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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Malabar Devasom Board employees to stage token protest
The Kerala State Temple Employees Coordination Committee has threatened strong protest measures if the issues faced by the employees of the Malabar Devaswom Board (MDB) are not addressed soon. A token protest will be held at 11 a.m. on July 21, marking the 31st anniversary of the 1994 Kerala High Court order that led to the formation of the board. V.V. Sreenivasan, chairman of the Coordination Committee, pointed out that none of the directions in the High Court order—apart from the formation of the Board—had been implemented by the State government, despite the political changes over the years. The temples under the MDB still follow the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, instituted during the British era, while other Devaswom Boards in the State follow different legislation. As a result, employees under the MDB are denied many of the benefits enjoyed by their counterparts in other boards. This has led to several disputes over the wage structure of MDB staff. Meanwhile, a comprehensive Devaswom law framed by the State government eight years ago is yet to be implemented. The coordination committee had staged a 64-day-long protest a few years ago, which failed to achieve the desired results.
India Today
4 days ago
- Business
- India Today
How BRICS created India's moment to lead multilateral development bank reforms
The 17th BRICS Summit, held in early July in Rio de Janeiro, saw India push strategically calibrated measures to get reforms in the Bretton Woods institutions, with the view that the global financial and political architecture must be fundamentally restructured to reflect the economic and demographic realities of the 21st world's multilateral institutions—from the UN Security Council to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank—are seen as not just outdated in structure but increasingly out of step with the voices and aspirations of the Global South. The call for reform comes at a time when the United States, under president Donald Trump, is upending long-held conventions in both global trade and financial governance and threatening to impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on BRICS set to host the next BRICS Summit in 2026, is already laying the groundwork to take this agenda to the next level. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has indicated that India will give a 'new form' to BRICS in its next iteration. That could involve proposing a formal charter codifying multilateral development bank (MDB) reform commitments—around capital mobilisation targets, streamlined lending processes, improved governance structures and greater use of local currency financing. This could be backed by a voluntary contribution framework, wherein countries pledge capital or guarantees to fast-track lending to fragile states, climate-vulnerable regions and digital infrastructure corridors across the Global vision will not go unchallenged. Western shareholders of MDBs may resist reforms that dilute their control. China may seek to centralise influence within BRICS-led financing vehicles, such as the New Development Bank. That is precisely where India's balancing role becomes essential. It can reassure Western nations that reform is a matter of renewal not replacement. It can push back against China's monopolising instincts by promoting collective ownership. And it can also channel the Global South's growing frustration into a constructive, forward-looking reform agenda. Political uncertainty around Chinese president Xi Jinping and the diplomatic isolation of Russian president Vladimir Putin does make the job much more complex and complicated. Both Xi and Putin skipped the Rio meeting of BRICS leaders. While India's message is not new, the context in which it was delivered has changed. In an increasingly fragmented world where the certainties of the post-Cold War order are unravelling, India is positioning itself as not merely an advocate of reform but a plausible architect of a new multilateral compact. This emerging role draws strength from two converging sources: the credibility of the N.K. Singh- Lawrence Summers report on MDB reform and India's strategic positioning within both the G20 and BRICS reform tracks through under India's G20 presidency in 2023, the Singh-Summers report has emerged as a foundational text in the evolving discourse on MDB reform. Far from being a technocratic white paper, the report offers a comprehensive and pragmatic roadmap for transforming MDBs into more risk-tolerant, better-capitalised and politically responsive institutions. It calls on MDBs to become 'bigger, better and bolder'. This is no rhetorical flourish. The global financing shortfall—across climate transition, public health systems, infrastructure and digital inclusion—is estimated at over $3 trillion annually. MDBs are uniquely positioned to help close this gap by crowding in private capital and offering long-tenure concessional lending at report calls for tripling MDB financing volumes by 2030 to reach at least $360-400 billion annually, achieved through capital expansion, improved leveraging of callable capital, and reformed risk frameworks that do not penalise lending to vulnerable states. It also recommends harmonising project pipelines across MDBs, setting up shared backend systems and drastically reducing disbursement timelines—an area