Centre’s proposal asking states to borrow a 'skewed idea': Deve Gowda on GST recovery

Finance

The JD(S) leader said that the GST Council meeting held last week appeared to have further strained the already delicate relationship between the states and the central government.

TNM Staff

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda on Sunday termed as a "skewed idea" the Centre's suggestion that states can go for borrowing to make up for the GST shortfall and said it cannot be seen shirking its responsibility. The JD(S) leader also said that the GST Council meeting held last week appeared to have further strained the already delicate relationship between the states and the central government. "The Centre's suggestion that the states should borrow to make good the expected shortfall of Rs 2.35 lakh crore in GST compensation this year has, expectedly, not gone down well," Deve Gowda said in a statement. The statement comes a week before Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has to choose the GST compensation recovery for the state following a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over video conference on Tuesday. Noting that the states were already under financial strain, he said, "To ask the states to borrow is a skewed idea because in July 2017 they had given up their right to levy taxes and had allowed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime." "They had agreed to do so because the central government had assured to adequately compensate them. I tend to agree with the argument that the onus is on the Centre to borrow and compensate the states. It cannot be seen shirking this responsibility," he said. The Centre on Saturday wrote to states suggesting options of borrowing money to make up for the Rs 2.35 lakh crore shortfall in GST revenues expected in the current fiscal. Two days after first making the suggestion at the GST Council meeting, the Finance Ministry wrote to state governments saying they could borrow either via a special window it will facilitate through the RBI or raise debt from the market. Deve Gowda said that besides GST, the new formula for devolution of taxes under the 15th Finance Commission had also created some disquiet. Many progressive states feel that they contribute more to central taxes but receive much less in return, he added. The central government, which has often spoken of 'co-operative federalism' should engage the states actively, and arrive at a consensus on all difficult matters, he said. The states and the Centre being at loggerheads all too frequently does not augur well for our wellbeing as a nation, the former prime minister said. The Finance Minister has spoken about the 'Act of God', Gowda pointed out and said, "I agree with her. But, we cannot sit back and wait for God to set right the mess we often put ourselves in. As the proverbial saying goes, God helps those who help themselves." Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier said that the economy has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is an "Act of God" and it will see a contraction in the current fiscal. With PTI inputs

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'Killing cow a crime': Karnataka Minister K Sudhakar pushes for ban on cow slaughter

Politics

Since the BJP came to power in Karnataka, there have been calls from various party leaders to bring back anti cow-slaughter legislation.

TNM Staff

Karnataka Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar on Sunday said that it was a 'crime' to kill cows even as the BJP government in the state mulled over bringing back the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Bill. "Cow is like a member of the family and it's a crime to kill cows," Sudhakar said at the inauguration of a goshala (a shelter for cows) in Chikkaballapura, a media release from his office said. Terming cow slaughter a 'sin', the minister said he would request Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to ban slaughtering of the animal in the state. Also, there was a need for people's movement to create awareness against cow slaughtering, he said. "Being Indians, all state governments should ban cow slaughtering," the minister added.  The minister indicated that a discussion will be held in the Assembly on the export of beef. "Our party is committed to ban beef exports, there will be a decision soon on this," he said. Animal Husbandry Minister Prabhu Chavan had recently said the state would soon implement a ban on cow slaughter, sale and consumption of beef in line with other states. Once the COVID-19 crisis eases, an expert committee would be constituted to look into the matter, and if need be, it will visit states like Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh to study about implementation of the ban there, he had said. The BJP in its manifesto for the 2018 Assembly Election had promised prohibition of cow slaughter. Despite resistance from opposition, the then BJP government led by BS Yediyurappa in 2010 had passed the controversial Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill in the Assembly, proposing to replace the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation Act, 1964. The bill had widened the definition of 'cattle' and imposed a blanket ban on cattle slaughter, coupled with stringent penalty clauses for violations.The bill prohibited slaughter of cattle, sale, usage and possession of beef, restricted transport of cattle and also prohibited sale, purchase or disposal of cattle for slaughter. The punishment for the offences included imprisonment of no less than one year which could extend up to seven years or a fine between Rs 25000 and Rs 50000 or both for a first offence.  However, then Governor HR Bhardwaj failed to give his assent for the bill.   The ban on cow slaughter in Karnataka is according to the Karnataka Prevention of Cow Slaughter and Cattle Preservation 1964. However, this act bans the slaughter and sale of cows, calves and she-buffaloes. The law allows slaughter of bulls, bullocks and male-buffaloes. It also allows slaughter of female buffaloes aged above twelve years, or are no longer fit for breeding or cannot give milk. This scope was widened through the 2010 bill.  However, the Congress government headed by Siddaramaiah that came to power in 2013 withdrew the bill that was pending before the President for his assent. He termed the legislation 'draconian' and 'unconstitutional'. He also tore a copy of the bill and threw it in the air in the Assembly. After the BJP came back to power in the state in 2019, several party leaders have been making a pitch to re-enact the anti- cow slaughter law. The Cow Protection Cell within the BJP submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Yediyurappa in August 2019, soon after the BJP came to power, to ban the sale of beef in Karnataka.   

