vijayawada l tuesday l july 23, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION sailor missing after fire erupts aboard navy vessel in Mumbai One sailor was missing after a fire erupted onboard INS Brahmaputra, which was undergoing refit at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard, on Sunday night blaze put off, but Ship lists to one side Though the fire was brought under control by Monday morning by the ship’s crew with the help of fire fighters from the dockyard, the ship later started listing to one side. Despite all efforts, the ship could not be brought to an upright position, the Navy said. “The ship continued to list further alongside her berth and is presently resting on one side,” it said ■ 2000 Search on for missing junior sailor ■ A search was underway for the junior sailor who was missing. All other personnel who were on the ship have been accounted for The Navy said further follow-on actions, including sanitisation checks for assessment of residual risk of fire, were carried out on the ship, which is an indigenously-built multi-role frigate When INS brahamputra was commissioned into service 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 MUTED GROWTH FORECAST Survey says GDP growth in FY25 would slow to 6.5-7% from 8.2% in FY24 The projection is lower than 8.2% estimated in 2023-24 and RBI’s forecast of 7.2% The muted projection is due to global uncertainties and various domestic challenges SURVEY SURPRISES Review FDI policy to bring investments from China Chinese firms can make in India, to tap export market Govts should “renounce some powers” to help improve governance Artificial intelligence could impact workers, regardless of whether they are low-killed or high-skilled Private sector and state govts need to do more to create jobs: Corporates must invest in tandem with their profit growth and states need to formulate policies and incentives for job creation Private companies contribute to ‘toxic mix of habits’ among workforce such as social media, screen time, sedentary habits, and unhealthy food Excessive speculation and overconfidence of retail investors in stockmarket a matter of grave concern Growth story pared with dose of realism Economic Survey contradicts the government’s anti-China stance; seeks to shift the responsibility of job creation to the private sector DIPA K MO N DAL @ New Delhi INDIA’s march towards Viksit Bharat in 2047 may not be a walk in the park amid rising global uncertainties, climate change risks, and the ‘huge pall of uncertainty’ cast by artificial intelligence (AI). Premised on this reality check, the Economic Survey 2023-24, tabled by Finance Minister Nir mala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday, presents a mixed picture of hope and high water. Though the Survey asserts that India’s economy is on a “strong wicket and stable footing, demonstrating resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges”, it outlines in great length the challenges ahead. In this context, the report pegs GDP growth rate at a conservative 6.5-7% for FY25, lower than the estimates of many domestic and international agencies. “It is not that we are not optimistic about growth, we are just making aware of the challenges it faces going forward,” said Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran. He outlined three major challenges facing India’s growth – geopolitical tension and growing inward looking economic policies in the developed world; climate change and global To boost manufacturing and plug India into the global supply chain, it is inevitable that India plugs itself into China’s supply chain Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran warming; and, the AI casting a huge pall of uncertainty on workers across all skill levels. Overcoming these challenges will need a ‘grand alliance’ of Union, state governments, and the private sector, says the Survey. The three stakeholders should work in tandem for generating productive employment by reducing the skill gap, boosting the MSME sector by easing compliance burden, de-cluttering financing bottlenecks, and managing the China conundrum, it adds. Raising concerns about inequality and the poor health of the young population, the Survey ticked off the private sector for encouraging sedentary habits among employees. With the external sector remaining uncertain, the Survey says the domestic sector should do the heavy lifting. Notably, the Survey seeks to shift the responsibility of job creation to the private sector. “Employment generation is the real bottom line for the private sector,” says the CEA, under whose supervision the Economic Survey report was drafted. It also says that private sector investment has not been commensurate with the benefits it received from the corporate tax rates in 2019. Cautioning that the deployment of AI could have deleterious impact on jobs, the Survey says deploying capital- and energy-intensive AI is probably the last thing a lower-middleincome economy needs. In a clear departure from the general anti-China stance of the government, the Survey bats for more Chinese investment to boost domestic manufacturing, adding that India must ‘plug itself ’ into China’s supply chain. “Whether we do so by relying solely on imports or partially through Chinese investments is a choice that India has to make,” it says, hinting that the anti-China policy has P10 not been helping India. Kanwar yatra SC stays order to eateries to show owners’ details S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday issued an interim stay on directives issued by the governments of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh asking eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display the names, addresses and mobile numbers of their owners. “Food sellers may be required to display the kind of food they are serving. But, they must not be forced to display the name/identity of the owners and also the employees,” a two-judge bench comprising justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti said. It was hearing pleas filed by the Association For Protection of Civil Rights, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and Prof Apoorvanand, challenging the state governments’ orders. During the hearing, Justice Bhatti said he used to frequent a vegetarian restaurant in Kerala run by a Muslim. “Without disclosing the name of the city, there is a vegetarian hotel run by a Hindu. There is another vegetarian hotel run by a Muslim,” Justice Bhatti said. “I was going to the hotel run by a Muslim for vegetarian food. When it comes to food standards and safety he , was displaying everything,” he said. The bench issued notices to all three states and asked them to file their responses in time for the next hearing slated for July 26. Welcoming the order, the Congress said it hopes Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make BJP CMs aware of their raj dharma. Sparks fly over NEET-UG on budget session day 1 P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Facing heat from the Opposition on the opening day of the Budget session in the Lok Sabha over the NEET-UG row, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan rebutted all charges on Monday during Question Hour, saying his government is not hiding anything, adding there is no evidence of paper leak in the last seven years. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi led the offensive, alleging many are convinced that the Indian exam system is a fraud. “The education minister has blamed everybody except himself. I don’t even think he understands the fundamentals of what is going on here... The issue is that there are millions of students in this country who are extremely concerned about what is going on and who are convinced that the Indian exam system is a fraud,” Rahul charged. Countering the argument, Pradhan said “only one case” of malpractice has come to light in Bihar and the CBI is investigating it. “Regarding anomalies and information of some malpractices, out of 4,700 centres, due to proactive approach of Bihar Police, only Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks in the Lok Sabha on Monday | PTI SC sets up IIT panel The SC asked the IIT-Delhi director to set up an expert panel to go into a NEETUG’s Physics question for which the answer key said there were two correct answers. The panel was directed to submit its report by Tuesday noon | P7 in one place in Patna and surrounding points, there is an incident of anomaly. CBI is getting into the details. Some action has been taken. We are hiding nothing. Everything is on record,” he said. While Rahul demanded a one-day discussion on the issue, the minister said, “I am here at the mercy of my leader, the prime minister. When- ever question of accountability comes, my government is answerable to that.” When other Opposition leaders like SP chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the Modi government will create new records in paper leaks, Pradhan hit back, saying: “I do not want to do politics, but I have a list of how many paper leaks happened when Akhilesh Yadav was CM.” Later, writing on X, Pradhan questioned why the Congress-led UPA failed to implement bills to stop malpractices in educational institutions, including the Prohibition of Unfair Practices Bill, 2010, when it was in power. “The LoP and his cabal are all but shedding crocodile tears. The ground reality on paper leaks during the UPA regime and when Akhilesh was at the helm of UP, will open a can of worms for both Gandhi and Akhilesh,” Pradhan wrote. “Maybe Rahul Gandhi understands the fundamentals and maths of unfair practices too well. That explains why Congress govt failed to implement the bills to stop malpractices in educational institutions, including Prohibition of Unfair Practices Bill, 2010,” he said. flood relief First warning was issued at the Dowleswaram Barrage on Monday. Subsequently, 175 families from island villages were shifted to Rajamahendravaram | Express | P3 Guv lauds NDA’s efforts, flays YSRC for revenge politics E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The joint session of the Andhra Pradesh State Legislative Assembly and Council commenced with Governor S Abdul Nazeer’s address on Monday . In his 30-minute speech, the Governor noted that the new government has already started fulfilling its pre-poll