ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on April 8, 2025.
The latest update on NZ’s state of the environment is sobering – but there are glimmers of progress Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christina McCabe, PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Ecology, University of Canterbury Shutterstock/synthetick If left unaddressed, many environmental changes in Aotearoa New Zealand could threaten livelihoods, health, quality of life and infrastructure for generations to come, according to the latest update on the state of the environment. The Ministry for the Environment and StatsNZ produce an environmental assessment every three years, collating data and trends on air quality, freshwater and marine environments, the land and climate. The latest report shows that long-term drivers of change – including international influences, economic demands and climate change
‘Never our intention to mock Jesus’ – Naked Samoans respond to backlash over controversial poster By Susana Suisuiki, RNZ Pacific journalist Pasifika comedy troupe Naked Samoans is facing a backlash from some members of the Pacific community over its promotional poster. In the image, which has now been taken down, the Naked Samoans depicted themselves as the 12 disciples surrounding Jesus, a parody of The Last Supper. Several Pasifika influencers condemned the image online, with one person labelling it “disrespectful”. However, Naked Samoan group member Oscar Kightley told RNZ Pacific Waves he did not anticipate the uproar. Oscar Kightley talking to RNZ Pacific Waves. The award-winning writer has addressed the backlash as they gear up
Here’s who topped the rankings in this year’s scorecard for sustainable chocolate – and which confectionery giant refused to participate Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Perkiss, Associate professor in accounting, University of Wollongong Jiri Hera/Shutterstock With the Easter weekend now around the corner, the sixth edition of the Global Chocolate Scorecard has just been released. This is an annual initiative produced by Be Slavery Free, in collaboration with two Australian universities and a wide range of consultants and sustainability interest groups. It ranks companies across the entire chocolate sector – from major multinational producers through to retailers – on a wide range of sustainability policies and practices. This year, there have been some improvements across the
This Easter, check out which chocolate brands are most ethical Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Perkiss, Associate professor in accounting, University of Wollongong Jiri Hera/Shutterstock With the Easter weekend now around the corner, the sixth edition of the Global Chocolate Scorecard has just been released. This is an annual initiative produced by Be Slavery Free, in collaboration with two Australian universities and a wide range of consultants and sustainability interest groups. It ranks companies across the entire chocolate sector – from major multinational producers through to retailers – on a wide range of sustainability policies and practices. This year, there have been some improvements across the
Open letter to NZME board – don’t allow alt-right Canadian billionaire to take over NZ’s Fourth Estate NZME directors ‘have concerns’ about businessman Jim Grenon taking editorial control NZME’s directors have fired their own shots in the war for control of the media company, saying they have concerns about a takeover bid including the risk of businessman Jim Grenon taking editorial control. In a statement to the NZX, the board said it was delaying its annual shareholders meeting until June and opening up nominations of other directors. NZME . . . RNZ report on NZME’s directors “firing their own shots in the war for control of the media company”. Grenon, a New Zealand resident since 2012, bought
Why are some cats more allergenic than others? It’s not their coat length Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jazmine Skinner, Lecturer in Animal Science, University of Southern Queensland evrymmnt/Shutterstock Allergies can be debilitating for those who have them – even more so when the cause of the allergic reaction is a beloved pet. Second only to dust mites, the humble domestic house cat is one of the major causes of indoor allergens for people. But what is the actual source of the allergic response? And are certain breeds less allergenic than others? There are many myths and misconceptions related to cat allergens, so let’s debunk a few. Cats produce several
Australia’s innovative new policies are designed to cut smoking rates – here are 6 ideas NZ could borrow Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janet Hoek, Professor in Public Health, University of Otago Shutterstock/chayanuphol At the start of this month, when denicotinisation would have been due to come into effect in Aotearoa New Zealand (had the government not repealed smokefree laws), Australia introduced innovative smokefree policies to change the look, ingredients and packaging of tobacco products. New Zealand’s current goal is to reduce smoking prevalence to no more than 5% (and as close to zero as possible) among all population groups. However, realising this goal now seems very unlikely. Latest figures show 6.9% of the general
Trump has Australia’s generic medicines in his sights. And no-one’s talking about it Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Gleeson, Associate Professor in Public Health, La Trobe University PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock While Australia was busy defending the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme against threats from the United States in recent weeks, another issue related to the supply and trade of medicines was flying under the radar. Buried on page 19 of the Trump’s administration’s allegations of barriers to trade was a single paragraph related to Australia’s access to generic medicines. These are cheaper alternatives to branded medicines that are no longer under patent. The US is concerned about how much notice
New research shows digital technology is linked to reduced wellbeing in young kids. So what can parents do? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacquelyn Harverson, PhD Candidate, School of Psychology, Deakin University Alex Segre/ Shutterstock Once upon a time, children fought for control of the remote to the sole family television. Now the choice of screen-based content available to kids seems endless. There are computers, tablets, phones and gaming consoles offering streaming services, online content and apps. Children also use devices at school, with digital literacy part of the Australian curriculum from the start of school. The speed and scale of this change has left parents, researchers and policymakers scrambling to catch up. And it
3.5 million Australians experienced fraud last year. This could be avoided through 6 simple steps Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gary Mortimer, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Queensland University of Technology Zigres/Shutterstock About 14% of Australians experienced personal fraud last year. Of these, 2.1 million experienced credit card fraud, 675,300 were caught in a scam, 255,000 had their identities stolen and 433,000 were impersonated online. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics latest Personal Fraud Survey, between July 2023 and June 2024, Australians lost A$2.1 billion through credit card fraud. This was up almost 9% from the previous year. Even after reimbursements, the loss was still $477 million. These figures do
What do medieval puzzles and the New York Times Connections have in common? Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Knowles, Lecturer, Western Civilisation Program, Australian Catholic University Getty The New York Times Connections game asks players to categorise 16 words into four groups of four. For example, in one collection of 16, a category included “blow”, “cat”, “gold” and “sword”: these are all words that might come before “fish”. As described by puzzle editor Wyna Liu, completing the puzzle should feel “challenging and satisfying”. Players are encouraged to “think flexibly”. Liu says her job as puzzle designer is “to trick you”. Challenging word-based games are not a modern invention. In
Selling your old laptop or phone? You might be handing over your data too Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ritesh Chugh, Associate Professor, Information and Communications Technology, CQUniversity Australia berdiyandriy/Shutterstock You’re about to recycle your laptop or your phone, so you delete all your photos and personal files. Maybe you even reset the device to factory settings. You probably think your sensitive data is now safe. But there is more to be done: hackers may still be able to retrieve passwords, documents or bank details, even after a reset. In fact, 90% of second-hand laptops, hard drives and memory cards still contain recoverable data. This indicates that many consumers fail to
Greenhouse gas emissions fall 2.0 percent in the December 2024 quarter–8 April 2025 –Seasonally adjusted industry and household greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Aotearoa New Zealand decreased 2.0 percent in the December 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
The decrease was primarily the result of a 45 percent reduction in emissions from electricity, gas, water, and waste services in the December 2024 quarter.
“There were substantial falls in the amount of fossil fuels used for electricity generation in the December 2024 quarter, which drove an overall decrease in carbon dioxide emissions from industry,” environment statistics spokesperson Tehseen Islam said.
Partly offsetting the decrease was an increase in emissions from manufacturing (up 5.0 percent), and transport, postal, and warehousing (up 3.1 percent). Both industries saw increases in GDP during this quarter.
Greenhouse gas emissions fall 2.0 percent in the December 2024 quarter – 8 April 2025 – Seasonally adjusted industry and household greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Aotearoa New Zealand decreased 2.0 percent in the December 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today.
The decrease was primarily the result of a 45 percent reduction in emissions from electricity, gas, water, and waste services in the December 2024 quarter.
“There were substantial falls in the amount of fossil fuels used for electricity generation in the December 2024 quarter, which drove an overall decrease in carbon dioxide emissions from industry,” environment statistics spokesperson Tehseen Islam said.
Partly offsetting the decrease was an increase in emissions from manufacturing (up 5.0 percent), and transport, postal, and warehousing (up 3.1 percent). Both industries saw increases in GDP during this quarter.
Selected price indexes − rental data for February and March 2025 – 8 April 2025 – Selected price indexes: March 2025 will include the national-level stock measure for actual rentals for housing for February and March 2025.
Actual rentals for housing data were not included in the February 2025 selected price indexes (SPI) as the dataset used to compile this information was incomplete, and Stats NZ was not confident the measure would meet customer expectations.
Stats NZ has worked closely with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to provide some requirements and update processes for the dataset, and we are now confident that the data and stock measure for February and March meet expectations. We do not expect further disruptions.
The other series within the SPI remain unaffected, and the upcoming March 2025 quarter Consumers price index (CPI) will be produced using the full three months of actual rentals for housing data for the period
Note: The March 2025 SPI release will not include the flow of rental properties measures (national and regional) as we are still working to integrate this, following an update to MBIE’s tenancy bond-lodgement system. The flow measures, which do not affect the CPI, will be included when we are confident they meet customer expectations.
Environment report shows human activities are driving changes affecting health, livelihoods and homes–8 April 2025 –The way New Zealanders choose to live is continuing to have a significant impact on the environment, affecting our health, quality of life, homes and livelihoods in both positive and negative ways, a major report on the environment shows.
Our environment 2025 is the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ’s latest three-yearly update on the state of New Zealand’s environment. The report draws on regular six-monthly reporting in the air, atmosphere and climate, freshwater, land, and marine domains, to provide an overall picture of the environment, including how each of these domains are connected.
Secretary for the Environment, James Palmer, says much of the change seen in our air, water, climate, marine environment, and land over time has been caused by people whose lives are in turn affected by those changes.
Residential property values have largely been kept at a standstill throughout the first quarter of 2025 with few exceptions.
Our latest QV House Price Index shows home values have crept up just 0.2% to a new national average of $903,928 in the March quarter, down slightly from the 0.5% quarterly growth recorded in February. That figure is now 2.3% lower than the same time last year and 15% below the market’s peak in late 2021.
Across New Zealand’s main urban areas, just Whangarei (2.6%), Rotorua (3.6%), Nelson (1.7%) and Christchurch (1.1%) recorded average home value growth in excess of 1% throughout the three months to the end of March 2025. Auckland (-0.1%), Wellington (-0.3%) and Hamilton (-0.3%) recorded small losses, while home values in Palmerston North and Dunedin were stationary.
QV operations manager James Wilson said market conditions remained “pretty soft” across Aotearoa. “Residential property values continue to bubble up and down slightly from month to month but have been kept virtually motionless as a whole throughout the first quarter of 2025.”
“Although interest rates have reduced markedly, buyers are still finding the current economic climate to be a challenge. Job worries and a rise in unemployment are causing many to be cautious and play it safe right now, which is understandable. This is one factor that has helped to keep the brakes on throughout the first quarter of 2025 – a sizeable surplus of properties for sale is another,” he said.
“It seems sellers are out in force across Aotearoa today. You don’t have to walk very far around the neighbourhood these days to see a ‘for sale’ sign. Ample properties for sale and a lack of meaningful competition are helping keep prices really flat for now. That’s no bad thing, as first-home buyers continue to make up a larger share of the market overall.”
However, Mr Wilson said there was also growing evidence to suggest that investors were beginning to re-enter the market again following changes to the interest deductibility rules and recent interest rate reductions.
“Investor activity continues to increase relative to first-home buyer activity. A ‘getting in early’ mindset appears to be emerging in some key areas with interest rates only expected to reduce further. But this is also being tempered by a cautious approach to the economy. Again, it is understandable given current conditions.”
Mr Wilson expected the real estate market’s current flat trend to continue into autumn and eventually winter, even as economic conditions slowly improve. “It’s going to take some time before interest rate relief fully takes hold and for the labour market to regain its footing again. In the meantime, those who are in a position to purchase are going to benefit from having a wider selection to choose from.”
“When the economy does eventually recover and all the excess stock that is available for sale on the market today is sold, that’s when we will see some more sustained home value growth. It could be a while yet,” he concluded.
Northland
It’s been a relatively flat first quarter of 2025 in Northland.
Home values have increased across the wider region by just 0.4% on average since the start of 2025. Whangarei (2.6%) has recorded the most growth by far; Far North (-2.8%) has experienced the least; Kaipara (0.1%) has done little more than break even.
The average home is now worth $674,678 in the Far North, $734,326 in Whangarei, and $835,041 in Kaipara.
Auckland
Residential property values have dipped slightly this quarter across much of Auckland.
The average home value has reduced by just 0.1% to $1,244,605 in what was the Super City’s first negative quarter since October last year.
Rodney (0.2%), Manukau (0.2%) and Franklin (1.1%) experienced some marginal growth on average. Otherwise home values reduced on the North Shore (-0.9%) and in the local council areas previously known as Auckland City (0.1%), Waitakere (-0.7%), and Papakura (-0.5%).
