HUBBALLI  FRIDAY  MARCH 01, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 14  CITY EDITION CABINET APPROVES THREE MEGA CHIP UNITS @ `1.26 LAKH CR OUTLAY Construction of the units will begin within the next 100 days and govt will provide financial aid, Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said TATA GROUP TO SET UP 2 UNITS; CG POWER ONE CABINET APPROVES ROOFTOP SOLAR SCHEME Tata Electronics and Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp will set up a unit at Dholera, Gujarat, at a cost of B91,000 cr. The Tata Semiconductor Assembly and Test Pvt Ltd will set up a unit in Morigaon, Assam, at B27,000 cr. CG Power, Renesas Electronics Corp, Japan and Stars Microelectronics, Thailand, will set up a unit in Sanand at B7,600 cr ■ ■ The chips to be manufactured in these units can be used in electric vehicles, telecom, defence and consumer electronics. These units will create 20,000 advanced tech jobs, 60,000 indirect jobs, says govt Cabinet approved the rooftop solar scheme of 300 units free power for 1 cr houses with an outlay of B75,021 crore for panel installation `76K cr OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO BE PROVIDED BY CENTRE FOR 3 CHIP UNITS 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 After 55 days on the run, TMC’s muscleman Shahjahan held P R A N A B M O N D A L @ Kolkata A day after the Calcutta High Court gave central agencies a free hand to go after Trinamool Congress strongman Shahjahan Sheikh for evading police action for 55 days, he was arrested by the state police in the wee hours of Thursday . The arrest came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to kick off his poll campaign in West Bengal. Sheikh was arrested from a hideout in Minakha in North 24 Parganas, an adjoining pocket of the strife-hit Sandeshkhali, in a case related to the attack on Enforcement Directorate officers on January 5 when they went to raid his house in a foodgrain scam. He also faces allegations of sexual abuse of women and forcible land g r ab i n t h e North 24 Parganas island, Sheikh was remanded in police custody for 10 days. The state government then handed over the case to the state Criminal Investigation Department. Shortly after the arrest, the ED moved the HC requesting advancing of a hearing scheduled on March 6 so to obviate the possibility of the state police tampering with evidence related to the attack on the federal agency The court will hear . the petition on Friday . Later in the day, the Trinamool suspended Sheikh from the party for six years. “He will also be removed from all the government posts he occupies by virtue of being a Zilla Parishad member,” said state minister Bratya Basu. Economy zooms to 8.4% in Q3 Growth in gross value addition, however, was just 6.5% in third quarter, down from 7.7% in Q2 M O N I K A YA D AV @ New Delhi THE Indian economy continues to spring surprises with the GDP growing at 8.4% in the third quarter of the current financial year (FY24). The numbers released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday beat estimates by 140-170 basis points. Buoyed by the latest data, NSO has also revised its full-year GDP growth estimates for FY24 to 7.6%, up from the initial 7.3% projection made in January . “Robust 8.4% GDP growth in Q3 2023-24 shows the strength of Indian economy and its potential. Our efforts will continue to bring fast economic growth which shall help 140 crore Indians lead a better life and create a Viksit Bharat!” Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. During a media briefing, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha GROWTH SECTORS 11.6% 9.5% 9.5% 8.7% 9% Q3FY23 7.5% 5.2% Q3FY24 AVERAGE GDP GROWTH OF FIRST 3 QUARTERS OF FY24 8.2% 1.4% Construction -4.8% Manufacturing sector output Electricity, gas, water supply Mining & quarrying -0.8% Laggard Agriculture IIP SLIPS KEY INFRA SECTORS GREW AT A 15-MONTH LOW OF 3.6% IN JAN 2024, DOWN FROM 4.9% IN DECEMBER AND 9.7% IN JANUARY 2023 Nageswaran said the robust GDP growth and India’s consistent outperformance are prompting a reevaluation by international organisations to raise their estimates of India’s growth rate to 7% or higher. He emphasised the economy’s ability to surpass projections, indicating a structural transformation in progress, par- Source: NSO ticularly in infrastructure and inclusion initiatives that enhance purchasing power. The sparkling GDP figures, however, don’t hide the sluggish sequential growth in gross value addition (GVA), which measures the total value of goods and services produced. GVA grew just 6.5% in the third quarter, lower KARNATAKA State Commission for Backward Classes (KSCBC) Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde submitted the muchawaited report of the Socioeconomic and Education Survey, popularly known as caste census report, to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday . According to sources, the report has 48 volumes and the main recommendation booklet is of 200 pages, with each of the volumes possessing data on the set of different castes. The report also includes caste data based on Assembly constituencies, besides details about