Kerala will continue to eat beef; BJP has no problem with it: Modi govt’s minister

New Delhi, Jan 31: Chief Economic Adviser K V Subramanian on Friday said India's GDP is expected to grow at 6-6.5 per cent next fiscal as the economic slowdown has bottomed out.

As per the first advance estimates released by the National Statistical Organisation (NSO), the country's economic growth is likely to hit an 11-year low of 5 per cent in the current fiscal ending March 2020.

The Economic Survey 2019-20, prepared by a team lead by Subramanian, has projected the GDP to expand in the range of 6-6.5 per cent during 2020-21.

The Indian economy has hit the bottom and it will see an uptick from here, he said in a media briefing post the Economic Survey.

Amidst a weak environment for global manufacturing, trade and demand, the Indian economy slowed down with GDP growth moderating to 4.8 per cent in the first half of 2019-20, lower than 6.2 per cent in H2 of 2018-19.

Based on NSO's first advance estimates of GDP growth for 2019-20 at 5 per cent, an uptick in GDP growth is expected in the second half of the fiscal, it said.

According to it, the uptick in second half of 2019-20 would be mainly due to ten positive factors like picking up of Nifty India Consumption Index for the first time this year, an upbeat secondary market, higher FDI flows, build-up of demand pressure, positive outlook for rural consumption, rebound of industrial activity, steady improvement in manufacturing, growth in merchandise exports, higher build-up of foreign exchange reserves and positive growth rate of GST revenue collection.

The survey also emphasised that merger of public sector banks may increase the financial strength of the merged entities, lower the risk aversion and result in lowering of lending rates.

Further, as the implementation of GST further settles down, the increased unification of the domestic market may reduce business costs and facilitate fresh investment.

Reforms in land and labour market may further reduce business costs, said the survey, presented a day before Sitharaman's Union Budget 2020-21.

Kasaragod, Mar 31: The latest incidents of critically-ill patients dying due to lack of medical attention has been a cause of concern for the people here who had largely been depended on hospitals in Mangalore.

However the lock down has hindered follow-up treatment for these critically ill as the Karnataka authorities has been steadfast in restricting entry into their land.

The people of Kasaragod has been largely depended on the medical facilities in Mangalore for critical illness care. It was the gross inadequacies in critical healthcare in the district besides rather-easy proximity to nearby and bigger town that many residing on the north-east of the district have since long been making it to Mangalore for treatment of critical illness like cancer, dialysis and the alike.

Bengaluru, Jan 26: BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel has been served with a court notice asking him to personally appear before the special court for people’s representatives on February 24, in connection with a defamation suit filed by Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad.

Rizwan had lodged the defamation suit against Kateel and state BJP social media chief after the party, in a tweet during the 2019 Lok Sabha election, alleged Rizwan’s involvement in the manufacture of fake voter identity cards.

Apart from Kateel, head of the party’s social media unit has also been asked to appear in person at the above court on February 24.