kochi l tuesday l july 23, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 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 Search on for missing junior sailor 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 ■ ■ 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 2000 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 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, Minister Dharmendra Pradhan speaks in the Lok Sabha on Monday | PTI 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 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 is- sue, the minister said, “I am here at the mercy of my leader, the prime minister. Whenever 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 reality on paper leaks during UPA regime and when Akhilesh was at the helm of UP will open a can of , worms for both Gandhi and Akhilesh,” Pradhan wrote. 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. 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 interministerial group report of 2012 to assert that a case for granting special category status to Bihar is not made out. He said special cat- egory status was granted in the past by the National Development Council to some states, based on certain criteria which doesn’t apply in Bihar’s case. The 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, had also raised the demand. 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.” E X P RESS REA D Kozhikode boy recovers from rare amoebic infection Kozhikode: A 14-year-old boy from Kozhikode, has recovered from amoebic meningoencephalitis, a rare and often fatal brain infection. Recovery from the disease is exceedingly rare, with only 11 known cases worldwide, according to health department. The disease was successfully treated through early detection and comprehensive medical intervention. P5 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express faith matters ‘Comradely yours’ to be CPM ‘mantra’ in temples E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @T’Puram Apparently taking lessons from its “past mistakes and failures”, the CPM is up for a major policy shift, allowing its cadre to practise religious rituals and visit temples and other places of worship. It doesn’t stop there. The party members are also encouraged to take the reins of temple management. TNIE had, on June 21, reported that the CPM would take a more liberal stance on matters of faith and beliefs. The three-day state-level leadership summit of the CPM which c o n cl u d e d i n T h i r u va n a n thapuram on Monday decided to reverse some of the key resolutions approved by the party’s Palakkad plenum in 2013. The plenum had restrained party leaders and cadre from performing religious rituals and going to temples. It had also banned party members from being part of temple committees. The decision that “party members should not conduct rituals like ‘Ganapathi homam’ as part of housewarming ceremony” had triggered a controversy then. The 2024 Lok Sabha election de- Each Communist can decide whether he/she wants to go to places of worship. Among the party members there are many believers M V Govindan, CPM state secretary bacle had a catalytic effect on the CPM’s major policy shift. During the review of the election results and analysis of the voting pattern, it dawned on the leadership that the rigid stand on matters of faith had cost the party dearly. There was a significant swing in the Hindu votes to the BJP which was detrimental to the CPM. The cracks that appeared in its citadels in Malabar sounded the alarm bells for the party . The CPM has assessed that the Sangh parivar has tightened its grip over the believers through its closely knitted networks in temples. When the CPM cadre vacated their positions in temple management committees, it was the Sangh parivar activists who took over. The RSS’ influence on matters of faith, temple rituals and believers is the main reason for the right-wing leanings in society the , party state committee felt. And it has decided to work among the devotees, aiming to “corner the communalists from true faith● More on P4 fuls”. Relief as 11 more on contact list test negative for Nipah E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Malappuram Eleven people, including the parents of the 14-year-old boy who died of Nipah on Sunday tested negative for the , viral infection on Monday. Two persons from Thiruvananthapuram, who visited the private hospital in Perinthalmanna on the day the Nipah victim received treatment there, and two hospital staffers, both from Palakkad, are among those who tested negative. tracing on Nine samples were tested at the Virology Lab at Kozhikode Medical Health Minister College Hospital (MCH), while two Veena George were tested at the Advanced Virolsaid contact ogy Institute in Thonnakkal. tracing, sample Health Minister Veena George collection and said contact tracing, sample collectesting will tion and testing will continue to encontinue sure that no infection goes uniden406 people are tified. “At present, 406 people are on on the contact list the contact list of the Nipah victim. of Nipah victim Of them, 194 people, including 139 healthcare workers, are in the high194 people, risk category Fifteen people on the . including 139 contact list are receiving treatment healthcare at various hospitals. Those who test workers, are in negative and recover from sympthe high-risk toms such as fever will be discategory charged. However, they should continue in isolation as per protocol,” she said. Seven persons had tested negative on Saturday . Meanwhile, a mobile laboratory of National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, will start functioning at the Manjeri Government MCH on Tuesday to test samples for Nipah. Experts from the NIV visited the MCH on Monday to set up the laboratory which will help the health department in testing more samples. As part of prevention efforts, strong field-level measures are being implemented under the leadership of the ● More on P4 health department.
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