castes with smaller demograpies, which were not included in earlier reports. The survey was conducted on 1,351 different castes. The sources added that as many as 5.98 crore people were H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh THE Himachal Congress on Thursday sought to put its house in order with the Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania announcing the disqualification six rebels and the party deciding to set up a panel to coordinate between the party and the government. Two days ago, the party had spectacularly failed to keep its flock together during the Rajya Sabha elections, as six of its lawmakers cross-voted for the BJP It led to a tie and the . BJP bagged the seat in the subsequent draw of lots. The disqualified MLAs said they would challenge the Speak- Coordination panel Party observer and Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar said a committee with 5-6 members was being constituted for better coordination between the state party unit and the government er’s call in a court, alleging the decision was taken in haste under pressure from Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. For his part, Pathania said he arrived at the decision as the chairman of the tribunal and not as Speaker. He cited a Supreme Court verdict which said when a Speaker acts under the Tenth Schedule, he does so as chairman of the tribunal. Pathania said they had defied the whip and attracted the provisions of the anti-defection law as they were not in the House when the Finance Bill was passed. In the morning, ex-CM Virbhadra Singh’s spouse and Himachal Pradesh Congress president Pratibha Singh justified the dissidence. Later she nuanced it saying the challenge now is to win the Lok Sabha elections. Party observer and Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said Sukhu had accepted some failures and promised it will not happen in future. Veerashaiva-Lingayats threaten state-wide stir With KSCBC Chairman K Jayaprakash Hegde submitting the final caste census report to the CM, the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha has demanded that the government not accept it. The forum warned that if the government ignored their demand, they would organise a state-wide struggle. P4 included in the survey Over 3.98 . crore are from the AHINDA (minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) group, while 1.87 crore are Lingayats, Vokkaligas, Brahmins, and other castes. “The committee has recommended increasing the reservation quota for Schedule Castes. It also stressed that Veerashaivas and Lingayats are the P4 same,” sources said. NO CHAI PE CHARCHA Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates with Nagpur-based tea vendor Dolly Chaiwala, who is also a social media influencer. Dolly later said he did not know who Gates was when he served him tea. He quoted Gates as saying, ‘Wow, Dolly ki Chai.’ “We did not speak at all, he was standing just beside me and I was busy with my work,” Dolly said | PTI Guidance value-based property tax could take time B O S K Y K H A N N A @ Bengaluru Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) Rakesh Singh, flanked by BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath and BBMP Special Commissioner (Finance) Shivanand H Kalakeri, with the budget document in Bengaluru on Thursday | NAGARAJA GADEKAL With new policy, ad hoardings may return in Bengaluru B O S K Y K H A N N A @ Bengaluru THE BBMP in the 2024-25 budget announced that a new advertisement policy through the BBMP Advertisement Rules, 2024, will be promulgated. With this new policy Ben, galuru will see advertisement hoardings making a comeback after being prohibited by various legal provisions. Explaining the policy BBMP Special , A `12k-crore Commissioner (Finance), Shivanand budget outlay H Kalakeri, said like it is in any other city, advertisement hoardings will be The BBMP on permitted in Bengaluru, too, but keep- Thursday ing in mind the court orders. “A draft announced a has been prepared and the details are Rs 12,369.46-crore being worked out with Deputy CM and budget outlay Bengaluru in- charge minister, DK with a focus on Shivakumar. This will include where improving the these will be permitted, when and image of the state capital under their sizes,” he said. Much against the complaints from ‘Brand Bengaluru’. citizens and experts on visual pollu- BBMP Special tion, the BBMP officials defended the Commissioner act, saying it was needed, as it is a (Finance) source of revenue. The BBMP in the Shivanand H budget has aimed at generating a rev- Kalakeri said it enue of Rs 500 crore annually from was a revenue this, which will be used for Brand Ben- surplus budget of galuru works. “Under the new policy Rs 2.17 crore. , the rational, transparent and regulated system of commercial and self-advertisements will be permitted. This new policy will be on the same lines as the Advertisement Policy in New Delhi Municipal Corporation which has been approved by the Supreme Court. This will safeguard the aesthetics and visual spaces in the City BBMP stated in its budget announced Thursday ,” . Man throws crying infant against wall, kills