Ex-law minister Shanti Bhushan passes away Former Union law minister and eminent jurist Shanti Bhushan passed away on Tuesday in Delhi following a brief illness. He was 97. Bhushan was law minister from 1977 to 1979 in the Morarji Desai cabinet. His two sons Jayant and Prashant Bhushan are leading lawyers. Bhushan had last year argued on a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored probe into the Rafale deal | PTI KOZHIKODE l wednesday l February 01, 2023 l `9.00 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 ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Growth to slow, India still fastest growing economy Economic Survey 2022-23 bullish on private investments picking up; CEA says the global slowdown could actually work in favour of India FINE PRINT GDP growth to slow to 6.5% in FY24 from 7% this fiscal, but India will remain the fastest growing economy in the world Growth in FY23 has been led by private consumption and capital formation Gross tax revenues touched 65% of Budget estimates at `17.81 lakh crore in first eight months of the current fiscal, propelled by corporate and personal income tax mop-up RBI’s projection of retail inflation at 6.8% in FY23 is neither too high to deter private consumption, nor so low to weaken investments Rupee to remain under pressure due to muted exports growth and widening current account deficit Domestic coal production to soar to 1.5 billion tonnes by 2030, will replace imports Survey calls for entirely dismantling licensing, inspection and compliance regime, and a host of other reforms to accelerate economic growth to sustained higher levels It suggests simpler tax rules to lure Indian-owned startups abroad to shift to India D i pak M o nda l @ New Delhi INDIA’s GDP could grow at 6.5% in FY24 despite a slowing global economy thanks to the reforms undertaken by the Narendra Modi government in the past eight years, the Economic Survey 2022-23 tabled in Parliament on Tuesday said. “The growth in the upcoming year will be supported by solid domestic demand and a pickup in capital investment,” the survey said with a caveat that tighter monetary policy globally and subdued exports might hamper the projections. Unlike last year when 8-8.5% growth was projected, this year’s survey showed less conviction on growth. It pegged real GDP growth in the range of 6-6.8% depending on the trajectory of economic and political developments globally . The survey report is bullish on private capital expenditure picking up thanks to cleaning up of the private sector balance sheet. It said the financial sector stress seen in the previous decade — rising bad loans, low credit uptake and falling private investments — is now behind us. Private investment, according to the survey report, has been aided by the government capex which increased 2.7 times in the past seven years. The capex thrust of the government was part of a strategic package aimed at crowding-in private investment, it noted. Chief Economic Advisor to the government Dr V Anantha Nageswaran told reporters that capital investment by the private sector is beginning to kick in despite several shocks coming one after another. “Once the shocks dissipate, I expect India’s credit and capex cycle to gather more steam than what they have today,” he added. According to the CEA, the recessionary pressures worldwide could prove beneficial for the country as global commodity prices, especially crude oil, would remain at moderate levels. He says that as long as crude oil prices remain below $100 a barrel, it won’t hit India’s growth prospects. While talking about structural reforms such as the GST rollout and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code undertaken over the past eight years, the survey also sets the agenda for next round of reforms – administrative reforms, contract enforcement, dismantling licence, inspection & compliance, access to clean energy and energy security among others. , Adoor resigns in solidarity with Shankar Mohan E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Alleging that Shankar Mohan was “insulted and shunted out” of the K R Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, veteran filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan has stepped down from the post of the institute’s chairman. Announcing his resignation at a press conference on Tuesday, a visibly emotional Adoor said by forcing Shankar Mohan to quit as the director of the institute, Kerala has deported a fine Malayali professional. Adoor tendered his resignation to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is the president of the governing council of the institute, on Monday. Noted Kannada film maker Girish Kasaravally has also resigned from the post of chairman of the academic council. Students of the K R Narayanan Institute were on an indefinite strike for a month accusing Shankar Mohan of practising caste discrimination towards students and staff. The events took an ugly turn when Adoor openly supported the director, terming all ‘Resignation can’t be seen as protest against govt’ Higher Education Minister R Bindu said she doesn’t consider Adoor’s resignation as a protest against the government. If Adoor has any complaints, the government is open to examine them, she said. Adultery law applies for armed forces, clarifies SC S H R U T I K A K K A R @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday clarified that its 2018 verdict that had decriminalised adultery will not apply to court martial proceedings initiated against armed forces personnel for their adulterous conduct. A five-judge Constitution bench led by Justice K M Joseph said the court’s ruling in the Joseph Shine case was not at all concerned with the provisions of the Armed Forces Act, Navy Act and Air Force Act. In 2018, a Constitution bench had struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, declaring it to be unconstitutional and vio- Vizag will be capital of AP, says CM jagan mohan reddy lative of the right to equality of women in treating them as “chattel” (an item of property) and inferior to their husbands. Section 497 had made adultery an offence only with respect to a man, who has a relationship with the wife of someone else. Issuing the clarification, the bench said, in the Joseph Shine ruling, “this court was neither called upon nor has it ventured to pronounce on the effect of section 45 and 63 of the Army Act and corresponding provisions of the other Act.” The order came on the Ministry of Defence’s plea seeking to exempt armed forces from the ambit of the Shine ruling. ‘Simple case of military discipline’ “It is not about Victorian morality, mine is a simple case of military discipline, operational efficiency for the armed forces,” Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appearing for the Centre, submitted The announcement comes at a time when the SC has stayed a High Court order directing the state govt to develop Amaravati capital region in 6 months | P5 such allegations as baseless. His statements against students, women employees and the gatekeepers too had courted controversy It’s in this back. drop that Adoor chose to step down. In his resignation letter, Adoor came down heavily on the commission appointed by the government to probe into the allegations raised by the students, albeit without naming the panel headed by former chief secretary and Malayalam university vice-chancellor K ● More on P4 Jayakumar. CPM keeps away, but Baby all praise for Rahul’s yatra E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ T’Puram Opening a fresh debate in political circles, CPM Politburo member M A Baby has come out in praise of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the successful completion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Noticeably, the senior leader extended support to the yatra even as the CPM leadership stayed away from attending its valedictory in Srinagar. A slew of Opposition leaders, including CPI general secretary D Raja, were part of the yatra’s culmination on Monday Though earlier there . were indications that CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury too would attend the same, the party chose to stay away apparently consid, ering the political situation in different states. In a detailed Facebook post on Tuesday Baby , said the yatra sent out the message of national integrity, while questioning the very basis of ● More on P4 the Sangh Parivar ideology  .