BENGALURU  TUESDAY  JANUARY 02, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 20  LATE CITY EDITION GST COLLECTIONS IN DECEMBER RISE 10 PER CENT TO R1.64 LAKH CRORE Continuing the upward trend, GST collections rose about 10% to R1.64 lakh crore in December 2023 compared to R1.49 lakh crore a year ago MOP-UP UP 12% IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS GST GROWTH FLAT IN THREE STATES During the April-December 2023 period, gross Goods and Services Tax collection witnessed a robust 12% growth, reaching B14.97 lakh crore against B13.40 lakh crore in the same period of the previous year, the Union finance ministry said on Monday. The average monthly gross GST collection for the first nine months of FY24 saw a 12% growth from a year ago, it added ■ ■ The government has settled R40,057 crore to CGST and R33,652 crore to SGST from IGST, the finance ministry said. The total revenue of the Centre and states in December 2023 after the regular settlement is R70,501 crore for CGST and R71,587 crore for the SGST, it added | P13 Rajasthan, C’garh & J’khand showed no growth in GST collections `160L cr THIS IS THE 7TH MONTH THIS YEAR THAT MOP-UP EXCEEDED THIS LEVEL 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 MLA quits amid Mysuru sculptor’s Ram Lalla to be installed in Ayodhya buzz on Soren’s wife joining fray E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Mysuru CM prepares for possible arrest by ED, starts grooming Kalpana to step into his shoes M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi IN what could be the precursor for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren anticipating his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate and preparing his wife Kalpana to step into his shoes, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLA Sarfaraz Ahmed quietly vaHemant Soren cated his Gandey seat on Sunday . Speculation is rife that Kalpana may contest from Gandey, a general seat. Though she belongs to a scheduled tribe community she cannot contest from , a reserved tribal seat because she hails from Odisha. Her sister-in-law Sita Soren is already facing litigation as she won a reserved tribal seat in the assembly elections, though she too hails from Odisha. “Since she hails from from Odisha, Kalpana is Kalpana Soren said to be not entitled to fight from a reserved ST seat in Jharkhand. Gandey, a general seat, might be a safe constituency for her,” said political experts. Sarfaraz represented Gandey in 1980 and 2009 as Congress MLA and in 2019 as JMM MLA. His resignation letter did not cite any reason. it was accepted the same day but the notification was issued on Monday He was not available for comment. . Just the other day, the ED had its seventh and last Sarfaraz Ahmed summons to Soren to appear for questioning in the land scam case. It gave him the liberty to decide the Speaker date, time and venue for the questioning and directaccepts it ed him to respond in writing within two days. He Assembly chose not to respond. Jharkhand Congress presiSpeaker dent Rajesh Thakur called it part of the state govRabindra ernment’s strategy to deal with any untoward poNath Mahto litical situation in the state. did not find it Kalpana, 48, hails from a business family in Maynecessary to urbhanj district in Odisha. Ever since Soren’s name ask threeappeared in the office-of-profit scam last year, Katime MLA lpana has been accompanying him to different proSarfaraz grammes inside and outside Jharkhand, seen as Ahmed why part of her grooming exercise. Kalpana is a busihe put in his ness woman and runs a private school and several papers before other businesses. She takes keen interest in women accepting it empowerment and events organised for children. 1992 RIOT ACCUSED HINDU ACTIVISTS FUME OVER ARREST Srikant Poojary was arrested by the Hubballi-Dharwad police over violence in Hubballi in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition. Hindu activists have questioned the timing of the arrest, with the Ram temple in Ayodhya set to be thrown | P4 CBI notice: BJP trying to end my political career, says DKS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru DEPUTY Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday alleged that some BJP leaders are trying to finish him off politically as the CBI has issued a notice to him in connection with the Disproportionate Asset (DA) case despite the Congress government withdrawing the permission given to it to probe him. “Even after the gover nment’s withdrawal of permission given to the CBI, notices have been issued to several people and organisations, including a cooperative society, headed by me. I don’t understand their objective. But it looks like they are hatching a conspiracy to trouble me and my party This is an attempt by . the BJP leaders to finish me off politically,” he told reporters in reply to a query on CBI serving him the notice with regard to his alleged investment in a Kerala-based private TV channel. He said the CBI probe has been transferred to the Lokayukta after the High Court of Kar nataka approved withdrawal of permission given to the CBI. CONTINUED ON: P5 CITY-based sculptor Arun Yogiraj’s Ram Lalla idol has been chosen for installation at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple during the auspicious ‘Prana Prathistapana Muhurtham’ on January 22. Of the three idols shortlisted, the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust