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Edtech unicorn <keyword id="2900267" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="byju" source="Orion">BYJU</keyword>'s courted further controversy on Tuesday with its employees in Thiruvananthapuram claiming around 170 of them are being forced to resign from the company. The matter, raised on social media by <keyword id="7035516" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="technopark-today" source="Orion">Technopark Today</keyword>, an IT professionals community portal, was escalated by IT welfare organisation '<keyword id="3399247" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="prathidhwani" source="Orion">Prathidhwani</keyword>' to Kerala Labour Minister C. Sivankutty. Employees and Prathidhwani representatives also met the minister on Tuesday. Apart from ensuring that BYJU's does not force employees to resign, they demanded a revision of the company's exit policy for its employees. Along with ensuring payment of their October 2022 salary on November 1, employees are demanding a one-time settlement of three months' salary, earned leave encashment, and full-settlement of variable pay. According to the employees in Thiruvananthapuram numbering around 170, Byju's, with its office located in the <keyword id="6400701" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="technopark" source="Orion">Technopark</keyword>, is planning to wind up its operations in the state headquarters. Sivankutty, in a Facebook post, said: "The employees of BYJU's app from <keyword id="3595624" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="technopark-thiruvananthapuram" source="Orion">Technopark Thiruvananthapuram</keyword> had come to see me. The employees have many grievances, including job loss. The Labour Department will conduct a serious investigation in this regard." With losses of Rs 4,500 crore reported in FY21, BYJU's has been facing tough times in recent times. The company had recently announced cost-cutting measures including paring down manpower. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/netflix-is-emailing-users-details-about-how-to-make-it-easier-to-kick-free-loaders-off-your-account-as-it-cracks-down-on-password-sharing/articleshow/95086931.cms">Netflix is emailing users details about how to make it easier to kick free-loaders off your account, as it cracks down on password sharing</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-down-users-across-the-world-are-reportedly-not-able-to-send-and-receive-messages/articleshow/95075347.cms">WhatsApp down – users across the world are reportedly not able to send and receive messages</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-fate-of-the-world-economy-may-depend-on-what-happens-to-a-company-most-americans-have-never-heard-of/articleshow/95030860.cms">The fate of the world economy may depend on what happens to a company most Americans have never heard of</a>

Fearing firing, BYJU's employees in Kerala approach state labour minister

In the wake of shortage of funds, <keyword id="28504" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="kerala" source="Orion">Kerala</keyword>'s <keyword id="25455" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="finance" source="Orion">Finance</keyword> Department has capped <keyword id="6374832" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="treasury" source="Orion">Treasury</keyword> payments in the first month of the new fiscal. In its directive to the <keyword id="114127" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="treasuries" source="Orion">Treasuries</keyword> Director, the Department asked for the reduction of the ways and means limit from Rs 1 crore to Rs 25 lakhs with immediate effect. If there was a requirement for any payments to be made above Rs 25 lakhs, then special sanctions will have to come to effect. Till April 25, the Treasuries were allowed to pay bills up to Rs 1 crore. According to informed sources, the decision comes as the Kerala government is on a borrowing spree and is done to pay the salaries and pension to state government employees, besides paying of interests on earlier borrowed loans. Kerala appears to have gone 'broke' is on account of a delay in sourcing funds, they added. If borrowed funds do not return on time or if the GST compensation to the state does not come in time from the Centre, then the salaries and pensions to be paid in the first week of May might not happene. When the economist turned Minister of Finance, Thomas Isaac was at the helm of affairs during the first <keyword id="6356705" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pinarayi-vijayan" source="Orion">Pinarayi Vijayan</keyword> government (2016-21), he deftly managed the poor state of finance through proper fiscal management and now with first-time legislator K.N.Balagopal as the Finance Minister, things appear a bit tough. Incidentally the total outstanding public debt of Kerala had skyrocketed after Vijayan took over and it now stands at above Rs 3 lakh crores. Outstanding debts is the sum total of public debt which consists of internal debt, loans and advances from the Centre besides loans from financial institutions such as LICA and special securities and not to mention of borrowings from deposits in state PF, treasury, pension funds and insurance. To get a clearer picture of the debt, it is best highlighted as a ratio of the size of the state economy/state gross state domestic product (GSDP). A comparison of the national picture of states and union territories with the highest debt GSDP ratio in 2022 are Arunachal Pradesh 57.4 per cent, Jammu and Kashmir Kashmir 56.6 per cent, Punjab 53.3 per cent, Nagaland 44.2 per cent, Himachal Pradesh 43.4 per cent, Rajasthan 39.8 per cent, Meghalaya 39.2 per cent, West Bengal 38.8, per cent Kerala 38.3 per cent and <keyword id="37102" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="andhra-pradesh" source="Orion">Andhra Pradesh</keyword> 37.6 per cent. One thing which has to be noted is the present staggering figure of the outstanding debts of Kerala did not happen overnight and successive state governments to a certain extent can take credit for the achievements of the state in the fields of education and health, which leads the rest of the country and to reach here, investment is required, but looking deeper into it experts revealed the real situation. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/investment/news/telegram-users-can-now-send-crypto-payments-to-each-other/articleshow/91170010.cms">Telegram users can now send crypto payments to each other</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/ongc-is-hiring-over-3600-apprentices-with-a-maximum-stipend-of-9000-per-month/articleshow/91169869.cms">ONGC is hiring over 3,600 apprentices with a maximum stipend of ₹9,000 per month</a>

