kochi l saturday l November 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Familiar Indian batting collapse against New Zealand in 3rd Test After bowling out New Zealand for 235, India lost three wickets in eight balls to throw away the advantage. They ended Day One at 86/4 on Friday 14th five-wicket haul for Jadeja in tests Earlier, Ravindra Jadeja bowled 22 unchanged overs in energy-sapping heat and humidity of Mumbai to pick up his 14th five-wicket haul in Tests. The left-arm spinner from Saurashtra and Washington Sundar (4/81) shared nine wickets between them to bowl out visitors in the first innings of 3rd Test. Will Young (71) and Daryl Mitchell (82) hit 50s for the Kiwis ■ 314 Rohit, Kohli’s below par returns continue ■ Skipper Rohit Sharma scored 18 off 18 balls before being caught at second slip. His scores in last five innings are 2, 52, 0, 8 and 18. Virat Kohli once again got out cheaply when he fell short of the crease attempting a quick single. His wicket meant the hosts were reduced to 84/4 from 78/1 in the last two overs | More on p11 wickets Jadeja has, 5th most by any Indian bowler in Tests 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 Oct registers 2nd best GST revenue at L1.87 lakh crore New Delhi bhubaneswar Chennai Festive season-driven domestic demand, enhanced compliance push up collection M o n i k a Ya d a v @ New Delhi A surge in festival demand pushed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collected by the Union and state governments in October to `1.87 lakh crore, marking it the second-highest collection since the new indirect regime was rolled out on July 1, 2017. Robust The highest GST collection was recorded in refunds April 2024, at `2.10 lakh crore. In October The October figure comes with annual growth 2024, refunds of 8.9%, finance ministry data released on Friday ofI19,306 showed. In October 2023, the total GST revenue crore were was `1.72 lakh crore. issued, The latest growth is on account of a rise in doreflecting a mestic sales as well as enhanced compliance. The gross GST collection includes Central GST of `33,821 crore, State GST of `41,864 crore, Interise compared grated GST of `99,111 crore, and Cess collection of to the `12,550 crore for the month of October 2024. same period In the month under review, GST revenue from last year domestic transactions increased by 10.6%, reaching `1.42 lakh crore. Meanwhile, revenue from taxes on imports saw a rise of approximately 4%, totalling `45,096 crore. According to Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at As we look EY, the recent GST collections indicate a potential ahead to the slowdown in consumer spending in India, which November surged in the previous fiscal year. The single-digit GST Council growth signals a cooling-off period. meeting, key “The collections made this month on account of discussions on festive season, particularly the performance of the streamlining automobile sector, will be crucial in determining the tax rate structure and the short-term trend. While the festive season is expected to boost collections, the overall outlook continued focus on trade for the near future remains cautious. Despite shortfacilitation term uncertainties, the long-term prospects for areas are GST collections remain promising due to India’s expected expanding consumer base and the government’s pro-growth policies,” Agarwal added. Mahesh Jaising, The net GST collections (after the refunds) durpartner and ing the month show a growth of 8% to `1.68 lakh leader, indirect tax, Deloitte India crore. Refunds recorded a growth of 18.2%. 18.2% Top states by GST revenue (D crore) State Maharashtra Karnataka Gujarat Tamil Nadu Haryana Uttar Pradesh Oct 2024 Oct 2023 31,030 27,309 11,971 9,730 10,761 13,081 11,407 11,188 8,716 10,045 8,964 9,602 State govt for further probe into Kodakara hawala case E x press Ne w s S er v i ce @ T’Puram In a politically significant development ahead of crucial byelections, the LDF government in the state has decided to conduct further investigation into the 2021 Kodakara hawala case, a l l e g e d ly i nvo l v i n g B J P leaders. The decision was taken after talks Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had with state police chief Shaik Darvesh Saheb on Friday in view of fresh divulgence by former BJP Thrissur district office secretary Tirur Satheesan. On the heels of revelations that the cash stolen from Kodakara was part of hawala money received by state BJP leaders for election expenditure, the CM’s meeting with the DGP discussed further possible action in a case in which a chargesheet has already been filed. Police will conduct additional probe after getting the consent of the court concerned, sources said. The special investigation team that probed the case filed a chargesheet against 23 people, who are all out on ● More on P4 bail.  