promises and announced a steadfast commitment to its ‘Super Six’ promises by announcing Mega DSC for filling 16,347 teacher vacancies, abolishing the Land Titling Act, enhancing social security pensions to `4,000, conducting a Skill Census and reopening Anna canteens. He praised the visionary leadership of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and efforts of the NDA government between 2014 and 2019 to develop Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation, and termed Full Budget in Oct? the previous YSRC regime a debacle. He criticised the pre- The State govt is expected vious dispensation for resort- to table the full Budget in ing to vendetta politics and October & an interim one severely hampering the State’s for 3 months from August. prospects for prosperity and During the Governor’s address, it was mentioned growth. Soon after the Governor be- that the govt is proposing gan speaking, YSRC MLAs to introduce the Budget and MLCs, led by party chief after meaningful talks, YS Jag an Mohan Reddy, indicating it may not do so rushed into the Well and in the current Session raised slogans denouncing the attacks on YSRC activists. Even as the Governor continued his address, the YSRC members continued sloganeering for a while, and later walked out of the House. Continuing his address, the Governor recalled the undemocratic manner in which the State was bifurcated in 2014 without adequate consultations with stakeholders, leaving an indelible mark on the minds of people of the P4 residual State. No special status for Bihar: Centre PR E E THA N AIR & RAMASHA N K AR @ New Delhi/Patna THE Centre on Monday ruled out granting special category status to Bihar, a long standing demand of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United), a crucial ally of the NDA government. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary cited an inter-ministerial group report of 2012 to assert that a case for granting special category status to Bihar is not made out. He said special category status was granted in the past by the National Development Council to some states, based on certain criteria, which did not apply in Bihar’s case. T he development comes a day after JD(U) leader Sanjay Kumar Jha voiced his party’s demand for the status at an all-party meeting. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), also a BJP ally, and the RJD, too, raised the demand at Sunday’s all-party meet. Reacting to the Centre’s response, JD(U) spokesperson K C Tyagi said: “JD(U) would keenly looking at Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech on Tuesday to what is on offer for Bihar.” The JD(U) has already said it is willing to settle for a special financial package. Meanwhile, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav demanded Nitish Kumar to resign and said, “He has said that he will get special state status.” Express read Naidu directs NDA leaders not to interfere in free sand policy Vijayawada: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday sent a clear message to the leaders of NDA, asking them not to interfere in the sand policy. “We have launched free sand policy in the State and we have to ensure that it is implemented in a transparent manner,’’ he asserted. Further, Naidu underscored the need to provide good governance to the people in terms of welfare and development | P4 Land records destroyed as fire erupts at Madanapalle revenue office, sabotage suspected E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati After a massive fire erupted at the Revenue Division Office in Madanapalle, Annamayya district on Sunday night and destroyed several important documents, including land records, the State government has ordered a thorough probe into the incident, suspecting sabotage by the YSRC. Chief Minister N Chandrab- abu Naidu took serious note of the incident and instructed Director General of Police (DGP) Dwaraka Tirumala Rao to rush to Madanapalle. The DGP on Monday asserted that the outbreak of fire was an incident and not an accident. He added that 10 teams have been formed to investigate the case. The fire broke out around 11 pm on Sunday on the eastern side of the office and caused extensive damage to computers, furniture, and file racks and important documents. According to officials, Nimmanapalle Village Revenue Assistant (VRA) Ramana, who was on duty as watchman, first noticed the fire. On hearing a loud noise, Ramana alerted the Deputy Tahsildar of Nimmanapalle. Fire tenders were dispatched to the scene immediately. The fire was brought An RDO was working on a Sunday night. He did not alert the Collector about the fire soon. Match sticks were found outside a window, further raising doubts Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, DGP under control after four hours. Senior officials from Rayachoti, the district headquarters, visited Madanapalle to assess the situation. Fortunately, digital copies of the documents were P4 preserved. Allegations that records were burnt at the Madanapalle Sub-Collector’s office in Chittoor district and Chandrababu’s uproar over it are diversion tactics YSRC on X
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