kochi l tuesday l september 23, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION Core sector output rises to a 13-month high of 6.3% in August India’s eight key infrastructure sectors’ growth jumped to a 13-month high on account of expansion in coal, steel, and cement production august numbers flip muted july figures steel, cement production lead growth The core sectors’ output growth was 3.7 per cent in the previous month of July. It was (-) 1.5 per cent in August last year. Earlier, the similar pace of growth at 6.3 per cent was recorded in July 2024. During April-August of this fiscal year, the eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 2.8 per cent, compared to a rise of 4.6 per cent in the same period last year ■ ■ Coal, steel, and cement production rose to 11.4 per cent, 14.2 per cent and 6.1 per cent, respectively, during August, the data showed Refinery products, fertiliser, and electricity output rose by 3 per cent, 4.6 per cent, and 3.1 per cent respectively within the same time span. However, crude oil and natural gas recorded negative growth | P12 -1.5% was the core sector output growth in august last year 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 Car showrooms, retail outlets, online platforms witness record sales as lower tax rates kick in Festive buying rush on Day 1 of GST 2.0 Amit Kamat, chief commercial officer at Tata Motors PasCAR showrooms, retail outlets, senger Vehicles, said the GST and e-commerce platforms saw rate cut has led to a sharp surge brisk sales on the first day of in enquiries and bookings, with GST 2.0 on Monday which also a noticeable spike in showroom , coincided with the start of the walk-ins, higher conversions, festive season. Fuelled by the and a growing order book. pent-up demand and sharp re“ O u r d e a l e r s h i p s h ave duction in prices on the back of opened early and extended lower tax rates under the new their working hours to welGST regime, shoppers flocked come the festive rush. With a to marketplaces as businesses strong pipeline of bookings lined up additional discounts and scheduled deliveries, we to cash in on the rush. are geared to meet the demand Partho Banerjee, and are optimistic senior executive ofabout setting new no diwali ficer, marketing & gifts: Govt records this festive sales at Maruti Suzuseason,” said Kumar. ki, said customers’ re- While the Centre According to early sponse has been pheestimates, the autohas extended nomenal, adding that mobile industry is festive cheer to this is the first time in the public, it has likely to have record35 years that the firm ed a 20-30% surge in directed govt has witnessed such bookings (compared offices not to high demand. to bookings on the spend on gifts. “On the very first first day Navratri last “No expenditure day (of GST 2.0), we shall be incurred year) and high delivrecorded 80,000 eneries, thanks to a 10% on gifts... for quiries, and have al- Diwali and other cut in GST rates. This ready delivered over drop in rate, coupled festivals by 25,000 cars, with delivwith additional offers Ministries/ eries expected to by companies, has led Departments,” touch 30,000 shortly. to a sharp correction read a circular Since September 18 in the ex-showroom issued by P K when we announced prices of automobiles, Singh, joint additional price re- secretary, Dept of especially passenger duction (over and vehicles. Expenditure, above GST), we have The white goods Ministry of received 75,000 bookse gment also witFinance ings, with nearly nessed an uptick in 15,000 bookings combookings and sales on ing in every day—50% higher Monday as the GST on air conthan usual. Demand for small ditioners, refrigerators, washcars has been especially strong, ing machines, dishwashers, with bookings growing by near- and large-screen TVs dropped ly 50%,” said Banerjee. from 28% to 18%. Tarun Garg, whole-time diB Thiagarajan, managing director and COO at Hyundai rector of Blue Star, said there Motor India, said the festive has been a 20% growth in sales mood, boosted by GST reforms, on Monday, compared to the has infused strong positivity same period last year. “If things into the market. On Monday, go well, lost sales in the sumHyundai recorded 11,000 dealer mer season due to rain will be billings—its highest single-day made up between now and the performance in five years. New Year,” he said. A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi Actionpacked Monday Automobile, white goods industries record unprecedented surge in bookings compared with last year 1 Maruti gets 80,000 enquiries, delivers over 25,000 cars. The demand is so high that it may run out of stock on certain variants 2 Hyundai recorded around 11,000 dealer billings on Monday--its highest single-day performance in the past five years 3 Used car marketplace Cars24 sees 400% surge in car deliveries compared with normal daily averages 4 White goods maker Blue Star sees 20% sales growth compared with last year LETTER FROM THE PM Jayanth Jaco b @ New Delhi GST Savings Fest begins, time to go Swadeshi My Fellow Indians, Namaskar! The Next Generation GST reforms have begun to make their presence felt, marking the start of a ‘GST Bachat Utsav’ or ‘GST Savings Festival’ across the country These reforms will boost savings and directly benefit every section of society, be it farmers, women, youth, poor, middle class, traders or