Latest news with #NationalExecutiveCommittee
India Gazette
25-06-2025
- Business
- India Gazette
All govt services will be provided online by August 15: Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu
Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 25 (ANI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday announced that all government services will be accessible online by August 15, removing the need for citizens to visit government offices for any administrative matter, a release said. Speaking at the FICCI's National Executive Committee meeting in the city, CM Naidu announced that 503 services are available online at present, allowing citizens to access government functions via WhatsApp. 'No need to come to any office,' Naidu stated, positioning Andhra Pradesh as India's first fully digital state administration. The digital governance initiative extends beyond simple online services to include voice-activated bookings for state transport, where citizens can dial a number and specify their travel requirements to receive instant bus schedules and booking information. This represents a fundamental shift towards conversational government interfaces accessible to all literacy levels. Complementing the digital transformation, CM Naidu alluded to a real-time data infrastructure that will monitor 40-50 parameters, including temperature, humidity, air quality, wind direction, reservoir water levels, groundwater conditions, and soil parameters, across the state. The network will provide advanced warning systems for cyclones, floods, cloud bursts, and thunderbolts, positioning Andhra Pradesh as a global leader in environmental monitoring technology. 'Now, only by using that real-time data can I give 95 percent accuracy,' Naidu stated, emphasising the transformative potential of continuous environmental surveillance. CM Naidu revealed an ambitious citizen identification system that combines geotagging with Aadhaar authentication to create comprehensive, family-based data profiles. The system will link every household through geo-mapping with family units, allowing for the accurate delivery of government services, medicines, or emergency aid directly to specific households during crises or natural disasters. The Chief Minister outlined unprecedented infrastructure development plans supporting digital and environmental initiatives, including the construction of 20 ports along the state's 1,000-kilometre coastline, with facilities positioned every 50 kilometres to maximise commercial efficiency. The state will establish 14-15 airports within one hour's reach of major population centres whilst expanding the crucial Kolkata-Chennai railway corridor from two to four tracks. These technological advances support CM Naidu's broader economic vision of transforming Andhra Pradesh into India's first trillion-dollar state economy by 2047. The state recorded 21 percent GST growth last year, with the Chief Minister targeting 15 percent annual growth to increase per capita income from Rs 2.7 lakh to Rs 65 lakh. Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, President of FICCI and Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Emami Limited, praised Naidu's leadership in transforming Andhra Pradesh from a largely agrarian state into a beacon of digital governance, noting the state's impressive 8.1 percent GSDP growth rate and economy reaching approximately Rs 16 lakh crore. He highlighted the balance between tradition and modernity, with Andhra Pradesh remaining the rice bowl of India whilst pioneering quantum computing through India's first Quantum Valley Tech Park in Amaravati. Agarwal emphasised FICCI's commitment to supporting the state's Industrial Policy 4.0, MSME Policy 4.0, and Clean Energy Policy 4.0 initiatives. Vijay Sankar, Vice President of FICCI and Chairman of The Sanmar Group, acknowledged Naidu's unique achievement of transforming two states and building two capital cities during his political career. He praised the Chief Minister's pioneering initiatives, including Amaravati's development as a world-class city and the revamping of the AP Economic Development Board. Sankar expressed FICCI's commitment to supporting Andhra Pradesh's ambitious target of achieving 15 percent GSDP growth and transforming into the country's best state by 2047, as per the release. M Prabhakar Rao, Chair of FICCI Andhra Pradesh State Council and Chairman of NSL Group, highlighted the state's transformative initiatives, including MSME Parks in all 175 constituencies and the establishment of Ratan Tata Innovation Centres to foster entrepreneurship. He emphasised the FICCI's Andhra Pradesh State Council's role in facilitating international partnerships, particularly through the Japan Connect Summit in Vijayawada, which strengthened Indo-Japanese ties and highlighted opportunities in the shipbuilding, electronics, and automobile sectors, as per the release. Jyoti Vij, Director General, FICCI, moderated the discussion. (ANI)
Eyewitness News
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
ANC launches campaign to rebuild trust in KZN
JOHANNESBURG - Member of the African National Congress (ANC) National Executive Committee Senzo Mchunu says the party is not leaving anything to chance as it sets out to woo back voters in what was once its stronghold in KwaZulu-Natal. Mchunu visited Wembezi in northern KZN on Sunday at the start of 'Asiye Ekhaya' campaign to regain party supporters. The ANC suffered a massive defeat in the 2024 general elections, losing its majority in KZN to Jacob Zuma's MK Party. Its electoral muscle has been on the decline across the country. Mchunu said the ANC cannot afford to accept defeat as parties make early preparations for next year's local government elections. "Even though we were not stable for a long time and we lost, people on their own have demonstrated in the recent past that they have love for the ANC, we're getting back to that and saying to them, 'we are here'."
