MHA Issues New Directive: NGOs Must Report Leadership Changes Within 45 Days https://indiacsr.in/mha-issues-new-directive-ngos-must-report-leadership-changes-within-45-days/ The new directives issued by the MHA are a step toward ensuring transparency and accountability within India’s NGO sector.
Several prominent NGOs, whose FCRA license renewals or applications are pending, have recently undergone leadership changes. These include think tanks like the Center for Policy Research, which had its FCRA license revoked earlier this year due to alleged regulatory violations. The institute has since challenged the decision in court. Similarly, the Institute of Economic Growth saw its license canceled for non-compliance but was later reinstated after submitting necessary documents.

In addition to reporting changes in leadership, the MHA has directed NGOs to maintain an investment register. This register should contain all details of foreign funding transactions, which may be requested for audit by the MHA at any time. “This requirement ensures a transparent record of funding, facilitating MHA’s monitoring of foreign fund utilization,” the ministry stated. This directive is intended to hold NGOs accountable for their funds and ensure that they are used effectively for legitimate purposes.

Why are Indians giving up citizenship in record numbers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR7KtgaFIO0 newslaundry  Nov 4, 2024
About a decade after the Modi government rolled out the ‘Make in India’ initiative – a programme aimed at transforming the country into a global manufacturing hub – the results have fallen short of expectations. Indians are renouncing their citizenship in record numbers and sending money abroad more than ever before. This is despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s assurance that it is the best time to invest in India. 

How the NHRC Failed to Protect G.N. Saibaba https://thewire.in/rights/how-the-nhrc-failed-to-protect-g-n-saibaba
Henri Tiphagne and Edgar Kaiser .. Retired Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) S. Jalaja, who was once NHRC’s joint secretary and had served as the NHRC’s special rapporteur, studied Maharashtra prisons and submitted a report on July 17, 2017. The report revealed harsh truths about the Nagpur prison where Saibaba was detained. These included staff shortage and overcrowding of prisoners among other things. She specifically noted Saibaba’s poor medical condition and recommended that “an independent medical team from AIIMS should assess his condition.” This NHRC report directly contradicted the investigation report submitted to the commission in the cases filed by the HRDA. While the NHRC relied on the investigation report provided by the police, it chose to overlook its own special rapporteur’s report on the prison where Saibaba was detained.  ..Despite the international community – and even individuals within the NHRC – becoming aware of the poor prison conditions that contributed to Saibaba’s deteriorating health, it was disheartening for an institution with such a mandate to simply dismiss these concerns. The NHRC and its former chairpersons – Justices K.G. Balakrishnan, Cyric Joseph, H.L. Dattu, Arun Kumar Mishra and Vijaya Bharathi Sayani – are answerable to this democracy for the institution’s wilful silence on Saibaba’s mistreatment. They all owe an apology to the people of this country for failing to exercise their powers to prevent the death of a dedicated academician who devoted his life to civil liberties and the socio-economic and cultural rights of India’s vulnerable populations.

Why Are Democrats Having Such a Hard Time Beating Trump? https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/02/upshot/democrats-trump-election.html
The national political environment just isn’t as conducive to a Harris victory as many might imagine. ..

In the United States, post-pandemic disillusionment and frustration took a toll on Democrats. The party championed a tough response to the virus, including mask and vaccine mandates, school closures and lockdowns. It had backed the Black Lives Matter movement, argued for a more liberal border policy, sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and spent trillions on stimulus. As the pandemic ended, all of this quickly became a liability...Democrats are playing defense on the issues. They’ve moved to the right on immigration, energy and crime. They de-emphasized the traditional liberal push to expand the society safety net, which was eclipsed by the urgency to reduce prices....On issue after issue, Democrats have responded by moving to the right. Most obviously, Ms. Harris had to back away from positions she took when the progressive cultural ascendancy was near its peak in 2019 — a ban on fracking, Medicare for all and so on. But the Democratic shift isn’t simply about backing away from positions taken during a Democratic primary...In her speech at the Democratic convention, Ms. Harris didn’t mention the unfinished business of Obama-Biden era liberalism: paid family leave, an expanded child tax credit, student loan forgiveness, universal pre-K or free community college. Instead, she promised a conservative-sounding tax break for small businesses. The liberal policies she does advocate on the campaign trail tend to be far smaller than the Affordable Care Act or those contained in Build Back Better... 