This is in contrast to a small 0.6% rise in average home value throughout the three months to the end of February 2025. The average home in Auckland is now worth 3% less than the same time last year and 19.2% less than at the market’s peak in late 2021.
Local QV registered valuer Hugh Robson said prices looked as though they had largely stabilised, but there was still little to no prospect of sustained growth in the immediate future.
“We’re at the end of summer now and it has been a fairly quiet one. The market continues to plod along with not a lot happening. First-home buyers are the most active sector, but agents are reporting fairly low attendance at open homes across the board,” he said.
“There is quite a lot of stock on the market at present, but there just isn’t a large amount of demand. It seems many people are still understandably concerned about retaining their jobs and about dealing with the high cost of living.”
Bay of Plenty
Home value growth remains flat-to-gently rising in Tauranga.
The city’s average home has grown in value by 0.4% in the March quarter to $1,023,465 – down slightly on the 1.6% growth recorded throughout the three months to the end of February, and the 1.4% growth recorded throughout the three months to the end of January.
The city’s average home is now worth 1.7% less than the same time last year.
Meanwhile, home values have also risen by an average of 1.3% across the wider Bay of Plenty region this quarter. Rotorua (3.6%) and Gisborne (1.3%) recorded some growth; Opotiki (-1.4%) recorded a small average reduction.
Waikato
Home values in Hamilton have experienced a small loss throughout the first quarter of 2025.
The latest QV House Price Index shows Hamilton’s average home is now worth $787,886, which is 0.3% lower than at the start of this year but 0.5% higher than at the same time last year.
This compares to a small 0.6% increase in average home value throughout the three months to the end of February, and a relatively sizeable 2.3% increase throughout the three months to the end of January.
“Persistent economic uncertainties, including rising unemployment, weakening business conditions and the potential imposition of higher tariffs by the US continue to impact market conditions,” said local QV registered valuer Marshall Wu.
“While March is traditionally the busiest month of the year for the residential market, unsold inventory remains relatively high. This is providing buyers with more choices and less urgency in making purchasing decisions, while some sellers are compelled to lower prices to secure sales.”
“As the market transitions into the cooler months, the housing sector is expected to remain subdued,” Mr Wu added.
Taranaki
The average home in New Plymouth is now worth just 0.3% more than the same time last year.
It follows another quarter of just modest growth. The city’s average home value grew by just 0.3% to $723,836 – compared to 1% growth in the February quarter, and 1.2% growth in the January quarter.
Meanwhile, the average home value in South Taranaki has shrunk by 1.2% to $437,452 this quarter, and increased by 1.6% to $499,508 in Stratford.
Hawke’s Bay
Napier and Hastings had contrasting quarters once more.
Home values increased by an average of 0.7% in the former and reduced by 1.7% in the latter.
Across the wider Hawke’s Bay region, home values decreased by 0.5% throughout the three months to the end of March 2025. It means the average home in the region is now worth 0.9% less than the same time last year.
Palmerston North
Residential property values remain largely static in Palmerston North.
The city’s average home value is unmoved this quarter at $635,891, following a small 0.3% average reduction during the month of March itself.
This is compared to a small 0.9% increase in the three months to the end of February, and 1.1% growth in the three months to the end of January.
“The local property market remains stable with limited price movement,” said QV registered valuer Olivia Betts. “In February and March we saw a large increase in the number of listings, giving buyers even more choice and buying power. We also saw an increase in sales activity, which is not uncommon before autumn and winter sets in.”
“First-time homebuyers are still showing strong interest in properties priced around the mid-$500,000 range, especially those that have been updated within the last 20 years,” she added.
Wairarapa
Home value reductions appear to be slowly gaining traction in the Wairarapa region.
Our latest QV House Price Index shows Masterton’s average home value has reduced by 3.1% this quarter to $562,681. Carterton’s average home reduced in value by 4.7% to $603,755, and home values in South Wairarapa also reduced by 4.4% to a new average of $745,740.
The average home in the region is now worth 2.6% less than the same time last year. This is compared to a national average decline of 2.3% annually.
Wellington
Residential property values have dwindled in Wellington this quarter.
The latest QV House Price Index shows the region’s average home value decreased by 0.3% to $838,916 throughout the first three months of 2025 – a reversal of the 0.3% average growth recorded throughout the February quarter.
Kapiti Coast and Porirua bucked the trend this quarter with average growth of 1.9% and 0.6% respectively. Otherwise, Upper Hutt (-0.4%), Hutt City (-0.2%), and Wellington City (-0.5%) all recorded small average home value losses.
The region’s average home value is now 4.2% lower than the same time last year and 23.2% below the market’s previous peak in late 2021.
QV senior consultant David Cornford said it was a continuation of the same flat theme as in previous months.
“Despite values being relatively flat, there is still reasonable activity in the market – particularly from first-home buyers. Open home attendance has been steady throughout the first quarter of 2025 for well-presented and well-located properties,” he said.
“Buyers are active. However, the number of properties on the market is providing them with plenty of options, as well as some extra bargaining power. It will likely take some time to work through this existing stock and we’ll have to see an uptick in general economic and employment confidence in the capital before any significant improvements in the market flow through.”
Nelson
Home value growth remains consistently slow in Nelson.
The city’s average home has increased in value by 1.7% in the March quarter – only a fraction of a percentage point off the 1.6% growth recorded in the February quarter, and within striking distance of the 1.2% annual growth recorded back in the January quarter.
At $794,843, Nelson’s average home value is now 2% higher than the same time last year.
QV Nelson/Marlborough manager Craig Russell said the majority of activity was in the $500,000 to $800,000 price bracket. “Market confidence is subdued with economic indicators still showing weakness,” he said.
“Renovated properties are in more demand than unrenovated ones and vendors who overprice their property are having to adjust their expectations to achieve a sale within a reasonable time frame. Stock levels remain high, with purchasers generally having a reasonable range of options.”
West Coast
Housing figures continue to fluctuate from month to month and quarter to quarter on the West Coast.
Our QV House Price Index for March 2025 shows that the average home value has risen in Westland District by 4% to $483,677 this quarter. Average home values have reduced by 2.8% to $367,073 in Buller and by 0.4% to $451,564 in Grey.
The average home on the West Coast is still worth 5.2% more than the same time last year. This is compared to an average annual home value decline of 2.3% nationally.
Canterbury
Our latest housing statistics show minimal movement across Canterbury.
Christchurch’s average home value has increased by only 1.1% since the start of this year to reach $774,614.
Likewise, home values in Hurunui and Waimakariri have grown by an average of just 0.5% and 1% to $645,982 and $720,068 respectively.
“Our QV House Price Index results for March once again show modest growth in values, with a similarly steady increase to last month,” said local QV registered valuer Olivia Brownie.
“Though we have seen a busier month in the residential property, it still appears to be somewhat balanced at present, with plenty of listings stifling any significant growth. Yet there is positive sentiment and it has been active with buyer interest in all property types,” she added.
Meanwhile, the average home in Selwyn increased in value by 0.5% this quarter to $844,344. Ashburton recorded no change at $575,234, and Timaru’s average home value reduced marginally by 0.9% to $530,232.
Mackenzie saw the largest average home value increase this quarter, rising 2% to $788,306.
Otago
Residential property values in the Otago region have done little more than break even throughout the first quarter of 2025.
Our QV House Price Index for March 2025 shows values have lifted across the region by an average of just 0.2% since the start of the year, with Dunedin’s average home value registering no growth whatsoever at $645,081. That figure is 1.5% higher than the same time last year.
Central Otago (2.1%) and Waitaki (1.3%) recorded more growth this quarter; Queenstown (-0.1%) and Clutha (-0.3%) recorded less.
Local QV registered valuer Rebecca Johnston commented: “These figures highlight stable, albeit minimal, growth across the region and the continuation of it being a buyers’ market.”
“The property market in Dunedin has been relatively stable compared to other New Zealand cities, showing resilience amid broader national trends,” she added.
Queenstown
Residential property values have wavered by just a fraction of a percentage point in Queenstown this quarter.
Our QV House Price Index for March 2025 shows the average property value has reduced locally by just 0.1% this quarter to $1,819,173. That is slightly smaller than the 0.4% average reduction recorded in the February quarter.
Home values in Queenstown are now 0.4% lower on average than at the same point last year.
Invercargill
The average home in Invercargill is now worth just 0.5% more than the start of 2025.
The city’s average home value has sunk below the $500,000 mark once more, following a small 0.4% reduction during the month of March. The average home here is now worth $498,565, which is 3.7% higher than the same time last year.
Local QV registered valuer Andrew Ronald agents were still reporting strong interest for properties under $600,000, with multiple offers common. “This is likely to flow through to strengthening value levels over the next few months.”
“There is still steady demand from first home buyers and investors are beginning to return to the market with the restoration of interest tax deductibility rules,” he added.
The QV HPI uses a rolling three month collection of sales data, based on sales agreement date. This has always been the case and ensures a large sample of sales data is used to measure value change over time. Having agent and non-agent sales included in the index provides a comprehensive measure of property value change over the longer term.
Workers First Union members who work for major retailers Briscoes and Rebel Sport have rejected a deal containing pay ‘increases’ below the rising cost of living and have voted to begin strike action today by making their feelings about the “disappointing” pay offer known publicly (a ‘media strike’).
Samuel Gilray, a sales assistant at Rebel Sport in Christchurch who has worked for the company for around 18 years, said workers were frustrated with the Briscoe Group’s approach to pay negotiations and were striking for a better future.
“I like my job, and I like working for the company, but the last two years have been some of the most stressful of my working life and many of us are feeling frustrated after these negotiations,” said Mr Gilray.
“This is one of the most successful New Zealand companies and they don’t seem to think we deserve an actual pay rise that takes us forwards rather than backwards.”
“That little extra to take us into positive territory could be the difference between people going to work motivated and happy rather than disappointed and under financial pressure.”
Nicholas Mayne, Workers First Union organiser, said that the Briscoe Group operated 90 stores in New Zealand (47 Briscoes and 43 Rebel Sport), and despite making over $60m in profit for the year ended January 2025, the company would not offer a pay increase to workers that met the rate of the current rising cost of living (3% for the 12 months to December 2024 quarter).
“It’s a poor wage offer to Briscoes and Rebel Sport workers,” said Mr Mayne. “After another busy year of trading and tens of millions in profit, the company are offering our members an effective pay cut for 2025-26.”
“Workers want to make their feelings known and expose the fact that one of our most well-known homewares brands doesn’t believe staff are worth a wage that keeps up with increasing household costs.”
“It’s distasteful and miserly, and the company’s offer to members is well below the current living wage and well below what is tolerable for another year of hard work in the retail sector ahead.”
Troy Johnston, a storeperson at Briscoes Petone, said that his store was “awesome” to work for, but workers deserved better from the current negotiations.
“A lot of people have worked for the company for years, even decades – but with no real growth in wages, lately it has been feeling more like a part-time job for students,” said Mr Johnston.
“You want to do better than just getting by. You want to save, expand your knowledge in the job, and not be held back by the financial pressure.”
Mr Mayne said the formal strike notice was for “non-compliance with any and all employer requirements to refrain from speaking to news media” and would be continuous until a collective agreement is ratified.
Environment report shows human activities are driving changes affecting health, livelihoods and homes – 8 April 2025 – The way New Zealanders choose to live is continuing to have a significant impact on the environment, affecting our health, quality of life, homes and livelihoods in both positive and negative ways, a major report on the environment shows.
Our environment 2025 is the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ’s latest three-yearly update on the state of New Zealand’s environment. The report draws on regular six-monthly reporting in the air, atmosphere and climate, freshwater, land, and marine domains, to provide an overall picture of the environment, including how each of these domains are connected.
Secretary for the Environment, James Palmer, says much of the change seen in our air, water, climate, marine environment, and land over time has been caused by people whose lives are in turn affected by those changes.
About 14% of Australians experienced personal fraud last year. Of these, 2.1 million experienced credit card fraud, 675,300 were caught in a scam, 255,000 had their identities stolen and 433,000 were impersonated online.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics latest Personal Fraud Survey, between July 2023 and June 2024, Australians lost A$2.1 billion through credit card fraud.
This was up almost 9% from the previous year. Even after reimbursements, the loss was still $477 million.
Research shows the more frequently we use technology, the more likely we are to be scammed. Monica Whitty from the Cyber Security Centre, University of Warwick, found victims of cyber-frauds were more likely to score high on impulsivity measures like ‘urgency’ and engage in more frequent online routine activities that place them at great risk of becoming scammed.
