AI generated THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l saturday l june 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION Gabbard outs Fauci’s funding of Wuhan lab, Covid-19 footprint The then US health czar funded research on bat coronaviruses at Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, from where Covid-19 virus possibly leaked suppressed lab-leak origin theory, lied Dr Anthony Fauci, who served as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022, worked with the intel community to suppress the lab-leak origin theory of Covid-19, and lied to Congress under oath, said Tulsi Gabbard on her last day as US Director of National Intelligence, while releasing documents on Wuhan lab funding ■ 71L+ pushed lies, disinformation, censorship ■ Fauci funded risky corona research linked to big pharma in the pursuit of universal vaccines worth trillions of dollars; became pandemic pundit and pushed lies, disinformation, and censorship, she alleged He and his hand-picked experts pushed intel community to endorse a natural, animal origin to hide his dangerous research, Gabbard added Covid-19 induced deaths reported worldwide so far 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 It’s not all about money V D Satheesan’s first budget bets on private capital, ports & land reforms C hief Minister V D Satheesan’s maiden budget as finance minister was less an exercise in accounting and more a statement of intent. Framed around the vision of a “New Age Kerala” (Puthuyuga Keralam), the revised 2026-27 budget marked a decisive shift towards private investment, land reforms, and port-led development, while leaving unanswered questions on how several of its ambitious promises will be financed. If previous governments often approached private capital with caution, Satheesan signalled a clear departure. “We need private capital. We want to move forward,” he said after presenting the budget. That message runs through almost every major announcement—from Land Reforms 2.0 aimed at easing restrictions that hamper commercial investments to Mission Samudra, a five-year programme intended to place Kerala prominently on the global maritime map. The budget’s economic geography is equally ambitious. The proposed Southern Kerala Economic Corridor seeks to combine the strengths of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Alappuzha into a single growth zone. Thiruvananthapuram is envisioned as a knowledge and space technology hub, Kollam as a centre for rare earth and mineral processing, and Alappuzha as India’s blue economy capital. The budget earmarked `100 crore for a Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Corridor and `50 crore for the Souther n Kerala Economic Corridor. Satheesan also unveiled a string of sector-specific growth engines — a global gold exchange and jewellery manufacturing corridor in the KochiThrissur belt, a furniture manufacturing cluster spanning Kochi-AluvaPerumbavoor, a Kerala Health and Life Sciences City and a Silver Econ, omy initiative focused on the needs of an ageing population. Perhaps the most ambitious proposal is the Kerala Knowledge Valley , conceived as a higher education hub that would attract leading global and national universities. The initiative is positioned as a response to the growing exodus of students seeking education abroad and outside the state. The budget also envisaged fiscal consolidation. It estimated fiscal deficit at 3.45% of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2026-27, down from a revised estimate of 3.78% in 2025-26. The state’s own revenue is expected to grow by nearly 18% to `1.2 lakh crore, while central transfers are projected to rise sharply to `49,288.13 crore, up by a robust 43% INSIDE S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Questions remain on mobilisation of funds for govt’s ambitious promises budget takeaways Presenting the UDF government’s first budget, CM V D Satheesan unveiled a mix of fiscal reforms, infrastructure projects and welfare initiatives I100 cr allocated to establish Kerala Knowledge Valley to attract leading global institutions and universities R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi J400cr Major for ‘Mission Samudra’. L600 cr to compensate KSRTC for free bus travel provided to women and transgender passengers. L325.36 cr earmarked to promote tourism and develop new destinations L2,076 cr for strengthening the health sector and expanding medical insurance L50 cr for the Southern Kerala Economic Corridor connecting T'Puram, Kollam and Alappuzha. Budget proposes to implement comprehensive projects to develop Malayalam film sector, for which L100 crore has been allocated. The govt also plans to grant industry status to cinema. J C Daniel International Film City-Chitranagaram to be established in Kochi. from `34,590.93 crore in 2025-26. Yet the arithmetic behind the optimism remains a subject of debate. K J Joseph, director of the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT), noted that Kerala’s fiscal stress cannot be viewed in isolation from the larger federal framework. Pointing out that the state’s gains from the 16th Finance Commission recommendations are modest, he argued that Kerala must simultaneous- A singapore-inspired development vision | p4 Land reforms 2.0 thrust on maritime economy, ports, logistics and coastal devpt L2cr to establish a Global Job Watch Tower to monitor emerging job opportunities and future skills Comprehensive overhaul of land laws proposed to make land available for industries and infrastructure. Land bank proposed to be created using surplus and unused land belonging to various depts and public sector