Kerala government caps treasury payments in the wake of fund shortage

<ul><li><keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> ranked fifth in the world in terms of absolute losses due to <keyword id="6361617" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="climate-change">climate change</keyword>.</li><li>India’s monetary losses stood at a fraction of costs seen by US and China. </li><li>The human costs on climate change on India could be much worse.</li></ul>India saw $79.5 billion in economic losses between 1998 and 2017 due to climate-change disasters, ranking fifth in the world in terms of absolute monetary losses. But the country faces a far greater risk in terms of human costs and impact on development, a major UN study has warned. According to the <a href="https://www.unisdr.org/2016/iddr/IDDR2018_Economic%20Losses.pdf">study</a> by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, as a lower-middle income country, economic losses mean “crippling consequences” for future development. An alarming number of people are now internally displaced every year by extreme weather events and climate-related disasters often losing their homes and their livelihoods, the report has pointed out. Economic disasters and poverty are closely tied. According to <keyword id="6354424" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-bank">World Bank</keyword>, the real cost to the global economy is in the tune of $520 billion per annum, with disasters putting 26 million people into poverty every year, the report noted. Floods were the most frequent types of disaster, making up 43% of all recorded events in the past 20 years. India has been seeing an increasing number of extreme weather events such as floods in recent years. According to a study by the <keyword id="6355166" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-meteorological-department">India Meteorological Department</keyword>, India saw 285 flooding events between 1950-2017 that killed 71,000 and drove 19 million into homelessness. The recent floods in the southern state of <keyword id="28504" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala">Kerala</keyword> <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Politics/pkRlIk0b6ycCVFNRTm2MkL/A-third-of-145-million-Kerala-relief-camp-inmates-return-ho.html">displaced</a> nearly 1.5 million people. A global problem High income countries including the the US have fared much worse in terms of absolue economic losses partly due to high asset values and frequency of disaster events. India’s losses in monetary terms seem only a fraction of those seen by the US and China with the US posting the biggest losses ($945 billion), double of that seen by China at $492 billion. Globally, climate-related disasters contributed to $2.2 trillion in losses, more than two-thirds (77%) of all reported losses including other natural geophysical disasters. The study comes in the wake of another major report by the UN earlier this week which warned of <keyword id="6951828" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Runaway-climate-change">runaway climate change</keyword> with disastrous consequences if global temperatures rise beyond 1.5°C. The current targets for cutting greenhouse emissions that contribute towards <keyword id="6366055" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="global-warming">global warming</keyword> set during the last climate accord falls significantly short and will have to be revised urgently, according to the UN. China, the European Union and the US account for more than half of total global greenhouse emissions as of 2013, <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/04/interactive-chart-explains-worlds-top-10-emitters-and-how-theyve-changed">according to data </a>from the World Resources Institute. India contributed to 6.67% of global emissions with energy from fossil fuels being the largest source.

Why the staggering costs of climate change on India are much more than monetary losses