We communicate via email, we shop online, use dating apps and allow technicians to remotely access our computers. Meanwhile, amazing “get rich quick” opportunities are apparently being liked by our friends on our socials almost every day.
But too many of us do not stop and think, “is this legitimate?” It is no wonder we see personal fraud and scams increase every year.
While the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures suggest older Australians (aged 45 and over) are more exposed to card fraud, research has found demographics are not a significant predictor of fraud victimisation.
Taking risks
Being too trusting, drives complacency, which produces gullibility. Think about an online dating sites. The site uses a multi-factor authenticator, it requires you to authenticate your photo, password protect your profile and read the scam warnings.
A site’s apparent legitimacy increases your trust. Research has found if you perceive a platform to be legitimate you could be exposed to romance fraud. Fraudsters may be operating within a site, even if it is legitimate.
Another strong predictor of exposure to online fraud is self-control. Self-control theory predicts individuals with low self-control tend to pursue their own self-interest without considering the negative consequences.
Simply, if the investment scheme looks “too good”, they will mostly likely click on the link and get scammed.
Giving away too much
Some individuals are prone to self-disclosing personal information online – and scammers love personal information. Self-disclosure is defined as the amount of information a person decides to make common knowledge.
Sometimes, we disclose, even when we don’t intend to. A common phishing technique on social media is status updates that read, “Your porn star name is your first pet’s name and the first street you lived on.”
They’re interesting, funny and bring on a healthy dose of nostalgia, but the answers to those questions that you tap in for all to see are also most likely to be your security questions on your bank accounts.
The most common scams in 2023-2024:
Buying or selling scams (1.4% or 308,200)
Information request or phishing scams (0.7% or 148,800)
What is the government doing to protect me?
The Australian government recently passed legislation which targets scams. It places increased responsibilities on banking and finance, telecommunications and digital platforms organisations to protect customers.
Suspicious numbers can now be accompanied a warning of “potential fraud” on your smartphone screen. Banks are also informing customers about the latest scams. Some banking transactions can verify the identity of the payment recipient, to ensure the details you have match the actual account holder.
While these will not stop all scams, they are a step towards reducing the number of victims and the amount of money lost to fraudulent approaches.
Six steps to protect yourself
There are some small but powerful steps we can all take to reduce the likelihood of financial harm.
1. Passwords: it is important to have strong, unique passwords across your accounts. Using a password manager can help with this.
2. Multi-factor authentication: many platforms will allow you to add extra layers of security to your account by using one-time passwords, authenticator apps, or tokens.
3. Review privacy settings: be aware of the different settings on your accounts and ensure you are in control of what information you provide and what can be accessed by others.
4. Be vigilant: know what you see and hear may not be real. The person or company you are communicating with may not be authentic. It is okay to be sceptical and take time to do your own checks.
5. Money transfers: never send money you are not willing to lose. Too often, people will send money before realising it is a scam. Never feel rushed or forced into any financial decision. It is OK to say no.
6. Credit monitoring: if you know or suspect you have been scammed, you can enact a credit ban, meaning no one can access your details or take further action in your name. This can be a good short-term solution.
And if you are scammed …
Anyone can report money lost in a scam to ReportCyber, the Australian online police reporting portal for cyber incidents. If you have received scam texts or emails, you can report these to Scamwatch, to assist with education and awareness activities.
Gary Mortimer receives and has received funding from the Building Employer Confidence and Inclusion in Disability Grant, AusIndustry Entrepreneurs’ Program, National Clothing Textiles Stewardship Scheme, National Retail Association and Australian Retailers Association.
The bill would require the SBA to update regulations within one year to direct federal agencies to exclude women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) that self-certify from counting toward WOSB contracting goals in data they send to the SBA. Federal agencies would have an additional two years to implement the new regulations. The bill also would require the SBA to prepare quarterly reports on statistics about WOSBs seeking certification until the new regulations are in place. Based on the costs of similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025-2030 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
NEW YORK, April 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported monthly volumes for March 2025, as well as quarterly volumes, estimated revenue capture, number of listings, and index statistics for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, on its Investor Relations website.
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a leading global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. We aspire to deliver world-leading platforms that improve the liquidity, transparency, and integrity of the global economy. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, exchange capabilities, and client-centric services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions, and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) projections relating to our future financial results, total shareholder returns, growth, trading volumes, products and services, ability to transition to new business models, taxes and achievement of synergy targets, (ii) statements about the closing or implementation dates and benefits of certain acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic, restructuring, technology, de-leveraging and capital allocation initiatives, (iii) statements about our integrations of our recent acquisitions, (iv) statements relating to any litigation or regulatory or government investigation or action to which we are or could become a party, and (v) other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq’s control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq’s ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, U.S. and global competition, and other factors detailed in Nasdaq’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q which are available on Nasdaq’s investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Department of Health (DH) today (April 7) called on the public to echo World Health Day and work together to safeguard maternal and newborn health and reduce the number of preventable maternal and newborn deaths, by supporting breastfeeding, receiving timely immunisations as well as maternal and child health services.
April 7 each year marks the celebration of World Health Day by the World Health Organization. The theme this year is “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures”, with a focus on maternal and child health. Hong Kong has the longest life expectancy and one of the lowest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. In 2023, the infant mortality rate was 1.6 per 1 000 live births, and the maternal mortality rate was three per 100 000 live births. These impressive statistics hinge on a public healthcare system that provides comprehensive health and medical services, including quality maternal and child health services, comprehensive obstetric and woman health services, and efforts in promoting breastfeeding.
Question for written answer E-001217/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Ioan-Rareş Bogdan (PPE)
I welcome the Commission’s initiative to allocate resources to the fight against the illegal trafficking of drugs, explosives, weapons and harmful content which circulate via the hidden networks known as the ‘dark web’.
In view of the growing alarms being sounded by parents’ associations, I feel I should ask the following questions:
1.Are there any official studies or statistics on the exposure of minors to the dark web and the risks associated with it?
2.Does the Commission have up-to-date information on the scale of the trade in illegal and harmful goods via the dark web?
3.What concrete strategies and measures does the Commission have to prevent minors’ ever-increasing access and exposure to harmful content on the internet and the dark web, bearing in mind the adverse impact this has on their development and on families?
I look forward with interest to the Commission’s answers and to learning what measures it is considering to address these challenges.
The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, declared a state of emergency in the capital city, Lima, on March 18. The decree, which came amid a wave of violence, gives the police and military full control of the security situation there for a period of 30 days.
Peru is no stranger to emergencies of this kind. Only last year, in September 2024, Boluarte’s government declared a 60-day state of emergency in 12 districts of the capital. The rationale for declaring the emergency now, as in the past, remains the same: to address the threat posed by criminal gangs.
The latest emergency was prompted by the brazen killing of Paul Flores, the popular 39-year-old lead singer of a Peruvian band called Armonia 10. Flores was shot dead by assailants who attacked a bus he was riding in with bandmates and attempted to extort money from them as they left a concert.
Peru has seen a spate of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months. According to the Peruvian police, there were 459 killings across the country between January 1 and March 16, and over 1,900 reports of extortion in January alone.
Many Peruvians point to the fact that the extortion and homicide racket may be far more severe than official statistics suggest. Plenty of those affected by criminality do not report their misfortune for fears of reprisal by criminal gangs.
On March 21, a few days after the state of emergency in Lima was declared, Peru’s Congress voted to remove the interior minister, Juan José Santiváñez, from office. In a post on X, they said Santiváñez must take responsibility for his “inability to address the wave of citizen insecurity the country is facing”.
Peru serves as a hotspot for sexual slavery, illegal organ trafficking and labour exploitation. In addition, it is also the second-largest producer of cocaine in the world.
Over 95,000 hectares of land was dedicated to coca cultivation in the country in 2023 – an 18% increase from the figure recorded in 2021. This expansion has been driven primarily by cultivation in Peru’s indigenous territories and protected areas. Indigenous territories now account for 20% of all the coca cultivated in Peru.
These lucrative operations are led by local crime organisations, often working in collusion with corrupt public officials and foreign partners. According to Organized Crime Index, these criminal networks include police officers and migration officials who work at control points on the borders and facilitate illegal activities.
The logistics of Peru’s cocaine trade are often also managed by Serbian, Mexican and Colombian mafias. From Peru, cocaine goes through Mexico for the US market and Brazil for the European market. Some shipments are sent directly to Oceania and Japan.
Criminal governance
Peru’s perpetual political instability, weak criminal justice system and the poor presence of the state in its outlying territories allow various criminal groups to engage in their nefarious trade.
Two former Peruvian presidents have faced corruption charges. One of them, Alejandro Toledo, was sentenced to 20 years in jail for corruption in 2024. The authorities accused Toledo of accepting US$35 million (£27 million) in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to allow the company to build a highway in Peru.
Another controversial former president, Alberto Fujimori, had been in prison for 16 years for human rights abuses and corruption after being extradited from Chile in 2007. He was released in 2023 on humanitarian grounds and died the following year.
Meanwhile, prosecutors in Peru are seeking a 34-year sentence for ex-president Pedro Castillo, who was removed from office and arrested after his attempt to dissolve Congress in late 2022 and rule by decree. Castillo has described his trial as “politicised” and has refused legal counsel provided by the judicial system.
So many former Peruvian presidents have been accused of crimes that the country has designated a small jail on the outskirts of Lima specifically to house them. As Colombia-based journalist John Otis put it in a radio interview in 2023, the Barbadillo prison not only serves as a symbol of corruption, but also a testimony to political dysfunction in the country.
The spread of economic activities operating outside the law, such as illegal gold mining, has emboldened organised crime in Peru. Instances of politicians and criminals working together to line their pockets are not uncommon.
A good example is César Álvarez, the governor of the resource-rich Áncash region of western Peru. Nicknamed “the beast” by the citizens of the province because of his reputation for political violence, Álvarez allegedly operated with impunity by asserting his control through an elaborate network of government institutions and criminal organisations.
According to an indictment by Peru’s public prosecutor’s office, Álvarez extorted, threatened and ordered the assassination of political adversaries while in office between 2007 and 2014. Álvarez, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison in 2019.
When the government in Lima last declared an emergency in parts of the capital in 2024, the country’s federation of business associations stated: “We live under siege from organised crime which has taken control of the country in the alarming absence of the state”.
This statement appears prophetic. Peru, it appears, is losing the battle against organised crime.
Amalendu Misra is a recipient of Nuffield Foundation and British Academy Fellowships.
The problem of the disadvantage gap – also known as the attainment gap – is a persistent one in education in England. It refers to how children from certain groups, such as those from poorer backgrounds, ethnic minorities or who have been in care, do worse at school than their peers.
It’s a central concern of the recent interim report of the ongoing review into England’s national curriculum, which points out that the current system is not working well for everyone.
The disadvantage gaps between groups can be measured in different ways. The more simplistic way is to consider outcome measures, such as exam results, in isolation.
For example, at the end of their primary schooling, eleven-year-olds in English state schools take standardised key stage assessments – SATs. These results are used to calculate the disadvantage gap index. The index ranks all pupils in the country and assesses the difference in the average position of disadvantaged pupils and others. It shows whether the gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers is widening or closing.
A disadvantage gap of zero would indicate that there is no difference between the average performance of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils. According to the Department for Education’s figures for 2023-24, the disadvantage gap index at this level is 3.13 in children’s key stage scores. While it had been decreasing between 2011 and 2018, the gap rose to the highest level since 2012 in 2022.
For GCSEs, taken at age 16, the disadvantage gap index is 3.92. It has decreased slightly after widening in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Measuring progress
A more sophisticated analysis of the disadvantage gap can be made by comparing the rate of progress that children achieve through their schooling career. Children in English state schools take a baseline assessment when they first enter their reception year, and their progress from this point can be measured by comparing with their SATs key stage results in year six.
Ideally, all children would progress in their learning at the same rate. But research by one of us (Nadia Siddiqui) shows that pupils from persistently low socioeconomic groups do not progress at the same level as their counterparts.
A recent longitudinal research study – meaning that it has tracked the same participants over years – has shown that since the pandemic, there has been a very big impact on the reading and maths progress of primary school children from poorer backgrounds.
At secondary level, progress can be measured by comparing children’s progress from their SATs at the end of primary school with their GCSE exam results. This measure is called “progress 8”. It indicates how much a secondary school has helped pupils progress from their point of entry at year seven, when compared to a government-calculated expected level of improvement.
The progress 8 measure focuses on the progression children make from their starting points, as opposed to fixating only on the end points in children’s learning.
The disadvantage gap can be measured using test results to gauge progress over time. panitanphoto/Shutterstock
The government uses this measure not to compare individuals, but rather schools to see how much value has been added by each school relative to other schools. But it also measures the progress of key groups, such as children receiving free school meals or of different ethnicities.
