IMRAN’S TOUGH CHALLENGE TO SHARIF Early trends in Pakistan’s general election suggest independents supported by Imran Khan’s PTI were posing a tough challenge to PML-N candidates in Punjab. Voting began at 8 am and closed at 5 pm. Counting is on and the full results are expected by Friday. Four policemen were killed at a polling station leading to delay in the voting process. Polling was postponed in one seat | P12 BENGALURU FRIDAY FEBRUARY 09, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 42 LATE 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 SAYING IT IN BLACK & WHITE Govt document alleges UPA rule ruined economy Congress counter flags unemployment, injustice D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi THE Narendra Modi-led government on Thursday released a white paper on the Indian economy loaded with , the political message that the Congress-led UPA government considerably weakened the country’s economy during its 10-year rule from 2004-14 whereas the NDA government revived it through reforms and action-oriented policies. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the white paper in Parliament on Thursday a week after she made , the promise in her Budget speech on February 1. The paper attacked the UPA government for its failure in managing the economy, which it said was in sound health in 2004. The white paper sought to highlight the inefficiencies of the Manmohan Singh-led Finance Minister Nirmala government, such as lack of lead- Sitharaman speaks in ership that triggered a policy pa- the Rajya Sabha during ralysis, project delays, and un- the Budget session of Parliament | PTI precedented scams. Brought out just before the general elections, the white paper cherry-picked data and quotes of experts to attack the UPA government for mismanaging public finances, creating a banking crisis, and making India externally vulnerable. The paper termed the banking crisis of 2014 as massive with gross bad loan levels touching as high as 12.3% of the advances ‘largely because of political interference by the UPA government in the commercial lending decisions of public sector banks’. It pointed out the gross advances by PSU banks were `6.6 lakh crore in March 2004, but ballooned to `39 lakh crore by March 2012. The paper cited RBI reports to show the UPA government showcased poor policy planning and execution. The 54-page document also elaborated the measures taken by the NDA government since it came to power in 2014 to fix the economic crisis. IN a counter to the government’s white paper, the Congress on Thursday released a ‘black paper’, also of 54 pages, highlighting what it termed the social, economic, and political ‘injustices’ committed by the Narendra Modi government in its 10-year rule. Titled 10 Saal Anyay Kal and released by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the document claims that in the past 10 years, the Modi government has “devastated the country’s economy aggravated unem, ployment, destroyed the agricultural sector, abetted crimes against women, and committed g r av e i n j u s t i c e s a g a i n s t minorities”. The document said the BJP rule has witnessed the highest unemployment rate in 45 years. “Total unemployment was 1 crore Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in 2012 but it rose to about 4 crore showing the ‘black paper’ in 2022. 10 lakh sanctioned cenon the BJP govt to media tral government posts remain unpersons | SHEKHAR YADAV filled. The unemployment rate for graduates and postgraduates is about 33%. This is why engineers are becoming coolies and PhDs are applying for railway jobs,” it said. It added that the Modi government’s tenure has seen an unprecedented reduction in incomes. “The NSSO data that the PM suppressed shows consumer spending falling for the first time since 1973, from `1,501 in 2011-12 to `1,446 in 2017-18.” It said prices of essential commodities are at all-time high. “Blunders like demonetisation and a poorly-designed GST completely derailed the economy and destroyed job-generating small businesses.” Farmers were promised double income, but got pathetic MSP increases and three farm laws were railroaded through Parliament to enrich the PM’s corporate cronies, it added. Crimes against SC and ST communities shot up 48% in 2022 compared to 2013, the document added. Free border travel accord with Myanmar goes to the shredder INTEREST RATE UNCHANGED Reserve Bank left the key policy rate unchanged at 6.5% for the sixth time. Cost of borrowings for both individuals and corporates may remain stable | P13 EXPRESS READ Ban on liquor sale in city from Feb 14-16 Bengaluru: The City Police Commissioner has banned sale of liquor from the eve of February 14 to February 16 night in view of elections to the Legislative Council from Bangalore Teachers’ Constituency. The ban will also be in force on February 20 in view of counting of votes | P2 M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday announced the government’s decision to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the borders with Myanmar so as to ensure the country’s security and the demography of Northeastern states. In a social media post on X, Shah said the Ministry of External Affairs is currently in the process of scrapping it after the Ministry of Home Affairs recommended its immediate suspension. The FMR was