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Bengaluru Namma Metro waiting for directions from Centre to start operations

Transport

A BMRCL official said other than the mandatory rule of wearing masks, the passenger capacity of each train will be reduced to 300-350 from the carrying capacity of 1800.

IANS

Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) is waiting for guidelines from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to resume its service on the twin routes across the city from September 7 in a phased manner amid COVID-19 scare, an official said on Sunday. "Though the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has allowed resuming metro services across the country from September 7 under Unlock 4.0, with dos and don'ts for the safety of commuters and our staff, we need clearance from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs with guidelines specific to our operations in the city," a metro official told IANS in Bengaluru. Like other state-run transport firms, 'Namma' Metro too suspended its service on March 25 when the lockdown was enforced and extended, forcing thousands of commuters to switch over to alternate transport mode. As the most popular transport mode for its punctual, efficient and cleaner service in air-conditioned coaches, the metro has been ferrying over four lakh commuters on the twin routes, covering 42.3 km across 40 well-lit stations till pre-Covid days. "In addition to wearing masks, we have to ensure commuters maintain physical distance between them and regulate their entry or exit, as only a limited number of them will be allowed in each coach to travel in the metro," said the official. To minimise physical contact with machines, the metro operator is set to insist all commuters switch over to smart cards and avoid tokens for entering the platform and taking the metro ride. "Though the majority of the daily commuters use smart card for travel in the metro, we have hundreds of people across the city and outside buying tokens at counters in all stations to ride in the metro for errands or sight-seeing. We hope many will switch over to smart card, which can be re-charged using our app," said the official. A joint venture of the central and state governments, BMRCL is bracing up to resume its service as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the MHA and stringent guidelines of the Union Health Ministry to ensure safe travel for hundreds of commuters in a phased manner. "We have already made a check list of dos and don'ts ahead of resuming the service which are in compliance with the Covid-induced lockdown measures of the centre and state governments," said the official. Every commuter will have thermal screening at the entrance to ensure only those who show negative sign will be allowed into the metro station with mask or facial shield. "Commuters having Arogya Setu app on their smart-phones will be mandatory. Sanitisers will be kept at the entrance of the stations for hand-washing," added the official. As against its capacity of carrying 1,800 commuters in a 6-coach train, the operator will allow 300-350 of them in each trip on its east-west and north-south corridors. Spaces have been earmarked on platforms and inside coaches to maintain social distancing between the commuters to sit or stand while travelling. The operator has incurred Rs 300 crore loss over the last five months due to the suspension of its service to contain the pandemic.

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Germany eyes global health ambitions as U.S. steps back

Berlin is emerging as the likely new global health power but it doesn’t want to go it alone.