The latest data shows that pupils from poorer backgrounds – those eligible for free school meals – made less progress than their peers. This was the case in every ethnic group.
Reducing the gap
In the last few decades, a number of education policies have been introduced to narrow the disadvantage gap determined by household poverty.
Direct funding to improve educational targets is a popular approach and has been adopted in countries across the world. This means schools receive additional funding for admitting disadvantaged pupils. This money should be spent on evidence-informed interventions for improving educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils.
Since 2010, schools in England have been incentivised by pupil premium funding to invest directly in the academic learning of disadvantaged pupils if they are not reaching expected levels. Schools receive funding for each pupil who is, or has been, eligible for free school meals, and for those who have been in care.
Pupil premium funding has changed the pattern of intake of disadvantaged pupils by schools. Segregation of poorer and wealthier pupils, in which pupils from poorer households are clustered in particular schools, has reduced. Schools now take more of a mix of children from poorer and wealthier backgrounds.
This is good because mixed schools create fairer and more inclusive societies where pupils are better equipped to succeed in diverse environments. What’s more, the relative disadvantage gap has slightly improved for pupils at primary school.
The evidence on interventions for disadvantaged pupils is still evolving. For practical reasons, approaches to improving the academic disadvantage gap are mainly applied at school level.
However, in some places, area-based funding schemes, which channel funding to selected regions of particular high poverty, have been introduced. Our research is exploring the extent to which this may be a feasible way to narrow the disadvantage gap.
Ceri Brown receives funding from UKRI (ESRC) and the Mayor of London’s Violence Reduction Unit.
Nadia Siddiqui receives funding from UKRI, EEF, British Council.
Summary The Security and Intelligence Threats to Elections (SITE) Task Force (TF) has detected an information operation targeting the 45th General Election by Chinese social media platform WeChat’s most popular news account Youli-Youmian (有理儿有面), an anonymous blog that does not disclose its provenance.[i] Intelligence reporting links the Youli-Youmian account to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLAC).
The SITE TF assesses that this information operation was intended to influence Canadian-Chinese communities in Canada (i.e. speakers of a Chinese language, such as Mandarin, Cantonese, or Hakka) and looked to mould perceptions about the Prime Minister, Liberal Party of Canada (LPC) Leader and LPC candidate for Nepean, Mark Carney.
The Youli-Youmian account was also responsible for targeting members of Parliament Michael Chong (in June 2023) and Chrystia Freeland (in January 2025).
Content The information operation targeting Mr. Carney is deliberately amplifying narratives in a coordinated and inauthentic way on WeChat, to Chinese audiences, including communities living in Canada. The SITE TF observed large spikes of what is believed to be coordinated inauthentic behaviour on March 10 and 25, 2025.
Specifically, various contrasting narratives were spread on WeChat about Mr. Carney – first amplifying the candidate’s stance with the United States[ii], then targeting his experience and credentials.[iii]
Tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) In February 2023, the China Digital Times reported that social media posts from the Youli-Youmian account are frequently assigned to employees at Chinese state-owned enterprises to amplify to wider audiences as part of their work duties.[iv] The SITE TF assesses that similar coordinated inauthentic activity was likely at play in the targeting of Mr. Carney on March 10 and 25.
The campaign received high levels of user engagement and views, with amplified articles about Mr. Carney receiving between 85,000 and 130,000 interactions, and an estimate of 1 to 3 million views. This level of engagement on WeChat is high when compared with popular state media outlets like the People’s Daily that average only 30,000 interactions per post.
The articles posted on the Youli-Youmian account on March 25 were amplified in a coordinated and inauthentic way by a group of 30 smaller WeChat accounts that boosted the discoverability of the posts. This amplification occurred over the course of four days, keeping narratives about Mr. Carney in algorithmic feeds, albeit at much lower engagement and views.
Background WeChat developer Tencent reports that the platform has over 1.3 billion monthly active users but has not disclosed how many of those users live overseas.[v] Marketing firms in Canada put the number of Canadian WeChat users at over 1 million.[vi] Despite this popularity, WeChat has remained not well understood by information integrity researchers. The PRC is likely aware of this oversight and may carry out these information operations on WeChat to avoid scrutiny.
Malign behaviour from the Youli-Youmian account was first identified by Rapid Response Mechanism Canada (RRM Canada) at Global Affairs Canada during federal by-elections taking place in June 2023.[vii] During that period, analysts noted that the popular WeChat account had targeted Mr. Michael Chong, CPC MP for the Wellington-Halton Hills riding at the time, with false narratives.
The Youli-Youmian entity was also responsible for targeting former LPC leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland in late January 2025.[viii]
Implications
The SITE TF assesses that the objective of the information operation is to influence Chinese communities in Canada in the context of the 45th General Election. The information being spread is inauthentic and coordinated, with the goal to manipulate.
This aims to ensure Canberrans living with non-visible disabilities are better supported when visiting service centres.
Not all disabilities, conditions or chronic illnesses can be seen. The Hidden Disability Sunflower initiative encourages inclusivity, acceptance and understanding.
Hidden disabilities may be:
neurological
cognitive and neurodevelopmental
physical
visual
auditory.
This also includes respiratory conditions, rare diseases and chronic conditions like diabetes or chronic pain.
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative
The global Hidden Disabilities Sunflower initiative gives people a tool to share that they have a hidden disability – if they wish to do so.
They can opt to wear a sunflower lanyard or pin. This visual cue shows they might need extra help, understanding or time, without them having to ask.
All Access Canberra Service Centre staff have received Hidden Disabilities Sunflower training.
They also have their own sunflower supporter pins.
This shows customers with hidden disabilities that they have the awareness and training to support them when carrying out government transactions.
“By joining the Sunflower Initiative it’s another way for Access Canberra to show that ‘we see you, we value you and we want to service you in way that best works for you,’” Service Centre Operations Manager Paige Ryan said.
Staff now have a greater understanding of the types of disabilities and/or conditions people experience and how common these are in our community.
“This training also helps encourage our staff to continue to challenge our way of thinking when it comes to how we offer our help, support and guidance to those we service,” Paige said.
More support for Canberrans with neurodiversity
There will be a quiet hour each Wednesday at Access Canberra Service Centres.*
From 10am to 11am, service centre staff will help to facilitate a calmer, less stimulating space for customers to complete their transactions.
Where possible, service centres will have music turned down and mobile phones on silent.
“The aim is to create a less stimulating environment for one hour each week, which will help provide a more inclusive offering to our community,” Paige said.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 30-40 per cent of the Australian population is neurodiverse.
*The Dickson service centre, which is appointment-only, will not offer the weekly quiet hour.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Two studies published in JAMA Neurology look at diabetes drugs and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Comments on both studies:
Prof Atticus Hainsworth, Professor of Cerebrovascular Disease, St George’s, University of London, said:
“These two studies have looked at drug prescribing databases, to assess whether diabetic medications impact on risk of Alzheimer’s, vascular and other dementia types. The findings are intriguing, even though they are somewhat contradictory. But nothing can substitute for a prospective, hypothesis-testing experiment, which in this context means a prospective clinical trial.”
Prof Mark Evans, University Professor of Diabetic Medicine & Honorary Consultant Physician, Institute of Metabolic Science & Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, said:
Background:
“It is increasingly apparent that there is an association between diabetes and increased risk of dementia. Although it is not clear how this association is mediated (and whether this is to do with elevated blood glucose from diabetes or a broader effect of diabetes for example on the circulation or inflammation pathways), the obvious pragmatic question arising is whether or not treating diabetes with glucose lowering therapies can reduce risk of dementia and importantly whether certain types of glucose lowering therapy are particularly effective.
“Newer glucose lowering treatments used in (type 2) diabetes seem to carry additional health benefits beyond just glucose lowering. For example, treatments that act via signalling at the GLP-1 receptor or by blocking SGLT glucose transporter channels have been shown to carry broader protective effects for the heart and kidneys.
“Some data already exist to suggest that these agents may also have brain-protective effects against the development of dementia. The evidence to date has largely fallen into two different types. Firstly, examining clinical trials of glucose lowering therapies where usually dementia is not the primary focus but in the clinical trials, investigators will document all health changes including a new diagnosis or change in dementia or cognition. Secondly, examining large real-world datasets for the association between diabetes, different types of therapy and a clinical record of dementia.
These two papers:
“These two papers cover each of these areas respectively. Seminer2et al have performed an analysis of clinical trials broadly similar to ones previously reported. They found that glucose-lowering therapies in general were not significantly associated with a reduction in dementia, although when comparing different types of therapy, GLP-1R targeted drugs but not those acting on SGLT channels were associated with a reduction in dementia. There are cautions arising from these data and the authors have acknowledge these appropriately. Overall, the absolute rates of dementia reported in the studies contributing to their analysis were relatively low which thus reduces the ability for this type of analysis to identify differences. There may be a number of reasons for this, for example the clinical trials were not designed to look in detail for possible changes in dementia.
“The other paper from Tang1 et al was a real-world analysis. Consistent with previous data, this did seem to show less dementia in those using either GLP-1R agonists or SGLT2 inhibitors. The authors were aware of the limitations of observational data. In other words, it may be that the type of person receiving these agents was different from the type of person prescribed other glucose lowering therapies. As an example, one obvious potential confounder from their paper was that the groups receiving GLP 1 agonist or SGLT inhibitor therapy were younger than the comparison groups.
General Reflection:
“Overall these papers whet the appetite for two large clinical trials (EVOKE and EVOKE+) that will complete towards the end of this year. These were specifically designed to look at whether semaglutide, a GLP 1 receptor agonist, can reduce progression of Alzheimer’s dementia and may give us a more definitive answer, at least for GLP 1 receptor agonist treatment.”
Prof David Strain, Associate Professor in Cardiometabolic Health, and a clinical geriatrician, University of Exeter, said:
“Living with diabetes is associated with twice the rate of decline towards both vascular and Alzheimer’s Type dementia. Although long-term high blood sugar is recognised to be warm contributor to this, there are many others including genetics, the body’s ability to produce insulin, episodes of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) and inflammation. For years, the best way of preventing this was to attempt to keep the sugar in the “goldilocks zone“ that is not too high but not too low.
“GLP-1 receptor antagonists (such as semaglutide and dulaglutide) and SGLT-2 inhibitors (such as dapagliflozin and empagliflozin) have been demonstrated to control the sugar, and also reduce the inflammation (a key driver of Alzheimer’s disease) and reduce vascular risk (a key driver of vascular dementia) more than would be expected by the sugar control alone. It is therefore no surprise that these data show a lower risk of dementia in people who receive them as part of her routine care.
“We must be cautious how we interpret these data though. Firstly, there were very small numbers of events in the randomised control trials and these were not fully validated so there is a possibility that there were many other cases of dementia missed, indeed that patients reported as having Alzheimer’s type dementia may have had other problems. In the database study, we can never be certain of other unmeasured factors that influenced the doctor to prescribe one medication over another. These may also have had an impact on whether a person would progress to dementia or not.
“It is also important to say this is talking about the risk of dementia in people with diabetes. We have recently seen benefit of the GLP-1 RAs for cardiovascular health in people who do not have diabetes, likewise the SGLT 2 inhibitors are regularly used in other conditions. Today’s studies will need to be replicated prospectively, in people with and without diabetes such as the work we are performing at the University of Exeter, to determine if we can help reduce the progression towards dementia in many more people in the country.”
Prof Naveed Sattar, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine/Honorary Consultant, University of Glasgow, said:
“These two papers on potential for GLP-1RA medicines to lower dementia risk are somewhat encouraging but they are FAR from definitive, given the design of one is observational and the numbers of people with dementia in the trial meta-analyses were incredibly small, leading to limited power. Hence, we need to await the results of ongoing randomised trials in this area before drawing sensible conclusions. There is optimism GLP-1RAs (and related medicines) may lower future dementia risk, however, given they favourably impact multiple diseases (cardiovascular, hypertension, kidney and diabetes) known to increase dementia risk, it might be that it is having a lower risk of stroke /heart disease and diabetes that actually then is linked to a lower risk of dementia. Hopefully, far more robust trial evidence – needed before any clinical implications are drawn – should be forthcoming in the near future.”
Dr Ivan Koychev, Clinical Reader in Neuropsychiatry and Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Imperial College London and Central North West London NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“Both papers are of good quality. Tang et al is a large epidemiological study; the limitation comes from the fact that such designs limit the ability to draw conclusions about causality. Seminer et al look at clinical trial data where dementia and cognitive effects were not the primary targets of the studies. Therefore, it is possible that some of these effects were missed or over-reported due to the opportunistic nature of the data collection.