on Monday selected Yogiraj’s Ram Lalla through voting, according to his family members here. Yo g i r a j u s e d a u n i q u e Krishna shila (stone) from Bujjegoudanapura village in HD Kote taluk of Mysuru dis- trict to sculpt the idol along with his team. Yogiraj hails from a family of sculptors in Mysuru and he belongs to the fifth generation. One of the most sought after sculptors in the country, Yogiraj sculpted the 30-foot statue of Subhash Chandra Bose installed at Amar Jawan Jyoti behind India Gate in New Delhi. He is also known for his works such as the 12-foot statue of Adi Shankaracharya in Kedarnath, 21-foot statue of Lord Hanuman at Chunchanakatte in MANY vehicle users in Bengaluru, who have purchased FASTag, a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, for quick toll payment on national highways, now have a reason to worry . Of late, they have been getting messages from banks stating that small sums of money have been deducted from their accounts at toll gates although they haven’t travelled that particular day! other members of our family during this period. We feel very happy that his work has been selected,” she said. Many prominent leaders from Mysuru and politicians have congratulated Yogiraj on his achievement. Sharing his happiness on ‘X’, Yediyurappa said, “The idol of Lord Rama sculpted by Arun Yogiraj of Mysuru has been selected for installation in the magnificent Sri Rama Mandir I am happy that I was among the three sculptors from the country selected to carve the idol of Ram Lalla. More than selection, people should appreciate it. Only then, I will be happy Arun Yogiraj, sculptor of Ayodhya, which has doubled the pride and happiness of entire Rama devotees of the state. Heartfelt congratulations to ‘Shilpi @yogiraj_arun’.” Yediyurappa’s son and BJP state president BY Vijayendra too hailed Yogiraj for making the state and Mysuru proud. “It is the pride of Mysuru, the pride of Karnataka that the idol of Ram Lalla carved by Arun Yogiraj will be enshrined in Ayodhya on January 22,” Vijayendra said. MP PC Mohan and former minister B Sreeramulu also congratulated Yogiraj on social CONTINUED ON: P4 media. FUEL CELL POWER SYSTEM ISRO FIRES INDIA’S SPACE STATION DREAM S V K R I S H N A C H A I TA N YA @ Sriharikota People on a street damaged by a massive earthquake in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture in Japan on Monday. It triggered a tsunami | AP Quake triggers tsunami in Japan Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi JAPAN on Monday was hit by a series of strong earthquakes on its western coast with one in the magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale, triggering tsunamis of three-metres high at its coastal areas. The quake struck near Ishikawa Prefecture’s Noto Peninsula. Many houses were damaged in the areas impacted by the quake. Rescue operations are underway . Japan urged its citizens living near coastal areas to move to higher ground. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida advised people to follow evacuation or- ders closely Bullet train serv. ices have been halted. Local media reported that two people may have died and at least six others are trapped inside a collapsed building in Ishikawa Prefecture. Japan’s meteriological department said earthquakes with similar intensity was a possibility for a week. Tsunami warnings have been issued for the prefectures of Ishikawa, Niigata, Toyama, Yamagata, Fukui and Hyogo — all on the Sea of Japan. There are many nuclear power plants in the affected areas, but no one has reported any damage. Highways are Money deducted from FASTag accounts even when vehicles not on roads S L A L I T H A @ Bengaluru Mysuru district, 15-foot statue of Dr BR Ambedkar and the statue of Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in Mysuru. Yogiraj’s wife Vijetha, who expressed her happiness for the selection of her husband’s Ram Lalla, told The New Indian Express that he has been working tirelessly for the past six months. “He did not even meet me or Among those who have received such messages is Arvind PS Tiwari, a marketing manager with a private company “I . usually go to bed by 10pm and one fine morning, I got a message from my bank stating that Rs 30 has been paid at Plaza1@ km 14825 at 11.35 pm with my vehicle number, which has the ICICI Bank Fastag. My vehicle A message stating that money has been deducted from a motorist’s FASTag was at my house in Kempapura that night,” he told TNIE. KN Shivaram Krishna, a senior manager with a private company, said he was on his way to office when he got a message that Rs 30 was paid at Bengaluru-Nelamangala toll plaza on December 19. “My vehicle was at my home in Abbigere from where I was going to my workspot. Some plazas charge up to Rs 200 for permitting vehicles to pass through. I was worried if bigger amounts could get deducted in future,” CONTINUED ON: P5 he added. shut near the epicentre of the quake and more than 36,000 houses are without power. In 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake in Japan triggered a tsunami and killing 18,000 people and displacing many . The Indian Embassy in Tokyo set up an emergency control room. It’s helpline numbers are +81-80-3930-1715 (Yakub Topno), +81-70-1492-0049 (Ajay Sethi), +81-80-3214-4734 (D N Barnwal), +81-80- 62295382 (S Bhattacharya) and +8180-3214-4722 (Vivek Rathore). The embassy also provided two email ids — sscons.tokyo@ mea.gov.in and offfseco.tokyo@ mea.gov.in. P12 Warning for NK & Russia Tsunami warnings were also issued for parts of North Korea and Russia. In nearby South Korea, the weather agency urged residents to watch for changes in sea levels EXPRESS READ Woman jumps on track, Metro ops hit Bengaluru: Metro train operations of the Purple Line came to a halt for 15 minutes when a woman jumped onto the electrified tracks at Indiranagar station around 6.40 pm to retrieve her mobile phone that she had dropped on the tracks. Metro staffers immediately switched off power supply. The woman will be caught whenever she enters any of our stations, an official said. P3 WHILE all eyes were set on the launch of XPoSat, India’s first dedicated satellite to study blackholes, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Monday hit another important milestone. The space agency successfully tested the Fuel Cell Power System (FCPS) developed by the Kerala-based Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). This takes India a step closer to realising the country’s ambition to establish the Indian Space Station. FCPS, a 100W payload, was flown out along with nine other payloads, in the fourth stage of the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM3) rocket, utilised by ISRO as a test bed. The most significant payload of the lot, Second after FCPS generates elecUnited States tricity to be used as a power source for the With ISRO’s XPoSat space station and also (X-ray Polarimeter produces potable water Satellite) in orbit, as a byproduct, which India has become the wo u l d q u e n ch t h e second country thirst of the astronauts following the United at the station. States to have a VSSC Director S Undedicated satellite to nikrishnan Nair told study X-ray TNIE that this is the polarisation | P5 first time ISRO has experimented with fuel cells in space. “Oxygen and hydrogen stored under high pressure are passed through the fuel cell assembly, which spurs a chemical reaction that produces power and pure drinking water as a byproduct,” he said. “Having a water source on-board is a must when it comes to space stations. Fuel cells are ideal for both power generation and producing water. The 100W FCPS has been a success. We wanted to see how it performs in a weightless environment, in the presence of radiation and under extreme temperatures. The entire system worked as intended. We have plans to build a 100kW FCPS in the near future,” Nair said. Three shot dead in Manipur Imphal: Three persons were shot dead and five others injured in Manipur’s Thoubal district on Monday evening, following which curfew was reimposed in the five valley districts of the state. Unidentified gunmen arrived in camouflage dresses in the Lilong Chingjao area, and opened fire targeting locals. While three people died on the spot, five others were injured, officials said. ISRO’s PSLV-C58, carrying the X-ray Polarimeter satellite and 10 other payloads, lifts off from Sriharikota | ISRO NOTCHING UP A PEG Don’t scorn at govt liquor shops, this MSIL boutique as ‘high’-end as it gets EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru IN a first, the Karnataka government has opened a premium liquor boutique at Bas ave s h w a r a N a g a r i n Bengaluru on par with highend private outlets. This is an upgraded version of the existing MSIL outlet. According to an official from MSIL, this liquor boutique will have all brands under one roof. The government has plans to open 200 such outlets across the state, including 20 in Bengaluru. “The ambience gives a sense of luxury liquor outlet with trained staff to attend to customers,” he said. Manojkumar, MD of MSIL, who launched the premium outlet on Thimmaiah Road in Basaveshwara Nagar, said the outlet has been designed keeping in mind the contemporary trends to provide a better customer experience. “This is part of MSIL’s plan to expand its market share by reaching out to a wider range LIQUOR WORTH `3K CR SOLD IN DEC Customers can choose from a wide range of brands at the boutique opened in Basaveshwara Nagar in Bengaluru | NAGARAJA GADEKAL of customers by making available premium liquor brands at its retail outlets,” he said. The Excise Department registered liquor sale of Rs 3,000 crore in December 2023, which is Rs 400 crore more than the corresponding month last year. The average monthly liquor sale in the state is around Rs 2,500 crore. Similar boutiques will be opened on Dr Rajkumar Road, RPC Layout and Vijayanagar in Bengaluru in the coming days. Work on upgrading MSIL outlets at Shivananda Circle, Vart h u r, Ke n g e r i U p a n a g a r, Maruthi Seva Nagar, Hanum a n t h N a g a r, a n d D o d danekkelli. These outlets are expected to be reopened within a few months, Manoj said. MSIL owns 1,029 liquor outlets across the state. The plan to upgrade 200 outlets has been finalised under the guidance of Industries Minister MB Patil who is also the chairman of MSIL, to provide customers an experience similar to what they get in malls. Outlets being upgraded will be given a corporate touch, Manojkumar said. He said MSIL’s aim is to increase its transaction by around 40% to touch Rs 4,000 crore during the current year. In addition to refurbishing the liquor outlets, MSIL aims to achieve a target of Rs 10,000 crore transaction through chit fund. It also has plans to open franchise outlets to sell stationery items and launch 10 mega pharmacy stores.