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Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel tests positive for coronavirus, hospitalised

Coronavirus

Kateel is asymptomatic and has been hospitalised on the advice of doctors.

TNM Staff

Karnataka BJP state president, Nalinkumar Kateel, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Sunday. In a tweet, the leader who is also the Member of Parliament from Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, said he has been hospitalised following the advice of doctors. However, he does not have any symptoms, he said.   In his tweet, 54 year old Kateel further said he is confident of returning to public life. He urged everyone who got in touch with him in recent days to exercise caution. Kateel has been seen holding several strategy meetings with BJP Karnataka office bearers over the last few weeks.  ನಾನು #COVID19 ಪರೀಕ್ಷೆಗೆ ಒಳಗಾಗಿದ್ದು ವರದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಸಿಟಿವ್ ಎಂದು ಬಂದಿದೆ. ರೋಗಲಕ್ಷಣಗಳಿಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ ವೈದ್ಯರ ಸಲಹೆಯ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗೆ ದಾಖಲಾಗಿದ್ದೇನೆ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಶೀಘ್ರದಲ್ಲೇ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗುವ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸವಿದೆ. ನನ್ನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಂಪರ್ಕಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಜಾಗರೂಕರಾಗಿರಿ ಎಂದು ಮನವಿ ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ. — Nalinkumar Kateel (@nalinkateel) August 30, 2020 Kateel has also recently finished one year in office as the state BJP president. Kateel was appointed for the post in August, 2019 following the three year tenure of present Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa. Nalin has attracted controversies in the past for his hardline Hindutva approach. He had even  made comments supporting Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse and was later reprimanded by the BJP top brass in the Centre . Ahead of  the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, he was facing criticism for his lack of proactiveness in sorting local problems in his constituency with respect to National Highway Authority of India works. He had also faced criticism from the opposition parties for not being vocal against the merger of Vijaya Bank with the Bank of Baroda. However, he emerged victorious at the elections with much ease. He defeated Congress leader Mithun Rai by a margin of 2,74,621 votes This development comes close to the heels of Congress state president DK Shivakumar testing positive for the virus on  Tuesday. Shivakumar was admitted to Suguna hospital in Bengaluru's Rajajinagar. Recently, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and former CM and Leader of Opposition Siddaramiah had recovered from the disease following treatment at the same Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru. Since the onset of the pandemic, Karnataka has reported 3,27,076 COVID-19 cases with fatalities touching up to 5,483. More than 80% if the state’s COVID-19 patients are asympotomatic. 

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Priyank Kharge objects to K’taka CM Yediyurappa taking credit for Koppal toy cluster

Politics

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pitched for India to become the world's ‘toy hub’, in his Mann Ki Baat address on Sunday.