“The two studies add to a growing and remarkably consistent body of evidence that GLP1 receptor agonists associate with a reduction in dementia incidence. The Seminer et al paper is significant as it shows that GLP-1 RAs outperform SGLT-2 inhibitors in clinical trial settings. This suggests that the dementia protection effects are not due to glucose control mechanisms. Instead, inflammation and cerebrovascular effects are likely involved. Overall, these data support the urgent exploration of GLP1 RAs as a preventative treatment in people at risk for dementia.”
Prof Tara Spires-Jones, Director of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Group Leader in the UK Dementia Research Institute, and President of the British Neuroscience Association said:
“The study by Tang1 and colleagues examined data from over 90,000 people with diabetes to determine whether treatment with two different glucose lowering drugs were associated with risk of developing dementia. Both glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RAs) and
sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2is) drugs were associated with reduced risk of developing dementia over 8 years from starting treatment compared to people taking other glucose lowering treatments. There was no difference in risk between people taking the GLP-1Ras and SGLT2is. This is a strong study that adds to the growing data suggesting that diabetes increases risk for developing dementia.
“The paper from Seminer2 and colleagues examined data from 26 clinical trials to determine whether glucose lowering treatments were associated with developing dementia. They observed that GLP-1Ras but not but not SGLT2is were associated with a reduction in dementia in these trials.
“Together, these data are encouraging for the potential of using GLP-1Ras to lower dementia risk in people with diabetes, but even within these 2 strong studies, there are slightly conflicting results over SGLT2is highlighting the need for further research. It is important to note that these drugs do have side effects and that they are not guaranteed to prevent dementia. The studies had important limitations including a relatively short follow up time. Future work will be important to understand how risk factors like diabetes and obesity increase risk of dementia to develop effective treatments and prevention strategies.”
Dr Emma Anderson, Principal Research Fellow and Associate Professor of Epidemiology in the Division of Psychiatry, UCL, said:
“Regarding the systematic review of glucose lowering therapies2, my comments are as follows:
“These results should be interpreted with caution for several reasons. Firstly, although an effect of GLP-1RAs was identified for all cause dementia, the heterogeneity in the studies included in this analysis was high (meaning that the studies included are not necessarily comparable, undermining the validity of the combined results). There was tentative evidence that this heterogeneity could have been explained, at least in part, by the proportion of women included in these studies.
“Secondly, there was no evidence of an effect of GLP-1RAs with either Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia; the two most common causes of dementia. Thus, overall, there is still a question around whether GLP-1RAs would actually reduce dementia risk.
“For the emulated target trial1, my comment is:
“This study should be interpreted with caution, as emulated target trials are as susceptible to confounding by indication bias as traditional observational epidemiology studies. This means that there is a possibility that the results they have observed are actually due to the underlying reason people are prescribed these glucose-lowering medications in the first place, rather than the medication itself. More robust study designs, which overcome this very important limitation, are needed before such conclusions can be made.”
Prof Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology & Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Oxford, said:
“For me, these new retrospective analyses suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists, particularly semaglutide, might reduce the risk of developing dementia in people with type 2 diabetes. But we need data from prospective trials to provide stronger evidence.
“The wider question of whether such drugs might also be protective against dementia in people who don’t have diabetes is a really intriguing one, and the focus of several ongoing clinical trials.”
Prof Kevin McConway, Emeritus Professor of Applied Statistics, Open University, said:
“I’ll restrict myself to pointing out a few things about these two studies, which may well all be obvious. I’m writing as a statistician and did not spot any important statistical flaws – but I can’t comment on non-statistical aspects.
“Both studies are only in people who already had type 2 diabetes. I believe there’s been wider interest in whether GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs (GLP-1RAs), such as semaglutide (e.g. Ozempic or Wegovy) might reduce dementia risk, in people who are taking them for other reasons than having diabetes. These studies can’t directly tell us anything about that – though the wider context discussed in the linked editorial by Dr Diana Thiara does make some points about the wider context. That editorial is definitely worth reading to make sense of all this, in my view.
“At first sight it might look like a sort of contradiction that one1 of the studies (Tang et al.) found evidence of a decreased risk of certain dementias in people with type 2 diabetes taking either GLP-1RAs or drugs of another class (SGLT2is) used to lower glucose in people with type 2 diabetes, compared to people with type 2 diabetes taking other glucose-lowering drugs, while the other2 study (Seminer et al.) found no evidence that passed the usual statistical criteria that people with type 2 diabetes taking any of GLP-1RAs, SGLT2is, or another drug called pioglitazone did reduce all-cause dementia. It looks as if one is saying that, in people with type 2 diabetes, taking GLP-1RAs and SGLT2is is associated with reduced dementia risk, and the other is saying that it isn’t associated with reduced dementia risk. But there’s no contradiction, for the following reasons:
The Tang study1 has quite a complicated type of study design (target trial emulation), but that’s still a type of observational study and so cannot completely rule out the possibility that the differences it found in dementia risk are actually caused by something other than the drugs being taken. The Seminer study2 is a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised trials so doesn’t carry the same bias issues about cause and effect.
The comparator (control) treatments were different in the two studies. In the Tang study1, patients taking either GLP-1RAs or SGLT2is were compared with patients taking a different glucose-reducing drug. In the Seminer study2, patients taking the drugs were compared, in each of the RCTs they considered, with patients taking a placebo (that is, something with no active ingredients that otherwise is just like that drug under trial), so not a drug at all.
The two studies were considering different outcome measures. The Tang study1 considered only Alzheimer’s dementia and related dementias. The Seminer study2 included, as its primary outcome, dementia (of any type) or cognitive impairment.
“Therefore the two studies differ in terms of the treatments involved (taking the comparator, control, treatment into account), the type of study design, and the risk of bias. So direct comparison of their findings doesn’t make as much sense as you might think at first. Again, the Thiara editorial makes this all clearer, I think.
“Despite the overall finding of the Seminer2 meta-analysis that the three drug classes that it considered weren’t associated with a reduction in overall risk of dementia or cognitive impairment, on average, compared to controls taking a placebo, they found that GLP-1RAs (considered on their own, leaving out the other drug classes) were associated with a reduction in dementia risk.
“Tang found overall no difference between the risk of Alzheimer disease and related dementias between type 2 diabetes patients taking GLP-1RAs or SGLT2is, but it did find a lower risk in patients taking semaglutide compared to patients taking SGLT2is.
“Though both studies involved large numbers of patients overall, the number of patients who actually had a dementia diagnosis was pretty low, particularly for newer drugs, and the follow-up time was short, given how long it can take for dementias to develop. This is quite a big limitation.”
Dr Richard Oakley, Director of Research and Innovation, Alzheimer’s Society, said:
“Last year, the Lancet Commission in Dementia Prevention, Intervention and Care – funded by Alzheimer’s Society – highlighted diabetes as one of 14 risk factors for dementia.
“Drugs that lower blood glucose are often used as part of diabetes treatment, and research has shown they might also be effective in reducing dementia risk.
“Whilst both of these studies found a link between GLP-1RAs and reduced dementia risk, only one found SGLT2is, another class of diabetes drug, were also associated with a reduced risk. More research is needed to properly understand how diabetes treatments may lower the risk of dementia, by tracking people for longer, especially as they get older.
“Alzheimer’s Society is interested to hear results from ongoing clinical trials of the GLP-1RA drug semaglutide for people with early Alzheimer’s disease, to learn whether these drugs can slow the course of the disease.”
Comments on just the Tang et al study:
Dr Leah Mursaleen, Head of Clinical Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said:
“This study1 used health records from nearly 400,000 people who had type 2 diabetes who were taking drugs called SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1RAs to control their condition. These drugs are usually taken to lower blood sugar levels in diabetes. The researchers compared these drugs with other standard medications used to manage diabetes to evaluate the risk of developing dementia.
“People who were taking the SGLT-2 inhibitors or GLP-1RA medications appeared to have a decreased risk of developing dementia compared with those taking other diabetes medicines.
“The results from this study support the growing evidence that GLP-1RA and SGLT-2 inhibitors medicines may be linked with a lower risk of developing dementia. We don’t know yet why these medicines may be protective, and will need more research to understand how they are affecting the brain.
“Clinical trials are already looking at the use of these types of drugs, including the EVOKE study, which is testing semaglutide (Ozempic) as a potential treatment for people with early Alzheimer’s.
“While the findings of this study are interesting, it’s important to consider whether any other factors might be influencing the results such as the severity of type 2 diabetes, health, income, and education.”
1: ‘GLP-1RA and SGLT2i Medications for Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias’ byHuilin Tanget al.was published in JAMA Neurology at 16:00 UK time on Monday 7 April 2025.
DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.0353
2: ‘Cardioprotective Glucose-Lowering Agents and Dementia Risk A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’ byAllie Semineret al.was published in JAMA Neurology at 16:00 UK time on Monday 7 April 2025.
DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2025.0360
Declared interests
Prof Atticus Hainsworth: “I lead the Vascular Experimental Medicine team within DementiasPlatformUK:
Prof Mark Evans: “I have received personal fees from Medtronic, Ypsomed, Dexcom, Abbott, Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Zucara, Pila Pharma and research support from NovoNordisk, this includes a current PhD student who is funded by Novo Nordisk to examine the mechanisms underpinning the relationship between diabetes/ metabolic disease and dementia but does not include examining the effects of therapies. Abbott, Eli Lilly, Sanofi. The University of Cambridge has received salary support for MLE from the National Health Service in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve.”
Prof David Strain: “I have received speaker fees from AstraZeneca (dapagliflozin) and Novo Nordisk (semaglutide). I lead the UK Stakeholders consensus document for the management of diabetes in older adults which the current UK guidelines are based.”
Prof Naveed Sattar “Has consulted for several companies that make diabetes medicines but also contributed to several lifestyle trials.
“For Novo Nordisk: have consulted for company in advisory boards but not on any of their weight loss drug trial committees; am on steering committee for ZEUS trial but this is not a weight loss trial product but anti-inflammatory. Do not have any shares either for any product in health etc.
“N.S. declares consulting fees and/or speaker honoraria from Abbott Laboratories, Afimmune, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Hanmi Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and Sanofi; and grant support paid to his university from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, and Roche Diagnostics.”
Dr Ivan Koychev: “IK has received speaker fees as well as an investigator initiated grant to explore the effects of semaglutide in people at risk for dementia from Novo Nordisk.”
Prof Tara Spires-Jones: “I have no conflicts with this study but have received payments for consulting, scientific talks, or collaborative research over the past 10 years from AbbVie, Sanofi, Merck, Scottish Brain Sciences, Jay Therapeutics, Cognition Therapeutics, Ono, and Eisai. I am also Charity trustee for the British Neuroscience Association and the Guarantors of Brain and serve as scientific advisor to several charities and non-profit institutions.”
Dr Emma Anderson: “I have no conflicts of interest.”
Prof Masud Husain: “I don’t have any conflicts of interest.”
Prof Kevin McConway: “Previously a Trustee of the SMC and a member of its Advisory Committee.”
Dr Richard Oakley: “No conflicts of interest to declare from Richard or the Society.”
Dr Leah Mursaleen: “Leah has no conflicts of interest to declare.”
The Trump administration’s foreign policy has raised alarms. It seems to have shifted America away from it traditional Nato allies, favouring instead a closer relationship with Russia. There has also been talk of plans to control Greenland, the Panama Canal – possibly even Canada. This has caused sleepless nights for political leaders, especially in Europe.
However, in the developing world, the biggest concern is the US government’s suspension of development aid. For people in these regions, access to clean water, seeds for crops and vaccines is a matter of life or death.
The suspension is presently the subject of a battle in the US Supreme Court, but at the end of February, the administration said it planned to cut 90% of all overseas aid contracts. With a single stroke of President Trump’s Sharpie pen, this has struck out US$60 billion (£39 billion) of US aid assistance, globally. Internal projections by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), published by the New York Times at the beginning of March, forecast dire consequences, including a massive increase in diseases such as malaria and polio as well as a rise in cases of malnutrition of up to a million children.
USAID was founded in 1961 under John F. Kennedy’s administration. It operated with an annual budget of about US$58 billion – orders of magnitude larger than any other country’s development portfolio. It maintains a staff of diplomats, subject experts, and also employs local nationals around the world. It is a critical component of US soft power and works in close proximity to the country’s national security interests.
USAID’s absence will be felt around the world. Perhaps the most consequential effect lies with the freezing of American food aid. Experts have already predicted that without this lifeline, Sudan could face a famine to compound the effects of the civil war that has raged there. The consequences of this will be very public, producing heartbreaking headlines and images.
But there is another side to this that the Trump administration seems to be overlooking. USAID is one of the largest single customers of American farm products that constitute the country’s food aid packages – 1 million metric tonnes in 2024 alone.