undertakings will be made available for investors. Road tax on EVs revised: Electirc vehicles priced up to I10 lakh will now attract 3% tax instead of 5%, while those costing between I15 lakh and I20 lakh will see the rate reduced from 8% to 5%. ly pursue growth and push for a more equitable fiscal federal structure. Joseph said if Kerala can move towards a `30 lakh crore economy by 2030 through a combination of growth and inflation, many of the current fiscal pressures would become manageable through stronger tax revenues. The challenge, however, lies in bridging the gap between aspiration and resources. S Adikesavan, former Chief General Manager of SBI, described the budget as “the articulation of a development agenda not tied down by ideological constraints”. ● More on P7 ‘theatre’ of opportunity in the making | p5 Kerala eyes global edu hub status | p6 grappling for space Vinesh turns to international events F i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai A few weeks after renowned wrestler Vinesh Phogat was not allowed to compete at the National Open Ranking Series, she has turned her attention to international competitions. The double world championship medallist, who had to seek court intervention to compete in the Asian Games trials last month, has written a mail to the Sports Authority of India requesting them to submit her name for international In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on Friday said the right to walk on a demarcated footpath is a fundamental right, and must take precedence over the movement of motorised vehicles. The right to walk is part of the right to movement guaranteed under Article 19 (1) (d) and other fundamental rights including Arti- cle 21 (Right to life and liberty) of the Constitution, said a bench of justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar. The fundamental right to walk will take within its sweep the right to demarcated footpaths, it added. The court was deciding an appeal in a motor accident claim, where a tanker mowed down a 5-year-old who was on his way to school along with his dad. While the father filed a compensation claim for `25 lakh, the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal awarded `7.82 lakh with 6% interest; a high court cut the compensation to `4.7 lakh; and the SC raised the payout to `11.4 lakh. Stressing the necessity to establish a regulatory body the court , said the regulator will develop and retain institutional memory so as to act on the basis of the experience, data and information it has gathered and processed. Jio enters satellite race, plans to launch LEO network for India Illus: Mandar Pardikar RAJESH ABRAHAM Walking on footpath a fundamental right: SC competitions in July and August. In her mail, which was also copied to the WFI, Vinesh requested to submit her entry in the 53kg for three upcoming events — Grand Prix of Spain (July 10-12), Polyak Imre, Varga Janos & Kozma Istvan Memorial Ranking Series in Budapest, Hungary (July 15-19) and Poland Open in Warsaw (August 26 to 30). She said she would bear the entire cost of all three competitions along with her support team comprising four individuals in- cluding her new-born son and husband-cum-coach Somvir Rathee. Interestingly the last date of submission , of entries for the first two tournaments already expired as WFI has not responded to Vinesh’s request. It was also learnt that the SAI too is silent on this. “We are not sending teams for the Spain and Poland events. As for Ranking Series, we have already sent entries of three wrestlers in the 53kg as a national federation can field three grapplers in one category,” said a top WFI officials. IN a move that could put it in direct competition with Elon Musk-led Starlink and other global satellite internet providers, Reliance Jio on Friday announced plans to enter the satellite communications sector by developing a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation for India. Akash Ambani, chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm and managing director of Jio Platforms, said the company is looking at developing its own LEO satellite constellation and may also partner with global satellite operators. The announcement is significant as Jio is India’s largest telecom operator and one of the world’s largest mobile service providers by subscriber base. “Jio connected India on the ground. Now, we must connect India from the skies. There are still remotest villages, island communities, and border outposts where the Jio network cannot reach. For them, satellite connectivity will be the bridge to the rest of India,” said Akash Ambani while speaking at Reliance Industries’ 49th annual general meeting. The company is also setting up its own ground stations in India, which will act as links between satellites in space and users on the ground. These stations will support both satellite networks operated by Jio’s global partners and any future satellites launched by Jio itself. Reports said the firm has submitted plans to the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre to set up 1,650 satellites. P12 E X PRESS REA D Temporary Telegram ban legit: Delhi HC New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the ban on Telegram messaging app ahead of the June 21 NEET re-exam, observing that the order was not disproportionate in an emergency situation. It said the Centre’s order was “least restrictive” option on the table. Today's matches Group F: Netherlands vs Sweden (10:30 pm); Tunisia vs Japan (9:30 AM*). Group E: Germany vs Ivory Coast (1:30 AM*); Ecuador vs Curacao (5:30 AM*). *IST Sunday 18 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express