last amended in 2016 to allow citizens of both India and Myanmar living near the border to venture 16 km into each other’s territory without documents as part of the Act East Policy . Shah made the announcement two days after the decision to fence the entire 1,643 km India-Myanmar border, which passes through Mizoram (510 km), Manipur (398 km), Nagaland (215 km) and Arunachal Pradesh (520 km). Fencing has been a persistent demand of the Imphal valley-based Meitei groups, which have been alleging that tribal militants often enter India through the porous border. They also allege that narcotics are being smuggled in through the unfenced border. Shah had on Tuesday said besides fencing, a patrol track will also be paved to facilitate better surveillance. Two pilot projects of fencing through a hybrid surveillance system are under execution, he added. In July last, the Manipur government claimed that around 700 illegal immigrants had entered the state. Mizoram has also had an influx of anti-junta rebels in thousands since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021. Several thousand refugees are living in different parts of Mizoram since the coup. N-E CMS HAPPY, TRIBAL GROUPS SORE While chief ministers of BJP-ruled states in the Northeast welcomed the decision, tribal groups opposed it saying these actions would further divide the region’s various ethnic communities which have sizeable populations in Myanmar K’taka saw 72% decline in startup funding in ’23 U M A K A N N A N @ Bengaluru KARNATAKA, which is home to more than 18,000 startups, has been witnessing a significant decline in funding. In 2023, tech startups in the state received only $3.4 billion funding, which is a 72% plunge from $12.2 billion it raised in 2022, and an 83% decline from $20.4 billion raised in 2021, reveals data from market intelligence firm Tracxn. It received $2.3 billion latestage funding in 2023, which again is a decline of 73% compared to $8.9 billion received in 2022 and 87% drop compared to $17.3 billion received in 2021. For many quarters now, startups across the country are struggling to raise funds due to macroeconomic headwinds and geopolitical issues. “Kar nataka’s significant drop in startup funding, particularly in Bengaluru, can be attributed to increased investor caution and concerns about valuations,” said Somdutta Singh, Serial Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO Assiduus Global Inc, LP Angel Investor. “The global economy faces challenges stemming from Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, which have disrupted the global supply chain and trade prospects. Further, monetary policy tightening has dampened aggregate demand, leading to a downturn in FDI,” CONTINUED ON: P5 he said. Karnataka’s significant drop in startup funding can be attributed to increased investor caution and concerns about valuations Somdutta Singh, Founder and CEO Assiduus Global SHOWS FAILURE OF GOVT: BJP Chief Minister Siddaramaiah receives petitions during the Janaspandana event at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday | NAGARAJA GADEKAL BJP leaders said Janaspandana was not a big achievement as it showed that the government failed to resolve issues of common people | P4 Siddu’s Janaspandana 2.0 a huge hit with 11K grievances D E V A R A J B H I R E H A L L I @Bengaluru CHIEF Minister Siddaramaiah’s ‘Janaspandana 2.0’, directly seeking to redress the grievances of the needy, received an overwhelming response with over 11,000 registrations and about 20,000 people thronging Vidhana Soudha here on Thursday . Seeing the response, Siddaramaiah instructed the officials concerned to resolve the problems within a month’s time. ‘Janaspandana 2.0’ witnessed double the grievances compared to ‘Janaspandana 1.0’ which was held at his official residence ‘Krishna’ on Novem- ber 27, drawing over 4,000 registrations and the CM claiming to have resolved 98 per cent of them with only about 200 applications remaining. Many among the aggrieved came directly to ‘Janaspandana 2.0’ by bypassing their respective local authorities who should have actually solved their problems, but had not. The people came with the hope of earliest resolution of their long-pending problems through the direct approach that ‘Janaspandana 2.0’ offered. The grievances ranged from financial assistance against health care to change of khata of lands. CONTINUED ON: P4 MALDIVES ISSUE Indian troops to be replaced with civilians Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi AMID bilateral talks with Maldives to resolve the issue of 88 Indian military personnel stationed in the archipelago, the foreign office on Thursday said they will be replaced with civilians. “The present military personnel will be replaced by competent Indian technical personnel,’’ said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in response to a query from this paper. Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has been harping on the withdrawal of the 88 military personnel who are primarily attached to operating one helicopter and two Dornier aircraft India had gifted. The planes are used for medical evacuation and rescue operations. WITH THIS ISSUE CITY’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 42 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID)
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