000-tobecategorised

Ajay Banga: Development is how we compete, grow and stay secure  https://www.ft.com/content/3e5d55bb-0c0d-40e6-a15c-5187c8a021b2

World Bank president Ajay Banga’s OpEd. 

“The World Bank was not born of altruism, but of strategic design. Its original purpose, shaped by US interests, was to forge a global economic landscape ripe for private sector investment. This wasn’t charity — it was a calculated move to promote economic growth and prevent instability. Over time, our mission has evolved, sometimes drifting into humanitarian efforts. But during the past two years of reform, we have refocused on our core mandate: driving development and reducing poverty. The resources needed to achieve this require the private sector to be an active player.” - https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2024/10/25/remarks-by-world-bank-group-president-ajay-banga-at-the-2024-annual-meetings-plenary .. 

While reconstruction is essential, our focus has increasingly turned toward development.

This is where the World Bank's heart lies: helping nations emerge from less fortunate circumstances to enable people to reach their full potential.

Today, we face a world of unparalleled complexity—poverty, climate change, conflict, and pandemics are intertwined. The modern requirements of reconstruction and development call for an institution that is faster, simpler, and more impactful; capable of addressing the challenges of our time at an unprecedented scale.

It is a call that was echoed by our shareholders and clients when I joined 16 months ago—a mandate to work with the dedicated people of the Bank to engineer the institution’s evolution. Together, we have embarked on this journey to build a better bank and bring that vision to life.

https://www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/how-ajay-banga-can-successfully-reform-the-world-bank/ 

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/VLQlLH35dgk 

The full long version of this story is  behind a paywall. https://www.thenewsminute.com/long-form/rss-and-bjps-quiet-takeover-of-auroville

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/aurovilles-dream-turns-into-legal-chaos-land-encroachment-and-drug-allegations-surface/articleshow/113437250.cms ,,In September 1988, the Union govt took control, enacting the Auroville Foundation Act to resolve internal disputes between community power centres and representatives of the Sri Aurobindo Society. By January 1991, the Auroville Foundation was formally established. The Mother had laid out Auroville's vision in its charter, comprising four key tenets: "Auroville belongs to nobody in particular; it belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be a willing servitor of the divine consciousness. Auroville will be a place of unending education, constant progress, and youth that never ages."..

The Union govt's recent involvement in Auroville's administr ..The lands are held by the Auroville Foundation under the Auroville Foundation Act of 1988. "These are not govt lands, and the GB and secretary's office alone do not constitute ‘the Foundation' to exchange lands without due process or consultation with the RA and IAC. It is troubling that, instead of addressing the issue, the education ministry has simply asked the Foundation's administration to investigate, essentially tasking those involved in the land mismanagement to investigate themselves. No honest outcome can be expected from such a process," they said.
The committee has urged the Union govt to appoint an impartial and independent inquiry panel to engage with all stakeholders, including committees recognised by the RA, and conduct an investigation.  ,, With the working committee alleging that since 2021, the new administration of the Auroville Foundation (AVF) has systematically undermined decades of progress through authoritarian measures and arbitrary actions, one can only wonder what lies ahead for Auroville, the "first and only internationally supported experiment in human unity". 

https://thesouthfirst.com/news/why-the-idyllic-auroville-township-is-split-down-the-middle-by-a-facelift-programme/ 

Auroville Under Existential Threat  https://auroville.media/crisis/  There has been a systematic takeover by the AVFO of all of Auroville’s major internal working groups and committees that manage the key areas of administration, media, and finances, resulting in the concentration of power in a handful of people who were not appointed by the residents and who do not represent the needs and aspirations of the majority... In June 2024, 98% of 945 residents voted to halt, review, and reverse land deals undertaken by the Secretary, yet these concerns were dismissed and more land exchanges were approved by the Governing Board in October 2024.

https://auroville.media/auroville-in-crisis-report/ 

 Grok And The Future of AI Regulations    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHDbu96izrE| Tracking Trends with Rajesh Mahapatra ft. Meghna Bal
Rajesh Mahapatra Mar 29, 2025 
Meghna Bal, Director at Esya Centre and a lawyer by training, to discuss the impact of Grok on public discourse in India.

🔹 How Grok is shaping online conversations
🔹 The role of AI in spreading (or combating) misinformation
🔹 Challenges of regulating AI-driven content
🔹 The future of digital media policy in India

With AI-powered platforms becoming more influential, how should policymakers, tech companies, and the public respond?