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Labour postpones women's conference over Supreme Court transgender ruling
Labour has postponed its women's conference because of the risk of protests and legal challenge following the Supreme Court ruling on gender. The party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) voted on Tuesday to postpone the event, which was due to take place in September, pending a review. A leaked advice paper had recommended postponing it because the 'only legally defensible alternative' would be to restrict attendance to biological women. The NEC also decided to extend the terms of those serving on the National Labour Women's Committee until a conference takes place and elections can be held. A Labour Party spokesperson said the party must make sure all its procedures 'comply with the Supreme Court's clear ruling' and that it would make any changes required with 'sensitivity and care'. The Supreme Court ruled in April that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. The party will interpret measures relating to women on the basis of biological sex at birth, it is understood. Labour had previously operated its 'positive action' measures on the basis of self-identification, allowing transgender women to take part. A leaked advice paper produced for the NEC meeting recommended postponing the women's conference on September 27 because 'there is a significant risk of legal challenge to the event as it currently operates' and 'there may be protests, direct action and heightened security risks' if it goes ahead. That could carry a 'political risk' of overshadowing the party's showcase autumn conference which begins the following day. The recommendation in the paper was to postpone the women's conference pending a wider review of positive action measures. The paper also says the party should issue guidance to make clear that all-women shortlists can only apply to 'applicants who were biologically female at birth'. Labour did not use all-women shortlists at the last general election. A Labour Party spokesperson said: 'Like all other organisations, the Labour Party must ensure all party procedures comply with the Supreme Court's clear ruling. 'Labour is clear that everyone in our society deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. 'The party will work closely with individuals and local parties to implement the necessary changes with sensitivity and care.' It is understood Labour will respect the Supreme Court judgment and comply with statutory guidance when it is published. Ministers will consider the Equality and Human Rights Commission's code of practice when a draft is submitted by the body. The Labour for Trans Rights group, along with Pride in Labour and LGBT+ Labour's trans officer, Georgia Meadows, condemned the NEC paper and its recommendations. They said: 'It is a blatant attack on trans rights and is seemingly an attempt to isolate trans people even further within the Labour Party and the labour movement more widely.' The Labour Women's Declaration group, which backs 'sex-based rights', said cancelling the conference would be a 'knee-jerk reaction'. A spokesperson told the LabourList website: 'We are shocked that hundreds of women in the Labour Party might be prevented from meeting at conference because the NEC would prefer to disadvantage all women rather than to exclude the very small number of trans-identified men who may wish to attend the women's conference.'
BBC News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Labour postpones women's conference after Supreme Court ruling
The Labour Party has postponed its annual Women's Conference in the wake of advice following last month's ruling on the legal definition of a month, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. Up until the ruling, Labour had allowed people to self-identify as a woman, so trans women could attend the event and also take part in "positive action" measures such as all-women decision has been condemned by trans rights advocates as an "attempt to isolate trans people" and by gender critical activists as "a kneejerk reaction". Labour Women's Conference is traditionally held the day before the main conference and brings together hundreds of women from Labour's activist base, including MPs, councillors, and supporters for a day of discussion and policy-making.A leaked advice paper to Labour's governing body, the National Executive Committee (NEC), recommended delaying the conference because the "only legally defensible alternative" would be to restrict attendance to biological paper set out how "there is a significant risk of legal challenge to the event as it currently operates" and "there may be protests, direct action and heightened security risks" if it goes ahead on 27 could carry a "political risk" of overshadowing the party's showcase autumn conference which begins the following day on 28 Tuesday night, the party's NEC voted to delay the conference, pending a wider review of positive action NEC also decided to postpone the elections to the National Labour Women's Committee, which are normally held at the conference, and to extend the terms of those currently serving. Labour moved away from using all-women shortlists at the last general election. The leaked paper also advised the party to issue guidance to make clear that all-women shortlists can only apply to "applicants who were biologically female at birth".A Labour Party spokesperson said the party must make sure all its procedures "comply with the Supreme Court's clear ruling"."Labour is clear that everyone in our society deserves to be treated with dignity and respect," he said."The party will work closely with individuals and local parties to implement the necessary changes with sensitivity and care." 'Knee-jerk reaction' Ministers will consider the Equality and Human Rights Commission's code of practice, which it has just put out for decision was condemned by Georgia Meadows, who was speaking as LGBT+ Labour's trans officer."It is a blatant attack on trans rights and is seemingly an attempt to isolate trans people even further within the Labour Party and the Labour movement more widely," they Labour Women's Declaration group, which backs "sex-based rights", said cancelling the conference would be a "knee-jerk reaction".A spokesperson told the LabourList website: "We are shocked that hundreds of women in the Labour Party might be prevented from meeting at conference because the NEC would prefer to disadvantage all women rather than to exclude the very small number of trans-identified men who may wish to attend the women's conference." Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Our leaders care more about the cult of machines than voters' concerns