MSMEs Heartening to see various shopkeepers and traders putting up ‘then and now’ boards which indicate taxes pre-reforms and postreforms Income tax cuts and Next Gen GST reforms taken together add up to savings of nearly J2.5 lakh crore for the people Your household expenses will reduce and it will be easier to fulfill aspirations such as building a home, purchasing a vehicle, purchasing appliances, eating out or planning a family vacation This festive season, let us also resolve to support products that are Made in India. This means buying Swadeshi products that have the sweat and toil of an Indian involved in their making, irrespective of the brand or the company that makes them Every time you buy a product made by our own artisans, workers and industries, you are helping many families earn their living and creating job opportunities for our youth. I appeal to our shopkeepers and traders to sell products that are Made in India. Let us proudly say – what we buy is Swadeshi. Let us proudly say – what we sell is Swadeshi. NARENDRA MODI Annamalai flays Pinarayi & Stalin, AI crash labels them ‘nastik dramacharis’ Apex court issues notice to Centre The SC issued notice to the Centre and others on a plea seeking a court-monitored independent investigation into the June 12 Air India crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people including 19 on the ground | P9 E x p ress N e w s S ervice @ Pathanamthitta 18 pages, including 4 pages of kochi Express EXTERNAL Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday held their first in-person meeting ever since Washington imposed steep tariffs on key Indian exports over New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil. Following the meeting in New York, Jaishankar posted on X that both sides “agreed on the importance of sustained engagement” on priority areas, signaling a mutual intent to keep the dialogue open amid rising trade and geopolitical tensions. “Our conversation covered a range of bilateral and international issues of S Jaishankar (left) and Marco Rubio current concern. Agreed on the importance of sustained engagement to progress on priority areas,” Jaishankar said. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the United Nat i o n s G e n e r a l A s s e m bly (UNGA) and comes as India-US trade talks resume in Washington, led by Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal. These negotiations follow a shift in tone from President Donald Trump, who recently indicated his administration was working to resolve key trade irritants with India, which still remains a work in progress. Sources said the Jaishankar– Rubio discussion covered a wide range of bilateral and global issues, including economic cooperation, energy security, and regional stability in the Indo-Pacific. The New York talks are seen as a crucial step in stabilising the broader India-US strategic partnership, which remains strong on defence, technology, and Indo-Pacific coordination but faces friction on issues related to trade sanctions and visa issues. It’s Time to decriminalise defamation: SC filed by professor Singh in connection with an article published by the news porTHE Supreme Court on tal titled ‘Dossier Calls JNU Monday said that the time Den of Organised Sex Rackhas come to decriminalise et’ in 2016. The article had defamation. hinted that professor Singh A bench of justices M M was among several teachers Sundresh and Satish Chan- who had prepared the dosdra Sharma was hearing a sier that “set the script for plea of online news portal the hate campaign against The Wire seekJNU”. ing to quash This was folsummons in a lowed by the defamation case criminal defafiled by a former mation case professor of the against The Jawaharlal NeWire. hru University . In February “I think the 2017, a trial time has come court issued to decriminalise summons to the all this (defamaportal. Last Section 356 makes tion cases). How year, the Sudefamation a crime long will you go preme Court set on dragging aside those sumSection 356 of the these cases?” Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita m o n s , a f t e r Justice M M criminalises defamation. hearing the plea S u n d r e s h of The Wire. The It replaced the earlier remarked. court had then provision on criminal After hearing asked the magdefamation — Section t h e p e t i t i o n 499 of Indian Penal Code istrate to take a f i l e d by t h e fresh call on the Foundation for Independent summons after examining Journalism, which runs The the news article. The magisWire, the bench issued no- trate had in January 2025 tice to professor Amita again issued the summons Singh and sought her reply . to the news portal, following The petitioner had ap- which the petitioner moved proached the Supreme Court the SC. challenging the issuance of Senior advocate Kapil summons to it in connection Sibal, for the news portal, with the criminal defama- concurred with justice Suntion case filed by professor dresh. “Similar matter is beAmrita Singh. ing considered. Rahul GanThe defamation case was dhi’s case,” he said. S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi E X P RESS READ State unveils insurance scheme for expatriates T’Puram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday launched Norka Care, a group medical claim and accident insurance plan rolled out by Norka Roots with the support of