where many borrowing countries have long expressed discontent. Perhaps most crucially, the report urges MDBs to innovate their financial instruments, using portfolio guarantees, blended finance structures and novel sovereign risk models to unlock capital currently sitting idle in global pension, insurance and sovereign wealth its publication, parts of the Singh-Summers agenda have gained traction. The World Bank is reviewing its capital adequacy framework. The Inter-American Development Bank is testing new approaches to harmonising project approval processes. Yet, progress remains halting, particularly on the politically sensitive fronts of voting rights, board representation and shareholding reforms. Much of this resistance stems from Western stakeholders hesitant to cede influence. The Trump administration's evolving stance on global finance adds another layer of unpredictability. In this delicate scenario, India's role is not just to demand reform but to design consensus and construct argument is as much political as it is economic: multilateral reform cannot remain a siloed, developmental debate. How can the IMF maintain credibility when its quota system disproportionately favours Europe while underrepresenting the economic heft of India, Brazil and Indonesia? How can the UN Security Council be seen as globally relevant when its permanent membership excludes both India—home to over 1.4 billion people—and any African nation? These institutional distortions are no longer tolerable in an interconnected, multipolar geopolitical moment is unusually aligned with these reformist impulses. The West, though still powerful, is increasingly distracted and risk-averse, bogged down by internal polarisation and external entanglements from Ukraine to the South China Sea. At the same time, the Global South is becoming more vocal and better networked. The expansion of BRICS, the rise of new funding institutions, such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and New Development Bank, and the assertive diplomacy of countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Ethiopia are reshaping global economic governance. The old order is not collapsing, but it is ceding occupies a unique space in this flux. It is not seen as a hegemon like China nor diplomatically cornered like Russia. It does not carry the legacy burdens of Western powers. Instead, India is increasingly viewed as a credible bridge—between North and South, East and West, old institutions and new possibilities. Its G20 presidency in 2023, marked by the successful adoption of the Delhi Declaration despite deep geopolitical fissures, was proof of this convening strength. Its upcoming BRICS presidency in 2026 offers a vital opportunity to convert vision into So Paulo, India signalled its intent to align the reform agendas of BRICS and the G20 into a shared strategic track. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman linked MDB reform directly to the core priorities of the BRICS agenda—climate resilience, sustainable development, digital connectivity and energy security—while invoking the Singh-Summers blueprint as a basis for collective action. Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations), ministry of external affairs, went a step further, articulating India's readiness to lead as a solutions-oriented voice of the Global South. Indian policymakers are now exploring the possibility of a formal G20-BRICS joint reform platform: an institutional architecture to track progress, ensure shared accountability, and keep political visibility contours of this proposal include a shared reform dashboard, joint taskforces on MDB innovation, and coordinated meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 and BRICS countries. India is also engaging with like-minded partners—Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and Egypt—to build a reform coalition that can push simultaneously in Washington, Beijing and Brasilia. The objective is not to replicate existing institutions, but to synchronise their India, this is not just about global stewardship. It is about hard national interest. MDBs are critical to financing India's urban transformation, digital public infrastructure and energy transition. They also offer India a lever to shape development pathways across its extended neighbourhood—from Central Asia to the Indo-Pacific and Africa. Reforming multilateral finance means ensuring the system reflects India's scale, dynamism and strategic momentum needs maintenance. India must now keep the Singh-Summers recommendations alive across upcoming IMF-World Bank annual meetings. It should push for public implementation scorecards, tie MDB governance changes to climate finance targets, and build narrative support among Global South leaders. The convergence of India's 2026 BRICS presidency with Brazil's G20 stewardship in 2024 and South Africa's in 2025 provides an extraordinary three-year window to push this agenda across forums, continents and So Paulo, India declared that the era of symbolic inclusion is over. The Global South seeks not patronage but partnership—not token seats at the table, but structural representation and shared agency. The Singh-Summers blueprint offers a credible design. The G20 gave it political gravity. BRICS can now provide the propulsion. The question is whether India, at this inflection point, can stake enough diplomatic capital, strategic clarity and moral conviction to transform a reform agenda into a reimagined multilateral to India Today Magazine- Ends