her A M I T S U PA D H Y E @ Hubballi TUNDA acquitted in blast case A special court in Ajmer on Thursday acquitted Abdul Karim Tunda in the 1993 serial train blasts case, with his lawyer saying that the prosecution could not prove the charges | P10 CREMATED Punjab farmer Shubhkaran Singh, 21, who died during clashes with security personnel, was cremated on Thursday. There was no clarity on the farmers’ Dilli Chalo march that is now on hold Speaker disqualifies all 6 Himachal rebels as Cong sets its house in order Caste census report submitted to CM E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru than 7.7% in the second quarter, and 8.2% in the first quarter of FY24. GVA growth in the third quarter of FY23 stood at 4.8%. The latest GDP growth numbers were also helped by a downward revision (from 4.7% to 4.3%) of the figures in the third quarter of the previous year. Net taxes less subsidies, which jumped by 32% annually, also boosted GDP growth in the quarter. The slowdown in GVA growth was led by manufacturing, construction and agriculture. Manufacturing sector GVA slowed down to 11.6% in Q3 from 14.4% in Q2. Agriculture sector growth declined by 0.8% during the quarter compared with 1.6% growth in the previous quarter. Construction sector saw the growth dropping from 13.5% in Q2 to 9.5% in Q3. Mining activities also slowed down to single digit growth of 7.5%. ANGERED by his daughter’s incessant crying, a man threw the seven-month-old infant against a wall on Wednesday night, in Yadwad village of Dharwad district. Vaishanavi succumbed to injuries on Thursday at KIMS Hospital in Hubballi. The accused, Shambulinga Shahapurmath (37), who was arrested soon after the incident, was booked for murder. He reportedly confessed before police officials that he was un- happy with his daughter’s birth. The couple have a son, and Vaishanavi was his second child. Shambulinga, a daily wage labourer, would quarrel frequently with his wife and had reportedly beaten her up too, the woman’s relatives said. He had tried to harm Vaishnavi by threatening to pour hot water on her. The villagers had held a panchayat to solve the issue, but to no avail. Police said he was an alcoholic. Shambulinga had gone to bed after having dinner on Wednesday night. He was woken up around 10.30pm when Vaishnavi started crying. According to his wife, soon after he woke up he started hurling abuse at the infant and banged her against the wall. Neighbours rushed to Shambulinga’s house and caught him, and called the police. A police team from Garag arrived and villagers handed him over. The baby, who suffered blood clotting in the brain, was taken to KIMS Hospital. The accused was booked for attempted murder (IPC 307) on Wednesday night, which was converted to murder (IPC 302) on Thursday afternoon, after the infant died around 12.30pm. The funeral was held at Yadwad village on Thursday evening. WHILE guidance valuebased property tax collection is to be implemented from April 1, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Special Commissioner (Finance), Shivanand H Kalakeri, after presenting the civic budget on Thursday said its implementation , could take time as the survey of properties was still underway and may not be completed by then. For the guidance valuebased property tax collection, all the properties in the city have to be assessed and documented. Under the newly-proposed tax collection system, the categories to be filled in the form have reduced from 17 to six, and the Self-Assessment Scheme (SAS) evaluation will be limited to some of the categories as most of them will be auto-filled once the property number is registered — for which all the p ro p e r t i e s n e e d t o b e assessed. A few senior BBMP officials also pointed out that another factor that could delay this process is the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha polls that is expected to obstruct the property asP5 sessment process. Two tunnel roads Intending to provide a long-term solution to Bengaluru’s infamous traffic woes, the budget presented by BBMP on Thursday announced the construction of tunnel roads at two places with high vehicular movement. EXPRESS READ Deadline for Kannada signage rules extended Bengaluru: The state government on Thursday extended, by two weeks, the deadline for business establishments in Karnataka to comply with the Kannada signage rules, whereby information in the state language should be displayed on 60 per cent of the space on nameplates and boards. The decision was taken so that the order is duly followed, DCM DK Shivakumar said, through a post on X | P5 Nod for Big Cat Alliance with headquarters in India New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the International Big Cat Alliance, with headquarters in India, to establish a global network for conserving big cats. It also approved a one-time budgetary support of Rs 150 crore for the multi-country, multi-agency coalition of 96 big cat range countries, from 2023-24 to 2027-28. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his speech on Global Tiger Day in 2019, called for an alliance of global leaders to curb poaching in Asia.