What are the key takeaways from COP-16?  - https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/what-are-the-key-takeaways-from-cop-16-convention-of-biological-diversity/article68823555.ece 

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/un-summit-approves-fund-to-share-benefits-of-natures-sequenced-genetic-data/article68823148.ece A UN nature summit agreed in Colombia on Saturday (November 2, 2024) on the creation of a fund to share the profits of digitally sequenced genetic data taken from animals and plants with the communities they come from.

Such data, much of it from species found in poor countries, is notably used in medicines and cosmetics that can make their developers billions.

India commits to 30 per cent protected areas in updated biodiversity plan https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-commits-to-30-per-cent-protected-areas-in-updated-biodiversity-plan/articleshow/114836446.cms   

The updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), unveiled at the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference in Cali, Colombia, outlines 23 national targets aligned with the 23 global goals set under t he Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF),  adopted at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference in Canada in 2022

http://www.nbaindia.org/nbsap/ 

A Carnival of Hope: Trump, Harris and the Death of Liberalism  https://beiner.substack.com/p/a-carnival-of-hope-trump-harris-and    For progressives, the MAGA insurgency heralds the end of democracy. As a consumer, it doesn’t matter which you choose, as long as you choose.  Capitalism will happily take your rejection and sell it back to you. Don’t like extractive consumerism? No worries! We have a shampoo just for you.

Modern elections are no different. They are consumer culture’s attempt to sell the most sacred gift in the human soul back to us: hope. At the heart of every election is the promise that things will be new. In a polarised society like the US, this newness looks radically different depending on the tribe you belong to.

These tribes are no longer defined by ‘left’ or ‘right’, but by pro or anti-institutional. For those in the Trump insurgency, the political establishment represented by Kamala Harris is an existential threat. For progressives, the MAGA insurgency heralds the end of democracy. As a consumer, it doesn’t matter which you choose, as long as you choose.

Can democracy survive now the world’s richest man has it in his sights? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/02/elon-musk-donald-trump-us-presidential-elections George Monbiot ..  Democracy is the problem capital keeps trying to solve. Why? Because it ensures that workers have rights and fair wages; that the living world has some (though never enough) protections; that we cannot be ripped off, poisoned and robbed without restraint.

Capitalism has used two powerful tools to try to solve its problem: fascism and neoliberalism.  For decades now, the centrist pact with capital has worked as follows: we might seek half-heartedly to improve the lives of people at the bottom, but we will do almost nothing to hold down those at the top. As a short-term tactic it worked: .. appeasement makes your opponents more powerful. But our governments claimed they were simply being “pragmatic”: it didn’t matter how rich some people became, as long as the lot of the poor improved..... “pragmatism” prevailed, and turned out not to be pragmatic at all. The slippage from democracy to oligarchy should surprise no one.

In Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora, historian Edward Anderson traces the rise and proliferation of right-wing fervour in Indian communities abroad https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/in-hindu-nationalism-in-the-indian-diaspora-historian-edward-anderson-traces-the-rise-and-proliferation-of-right-wing-fervour-in-indian-communities-abroad-9640005/ 

Hindu Nationalism in the Indian Diaspora: Transnational Politics and British Multiculturalism https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/hindu-nationalism-indian-diaspora-transnational-politics-and-british-multiculturalism  By Edward T. G. Anderson Hurst, 2023, 504 pp.  Thousands of expatriates are actively involved in its promotion, whether through funding, campaign work, or public advocacy. New media powers their connection to the ideology: the Indian diaspora is digitally adept, identity is increasingly divorced from geography, and disinformation is rampant. Institutional links to business interests may also play a role.