Something strange is happening in Westminster. New money is working in mysterious new ways – and Labour is in thrall to it. In exchange for destroying copyright markets worth some £125bn to the UK, Labour has been promised some magic beans: once artificial intelligence companies are free to effectively steal any British creativity they want and copy it, they will move here and we will be happy again. Last week our newspapers synchronised their front pages to warn against watered down copyright rules, while top British artists including Kate Bush and Damon Albarn released an album of recordings of empty studios and concert halls to protest against the proposed changes. Destroying copyright to appease the Gods of AI is a very strange thing to do. Many in the creative industries are lifelong Labour voters, or were until now; musicians are even represented on Labour's National Executive Committee. No one else in the world is doing anything like this. As a result, not only are some intellectual property-based companies (and hefty taxpayers) now making plans to leave the UK, but the Government may also find itself dragged through the international courts, using powers reserved for rogue, pirate states. That's something the Prime Minister, a human rights lawyer, might care about, but I suspect no one has told him yet. And why would this be? Here's a clue. Listeners to BBC Radio 4's Today programme last week heard support for the Government's plans come from a 24-year-old, Julia Willemyns, founder of a think tank that's barely six months old. Willemyns proceeded to lecture Ed Newton Rex – the composer and AI entrepreneur behind the silent album – on how copyright really works. Children educating adults? It's reminiscent of Mao's Cultural Revolution, which cynically stoked up intergenerational conflict. Funnily enough, Willemyns's think tank also has a sinister Maoist vibe: it's called 'UK Day One'. Willemyns made some dubious claims that the BBC allowed to go unchallenged. She cited Japan as a model, which is odd. Japan made it easier for AI models to ingest copyright material in 2018 but now has buyer's remorse. Artists are furious, and the loophole may well be plugged up again. The flood of AI start-ups that Japan hoped for never appeared and they won't spring up here either, because businesses in Britain pay some of the highest electricity prices in the world. That's because AI uses a huge amount of electricity. Where does this strain of cult-like, techno-utopian thinking come from that wants to do away with copyright and empower machines? It evolved from very intense 'rationalist' online forums a decade ago such as Less Wrong, where poorly socialised economics and psychology nerds jostled for status. The blogger Scott Alexander, one of the leading lights, suggested they should call themselves 'the Grey Tribe', signalling a disdain for traditional left and right – or red and blue – politics. Many signed up to a peculiar philosophy called effective altruism (EA), which argues that charity shouldn't be about doing what makes you feel or look good but what generates the best outcomes most effectively. While it sounds reasonable enough, its supporters pursue whacky preoccupations ranging from fantasies about a killer artificial intelligence to extending animal rights to insects. Some of EA's supporters are hugely wealthy and have used their largess to extend the influence of these ideas. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is the biggest EA funder and helped bring Willemyns's UK Day One into existence with a £150,000 grant from his Open Philanthropy charity. To understand Labour's thinking we should also look to Matt Clifford, a government adviser. He steered Rishi Sunak's AI summit towards the theme of 'safety' – yes, those killer AIs again – which ultimately empowered the big Silicon Valley players as they successfully argued only significant players like themselves could be trusted to police the risks. Labour appointed Clifford; he then obligingly recommended the copyright changes. Another influential source of funding for anti-copyright ideas is an attempt to invent a new field called 'Progress Studies', an initiative that also sprouted out of the nerd forums. It was devised by Stripe founder Patrick Collinson and Tyler Cowen, an economics blogger and professor. Emergent Ventures, a scheme that Cowen helps to administer, has dispensed grants to more than 800 people and organisations. Without these two strands of thought, Effective Altruism and Progressive Studies, some policy phenomena such as 'Yimby' would not even exist. Nor would the 'Crush Crime' venture, furiously promoted by Dominic Cummings, which hasn't crushed very much crime, but has harvested a lot of emails. Supporters are aiming to create a movement. As Cowen himself explained recently: 'It would never be such a formal thing or controlled or managed or directed by a small group of people or trademarked. It would be people doing things in a very decentralised way that would reflect a general change of ethos and vibe.' Here's why all this matters. These groups have such a narrow concept of what 'progress' means. The rationalists get too fixated on things they think might accelerate progress – mainly artificial intelligence – and are indifferent or hostile to things and people who they perceive as inhibiting it. So older people, strong national borders and boundaries – a property right like copyright protection is a boundary – are all regarded in the same way that Scientologists view their critics: as 'suppressives'. But what kind of progress involves the destruction of markets for creative work? It is not progress at all but a regression to pre-Enlightenment times, when artists had to beg for their supper. It also paves the way for a creepy, post-human world: Cowen himself has said the 'bottleneck to progress is human beings'. This is where a bewildered Labour Party finds itself today, along with much of Tory wonkdom – and none of them really realises how they got here. Machine cults have replaced the very human concerns and needs of voters. For Labour, a political party founded on strong Christian beliefs that the weak shall inherit the Earth, this has been quite a journey. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
