THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l February 06, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l LATE city EDITION Bowlers set up clinical comeback victory for India Bazball threat neutralised, for now Chasing a mammoth 399 for win, England were dismissed for 292, falling short by 106 runs as hosts level series in Vizag. A look... Bumrah, Ashwin deliver when needed most When India lost the first Test in Hyderabad, a lot of questions were asked, including whether they can counter England’s aggressive approach on the field. Under the pump, youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill stepped up with the bat after which Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin did the rest as India levelled the series 1-1 ■ ■ After going wicketless in the first innings, Ashwin was under pressure to deliver in the fourth innings of the Test. So much that India’s fortunes were dependent on how he went on Monday The ace spinner did just that, taking three crucial wickets (3/72) before Bumrah (3/46) took over the proceedings | P15 97 Test wickets for Ashwin against England is the most by an Indian 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 No plan is best plan Balagopal blames Union govt for all of Kerala’s financial ills Talks of Plan B to survive but doesn’t know what it is In policy shift, says open to campuses of foreign varsities RAJESH ABRAHAM Amid a deep financial crisis, Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Monday presented the budget for 2024-25 that focused on Kerala’s transition to the “sunrise” economy rely, ing on futuristic strides in technology but lacked big ideas to come out of , the fiscal mess and instead blamed the Union government for the state’s problems. In a speech that lasted twoand-a-half hours, Balagopal gave thrust to private investments, including in higher education, and promised to explore opportunities to set up campuses of foreign universities, a move seen as a major policy shift for the CPM-led ruling front. Coming ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the speech contained a litany of complaints against the BJPled Central government and said the state would have a Plan B to counter the situation. He, however, did not say what the plan is. “We are not ready to make any cuts in the benefits provided to people. We will definitely have to figure out a Plan B,” Balagopal said. “There are suggestions and thoughts regarding Plan B as well. In any case, we will find a way to move forward retaining the virtues of the Kerala model of development,” he said. “Thakarilla Keralam, Thalarilla Keralam, Thakarkkanavilla Keralathe” (Kerala will not be shattered, Kerala will not tire, Kerala cannot be destroyed), he said, amid thumping of desks by the ruling front members. Sunrise economy Govt to focus on sunrise sectors such as electronic goods, AI, refined petroleum products, medical devices, chemical industry, etc to drive Kerala's economic transformation Sourav Roy Key strokes Govt plans to bring in over L3 lakh crore worth of investment in the next three years Vizhinjam port to begin functioning in May. Chinese-model Special Development Zones to be created in and around port Minimum support price for rubber increased from L170 to L180 25 The budget also announced ambitious plans to attract `3 lakh crore investments in three years through key sectors such as tourism, development in and around the new Vizhijam port, and industrial corridors of Kochi, Palakkad, and Kannur. Inspired by China's idea of development zones of the late 1970s, Balagopal said Kerala will adopt a similar idea by creating such Special Development Zones (SDZ) to utilise the entire developmental potential of Vizhinjam. He said an international investors’ meet will be conducted in 2024-25 itself with the objective of attracting investors who will harness the potential of the Vizhinjam port. On his focus on the sunrise economy, Balagopal said statistics show that as entrepreneurs are flocking to the sector and investment is growing, production and employment opportunities are increasing. Amid concerns of fiscal indiscipline, Balagopal promised to walk the path of fiscal consolidation and bring down the fiscal deficit to 3.4% of the GSDP in 2024-25 from 3.45% in 2023-24. While he chose not to impose any major burden on the common man, he announced a small hike in electricity duty to raise around `125 crore and a marginal increase in the judicial INSIDE public health sector A5,000 cr investment in tourism sector L34,530 cr new private industrial parks to come up in the state L2,052.23 cr for allocation in capital investment sector including KIIFB L1,976.4 cr for transport sector Excise duty on Indian-made foreign liquor hiked by L10 per litre Electricity duty hiked from 1.25 paise/unit to 15 paise/unit for those generating power for own use Hike in various court fees to 3 centres of Digital University to be set up in the state Govt to explore setting up of campuses of foreign varsities in Kerala Private universities to be allowed By making unrealistic announcements, finance minister has destroyed the credibility of budget. It is a complete disappointment for agri sector — V D Satheesan, Oppn leader raise L50 crore Reduction in existing tax on All India Tourist Permit buses, a move expected to increase registration of such buses in Kerala court fee to raise `50 crore. Experts felt the budget was a lost opportunity “This crisis should have . been used as an opportunity to announce some big policy steps,” said D Dhanuraj, founder-chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Research, a Kochi-based public policy thinktank. “It was just a usual conventional budget. There are no steps to energise the economy he said. ,” Jose Sebastian, former faculty of Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxa- L456.71 cr for higher edu sector