TNM Staff

Former Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge has criticised Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa for misappropriating and taking credit for an upcoming toy manufacturing cluster in the northern district of Koppal. Quoting a tweet by the CM on the ‘Koppala toy manufacturing cluster’, Priyank pointed out that the cluster was approved by the Congress-JDS coalition government.  CM Yediyurappa’s tweet came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched for India to become the world’s toy manufacturing hub, during his 'Mann Ki Baat' address.  Priyank wrote, “Toy cluster project in Koppala was approved by the Congress/JDS coalition Govt. Much before the “vision” of #VocalForLocal. Also Karnataka has close to 50 Geographical Indication Tag products, highest in India. We have been #VocalForLocal long before PM started this #Jumla.” In his tweet, CM Yediyurappa had tweeted that Koppal, which is set to become India’s first ‘toy manufacturing cluster', has the potential to create 40,000 jobs in five years. He also claimed that the project is likely to attract investments worth Rs 5,000 crore. He said the programme is in line with PM Narendra Modi’s Vocal for Local campaign, which aims to create an environment of self-reliance among Indians and the country's businesses to manufacture locally and independently.  - Toy cluster project in Koppala was approved by the Congress/JDS coalition Govt. Much before the “vision” of #VocalForLocal. - Also Karnataka has close to 50 Geographical Indication Tag products, highest in India. We have been #VocalForLocal long before PM started this #Jumla https://t.co/g0xSYYCeZS — Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) August 30, 2020   The Koppal toy cluster initiative was indeed announced by then Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy in September 2018 as part of his ‘Compete with China’ scheme.  Read: 9 K’taka districts to turn manufacturing hubs for HDK’s ‘Compete with China’ scheme Along with Koppal, eight other districts were identified by the state government at that time for manufacturing of items which are largely imported from China at present, due to the price advantage.   The eight other districts included in the scheme were Kalaburgi (for solar power goods), Chitradurga (for LED lights), Hassan (sanitary goods), Mysuru (ICB manufacturing unit), Ballari (textiles), Chikkaballapur (mobile phone components), Tumakuru (sports and fitness goods) and Bidar (agricultural implements). PM Modi in his address on Sunday said that India has the talent and ability to become a toy hub for the entire world. He called for startups to work towards realising this potential while being "vocal about local toys". He said that while the global toy industry is worth over Rs 7 lakh crore, India's share in this is very small.  The Karnataka government is inviting global toymakers to the "first of its kind" toy manufacturing cluster in India at Koppal and had recently held a webinar cum panel discussion with a panel of leading toys manufacturers. Karnataka is poised to emerge as a leading toy-making cluster in the country due to the robust ecosystem the state has created to support toy-making industries, the state government had recently said. With a dedicated push by the government towards toy manufacturing, the state's toy industry has grown at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 18 per cent (2010-17), and is expected to reach USD 310 million by 2023, it added. Karnataka is the third-largest market for toys in India (USD 159 million), which is 9.1 per cent of the national market. (PTI inputs)

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Watch: Deer rescued from Bengaluru restaurant after being chased by feral dogs

Wildlife

Activists have pointed that feral dogs need to be relocated from the area as they are killing peacocks and deer.

Soumya Chatterjee

Screengrab

In a curious turn of events, the staff of the Karnataka Forest Department and volunteers in Bengaluru rescued a deer stag from a Rajarajeshwari Nagar restaurant on Friday night. According to the volunteers and officials, the deer was chased by feral dogs from the Turahalli Reserve forest in the vicinity and it had taken refuge in an empty site in Krishna Gardens for two days. The rescue operations were initially led by Range Forest Officer (RFO) Gopal and Deputy RFO Naveen, started at 9.35 pm. Though fifteen forest staff and 13 volunteers had encircled the deer with nets, it escaped.  From there, the deer broke loose and ran towards the Uttarahalli-Kengeri Road, close to JSS Engineering Institute, a volunteer in the know said. Eventually, it entered a restaurant where two volunteers, Dileep and Manjunath, were successful in holding onto the deer before forest staff took control of the situation at around 10:10 pm. Videos of the deer getting captured and attended to have been widely shared in social media and personal messaging platforms. After examination by a doctor from People For Animals (PFA) the deer was released into the Turahalli forest. Joseph Hoover, an activist with United Conservation Movement (a non-governmental organisation) and former member of the State Wildlife Board said feral dogs are a major issue in Turahalli Reserve Forest. At least 14 deer have been killed and devoured by these dogs over the last two years. “Deer are being driven by these feral dogs to take refuge in residential areas. We have been asking the forest department to act but they are citing fears of opposition from a section of animal rights activists,” he said. “The forest department is not doing anything to protect wildlife. Not only deer but even peacocks are getting devoured by these dogs. These dogs are not supposed to be entering the forest area and they need to be relocated. These are not wild dogs but neighbourhood street dogs which have taken to hunting in packs. They get into the forest wherever the fencing or the walls are damaged. We are not saying that the dogs be killed but they must be relocated as we need to preserve the little bit of wildlife that is left,” he added.

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