Amid expectations of farm loan waiver, Kumaraswamy to present budget today

Agencies
July 5, 2018

Bengaluru, Jul 5: Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy will present the Congress-JD(S) coalition government's maiden budget on Thursday, amid high expectations of farm loan waiver.

In the run-up to the recent assembly polls, the Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) had promised to waive farm loans borrowed both from cooperative and nationalised banks within 24 hours of coming to power.

Kumaraswamy, who also holds the finance portfolio, had earlier cited coalition compulsions and the need for studying the financial condition of the state as the reason for the delay in the announcement of loan waiver.

Financial experts and some government officials have already expressed concern over the impact loan waiver may have on the state's finances.

It will also be interesting to see how Kumaraswamy, who has in the past claimed that he is not an expert on the economy, will strike a balance between loan waiver, flagship schemes of the previous government, new schemes or programmes if any, as also infrastructure needs of the state.

The Congress-JD(S) coordination committee constituted to oversee the smooth functioning of the government had on Sunday approved the Common Minimum Programme, which includes waiver of farm loans, creation of one crore jobs and allocation of Rs 1.25 lakh crore for irrigation over the next five years.

It also included construction of 20 lakh houses for homeless families in the state in the next five years, along with implementation of a universal health policy, 'Arogya Karnataka' of the previous government, among others.

The budget also comes amid coalition worries and debate over whether there was a need for a full-fledged fresh budget as the government would continue almost all the flagship schemes of the previous government.

Former chief minister and Coordination committee chief Siddaramaiah, who held the finance portfolio in the previous government, had recently said there was no need for a fresh budget and insisted that a supplementary budget would do.

Adding to the coalition's discomfort is the controversy over videos that purportedly showed coordination committee chairman Siddaramaiah's remarks, questioning the need for a fresh budget and expressing scepticism over longevity of the government.

On the other hand, the opposition BJP has demanded that Kumaraswamy come out with a "white paper" on the state's financial position before presenting the budget.

Leader of the opposition in the assembly B S Yeddyurappa has warned that if the government fails to keep up its promises on loan waiver, BJP and all its 104 MLAs would go to the people with the Congress and JD(S) manifestos to inform them that the parties have not 'walked the talk.'

Meanwhile, Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar today sounded a note of caution about loan waiver becoming a "fashion".

Taking note of the discussions regarding farm loan waiver, he questioned why no one was talking about making farmers capable of paying back.

Stating that it is true that loan waiver was needed to relieve farmers in distress, Kumar said "but let loan waiver not become a fashion."

In what is being seen as an effort by Congress to claim its share of credit for the farm loan waiver, keeping in mind the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, party President Rahul Gandhi today expressed confidence about the Congress-JD(S) coalition government acting on its commitment to waive farmer loans and to make farming more profitable.

"On the eve of the Karnataka Budget, I'm confident our Congress-JD(S) coalition Govt will act on our commitment to waive farmer loans & to make farming more profitable," he said in a tweet.

"This budget is an opportunity for our Govt. to make Karnataka a beacon of hope for farmers all across India," he said.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Washington D.C: One of the greatest spectacles of modern art is still thriving in the Australian outback as confirmed by satellite imagery of NASA. The Marree Man is a massive geoglyph depicting an aboriginal hunter, that spans over 2.6 miles in the Southern Australian region.

Discovered by a pilot in 1998, its origin still remains a mystery even to this date.

The Marree Man was given a new lease of life in 2016 when a group of people from the neighboring town of Marree plowed its lines to avert its fading due to erosion.

After NASA shared the image of the art-work that was taken in June, the efforts of the good samaritans turned out to be a total success, reported CNN Travel.

The restoration team believes that the refurbished Marree Man would last longer than its original version.

According to NASA, "They [the team] created wind grooves, designed to trap water and encourage the growth of vegetation. They hope that eventually, the man will turn green."

In a previous article, CNN reported that an entrepreneur by the name of Dick Smith took upon himself to unravel the geoglyph's mystery in 2016. His team combed through all the available evidence but couldn't find anything conclusive.

In 2018 he even offered a 5,000 Australian dollar reward for anyone who knows the identity of its creator.

Nobody turned up with an answer but it was speculated that unknown artist lives in Alice Springs or even might be an American.

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Agencies
March 12,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 12: In the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, Internet service providers in Kerala have agreed to step up the network capacity by 30 to 40 per cent of the present capacity to meet the demand, especially in view of the spurt in work-at-home mode.

"The decision was made at a meeting of representatives of various telecom service providers in Kerala circle and officials of the Telecommunication Department convened by the Secretary, Electronics and IT, following a direction by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to look into the issue," said a press release by the IT Department.

The decision will be beneficial for those working in IT institutions. The government has come out with a set of suggestions to avoid social gatherings at public places in view of coronavirus spread. Telecom service providers have assured the government that they are well equipped to face the current situation.

The major part of Internet consumption in Kerala is made available through local servers. Moreover, global Internet traffic is very low as compared to the overall consumption. So, increasing the capacity won't be difficult, service providers informed.

"Complaints regarding the low availability of the Internet due to the spurt in consumption of the Internet can be made to the service providers to their complaint redressal number or inform state government call centre (155300). But complaints regarding the insufficiency in the current network infrastructure should be strictly avoided," said the release.

The IT Department will also demand daily reports from various telecom service providers. By analysing these reports, steps for remedies will be taken after bringing the sudden increase in consumption to the service providers.

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Agencies
July 13,2020

New Delhi, Jul 13: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has blocked Bharti Airtel's Platinum and Vodafone Idea's RedX premium plans that offer faster data speeds and priority services to customers as both the plans were violating net neutrality norms.

The telecom watchdog has asked Bharti Airtel to explain within seven days how such a similar plan being launched does not violate the rules of net neutrality.

Vodafone Idea's RedX plan has been in the market since November 2019. They made some modifications in May 2020 and the Bharti Airtel was soon going to launch a similar plan.

According to TRAI, the higher speed for premium customers discriminate against others and violates net neutrality.

Responding to TRAI's move, Airtel spokesperson said: "We are passionate about delivering the best network and service experience to all our customers. This is why we have a relentless obsession to eliminate faults and have been consistently recognised by international agencies as the best network in terms of speed, latency and video experience."

"At the same time, we want to keep raising the bar for our post-paid customers in terms of service and responsiveness. This is an ongoing effort at our end," the spokesperson said.

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