New navy chief takes charge Newly appointed Naval Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar hugs his mother during his charge taking ceremony in New Delhi on Tuesday. He was serving as the Flag Officer Commandingin-Chief of the Western Naval Command before taking the reins of the Navy. He replaced Admiral Karambir Singh who has retired after 41 years of service | PTI THRISSUR l wednesday l December 01, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI THE UPSIDE Exceeds expectations GDP grows 8.4% in the July-August 2021 quarter better than analysts’ expectations Indian economy had grown 20.1% in the previous quarter but that was due to low base effect FMCG slips Latest GDP growth numbers show that India’s economic growth has surpassed pre-Covid levels FY22 Core sector up The govt estimates fiscal deficit at 6.8% of the GDP in the current fiscal India likely to have double-digit growth this fiscal, aided by rising demand and a robust banking sector Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian The output of eight core sectors rose 7.5% in October on healthy performance by coal, natural gas, refinery products and cement segments The FMCG sector grew 12.6% annually in Q2 againt 36.9% in Q1, according to market research firm Nielsen The production of eight infrastructure sectors (coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity) had contracted 0.5% in October 2020 Rural markets saw 2.9% dip in volume due to slowdown in consumption Growth engine picks up speed GDP expands 8.4% in second quarter, beats expectations and surpasses pre-Covid levels A n u r a d h a S h u k l a @ New Delhi India’s GDP grew 8.4% in the July-September 2021 quarter, on the back of improving private consumption and industrial activities, giving the government hope that growth will be in double digits in the current financial year. The growth has surpassed pre-Covid levels. In value terms, GDP stood at `35,73,451 cr during July-September 2021, higher than the `35,61,530 crore recorded in the corresponding period in 2019-20, before Covid. The economy had contracted 7.4% in July-September quarter of 2020-21, data released by the National Statistical Office showed. “Overall growth for the first half has been 13.7%. So, even a little more than 6% growth in the subsequent quarters should be able to deliver double-digit growth for this year,” said Chief Economic Advisor K V Subramanian. This confidence was boosted by the output of the eight core sectors, which grew 7.5% in Oc- Govt not to bear treatment cost of unvaccinated E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Adopting a tough stance against people shying away from Covid vaccination, the state government has said it will not bear the treatment expenses of unvaccinated adults who contract coronavirus infection. The move comes amid reluctance on the part of around 5,000 teaching and non-teaching staff to get themselves vaccinated even a month after schools reopened. Chairing a high-level meeting here on Tuesday to assess the Covid situation in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said teachers and government employees, who have not taken the vaccine citing allergy or other medical complications, should produce a certificate in this regard from ● a government doctor.  More on P4 Statewide Nov 29 Nov 30 Fresh cases 3,382 4,723 Recoveries Deaths 5,779 59 5,370 19 tober against a 0.5% contraction a year ago. Agriculture was steady despite an uneven monsoon, while other sectors showed signs of improvement. Notably, private final consumption expenditure in the economy grew 8.6% growth at `19,48,346 crore against `17,93,863 crore. The government’s final consumption expenditure also grew from `3,32,582 crore to `3,61,616 crore. Experts, however, advise caution. “The disaggregated data is far from convincing, with considerable lags in private and government consumption expenditure being absorbed by a sharp rise in valuables relative to the pre-Covid level of Q2 FY2020,” said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA. The latest NielsenIQ’s FMCG Snapshot for the third quarter of 2021 narrates a mixed bag consumption story. While the FMCG sector grew at 12.6% in the July-September quarter, the growth was urban led with rural India seeing a slowdown due to consumption decline. The DOWNSIDE challenge of URban unemployment is yet to be addressed, as the jobless figure climbed marginally despite the economy doing better Unemployment rate among females in urban areas E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Jan-Mar 2020 10.6% 13.1% Oct-Dec 2020 Jan-Mar 2021 11.8% Unemployment rate among men in urban areas Oct-Dec 2020 Jan-Mar2021 9.5% 8.6% Unemployment rate inches up to 9.3% in Jan-March qtr: NSO E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi URBAN unemployment rate has increased to 9.3% in the January-March 2021 period from 9.1% in the year-ago period, according to a periodic labour force survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO). While 9.3% is lower than the peak urban unemployment level of 20.8% recorded in the April-June quarter of last year, it is still at higher than preCovid levels. CMIE data