Civil Society Organisation

Civil groups urge govt to reject compromise draft at Plant Treaty talks

The treaty establishes a multilateral system that provides access to a list of important crops for research and breeding, while ensuring that benefits from their use are shared among the signatories

New Delhi Declaration adopted to save, share vast treasure of manuscripts

The Declaration described manuscripts as the "living memory of a nation, and foundation of its civilisational identity"

SIS Group signs MoU with govt to upskill officers in civil defence

Security and business support services provider SIS Group Enterprises on Wednesday said it has signed an MoU with the government to upskill its personnel and include Civil Defence and Disaster Relief in the training curriculum. The strategic partnership with the civil defence wing of the Home Affairs Ministry intends to improve internal security preparedness by supporting the upskilling of SIS frontline security officers deployed in 244 districts across India, the group said in a statement. This collaboration will involve the active participation of SIS teams in Civil Defence drills and the inclusion of Civil Defence and Disaster Relief modules in SIS's training curriculum. The objective is to enhance response mechanisms and ensure business continuity for SIS clients in the event of emergencies, disasters, or war-like situations. Rituraj Sinha, Group Managing Director, SIS Group Enterprises, said: By integrating Civil Defence training into our regular modules, we are equipping our

Cong turns to civil groups to train cadre; allies hesitant to join Rahul

The BJA, a union of activists and civil society outfits, is currently assisting the Congress in organising the Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra

Congress' Rahul Gandhi meets Manipur civil society organisations in Imphal

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday met members of Manipur civil society organisations here and listened to their problems. Among the different organisations that he met included the Coordination Committee on Manipur Integrity (CoCoMI), a civil society organization, representatives of United Naga Council, the apex body of Naga community in Manipur, the Scheduled Tribe Demand Committee, and prominent personalities including JNU professor Bimol A. Congress sources said that he was likely to meet Governor Anusuiya Uikey later in the day, but it could not be independently corroborated. Earlier in the day, Gandhi visited two relief camps at Moirang in Bishnupur district, party officials said. Gandhi, who reached Moirang by a chopper from Imphal, met a number of affected people and listened to their plight. Party sources said both the camps that Gandhi visited shelter around 1,000 people. Gandhi was accompanied by former Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh, party general secret

NGOs urge govt not to join trade pillar of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

As many as 32 civil society organisations and NGOs on Friday urged the government not to join in the talks of the trade pillar of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for Prosperity, stating that it can impact India's policy space to develop critical economic sectors. They also claimed that India has joined IPEF talks without due consideration and parliamentary scrutiny in terms of IPEF's implications for India's economic and development policy space. In a letter to the commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, these organisations said that the US has strategically pitched the IPEF as 'not the usual' trade agreement as it does not include market access commitments such as import duty cuts. "This strategy has misled the Indian government into believing that the IPEF will only involve cooperation and no commitment to open up imports. On the contrary, the IPEF is actually more intrusive than Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as it targets national policies and regulations across .

Urinating incident unfortunate, efforts were made to cover it up : DGCA

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Arun Kumar has described the Air India urination incident as "unfortunate", and said that there were efforts to cover it up

Beyond civil society

'Protectionism' in social services is impractical

Lobby to intensify protests against environmental release of GM mustard

Almost 200 activists gathered outside the Directorate of Mustard Research in Bharatpur (Rajasthan), calling for halting the approvals

IMF should issue new reserves to help countries tackle crises: Civil groups

The International Monetary Fund should issue $650 billion in new emergency reserves to help its member countries grapple with overlapping crises, 140 civil society groups said in a letter

Draft on data anonymisation missing from website week after release

Documents were to be open for public comments till September 21, civil society groups protest 'removal'

TMC's statements on investments, employment not visible on ground: WB Guv

It is an open secret that West Bengal has "serious problems" of governance, he asserted, claiming bureaucracy in the state is "under tightest control of the ruling party".

Frontier of warfare? Wrong to securitise civil society discourse

Creating suspicion about civil society undermines its robustness and contribution to nation building

An irrational fear of civil society

Through a series of innovative measures, the government has succeeded in kneecapping NGOs, if not finishing them off entirely

Govt's social stock exchanges proposal may face disclosure roadblock

An SSE is a platform that allows NGOs and voluntary non-profit organisations to raise capital for social purposes

As Amnesty shuts office, anxiety and uncertainty cloud the NGO world

NGOs have expressed concerns over the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill 2020. These, they say, will further clip the wings of the beleaguered civil society

Civil society bodies, academicians to hold virtual Janta Parliament

Several civil society organisations and academicians have come together to hold a week-long virtual Janta parliament to highlight the issues faced by vulnerable

Civil society wants 100-day guaranteed employment for urban poor

Wants one-third of beneficiaries to be women, says wages should not be less than urban state minimum pay, with provision to revise in line with cost of living

Govt decides not to amend disability law for decriminalising minor offences

In a joint statement, around 125 disability rights organisations, civil society organisations and activists last week said they unequivocally register their strong protest against the proposal

Foodgrain stocks top 100 million tonnes, triggering calls for liquidation

The massive build-up could also pose a grave storage challenge as the monsoon keeps advancing.