A bold step to create a new Kerala by surpassing crises and difficulties. The budget underscores the importance of a joint effort to achieve progress — Pinarayi Vijayan, CM rise and fall Budget reflects fiscal squeeze; expert calls for radical change I P4 Edu boost L1736.63 cr for public edu sector tion, said: “Other than the opening up of the higher education sector to foreign universities, which is a clear policy change as far as the CPM is concerned, there is not much to talk about.” Krishnakumar K K, senior fellow at the Kochi-based Centre for Socio-economic and Environmental Studies, however, said the finance minister judiciously tried to use the limited resources available due to the decrease in the central share and slashing of the borrowing limit. Plan B is part of a novel strategy for growth: FM I P6 KERALA BUDGET HEAVY ON RHETORIC, LIGHT oN PRAGMATISM I P8 Indian feat: This Moment is a Grammy moment S hre yas Pan d e Indian musicians Shankar Mahadevan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, percussionist Selvaganesh Vinayakram, violinist Ganesh Rajagopalan and English guitarist John McLaughlin of the fusion band, Shakti, bagged the prestigious Grammy award under the category, Global Music Album, on Monday The award was given to their . music album This Moment in the ceremony that was held in Los Angeles. This Moment is the third studio album by Shakti and is the band’s first release in 46 years after the 1977 album Natural Elements. The album consists of eight songs, including Shrini’s Dream, Bending the Rules, Karuna, Giriraj Sudha, Mohanam and Las Palmas. The album was released on June 30, 2023. In his acceptance speech, Shankar Mahadevan said, “Thank you, boys, and thank you, God, family, friends, and India. We are proud of you, India. Last but not least, I would like to dedicate this award to my wife, to whom every note of my music is dedicated.” Zakir Hussain bagged two more Grammys in different categories for his individual contribution. He secured the award for Best Global Music Performance for the song Pashto, alongside Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer and Rakesh Chaurasia. They also won another award in the category, Contemporary Instrumental Album, for their music album As We Speak. NDA will bag 400 Lok Sabha seats, says Modi P ree t ha N a i r @ New Delhi DELIVERING his last speech to the 17th Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched an allout attack on the Congress, asserting that the NDA will secure 400-plus seats and the BJP’s tally will go past 370 in the upcoming general elections. “I normally do not get into numbers. But I can see the mood of the country ,” he said. The BJP had won 303 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha in 2019, while the NDA got 353. In his reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lower House, Modi exuded confidence that India will become the world’s third largest economy during his government’s ‘third’ tenure. “That is ‘Modi’s guarantee,” said the PM in his twohour-long speech, adding that the third term will witness big decisions. “It will lay a strong foundation of India of the next 1,000 years,” he said. Setting the tone for 2024 polls, Modi listed out his government’s achievements — Ayodhya Ram temple, abrogation of Article 370, and several welfare schemes. “In every sphere, the country has experienced growth and prosperity. Compared to the past 10 years, the country has become empowered in the area of security. India’s policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism is now compelling the entire world to walk towards this policy he said. ,” The PM made repeated attacks on India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru claim- Prime Minister Narendra Modi replies to the Motion of Thanks in the Lok Sabha | PTI ing that the Congress leader thought Indians were “lazy and of low intelligence”. Citing Nehru’s Independence Day speech, Modi said: “Nehru had said ‘we do not work as hard as the Europeans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians or the Americans’. Nehru was giving a certificate to the foreigners to belittle Indians.” Modi said Opposition parties have lost the appetite to fight elections and are resigned to the prospects of sitting in opposition benches for a very long time. “Several leaders were looking to change their seats or enter Parliament through the Rajya Sabha,” he said, amid shouting from the opposition benches on his silence on issues such as the Manipur violence and women wrestlers’ protest. In a veiled reference to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Modi said the ‘Congress shop is on the verge of closure’ as the “party is launching the same product again and again.” EXPRESS READ Champai wins trust vote in Jharkhand Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren on Monday won the trust vote in the assembly comfortably with 47 MLAs voting in his favour and 29 against him. Addressing the assembly ahead of the trust vote, former CM Hemant Soren alleged that the Raj Bhavan was instrumental in his arrest after a “conspiracy hatched by the Centre”. He challenged the ED to show him a documented proof that the 8.5-acre land for which he has been arrested belongs to him. SC lights into C’garh mayor poll officer New Delhi: An angry Supreme Court on Monday lit into Anil Masih, the returning officer of the Chandigarh Mayor polls, saying he should be prosecuted as videos showed him defacing ballot papers to influence the verdict. “It is obvious that he has defaced the ballot papers. He needs to be prosecuted. Why is he looking at the camera? This is a mockery of democracy and murdering democracy. We are appalled,” a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said. P9 20 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express
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