BENGALURU  MONDAY  JANUARY 02, 2023  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION AT LEAST 2 KILLED IN MASSIVE FIRE AT MAHA CHEMICAL PLANT The fire at Jindal Poly Films plant, which appears to have been triggered by a blast in a boiler, also injured 19 others EXPLOSION SHOOK NEARBY VILLAGES A BIGGER TRAGEDY AVERTED The explosion was so strong that it was heard in several nearby villages. A thick plume of smoke could be seen above the factory, located in Nashik district’s Mundhegaon village along the Mumbai-Agra highway. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered a high-level probe to determine the exact cause of the incident | P8 ■ ■ A company official said three of the five boilers at the plant do not use flammable material. The other two are small, meaning there was lesser chance of them getting blown up The incident happened around 11.30 am. As it was the first day of the new year, fewer workers were present at the factory Four OF THE 17 INJURED ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITION Apr May Trends in GST collection (B in Crore) 1,29,780 1,49,507 1,31,526 1,45,867 1,30,127 1,51,718 1,17,010 1,47,686 1,12,020 1,43,612 1,44,616 Jun 1,16,393 1,48,995 92,800 97,821 1,40,885 1,39,708 1,67,540 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov FY 2021-22 FY 2022-23 Dec Dec GST revenue up 15% at `1.49L cr EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi THE new year started on a positive note for the government on the revenue front as the GST mop up in December clocked `1,49,507 crore, registering a 15% increase over the same period last year. This is the 10th straight month when the monthly GST (Goods and Services Tax) collections have been over `1.4 lakh crore. Of the `1,49,507 crore, collections under Central GST (CGST) were `26,711 crore, State GST `33,357 crore and Integrated GST `78,434 crore. After settling 36,669 crore from IGST to CGST and `31,094 crore to SGST, the total revenue of the Centre and the states in December 2022 was `63,380 crore for CGST and `64,451 crore for the SGST. Imports accounted for `40,263 crore of GST collections, which were 8% higher than the previous year, while GST from domestic transactions (including import of services) were 18% NYE TRAGEDY Businessman shoots son’s friend, dies of heart attack E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Shivamogga THE New Year celebration turned tragic when a businessman suffered a heart attack and died after he accidentally fired at his son’s friend on Saturday night. The youth who sustained the bullet injury died on Sunday afternoon. The deceased have been identified as Manjunath Olekar (67) and Vinay (34). Sources said Olekar and his son Sandeep had organised a party at their house in Vidya Nagar to ring in the New Year. Two friends of Olekar’s son too were part of the celebration. When the clock struck 12, Olekar took out his double barrel breech loading (DBBL) gun to fire in the air to welcome the New Year. When he was trying to load the gun, he accidentally fired at Vinay Olekar panicked, . suffered a heart attack and died on the spot, said Superintendent of Police Mithun Kumar GK. Vinay was taken to a private hospital for treatment, where he died of his wounds on Sunday afternoon. Sources said Vinay was a PhD research student, hailing from Hosanagara. The Kote police registered a case and are investigating. 4 from TN die as their car collides with KSRTC bus Four friends from Tamil Nadu, who were heading towards Gokarna after New Year celebrations in Goa, were killed when their car collided head on with a KSRTC bus on Sunday, police said. The deceased were identified as Arun Pandian, Vipul, Mohammad, and Shekaran. P3 higher than that of the same month last year. MS Mani, partner, Deloitte India, said an 18% increase in the GST revenues from domestic transactions viewed with the increase in e-way bill issuance and the significant increase in GST collections by key manufacturer and consuming states, would be indicative of a sustained manufacturing and consumption cycle across recent months. During November, 7.9 crore e-way bills were generated, which was significantly higher than 7.6 crore e-way bills generated in October, 2022. The monthly average GST collection in the first nine months is now `1.48 lakh crore, almost `30,000 more than the average monthly collections of `1.18 lakh crore during the same month last year. The total collection in the April-December 2022 has been `13.34 lakh crore, 25% more than `10.67 lakh collection during the same period in the previous year. Jobless rate rises to 16-month high Hits 8.3% in December, urban unemployment peaks at 10.09% U M A K A N N A N @ Bengaluru STEPPING into the new year, there was not-so-good news for the country’s job seekers, as India’s jobless rate rose to a 16-month high at 8.3% in December 2022, due to the sharp spike in urban unemployment rate at 10.09%. In November, it stood at 8%. According to data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, the urban unemployment rate rose to 10.09% in December from 8.96% the previous month. The unemployment rate in rural areas slipped to 7.44% in December from 7.55% in November. Experts do not see any significant new employment opportunities in coming months due to headwinds in global markets and also because of the sudden spike in Covid cases. “Consumer goods, automotives and financial services have had a good run around the festive season of SeptemberDecember. To cater to this upswing, new jobs were created in August-September. Construction, engineering and manufacturing have not grown considering the inflationary pressures,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD and CEO of Sandeep Singh quits as Haryana minister H A R P R E E T BA J WA @ Chandigarh HARYANA Sports Minister and former Indian hockey team captain Sandeep Singh on Sunday resigned from his post, hours after the Chandigarh Police booked him on a sexual harassment complaint filed by a female athletics coach of Haryana. The junior coach alleged that the BJP minister made a Snapchat call to her on July 1 last year, and said that as her National Games certificate was pending, he wanted to meet her Sandeep Singh to sort it out. Around 6.50 pm, she went to his