The Citizen
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Communities urged to help reconfigure Ward boundaries
MANY residents, including those living in Athlone Park (Ward 93), stated that they were unaware that they can submit proposals regarding changes to Ward borders. Also read: Proposal to grow Toti from two wards to four Since April 25, the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) has been accepting public input as part of consultations to redraw ward boundaries ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections. eThekwini Municipality recently reminded residents that the final round of submissions about ward demarcation will close on July 11. Many Athlone Park residents that the SUN spoke to expressed unhappines because they feel snubbed by the ward's councillor. The ward also includes Ezimbokodweni and Ezimangweni. MDB's acting chairperson, Dr Matheakuena Mohale, said that as the process concludes, all citizens are urged to participate by submitting their proposals. 'We thank the public and all key stakeholders for their involvement in this important and inclusive process, which forms part of preparations for free and fair Local Government Elections,' said Mohale. After reviewing all submissions, the MDB will publish a second draft set of Wards in the provincial gazette. At that stage, the public will have 14 days from the publication date in the provincial gazette to submit objections. This phase is scheduled to take place in late July or August. The public can make their proposals regarding Ward demarcations using the prescribed forms available from Ward councillors' offices and the MDB website Completed forms can be sent to: [email protected]. For more South Coast Sun news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel or follow us on TikTok. Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox. Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cantor Fitzgerald Maintains Price Target on MongoDB, Sees Atlas Usage Rebound
MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) ranks among the 30 stocks expected to beat the market by 20 percentage points this year. On June 9, Cantor Fitzgerald retained its Overweight rating on MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB), alongside a $271 price target on the company's shares. MongoDB's strong start to fiscal year 2026 was emphasized by the firm's analysts, who highlighted a notable rebound in May and June after a decline in April. Management at MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) remains optimistic about Atlas' potential for growth of more than 20%, even when enterprise agreements are expected to drop by a high single-digit percentage for the rest of the fiscal year. Discussions with the CFO of MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) revealed that Atlas usage had resumed its previous trends. This comeback is viewed as encouraging for the company's future growth. Moreover, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analysts, MongoDB's reference to a well-known AI client utilizing its platform alleviated worries regarding the company's strategic placement within the enterprise AI data stack. MongoDB, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDB) offers a versatile database platform that includes enterprise-grade solutions, cloud-based services, and a free version for developers. While we acknowledge the potential of MDB as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. Read More: and Disclosure: None.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Multilateral bank lending must ensure funds are used for intended purposes: FM Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday (July 1, 2025) said that multilateral development bank (MDB) lending must also incorporate monitoring mechanisms to make sure their funds are used as intended. Ms. Sitharaman's comment was part of her statement at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, Spain. It comes soon after India lobbied both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to review their funding of Pakistan, as such loans were allegedly channelled towards increased military expenditure rather than towards developmental purposes. 'India supports reforms to the international financial architecture to enhance inclusivity and equity, including MDB reforms and fairer credit rating systems,' Ms. Sitharaman said. 'MDB lending must be aligned with long-term development goals and backed by robust monitoring frameworks to ensure that funds are used as intended,' she added. The Hindu had reported in May about how Ms. Sitharaman had called the IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva to sensitise her to the issue that, while India was not against funding for developmental purposes, 'the timing for such funding was not right due to the border tensions' between India and Pakistan. In June, The Hindu further reported that India had 'vehemently opposed' the ADB's latest decision to provide additional funding to Pakistan, saying the country's increased military spending could not fully be explained through domestic resource mobilisation. 'India's progress across all action areas of the Compromiso de Sevilla demonstrates that developing countries can be both beneficiaries and drivers of global development finance,' Ms. Sitharaman said in her statement. 'India stands ready to lead by example, share its experiences, and collaborate with partners in advancing this agenda,' she added.