The morning after A thick sheet of smog hangs over three cities at dawn on Friday after Diwali revelry the previous day. In Delhi, water spray trucks were deployed to reduce the smog | Shekhar yadav / DEBADATTA MALLICK / Shiba Prasad Sahu Peak air pollution New Delhi 446 | Chennai 379 | Ahmedabad 377 | Kolkata 274 | Mumbai 257 | Bengaluru 191 | Hyderabad 171 Soren in new controversy, this time over his age M U K E S H R AN J AN @ Ranchi What is Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s actual age? 47? 49? Does it matter anyway? If you were to go by the sworn affidavit he submitted to the Election Commission on December 12, 2019 while filing his nomination papers for the Jharkhand assembly polls, he should be 47 now because he had claimed he was 42 at that point in time. But in the affidavit he filed on October 24 this year for contesting from the Barhait constituency, he mentioned his age as 49. Election affidavits are filed with utmost care because false declarations could end up in the candidate’s disqualification. While the BJP predictably went for his jugular and sought legal action, the Congress, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) ally, played it safe saying it needs verification. However, the JMM was confident that the affidavit was kosher. As for Chief Electoral Of- WITH the completion of disengagement of troops from the two friction points in eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army on Friday resumed regular patrolling at Demchok. Ar my sources told this newspaper that patrolling at the second stand-off point, Depsang Plains, would begin soon. The Army had on Wednesday announced completion of the agreed disengagement of troops from Demchok and Dep- sang, confirming a fresh thaw in the frosty India-China ties. And on Thursday the troops ex, changed sweets at several border points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to mark Diwali. Depsang has been one of the most complex and significant stand-off locations along the 832-km LAC in eastern Ladakh. As per the agreement between the Corps Commanders inked on October 21, the disengagement along with dismantling of temporary structures Vizhinjam port: State stumbles over Centre’s VGF repayment norms E x press Ne w s S er v i ce @ T’Puram PDF files downloaded from the Election Commission’s site show the age discrepancy All documents filed for the nomination were fully verified — Jharkhand Mukti Morcha spokesperson Manoj Pandey ficer K Ravi Kumar, whose personnel scrutinised Soren’s latest affidavit, he said no complaint on the matter has reached his office yet. The electoral officer of Barhait has the right to take a decision on the matter, he said, adding that the nomination process and its scrutiny are already over. As such, if there is any complaint, it can be resolved through legal process, he added. The BJP’s former state Army begins patrolling at Demchok M AYANK S IN G H @ New Delhi Pollution monitored between 12 pm on Oct 31 and 12 pm on Nov 1 began on October 23 while the ground verification followed by modalities pertaining to patrolling was awaited. These are aimed at forces returning to their April 2020 positions. The troops have moved back from their points near Y-Junction in Depsang and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in Demchok. However, they remain in the vicinity which means there , has been no change in overall troop strength or infrastructure in the area. LAC passes through CNJ where the Chinese had built a few tents. chief Deepak Prakash said, “appropriate legal action should be taken against Hemant Soren as law is equal to everyone in this country .” Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Congress in-charge for the state, however, said, “It is subject to verification….It would be inappropriate to comment on anything without checking the facts.” JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey dismissed the allegations as baseless. e x p r e ss r e a d V Sivadasan denied nod for foreign visit New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs has denied Rajya Sabha MP V Sivadasan permission to attend ‘World Parliamentary Forum Against Fascism’, a meet organised by the Venezuelan government on November 4 and 5 in Caracas. In all, 300 MPs from across the world are expected to attend the event. The permission was denied despite the Home Ministry giving the nod. P7 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express With only a month left for the commissioning of the Vizhinjam International Seaport, the Union government and the state are set to clash over the viability gap funding (VGF) for the project. The controversy arose after the Union government imposed repayment obligation on its share of VGF. Earlier, both parties had agreed to pay `1,635 crore (40% of the project cost) to Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt Ltd (AVPPL), the project’s concessionaire. However, the stipulation mandates that the VGF disbursed