the state government. Describing it as the first initiative of its kind in the country, the CM said the scheme would come into effect on November 1. P4 High Court refuses to lift toll suspension Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday refused to lift its order suspending toll collection at Paliyekkara plaza on NH 544, after noting that the service road near Muringoor has collapsed worsening traffic congestion in the area. The court adjourned the case to Thursday. P4 JRP weighs new alliance ahead of local body polls Kalpetta: With the local body elections approaching, the Janadhipathya Rashtriya Party (JRP) led by C K Janu is exploring a fresh political alignment. Janu said that district leaders of the UDF had reached out to JRP leaders. P4 healthcare density a saving grace Former Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai inaugurating the Sabarimala Samrakshana Sangamam in Pandalam on Monday. Former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan and MP Tejasvi Surya are also seen | Shaji Vettipuram Cong does not want Hindu votes: NSS T’Puram: Nair Service Society (NSS) general secretary G Sukumaran Nair has come down heavily on the Congress state leadership for boycotting the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. In an interview to TNIE, he said the Congress doesn’t want Hindu votes. P4 eradicating Sanatana dharma, and it was Pinarayi Vijayan who invited them to Kerala. The Ayyappa Sangamam itself was a replica of the earlier DMK programme, held only for electoral gains,” he said. Training his guns on Pinarayi, Annamalai said: “Those who deny the existence of God now take Bhagavad Gita classes. If you quote from Chapter 12, at least learn there are chapters before it. The Gita teaches that lust, anger and greed are the gateways to hell — Kerala Communist ruler Pinarayi Vijayan has all three.” “Seventeen hundred years ago, the Pandalam royal family emerged from the Pandya kingdom. There was no division as Tamils and Malayalis then. Everyone followed the same dharma. Today, I am here not as a Tamilian, but as one among thousands of devotees of Sanatana Dharma,” An● More on P4 namalai said. Despite high accident rate, Kerala’s fatality lowest M A N I S H A V C S @ Kochi Kerala is in a league of its own when it comes to saving road accident victims. The state may rank third in terms of number of road accidents, but its severity rate is the lowest in the country . According to the Road Accidents in India report of the ministry of road transport and highways, Kerala recorded 48,091 accidents in 2023, in which 4,080 people died. That translates to 8.5 fatalities per 100 accidents. The national average is 36. Experts say this lower fatality is largely due to Kerala’s healthcare density and quick response. The contrast gets starker when stacked against states with the worst figures. severity count 8.5 fatalities per 100 accidents in Kerala 36 national average Top 3 states in accident severity rate Mizoram: 90.6% Year -wise accident fatalities in Kerala The Sabarimala Samrakshana Sangamam organised by Sangh Parivar groups in Pandalam on Monday, which drew thousands of devotees, turned into a platform for sharp criticism of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M K Stalin. Inaugurating a public meeting in the evening, former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai launched a blistering attack on the two leaders, terming them “nastik dramacharis”. He accused them of misusing devotees’ platforms while standing against Sanatana Dharma. “Both atheist friends came together only to perform drama. Even their conferences saw poor turnout,” he quipped, beginning his speech by bowing before devotees. The Sabarimala Samrakshana Sangamam was organised in response to the Travancore Devaswom Board’s Global Ayyappa Sangamam which was inaugurated by Pinarayi. Speaking in Tamil, Annamalai tore into the LDF government’s Ayyappa Sangamam and drew parallels with the DMK government’s Global Murug a Conference held in Madurai. “It was Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi who spoke about Jaishankar discusses issues of ‘current concern’ with Rubio 2019 4,440 2022 4,317 2020 2,979 2023 4,080 2021 3,429 Bihar: 80.6% Jharkhand: 78.5% Mizoram tops the severity table with a shocking 90.6 deaths per 100 accidents (96 fatalities in 106 crashes), followed by Bihar at 80.6 (8,873 deaths in 11,014 accidents) and Jharkhand at 78.5 (4,173 deaths in 5,315 accidents). Big states also paint a grim picture. Tamil Nadu, which reported the most number of accidents — 67,213 in 2023 — saw 18,347 deaths, a severity rate of 27.3. In Uttar Pradesh, with the fourth-worst crash numbers, at 44,534, as many as 23,652 people died, pushing its severity rate to 53.1. At 55,327, Madhya Pradesh posted the second most number of accidents. In Kerala, Malappuram and Kochi topped the accident charts with 3,253 and 2,803 crashes, respectively However, . in terms of accident severity, Kollam had the worst record within the state with nearly 10% of victims succumbing to injuries, followed by Malappuram (9.49%). “Kerala is almost like a citystate with multispecialty hospitals within an hour’s reach. People are rushed to traumacare units within the golden hour, unlike in other states where highways run through isolated stretches,” says transport expert Upendra ● More on P4 Narayan.