One of the most misunderstood concepts of foreign aid is the fact that large portions of its budget are spent domestically. A report may say that billions of dollars of food aid were given by the US to Sudan – but much of that represents payments to American farmers who are growing the food that is then donated to starving people – not just in Sudan, either.
America’s farmers already exist on very tight margins, so an unexpected loss in revenue such as this, is likely to be a serious blow to them as well. It’s just one example of the effect this decision will have both at home and abroad.
Pulling away the safety net
Without USAID the world is less safe. There is a large body of research on how development assistance is a critical component of an effective national security strategy. In 2018, the then secretary of defense, Jim Mattis, who was appointed by Trump, said in an interview that his message to the world is: “Work with our diplomats because you do not want to fight the Department of Defense.”
To illustrate Mattis’s point, consider the academic work done on the emergence of climate-driven conflicts driven by water and food shortages. One crisis simulation I use in my classrooms puts students in the role of solving a kinetic (shooting) war over water rights in the Horn of Africa. This particular crisis, while used as a game to teach national security, could very easily become a reality. It’s the sort of thing USAID helps to prevent.
I have had the fortune to serve my country in several capacities. Before I started my doctorate in intelligence and national security, I spent four years working for the US government, both as a development worker and in the diplomatic and defence sectors. While diplomacy, defence and development work might look very different on the surface, I can attest that they are quite similar – and very closely linked.
They operate in very different spheres – but the goal is ultimately the same: to help partner nations enhance their own safety and prosperity. Without this help they may turn to adversaries such as Russia and China to provide assistance and security. These adversaries then have an opportunity to expand their influence around the world, which can include supporting dictatorships and predatory lending, such as seen in the Chinese belt and road initiative.
Peacekeeping through soft power
As a US peace corps volunteer, I called on USAID funding to help the community I was assigned to. In Akhaltsikhe, Georgia I taught English and coordinated youth development programmes.
The Akhaltsikhe region is one of the poorest in the country – and the school was in a sorry state of affairs. With a USAID grant, we were able to renovate part of the school and create an English language learning centre, which still thrives today, 12 years later. I can say first-hand that this project had a big impact on the image of the US among the Georgian people in my community.
It should go without saying that the US has a chequered past when it comes to some of its foreign policy interventions. But the country’s wealth and resources offer it the unique position to help grow and enhance western values in parts of the world that deserve the same freedom that developed countries in the west take for granted. In my opinion, that is money well spent.
Whatever value one might place on the US global footprint does not erase the truth of its existence. America is called upon to uphold democracy, to lift people out of poverty, and to respond to crises no matter where they are. Donald Trump, Elon Musk and his Doge staffers should have paid greater heed to USAID’s motto: “For the American people.”
Chase Johnson 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.
Alcohol, whether consumed regularly or only on special occasions, takes a toll on your body. From your brain and heart, to your lungs and muscles, to your gastrointestinal and immune systems, alcohol has broad harmful effects on your health – including causing cancer.
Alcohol is the third-leading preventable cause of cancer in the U.S., responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually. In comparison, alcohol-related vehicle crashes cause around 13,500 deaths each year in the U.S.
In 2000, the U.S. National Toxicology Program concluded that consuming alcoholic beverages is a known human carcinogen. In 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified alcohol a Group 1 carcinogen, the highest classification indicating there is enough evidence to conclude a substance causes cancer in people. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health concur that there is conclusive evidence that alcohol causes several types of cancer.
I am a researcher studying the biological effects of moderate and long-term alcohol consumption. My team is working to uncover some of the mechanisms behind how alcohol increases cancer risk, including damage to immune cellsand the liver.
The U.S. surgeon general called for including cancer risk in alcohol warning labels.
How does alcohol cause cancer?
Cancer occurs when cells grow uncontrollably in the body. Alcohol may lead to tumor formation by damaging DNA, causing mutations that disrupt normal cell division and growth.
Researchers have identified several mechanisms associated with alcohol and cancer development. A 2025 report from the U.S. surgeon general highlights four distinct ways alcohol can cause cancer: alcohol metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammation, alterations in hormone levels, and interactions with other carcinogens such as tobacco smoke.
Alcohol metabolism is the process by which the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol. When alcohol breaks down, its first byproduct is acetaldehyde, a chemical that is itself classified as a carcinogen. Researchers have found that certain genetic mutations can lead the body to break down alcohol faster, resulting in increased levels of acetaldehyde.
There is also considerable evidence that alcohol can trigger the body to release harmful molecules called free radicals. These molecules can damage DNA, proteins and lipids in cells in a process called oxidative stress. My lab has found that free radicals formed from alcohol consumption can directly affect how well cells make and break down proteins, resulting in abnormal proteins that promote inflammation that favors tumor formation.
Alcohol consumption is a highly preventable cause of cancer. However, there isn’t currently a way to determine someone’s personal cancer risk from alcohol. Each person’s individual genetic background, lifestyle, diet and other health factors can all influence the effects of alcohol on tumor formation. Nevertheless, rethinking your alcohol drinking habits can help protect your health and reduce your cancer risk.
Pranoti Mandrekar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
In a remarkably prescient 1948 report, Alan Turing – the father of modern computer science – proposed the construction of machines that display intelligent behavior. He also discussed the “education” of such machines “by means of rewards and punishments.”
Turing’s ideas ultimately led to the development of reinforcement learning, a branch of artificial intelligence. Reinforcement learning designs intelligent agents by training them to maximize rewards as they interact with their environment.
Animal trainers know that animal behavior can be influenced by rewarding desirable behaviors. A dog trainer gives the dog a treat when it does a trick correctly. This reinforces the behavior, and the dog is more likely to do the trick correctly the next time. Reinforcement learning borrowed this insight from animal psychology.
But reinforcement learning is about training computational agents, not animals. The agent can be a software agent like a chess-playing program. But the agent can also be an embodied entity like a robot learning to do household chores. Similarly, the environment of an agent can be virtual, like the chessboard or the designed world in a video game. But it can also be a house where a robot is working.
Just like animals, an agent can perceive aspects of its environment and take actions. A chess-playing agent can access the chessboard configuration and make moves. A robot can sense its surroundings with cameras and microphones. It can use its motors to move about in the physical world.
Agents also have goals that their human designers program into them. A chess-playing agent’s goal is to win the game. A robot’s goal might be to assist its human owner with household chores.
The reinforcement learning problem in AI is how to design agents that achieve their goals by perceiving and acting in their environments. Reinforcement learning makes a bold claim: All goals can be achieved by designing a numerical signal, called the reward, and having the agent maximize the total sum of rewards it receives.
Reinforcement learning from human feedback is key to keeping AIs aligned with human goals and values.
Researchers do not know if this claim is actually true, because of the wide variety of possible goals. Therefore, it is often referred to as the reward hypothesis.
Sometimes it is easy to pick a reward signal corresponding to a goal. For a chess-playing agent, the reward can be +1 for a win, 0 for a draw, and -1 for a loss. It is less clear how to design a reward signal for a helpful household robotic assistant. Nevertheless, the list of applications where reinforcement learning researchers have been able to design good reward signals is growing.
A big success of reinforcement learning was in the board game Go. Researchers thought that Go was much harder than chess for machines to master. The company DeepMind, now Google DeepMind, used reinforcement learning to create AlphaGo. AlphaGo defeated top Go player Lee Sedol in a five-match game in 2016.
A more recent example is the use of reinforcement learning to make chatbots such as ChatGPT more helpful. Reinforcement learning is also being used to improve the reasoning capabilities of chatbots.
Reinforcement learning’s origins
However, none of these successes could have been foreseen in the 1980s. That is when Barto and his then-Ph.D. student Sutton proposed reinforcement learning as a general problem-solving framework. They drew inspiration not only from animal psychology but also from the field of control theory, the use of feedback to influence a system’s behavior, and optimization, a branch of mathematics that studies how to select the best choice among a range of available options. They provided the research community with mathematical foundations that have stood the test of time. They also created algorithms that have now become standard tools in the field.
It is a rare advantage for a field when pioneers take the time to write a textbook. Shining examples like “The Nature of the Chemical Bond” by Linus Pauling and “The Art of Computer Programming” by Donald E. Knuth are memorable because they are few and far between. Sutton and Barto’s “Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction” was first published in 1998. A second edition came out in 2018. Their book has influenced a generation of researchers and has been cited more than 75,000 times.
Reinforcement learning has also had an unexpected impact on neuroscience. The neurotransmitter dopamine plays a key role in reward-driven behaviors in humans and animals. Researchers have used specific algorithms developed in reinforcement learning to explain experimental findings in people and animals’ dopamine system.
Barto and Sutton’s foundational work, vision and advocacy have helped reinforcement learning grow. Their work has inspired a large body of research, made an impact on real-world applications, and attracted huge investments by tech companies. Reinforcement learning researchers, I’m sure, will continue to see further ahead by standing on their shoulders.
Gymnastics has long been seen as the domain of children and teenagers, with young athletes flipping and tumbling their way through high-energy routines before retiring in their late teens or early twenties. But in recent years, a surprising shift has emerged – more adults are taking up the sport. Whether for fitness or fun, gymnastics is no longer just for the young.
What’s the reason for this? And what benefits can adults gain from embracing a sport known for its physical demands?
The rise in adult gymnastics is more than just a passing fad. Participation numbers have been climbing steadily over the past few years. In the US, for example, the number of adult gymnasts has grown by over 25% in the past five years.
In the UK, there are more than 400 gymnastics centres offering programmes specifically for over 18s. There are also adult-specific championships, with opportunities to compete in acrobatic, artistic, trampolining and tumbling gymnastics.
Clubs once focused solely on youth gymnastics programmes are now seeing increased demand for adult classes. Club owners and coaches have noted a swing in their membership demographics, with more adults signing up to refine their skills or simply try something new.
This is something I have seen first hand. Having competed at gymnastics as a child before retiring in my late teens, I then transitioned into coaching. As a coach, I found myself particularly drawn to adult gymnastics classes, which were starting to grow in popularity. I enjoyed the unique challenges and rewards of coaching adults, as they brought a fresh energy to the gym.
Several factors may be driving this newfound enthusiasm for gymnastics among adults.
One reason may be the challenge of learning new skills later in life. Mastering a cartwheel, handstand or somersault as an adult requires coordination, strength and perseverance. Many adults are drawn to gymnastics precisely because it offers a steep learning curve, providing both a physical and mental challenge.
It’s also an opportunity to revisit childhood passions. For many people, gymnastics may have been a childhood activity they drifted away from. Now, as adults, they’re rediscovering the joy of movement – this time with the benefit of structured training and supportive coaching.
Social media has played a role in the rise of adult gymnastics too. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are filled with stories of adult beginners tackling gymnastics, from learning their first handstand to mastering backflips.
On the more elite end of the sport, there are numerous examples of gymnasts displaying longevity or of others making comebacks having retired years earlier. For example, Chellsie Memmel, the US 2008 Olympic team silver-medalist and 2005 world all-around champion, announced in 2020 that she was coming out of retirement at the age of 32.
Meanwhile, the career of 49-year-old Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina has spanned almost four decades. Chusovitina is the only gymnast ever to compete in eight Olympic Games, and she has also competed at 16 world championships. Last month, she finished fourth in the women’s vault final at the FIG World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.
Athletes like Memmel and Chusovitina are an inspiration to adults who may have thought they were too old to give gymnastics a go.
Another major factor is the post-pandemic focus on health. COVID-19 led many to rethink their approach to fitness. Gymnastics, which combines strength, mobility, flexibility and endurance, offers a full-body workout which appeals to people looking to maintain an active lifestyle.
What are the benefits?
Physically, gymnastics improves flexibility, mobility, balance, coordination and strength. The controlled movements and stretching involved enhance the body’s range of motion and reduce stiffness.
Learning to support one’s own body weight in movements such as handstands builds core and upper-body strength, while the emphasis on balance helps prevent falls and injuries. Strengthening muscles and joints through gymnastics can also benefit other sports and daily activities, reducing the likelihood of strains and sprains.
Beyond the physical benefits, gymnastics offers mental and social advantages. Learning complex movements keeps the brain engaged and improves focus, providing cognitive stimulation. Mastering new skills fosters a sense of achievement and self-belief, while the sense of progress can be highly motivating.
Many adults may also find that gymnastics provides an excellent outlet for stress relief, allowing them to disconnect from daily pressures and focus on movement. And adult gymnastics classes often create a strong sense of community, where participants can support one another, share goals and celebrate progress together.
Any challenges?
Despite its benefits, adult gymnastics does come with challenges. One of the biggest concerns for newcomers is the fear of injury. Gymnastics is a demanding sport and the risk of falls and strains can be a worry. But structured training, proper warm-ups and gradual progression all help to minimise these risks.