by the Centre — `817.8 crore — must be repaid by the state in net present value terms through revenue sharing. On Friday Chief Minister Pi, narayi Vijayan wrote to Union Finance Minister Nir mala Sitharaman, urging the Centre to reconsider this decision in light of the state’s financial challenges. Ports Minister V N Vasavan too expressed concern over the Union government’s demand. He alleged that this requirement is not only unfair but also discriminatory. With the state having limited legroom for additional borrowing, the fresh controversy has created uncertainty over the funding of the project. The controversy comes at a time when the Centre, the state government, and AVPPL are set to sign a `1,635-crore tripartite agreement for the VGF. The payment to the concessionaire Viability gap funding Viability Gap Funding is a grant or financial support scheme from the government to make commercially unviable infrastructure projects economically desirable. VGF is used to support Public Private Partnerships in infrastructure development. Gajendra Haldea, who was an advisor to Planning Commission, authored the draft agreement which led to in-principle approval for VGF for the Vizhinjam project in 2015. Adani Group quoted the VGF of 39.9% during the bidding. The state is solely responsible for paying the VGF to AVPPL. depends on finalisation of this agreement. Vizhinjam was the first port project in India to receive inprinciple nod for VGF in 2015, under the Scheme for Financial Support to Public Private Partnerships in Infrastructure. In 2022, the empowered committee of the department of economic affairs under the Union Ministry of Finance recommended the project for final approval under this scheme for ● More on P4 `817.80 crore. Bribery charge against ADM ruled out in probe report The revenue dept’s inquiry report— submitted to the CM on Friday— has categorically ruled out the allegation that Naveen Babu took a bribe for issuing licence to a fuel outlet in Kannur | P4 2 5 j a n 1 9 5 5 - 1 No v 2 0 2 4 Bibek Debroy lived many lives in one short life Shankkar aiyAr Author of The Gated Republic, Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India’s 12 Digit Revolution, and Accidental India ‘Don’t dwell on the words’. It was his mantra for writing. Basically move on. How does one not dwell on the words while reminiscing about a loss and life…and Bibek Debroy lived many lives in one life — just the bibliography of his writings and the books he authored would take up this page and more! Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM, Bibek passed away at AIIMS, Delhi on Friday He was 69. . I first met Bibek in the 1990s while researching water — over cups of tea we discussed the chemistry, geography and therefore the politics of water. It set the stage for a treasured f r i e n d s h i p, e x c h a n g e o f thoughts, information and oddities — for instance the role of Lord Linlithgow in cattle farming or Shakespeare’s thoughts on money . Bibek embodied the term genius — he could infuse Kasparov’s opening gambit to explain implications in global trade, induct the concept of dharma while debating on taxation and present economic policy as a game with many outcomes. The skill and talent to make things simple was accompanied by felicity of language from Russian to Sanskrit – on one occasion, at a function hosted by the RSS, unsure of his Hindi, Bibek spoke on the global economy in Sanskrit. His ability to traverse across a tapestry of subjects effortlessly reflected extraordinary curiosity and therefore grasp of knowledge. He could quote chapter and verse from dense texts and decode them — whether it was nuances from the Constitution, provisions of WTO, or delineation of Kuznets Curve. Fiercely independent Bibek reserved the right to differ and disagree with- out being disagreeable and often termed his disagreements as disappointments. Bibek will be remembered as the quintessential interpreter of maladies and a repository of hopeful resolution. He brought forth deep analysis of the cause and consequences. For decades, he was the go-to person for governments at the Centre and across states on complex issues. This is manifest in the spectrum of his work - the challenge of deprivation in districts, economic freedom and competitiveness, restructuring of the railways, impact of judicial delays and corruption in governance. He was a rare raconteur of history with an uncommon sense of humour and a huge collection of anecdotes — he once recalled how while in the ministry of finance he was admonished for answering a Parliamentary question! Always willing to share, you could dial him with doubts or for a hearty chin wag on anything from the potential for an Indian version of Yes Minister to quirks of politicians to parallels of King Lear in Indian politics. India will miss his scholarship. I will miss the friendship. I wish I had met him earlier, P6 known him longer.