The figures, released on Tuesday also showed that un- According to , employment among women is the monthly rising as 11.3% women in the unemployment labour force found themselves data released without a job in the January- by the Centre March 2021 quarter compared for Monitoring to 10.6% in the year-ago peri- Indian od. Unemployment among Economy males remained at the same (CMIE), joblessness in level as last year, at 8.6%. Labour force participation the country rate (percentage of persons stood at 7.13% in labour force in the popula- as on tion) in urban areas came November 29 down to 47.5% in JanuaryMarch quarter of 2021, compared to 48.1% in the same period a year ago. Women’s participation in the labour force at 21.2% in the January-March quarter was lower than 21.9% in the same quarter previous year though it was better than 20.6% in the October-December 2020 quarter. The working population ratio, defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population, stood at 43.1% in January-March 2021, down from 43.7% a year ago. Woman, 73, spends 45 days in jail after neighbour’s Pocso trap E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kollam In what could be the nastiest manifestation of neighbourhood bickering, a 73-yearold woman was trapped in a sexual abuse complaint filed by the minor son of her neighbour allegedly for settling some past scores. The woman had to spend 45 days in jail as the local police invoked charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on the complaint by the 14-year-old boy . The woman, who is out on bail now, has lodged a complaint with the chief minister seeking a comprehensive probe into the case, including the incidents that led to framing of a false case against a Scheduled Caste woman. “Around three months ago, I reported illicit brewing of arrack at my neighour’s farmhouse to the excise officials. They carried out a raid on the farmhouse as well. After a few days, a woman neighbour filed a false Pocso case against me complaining that I had sexually abused her son,” Sreemathi, a native of Ku- lathupuzha, told TNIE. Sreemathi lives alone at her house at Kulathupuzha and she knew the boy as a kid in the neighbourhood. Sreemathi had no clue about the case even after the arrest. She was expecting that her son would approach the police and bail her out. The son who learnt about the charges abandoned the elderly mother, citing that her act was an insult to him. “He is not speaking to me now. He thinks that I have committed a mistake. But my two daughters are supporting me. I am innocent. The agony I am suffering at this age is unbearable,” said Sreemathi. “I was taken into custody on the day when I just returned home after vaccination. I was taken to the police station saying that they would leave me after completing a few formalities. Later on the same day, I was produced in court and was remanded in custody she said. ,” When contacted, officials at Kulathupuzha police station said the police can’t comment on the case as it is sub judice. Suspended MPs hold protest, paralyse houses My son thinks that I have committed a mistake. But my two daughters are supporting me. I am innocent. The agony I am suffering at this age is unbearable Sreemathi MLA to intervene Punalur MLA P S Supal said the issue has come to his notice from social media posts. “Our local leaders say it is a fabricated case. I will visit the woman soon and hear her version. I will do everything possible to ensure her justice,” he said. A day after 12 Opposition Rajya Sabha members were suspended for unruly behaviour during the monsoon session, they decided to sit in protest near the Gandhi statue in Parliament as Upper House Chairman Venkaiah Naidu rejected demands to revoke their punishment. While the Centre made the review of Naidu’s order conditional on the MPs apologising for their conduct, the Opposition brushed it away “Apology for . what? For raising the voice of people in the House? Never,” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said. Floor leaders of the Opposition met twice to discuss various options. It was agreed that since boycotting the proceedings would give the Centre a free hand to pass legislation without discussion, Opposition MPs should stay in the House and continue to press the Centre. The Trinamool Congress did not attend the Opposition meetings. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge raised the matter in the House and also wrote to Naidu calling his decision “undemocratic and unwarranted. While the Opposition walked out of the Rajya Sabha, Trinamool members walked out separately The Lok Sabha, too, witnessed repeated . adjournments. End of windfall from emigrants P2 express read Tiruvalla native girl shot dead in US Pathanamthitta: A 19-year-old girl — native of Niranam in Tiruvalla — was shot dead in Alabama, USA, on Monday evening. The deceased is Mariam Susan Mathew, daughter of Boban Mathew and Bincy. As per the media reports, Mariam was sleeping in her house at Montgomery when bullets pierced through the ceiling and killed her. The reports also said the tenant staying on the top floor of their residence is suspected to be the assailant. P4