Another common challenge is self-consciousness. Many adults may feel intimidated by the thought of practising alongside younger, more experienced gymnasts. However, the growing availability of adult-only classes has helped make the sport more inclusive and accessible.
A more practical challenge is the limited availability of suitable classes. While the number of clubs offering adult gymnastics is growing, not all facilities cater to beginners, meaning some may need to travel further to train. Nevertheless, as demand increases, more clubs are expanding their offerings to accommodate adult learners.
So, if you’ve ever wanted to revisit an old passion or take on a new physical challenge, gymnastics might just be worth a shot. The increasing number of adults taking up the sport shows that age is no barrier to trying something new.
Sophie Burton 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.
The Department of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are commemorating World Health Day with a focus on maternal and newborn health.
This annual event, marking the anniversary of WHO’s founding in 1948, aims to raise awareness about critical health issues and promote health equity globally.
This year’s theme, “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures”, launches a year-long campaign dedicated to improving the health and well-being of mothers and their newborns.
The campaign calls for intensified efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, stillbirths and to prioritise women’s long-term health and well-being.
Globally, approximately 300 000 women die annually due to pregnancy or childbirth, while over two million babies die within their first month of life, and around two million more are stillborn.
“That’s roughly one preventable death every seven seconds,“ the department said in a statement.
These statistics, the department said, highlight the urgent need for action, as four out of five countries are not on track to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for maternal survival by 2030, and one in three will fail to meet targets for reducing newborn deaths.
The department said South Africa has made significant progress in reducing maternal and child deaths, with the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) declining from 170 to 200 deaths per 100 000 live births in 2000 to 109.6 in 2022.
However, further efforts are needed to achieve the SDG target of less than 70 deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030.
The neonatal mortality rate stands at approximately 11 deaths per 1 000 live births, aligning with the SDG target, but recent progress has been slow.
The campaign aims to raise awareness about gaps in maternal and newborn survival, advocate for effective investments, encourage collective action to support parents and health professionals, and provide useful health information related to pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.
In South Africa, health services for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and children under five are provided free of charge.
Access to essential maternal and child health services continues to increase, supported by comprehensive guidelines and initiatives like MomConnect and the Side-by-Side campaign.
MomConnect uses mobile technology to deliver free maternal health messaging to over five million mothers, while Side-by-Side reaches 3.7 million listeners weekly through radio shows in all official languages.
Despite these efforts, the department believes more work is needed to ensure every mother and newborn has access to services, improve nutrition outcomes for children, provide comprehensive mental health services for mothers, and address adolescent health needs.
WHO Representative to South Africa, Shenaaz El-Halabi, emphasised the moral imperative of ensuring the health and well-being of mothers and newborns.
She reaffirmed WHO’s commitment to supporting South Africa’s progress and strengthening health systems to achieve the SDG targets.
“WHO remains a steadfast partner to the government in strengthening health systems, improving quality of maternal and newborn care, and accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals,” she said.
To mark World Health Day, WHO will host a webinar titled “Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures: Global action for women and newborns”, highlighting global progress, partnerships, advocacy for increased funding, and promoting gender equity and health rights.
“The health of mothers and babies is the foundation of healthy families and communities, helping ensure hopeful futures for us all. The delivery of a comprehensive package of care and support for mothers, newborns, and their families depends on the collaborative efforts of a wide range of stakeholders in both government and civil society.”
The department and the WHO are calling on all role players – communities, health and other care workers, policymakers, researchers, and educators – to work together so that we can ensure that all mothers and young children both survive and thrive. – SAnews.gov.za
Palna Scheme under Mission Shakti A Journey of Women Empowerment and Child Care
Posted On: 07 APR 2025 4:13PM by PIB Delhi
Introduction
Government’s sustained initiatives on education, skilling and employment of women have resulted in increased opportunities for their employment, and more and more women are now in gainful employment, working within or outside their homes. Past few decades have shown a rapid increase in nuclear families. Thus, the children of such working women, who were earlier getting support from joint families while they were at work, are now in need of day care services which have to provide quality care and protection for the children. Lack of proper day-care services is, often, a deterrent for women to go out and work. To address these difficulties faced by the working mothers in giving due child care and protection to their children, day-care crèche facilities are being provided through Palna Scheme. Crèche services formalise the child care responsibilities hitherto considered as part of domestic work. Formalization of care work supports the “decent work campaign” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 8 – Decent work and economic growth. This will also enable more mothers, who will be free from unpaid child-care responsibilities, to take up gainful employment.
In 2022, erstwhile National Creche Scheme was reorganized and renamed as Palna Scheme under the sub scheme ‘Samarthya’ of ‘Mission Shakti’. Palna is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme ensuring the participation of State/ UT government to ensure better day-to-day monitoring and proper implementation of scheme, and is implemented with a funding ratio of 60:40 between Centre and State Governments and UTs with legislature except North East & Special Category States where ratio is 90:10. For UTs without legislature, 100% funding is provided by the central government.
Region
Centre’s Share
State/UT Share
General States
60%
40%
North-Eastern and Special Category States
90%
10%
UTs with Legislature
60%
40%
UTs without Legislature
100%
0%
Objectives of the Palna Scheme
The objective of the Palna scheme is to provide quality crèche facility in safe and secure environment for children (from ages 6 months – 6 years), nutritional support, health and cognitive development of children, growth monitoring & immunization. Crèche facilities under Palna are provided to all mothers, irrespective of their employment status.
Apart from the aforementioned primary objective, another objective of the component would involve monitoring compliance of the stipulations laid down in Section 11A of the Maternity Benefit Act regarding setting up of crèche facilities by the establishments. For this purpose, the States/UTs would explore the possibility of hosting an application/portal in convergence with the Labour & Employment Departments of their respective States/UTs for facilitating establishments to register on the portal and furnish details in respect of the crèches set up in accordance with the Act.
Integrated Package of Services under Palna
The Palna component under the Mission Shakti scheme aims to deliver a comprehensive set of services to children aged 6 months to 6 years. These services are designed to support early childhood care, development, and nutrition in convergence with Mission Poshan 2.0.
Key services include:
Day care facilities, including sleeping arrangements
Early stimulation activities for children below 3 years
Pre-school education for children aged 3 to 6 years
Supplementary nutrition, sourced locally
Growth monitoring, health check-ups, and immunization support
As part of enhancing access to childcare facilities, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has amended the Maternity Benefit Act to mandate all establishments with 50 or more employees to provide a crèche facility.
Anganwadi cum Crèche (AWCC)
There are two types of Crèches under Palna: Standalone Crèches and Anganwadi-cum-Crèches (AWCCs). As per Mission Shakti guidelines, for Standalone Creches, there is a provision of one Creche Worker and one Creche Helper. Similarly, for AWCCs, in addition to the already existing Anganwadi Worker and Anganwadi Helper, a provision for a Creche Helper and a Creche Worker has been made in Mission Shakti Guidelines. Anganwadi centres are the world’s largest childcare institutions dedicated to providing essential care and support to children ensuring delivery of care facilities till the last mile. Anganwadi cum Crèche initiative aims to increase ‘women work force participation’ in the economy. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is targeting to establish 17,000 new Anganwadi cum creches under the Palna Scheme in 2024-25. As of March 2025, 11,395 AWCCs across 34 States/UTs have been approved, as per proposals received from various States and UTs.
Crèche Workers under supervision of Anganwadi worker do proper care and safety of children attending the Creche:
Provideproper arrangements for sleep and rest of children.
Ensurepersonal hygiene and Creche helper keep personal hygiene of every child and keep washrooms clean, help for toilet training.
Inculcate proper toilet habits and toilet training.
Facilitate regular health check-ups and referrals in liaison with Asha/AWWs/Primary Health Centre (PHC)/AWC.
Ensure that the food is hygienicallyand age appropriatelycooked, stored/preserved and fed to the children at appropriate intervals.
Follow all laid out safety procedures for taking/handing over the child and w.r.t. quality of toys and other materials given to the children.
The Anganwadi Cum creche scheme shall be implemented with the intra-ministerial convergence specially with Integrated Child Development Services and Poshan. It complies with legislations under Labour Laws as well as Maternity Benefits Act. As of February 2025, 1,761AWCCs are operational with 28,783 current beneficiaries. Besides this, 1,284 Standalone Creches are also operational across the country with 23,368 current beneficiaries.
Creche Operation under Palna Scheme
The Mission Shakti Guidelines state that the crèche timings need to be flexible depending on the local requirements. Crèches shall be open for 26 days in a month and for seven and half (7.5) hours per day as per the work schedule of majority of the mothers in the area. The Standard Operating Procedures for AWCCs also state that the Creche timings may be decided by State/ UT governments as per local need, however, it has to be ensured that timing should facilitate working mothers.
The Creche Workers and Creche Helpers under Palna are honorary workers. There is no provision of salaryor wages to the Creche Workers or Creche Helpers. However, the scheme guidelines have provision for grant of honorarium to Creche Workers and Creche Helpers. The amount of honorarium is governed through the type of Creche, and is detailed as below:
Type of Creche
Creche Worker
Creche Helper
Standalone Creche
Rs. 6,500
Rs. 3,250
AWCC
Rs. 5,500
Rs. 3,000
Palna as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme is implemented through the respective State/ UT Government. The respective States/ UTs may provide additional amount of honorarium to Creche Worker/ Helpers, as a Top-Up from their own funds. There is no bar or restriction from the Central Government about this.
The funds allocated and released under Palna scheme since its introduction, are detailed as under:
(Amount in Crores)
Financial Year
2022-23
2023-24
2024-25
Amount Allocated
35
85
150.11
Amount Released
4.68
64.15
43.66*
*Data as on December 19, 2024
To maintain quality care and individualized attention, each crèche is ideally limited to a maximum of 25 children. To ensure ease of access and continued breastfeeding for infants, crèches must be situated close to either the:
Residential areas of the children
Workplaces of the mothers (preferably within 0.5–1 km walking distance)
This proximity supports parental engagement and provides convenience in emergencies or regular pick-up and drop-off.
Conclusion
By providing a safe, nurturing, and developmentally appropriate environment for children aged 6 months to 6 years, the Palna scheme ensures that children receive holistic care, nutrition, education, and health services. With convergence across key ministries and flexibility to adapt to local needs, Palna strengthens the foundation for a healthier, more inclusive, and gender-sensitive society.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India, released the 26th edition of its publication titled “Women and Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators and Data”.
The publication offers a comprehensive overview of the gender landscape in India, presenting selected indicators and data across key areas like population, education, health, economic participation, and decision-making, all sourced from various Ministries/ Departments/Organizations. Utilizing official statistics, it presents gender-disaggregated data across urban-rural divides and geographic regions, facilitating a nuanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by women and men.
“Women and Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators and Data” serves as a crucial resource, highlighting both progress in gender equality and persistent disparities. By analyzing socio-economic indicators and highlighting trends, it empowers policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to develop gender-sensitive policies fostering sustainable and inclusive development.
“Women and Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators and Data” is available at the website of the Ministry (https://mospi.gov.in/).
Some of the highlights of the publication are as follows:
The primary and higher Secondary levels have consistently high GPI, indicating strong female enrolment. Upper primary and elementary levels saw fluctuations but remained close to parity.
The LPFR in usual status for ages 15 years and above has improved from 49.8% (2017-18) to 60.1% (2023-24).
Women own 39.2% of all bank accounts and contribute to 39.7% of total deposits. Their participation is highest in rural areas, where they make up 42.2% of account holders.
There is rise in DEMAT account over the years, indicating growing participation in the stock market. From March 31, 2021, to November 30, 2024, the total number of DEMAT accounts increased from 33.26 million to 143.02 million, marking more than a fourfold rise. Male account holders have consistently outnumbered female account holders, but female participation has also shown a growing trend. The number of male accounts rose from 26.59 million in 2021 to 115.31 million in 2024, while female accounts increased from 6.67 million to 27.71 million during the same period.
Rising percentage of female-headed proprietary establishments across manufacturing, trade, and other services sectors over the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 has been observed.
The total number of electors increased from 173.2 million in 1952 to 978 million in 2024, with a notable rise in female voter registration. Female voter turnout varied over the years, reaching 67.2% in 2019 but slightly declining to 65.8% in 2024. The gender gap in voting has narrowed, with female turnout surpassing male turnout in 2024.
Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of startups recognized by DPIIT with at least one-woman director, reflecting a positive trend in female entrepreneurship. The total number of such startups rose from 1,943 in 2017 to 17,405 in 2024.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organized a Conference of State Government Ministers on Strengthening of Statistical Systems on 5th April, 2025 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Rao Inderjit Singh, the Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), MoSPI, Ministry of Planning, and Minister of State (MoS) for the Ministry of Culture, chaired the Conference. In his inaugural address, he appreciated the participation and committed involvement of States / Union Territories (UTs) in the conference and underscored the indispensable role of reliable data in shaping effective policies and called for unified efforts to embrace innovation, foster coordination, and uphold transparency in statistical processes, in a continued journey towards attaining the vision of “Vikshit Bharat 2047” and invited cooperation from all the States/UTs to strengthen the national statistical system.
Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, emphasized the importance of robust statistical system for evidence-based policymaking. He highlighted key initiatives of MoSPI, including the Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS) Scheme and appealed for participation in the National Sample Surveys (NSS). He stressed upon the need for having sub-state level estimates for more granularity. Concluding with a call for strengthened collaboration, he emphasized greater use of administrative and alternate data sources, use of modern technology in data collection, refining statistical frameworks to promote transparency, credibility, accountability, sustainable development and capacity building of States/UTs officials through NSSTA training programmes.
Ms. Nandita Gorlosa, Hon’ble Minister of Sports & Youth Welfare, Welfare of Minorities & Development and Public Works (Buildings & National Highways) Departments, Govt. of Assam ; Shri Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Hon’ble Minister of Planning and Development, Govt. of Bihar; Shri Gaurav Gautam, Hon’ble Minister of Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship and Sports, Govt. of Haryana; Shri Radha Krishna Kishore, Hon’ble Minister, Department of Planning & Development, Govt. of Jharkhand; Dr. Vanlalthlana, Hon’ble Minister, Department of School Education/Higher and Technical Education/Information and Public relations/Information and Communication Technology, Govt. of Mizoram; Shri K K Vishnoi, Hon’ble Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs, Skill & Employment & Entrepreneurship Department, Government of Rajasthan; Shri Bikash Debbarma, Hon’ble Minister, Planning (Statistics) Department, Government of Tripura; Shri Suresh Kumar Khanna, Hon’ble Minister, Finance and Parliamentary Affairs, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh; Shri Saurabh Bahuguna, Hon’ble Minister of Minister of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries, Skill development & Employment, Protocol and Sugarcane Development, Govt. of Uttarakhand and Ms Chandrima Bhattacharya, Hon’ble Minister of State, Department of Planning, Statistics and Programme Monitoring, Govt. of West Bengal participated in the conference.
The State Government Ministers/UT Administrators appreciated the Conference of State Government Ministers and suggested that this should be made a regular feature for better coordination and holistic development of the National Statistical System. They also highlighted the importance of producing relevant, accurate, and timely statistics at both the national and sub-national levels and emphasised on the key areas where deeper collaboration and partnership between the Centre and the States is crucial for strengthening both national and state statistical systems.
Additional Chief Secretary, Secretary (Planning), Special Secretary, Director (DES) and other senior level officers from States/ UTs also participated in the conference and made their valuable suggestions.
The workshop featured presentations on key aspects of statistical development and reforms, focusing on strengthening the national statistical system. Discussions covered the Support for Statistical Strengthening (SSS) Scheme, State participation in the National Sample Surveys (NSS) for district-level and advancements in sub-state level estimates for GDP, IIP, and CPI. Key topics also included statistical standards like NMDS 2.0 and unique identifiers, capacity building, innovation, and sub-national SDG monitoring frameworks. The focus of the conference was also on environment accounts, data dissemination through e-Sankhyiki, review of MPLADS and monitoring of major infrastructure projects, alongside major statistical reforms and achievements.
The Hon’ble Minister, MoSPI also released its annual publication namely “Women and Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators and Data” and also launched the website of National Statistical Systems Training Academy (NSSTA) and the Micro-data Portal of MoSPI. In addition, Semantic Search on National Industrial Classification Code, developed during the recently concluded Hackathon in IIT Gandhinagar during March, 2025 was also showcased in the Conference.
Through this conference, MoSPI gained a understanding of the specific needs and requirements of the States/UTs to improve their statistical systems, as well as to ascertain their expectations. The States appreciated the much needed financial support made by MoSPI through the Support for Statistical Strengthening Scheme, popularly known as the SSS Scheme, in augmenting the Statistical system of the States/UTs. Most of the states requested for support from MoSPI, in terms of technical assistance, training to state officials, setting up of training institutes / Centre of Excellence at State/UT level etc. Also, some States/UTs highlighted good initiatives made in their States for improvement of statistical systems, which are worth replicating in other States/UTs.
The conference concluded on a positive note, fostering continued collaboration with the State/UT Governments.
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) launched a revamped Microdata Portal during the recently held Conference of State Government Ministers, marking a significant step in enhancing data accessibility, user experience, and the integration of advanced technologies in the Official Statistical System. The new portal, which serves as a centralized repository for extensive statistical data collected from national surveys and economic census overcomes technological limitations faced by the previous portal. In collaboration with the World Bank Technology Team, MOSPI has adopted a modern, scalable technology stack that not only ensures compliance with the latest security standards but also supports a responsive design and data access mechanism. The portal can be accessed at https://microdata.gov.in/.
On this occasion the web site of National Statistical System Training Academy was also launched. It will facilitate ease of access of information regarding capacity building initiative of the ministry by making them available at one place. The website can be accessed at www.nssta.gov.in.The portal & the website have been developed in-house by Data Informatics & Innovation Division of the ministry.
MoSPI also presented a Proof of Concept (PoC) for an AI/ML-based classification tool designed to ease the use of the National Industrial Classification (NIC) in production of official statistics. The tool leverages natural language processing to allow stakeholders to enter text queries, subsequently suggesting the top five relevant NIC codes. This innovation not only reduces manual effort but also increases the productivity of enumerators, leading to more accurate data collection and ultimately better planning and policy-making. This has been the outcome of the recently concluded Hackathon organized by the ministry.
The launch of these portals and website along with innovative AI-driven tools underscores commitment of the ministry to leverage the latest technological advancements for data management leading to strengthening of the statistical system. These initiatives are set to foster a more data-driven approach to policymaking, ensuring that government interventions are both precise and context-specific, ultimately contributing to goal of Viksit Bharat.
The National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organizes National Seminars at regular intervals following the release of survey reports based on data collected in the National Sample Surveys. The seminar serves as an academic platform where experts, researchers, academia, and government officials from various institutions present and discuss research papers based on the survey findings. So far, seventeen (17) National Seminars have been organized in reputed institutes and universities across the country.
Continuing this tradition, the 18th National Seminar on survey results of NSS 78th Round: Multiple indicator Survey, 79th Round: Comprehensive Annual Modular Survey (CAMS) and Survey on Ayush, Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), and Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) is being organized by the National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India at Goa University, Panaji, Goa, on the 8th and 9th of April 2025.
The seminar will be inaugurated by Director General (NSS) and the Vice-Chancellor of Goa University will grace the occasion. Distinguished members of various expert Committees under whose guidance the survey instruments were finalised will also honour the event with their presence and participation in the discussions.
The event will host 225 participants, including researchers, academicians, policymakers, and other stakeholders. The event will also be attended by the experts from international organizations,experts from private survey agencies and professors/scholars from renowned institutions.
For the 18th National Seminar around 40 research papers were received from Assistant Professors, Research scholars & students of various universities/colleges of across India, in-service and retired officers of Indian Statistical Service, other Government officers of different State /Central Govt. departments, researchers, data users etc.. Following a thorough evaluation by the Paper Selection Committee, 14 papers have been shortlisted for presentation. The seminar will comprise five technical sessions, during which these selected papers will be presented. The presentations will be based on survey findings related to the aforementioned key thematic areas of the seminar.
The seminar will present research papers which broadly cover emerging topics of current importance, including ICT skills inequality, financial inclusion, the impact of health insurance, digital competency among youth, and insights into the platform economy, particularly app-based cab services and delivery services, all based on NSS survey data. Topics related to consumption patterns across household types, and AYUSH utilization, productivity in informal economies related to the unincorporated sector and industries will also be covered.
The papers titled “Predicting an NSS Indicator Value: A Machine Learning Approach” , “A neural network approach to identify features associated with multidimensional poverty in rural India”, utilise advanced computational techniques to analyze large datasets, uncover patterns, and make predictions or classifications across various fields.
Apart from the research papers, a session on presentations by the Stakeholder Ministries/Private survey agencies on utility of National Sample Survey data is also included in the proceedings of the seminar. The seminar aims to facilitate informed discussions, policy recommendations, and data-driven insights on these critical topics, contributing to evidence-based policymaking and governance.
Participants are encouraged to join this significant event through open registration. The registration link is provided below:
For those unable to attend in person, the event will be streamed live on YouTube. Watch it on the official MoSPI YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@GoIStats.
For more information about National Sample Surveys and Reports, please visit the MoSPI website at www.mospi.gov.in.
Question for written answer E-001248/2025 to the Commission Rule 144 Özlem Demirel (The Left)
According to Eurostat, in 2023, around 1 million people applied for asylum in the EU for the first time.[1]
1.According to the internal estimates of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), are approximately 25 % of the asylum applications recorded in these statistics actually repeated applications from the same individuals, i.e. applications made by one individual in several Member States?
2.If not, what estimates, data and calculations exist in relation to this matter?
3.If so, what data and calculations was this estimate based on?
Australia faces crisis-level workforce shortfalls in security and defence. Recruiting more people to the defence force is now an urgent matter of national security.
So, comments – such as those recently made by a Liberal candidate that we “need to remove females from combat corps” in order to “fix” the military – come at the worst possible time.
Such beliefs are not just unhelpful. They are dangerous.
Without women in the national security workforce, and in combat roles, Australia will fail to hit its recruitment targets – at a time of critical international insecurity.
Why is it so hard to attract women to the defence force?
So, why don’t they want to join the defence force? In short, we don’t know – but we desperately need to find out.
Women make up just 20.7% of the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
Compared with a decade ago, this is an improvement. But the improvement has stalled. The latest figure represents a mere 0.1% increase compared with 2021 figures.
This is serious.
Australia’s recruitment problems put at risk our ability to:
Despite ambitious multi-year government programs aimed a boosting women’s participation in national security, and thousands of pages of reports and reviews on the issue, results have been limited and inconsistent.
Most attempts to attract more women are focused on workplace improvements.
Of the manygovernment reviews and audits analysing the question, the vast majority focused on such workplace solutions.
But what if the problem doesn’t lie in the workplace, but rather in wider society?
What if one factor dissuading women was the archaic idea women just don’t really belong in the military at all?
Societal attitudes matter
The Liberal candidate who made the recent comments about women in combat roles has now been replaced. It’s positive to see his party saying such views are “inconsistent with the party’s position.”
However, the incident suggests doubt remains in some quarters about women’s readiness to serve and take up combat roles.
There’s a dearth of research on why exactly Australian women appear reluctant to join the ADF. Some of the reasons may be linked to the perception the ADF has a problem with sexual assault or sexism.
But broader social gender norms matter too. When women hear comments reinforcing the idea national security is primarily a male field, they may simply not see a future for themselves or their daughters in it.
A recent US study found 60% of teenage girls “have never considered joining the military or pictured themselves in uniform”.
A passing glance at American politics demonstrates the often precarious position of women already working in national security. There, in recent months, debate has turned to:
Trump’s America is not Australia, of course. But the recent backlash against women in the US security and defence arenas shows how quickly previous progress can be unwound.
Could these debates be having a chilling effect on women in Australia who might otherwise consider a career in the military?
More research is required to answer that question. But it’s possible public denigration of women in these roles deters women from seeking them at all, and may reinforce attitudes of those seeking to keep women out.
Broadening the talent pool
Australia’s own response to supporting diversity in the military has been mixed. In 2013, Chief of Army David Morrison made international headlines for a powerful speech about diversity.
Women make vital contributions to critical and creative thinking and decision-making in national security.
Women in the military can do jobs men cannot do. Think, for example, of women who served in Afghanistan or Iraq, where it would be culturally unacceptable for a male soldier to talk to and work with local women. These were roles female soldiers were able to take up.
Including women in defence increases the available talent pool, addressing pressing issues of workforce capability in the ADF.
Australia’s national security requires women to be part of our military, including in combat roles. Without them, recruitment targets will fail. It is not diversity, equality and inclusion: it is reality.
It is critically important to Australia’s national security we resist the trend from the United States. We must find out what’s stopping women from joining our defence force and address those problems urgently.
Sarah Percy receives funding from the Australian Army History Unit.
Elise Stephenson receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian government. She is affiliated with Women in International Security Australia.
Maria Rost Rublee has received funding from the Australian Department of Defence, the Canadian Department of Defence, and the US Institute of Peace. She is affiliated with Women in International Security-Australia and Women in Nuclear-Australia.
Rebecca Strating receives funding from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Danielle Chubb 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.