camp office, located at his official residence. She alleged that once she reached there, she was taken to a private room where Singh touched her inappropriately, praised her body and told CONTINUED ON: P7 her to keep him happy . QUARRY OWNERS’ STRIKE HITS AERO INDIA WORKS BA N SY K A L A P PA @ Bengaluru PREPARATIONS for Aero India, which begins on February 13, are in full swing and organisers trying to finish the civic works ahead of schedule have been hit hard by the shortage of construction material. The paucity is because of an ongoing strike by owners of quarries and stone crushing units asking the government to meet their certain demands. Sources said hundreds of loads of jelly stone, Msand and other construction material are required to finish the works at the Aero India venue, the Yelahanka Air Force Station. “We know that they need around 1,400 truck loads of construction material for Aero India. But we are helpless. We are not agitating in arrogance, but out of sheer helplessness. If we do not contin- ue the agitation, we will lose all our properties and even the houses we live in. We also understand that after the works, they need about three weeks of curing to complete these projects. But what to do,” president of the Karnataka Quarry and Stone Crusher Owners’ Association Ravindra Shetty told The New Indian Express. CONTINUED ON: P4 BCCI: Going forward, Yo-Yo test, Dexa must for selection G O M E S H S @ Chennai 2023 has just begun. While most of the world is still soaking in the past year and celebrating entering the new year brimming with hopes and dreams, the Indian cricketing body did not waste any time before getting to work. Such has been the performance of the Indian men in 2022, they had to review it in Mumbai as India saw the first sunrise of 2023. And in the meeting that was attended by its top brass, captain, head coach, NCA chief and chairman of selectors, the BCCI kicked off 2023 with some key policy decisions with at least two ICC trophies — World Test Championship and a home ODI World Cup — at stake. Perhaps the most important decision made is that the National Cricket Academy (NCA) will be working in tandem with the IPL franchisees to keep an eye on certain players. “Keeping in mind the men’s FTP and preparations for ICC CWC 2023, the NCA will work in tandem with the IPL franchisees to monitor the targeted Indian players participating in the IPL 2023,” secretary Jay Shah said in a statement. If workload management is one aspect, the board has also decided to reinstate the Yo-Yo test, Dexa (bone scan test) as the eligibility criteria for selection. In 2022, the Indian men’s team was plagued with injuries through the year. Recently skipper Rohit Sharma came out and said they cannot have half-fit players in the team. The BCCI has also decided that “the emerging players” will have to go through the grind in domestic circuit to be eligible for selection. The 2021-22 season saw the BCCI make personnel changes in their quest for an ICC title. With that not bearing fruit, they have gone one step further, making some policy decisions this time around. Whether it will translate into results this year, one will P11 have to wait and watch. CIEL HR Services. IT, outsourcing and tech-driven startups and services had subdued activity in December, impacting employment negatively. With global recession fears and slowdown in client spending, the IT industry may face more challenges in 2023, particularly in the fourth quarter. Many startups laid off staffers in recent months. “Travel, hospitality and tourism sectors have been on a high in December. However, they have not increased employment because they are optimising their resources now and backfilling the vacant spots. Phar- UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (%) Month Dec-22 Nov-22 Oct-22 Sep-22 Aug-22 Jul-22 Jun-22 May-22 Apr-22 Mar-22 Feb-22 Jan-22 India 8.3 8 7.77 6.43 8.28 6.83 7.83 7.14 7.83 7.57 8.11 6.56 Urban 10.09 8.96 7.21 7.7 9.57 8.22 7.32 8.24 9.22 8.28 7.57 8.14 Rural 7.44 7.55 8.04 5.84 7.68 6.17 8.07 6.63 7.18 7.24 8.37 5.83 ma, healthcare and life sciences have remained stable in their employment,” Mishra added. EXPRESS READ Woman dies after being dragged for 8 km by car New Delhi: A 20-year-old woman died after her scooty was hit by a car and her body was dragged for around 8 km in outer Delhi’s Sultanpuri on Sunday, police said. Five men travelling in the car have been arrested. Meanwhile, the Delhi Commission for Women has issued notice to the police. P8 Yet another stampede at TDP event, 3 killed Amaravati: Three women were killed on Sunday near here when people rushed to receive gifts leading to a stampede at a TDP programme. The incident comes just three days after the death of eight people during a similar TDP event in Nellore. P5 Bizman shoots self dead, names Limbavali E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru He claims that he approached Limbavali, who asked him to take Rs 90 lakh and forego the remaining amount which is around Rs 2.22 crore. He was paid Rs 90 lakh in instalments Senior police officer HOLDING BJP MLA Aravind Limbavali and five others responsible for his death, a 47-year-old businessman ended his life by shooting himself dead in his car near Kaggalipura on the outskirts of the city on Sunday evening. Based , on the suicide note the deceased has left, the police have registered a case of abetment to suicide. The deceased, Pradeep S, was a resident of Ambalipura off Haralur Road. The police said Pradeep and his relatives had checked in to a resort in Nettigere village off Kanakapura Road on Saturday to celebrate the New Year. On Sunday morning, he told them that he had to go to Sira in Tumakuru and left the resort. But he went to his residence where he prepared three sets of an eight-page death note and kept one in his wife’s wardrobe and the others in his car. “He returned to the resort, but did not inform anyone and stuck another note on the windshield of a relative’s car. He waited for everyone to check out. Around 4.30 pm, when they left in their cars, he overtook them to ensure that they see him, speeded and stopped ahead. Before they approached him, he shot himself in the head with a pistol,” a senior police officer said. CONTINUED ON: P5