusInd Bank Ltd. in certain quarters, perhaps arising from recent events related to the bank.
The Reserve Bank would like to state that the bank is well-capitalised and the financial position of the bank remains satisfactory. As per auditor-reviewed financial results of the bank for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, the bank has maintained a comfortable Capital Adequacy Ratio of 16.46 per cent and Provision Coverage Ratio of 70.20 per cent. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) of the bank was at 113 per cent as on March 9, 2025, as against regulatory requirement of 100 per cent.
Basis the disclosures available in public domain, the bank has already engaged an external audit team to comprehensively review their current systems, and to assess and account for the actual impact expeditiously. The Board and the management have been directed by Reserve Bank to have the remedial action completed fully during the current quarter viz., Q4FY25, after making required disclosures to all stakeholders. As such, there is no need for depositors to react to the speculative reports at this juncture. The bank’s financial health remains stable and is being monitored closely by Reserve Bank.
(Puneet Pancholy)
Chief General ManagerPress Release: 2024-2025/2380
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MIL-OSI Europe: Written question – Future of wine exports – new target markets and trade agreements by 2050 – E-000974/2025
Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-000974/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Christine Schneider (PPE)Because of falling birth rates and declining per capita consumption in the largest and traditional consumer countries, the potential for growth in wine sales over the next 20 years is likely to be concentrated in new regions and countries.
By 2050, half of global population growth is likely to be concentrated in just nine countries: India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the United States of America, Uganda and Indonesia. Accordingly, those countries are potential target markets for wine exports.
- 1.Which countries does the Commission regard as promising outlets for EU wines by 2050?
- 2.With which of those countries are there already trade agreements to promote wine exports, and with which of them is the Commission planning to enter into new agreements?
- 3.How do sales promotion arrangements need to be adapted so that these prospective export markets can be targeted now?
Submitted: 6.3.2025
Last updated: 14 March 2025