<ul><li><keyword id="125587" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="K-N-Balagopal">K N Balagopal</keyword> thinks giving emphasis on <keyword id="6354525" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="healthcare">healthcare</keyword> is the best way to revive the state’s economy.</li><li>In the state budget, it was announced that a ₹100 crore venture capital fund was set up to help startups and small and medium scale businesses.</li><li>The <keyword id="6355261" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance-minister">finance minister</keyword> also says that under the GST regime, states are not getting ‘enough freedom’.</li></ul>A lot of states have been releasing their own stimulus packages to compensate for the strict lockdowns. Kerala, however, was the first to announce a relief package even before the central government did, in March last year. After the pandemic’s second wave, though, the newly elected state has decided to focus more on vaccinations than economic stimulus. They are vaccinating district by district, and in the meanwhile releasing ration kits to help the poor to tide over the bad times. Kerala ranked 11th among all Indian states for its vaccination rate, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1222266/india-cumulative-coverage-of-covid-19-vaccine-across-india/">as of June 28 </a>. The finance minister of the state, K N Balagopal, discussed the troubles of small businesses and their policies with Sriram Iyer, as part of Business Insider’s <keyword id="4106334" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="msme-exchange">MSME Exchange</keyword>, a virtual event dedicated to small businesses in the country. Edited excerpts: You released a relief package of ₹20,000 crore in your latest budget. While a few hail it as a countercyclical measure, was it the intent? The second COVID wave is much more serious than expected. There are reports that there is a chance for a third wave where new areas like pediatrics need to be strengthened. So, we thought that our emphasis should be mainly on health where we gave maximum emphasis and allotted ₹2800 crores in the budget itself. This was for universal vaccination, and more facilities to the hospitals and especially pediatrics. This is an infectious disease, which requires a lot of infrastructure. So, we planned to combat and have the COVID situation covered. Then, our people will be safe enough to work. Our industry will work. Our service sector will work. Our agriculture industry and also our major area of activity ⁠— <keyword id="20048" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="tourism">tourism</keyword> where people feel safe to go to. In our plan, first comes health, and second is on agriculture and industry which includes MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises]. We are also providing food kits to all families. We have also cleared pending bills for contracts, which were lagging behind for six months or even a year. All this money will go to people. Those who do not receive pensions will also be paid. So your plan is to declare a few districts as Covid-free. And that everybody is vaccinated, so tourists start coming in and, therefore, everything else like hotels, transport and small enterprises start moving. Not just the tourists, though they are very important. We have around 33 million people working outside and now 1.4 million are back here. It’s a very tricky point for you. Putting the million plus people returning from the Gulf countries to work. Kerala has many things to be proud of like primary healthcare, education and tourism, but its manufacturing industry is not its greatest strength. How are you going to employ these people? We have a programme to help industry and agriculture. We are announcing some schemes like MSMEs with loans [sic] with lower interest rates. Have you announced these, or are you going to announce? We already announced them. Is it the Chief Minister's entrepreneurship scheme? Not just that. We are providing ₹10,000 crores [of] subsidised loan. We are planning to provide ₹2,000 crores to agricultural cooperatives like societies, which can do agriculture related industry or set up such units. Are small businesses even taking loans? They seem to be worried about demand, and are choosing to be cautious. It is a serious issue. That is why I said if your economy is not active, you cannot do anything with this. If our industries are producing something and nobody is there for purchasing, so there is no need. Then it's a very long discussion on how to create demand. What we are doing with [the] stimulus package is to ensure that people get money via loan schemes. Many people might want some loan, if an interest subsidy is there. If industry is working, and there is some money coming in, the demand will come. I would add that it is not a fast process. How will the state be able to finance these schemes? Especially, since remittances are going to take a hit with the return of people who were working in the Gulf countries and sending money back to Kerala. It is not [only] Kerala, but other governments are also facing this problem. The central government has everything with it [sic], be it GST [goods and services tax] or taxes or petroleum cess - it’s all with them. The central government has to make a very serious plan to help the states. And not just the states, but their subjects, common people, the industrialists. There should be some plan. Otherwise, the economy will not be revived. In your recent statements about I know you have a lot of anger, a lot like a lot of other state governments because they're not getting their share. They have to wait and all of that. But do you really believe that the sum total of GST’s impact on the economy has been really that bad that it should be repealed? Even the harshest critics of the Modi government would say that the idea is good, but implementation was lacking. And do you really think that India can sustain another shock of going through a complete overhaul of the tax regime one more time in just three years? No, no, that’s not what I said. The experience of GST in the country shows that it is not implemented properly. We gave a dissent note on behalf of the Left. These issues mainly raise the question of federalism. And now, state governments are not getting enough freedom. But there's a thinking among the people who supported GST earlier, who supported GST earlier that it's very detrimental to the interest of the state governments. And, if this feeling grows, it will not help the unity of the country. I had written this in the dissent note that the control will be with the central government. <h1 style="line-height:1.44;border-bottom:solid #eeeeee 0.75pt;background-color:#ffffff;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:8pt;background-clip:padding-box;padding:0pt 0pt 11.25pt 0pt;"></h1>

Kerala Finance Minister believes in just one economic stimulus ⁠— vaccines

Mumbai, May 10 () After the government over the weekend hiked market borrowing by 54 per cent in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, calls for monetising debt seem to be gaining traction with experts saying that repercussions of not spending to support the economy will be irreparable. Conservative monetary economist and former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan, over the weekend, has also pitched for monetising public debt and higher fiscal deficit in a ''measured'' manner to protect the economy and the poor and the vulnerable in these ''abnormal times''. The first such call came in early April when Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac after the state had to pay a tad less than 9 per cent for Rs 6,000-crore market borrowing to meet the exigencies arising from the pandemic. Coronavirus has snuffed out lives of more than 2,100 people and infected nearly 63,000 in India. Globally, the death toll is over 2.79 lakh and more than 40 lakh have been infected. Another solution for raising funds suggested by Isaac was to launch COVID bonds with under 5 per cent interest rate by the Centre and paying the states from the mop-up. Isaac had said RBI should buy such bonds from the Centre. Many other economists have also called for adopting unconventional tools to help the poor and boost the economy. Monetisation is generally central bank printing more currency by expanding its balance sheet. Monetisation should not be a constraint on public spending, Rajan said, adding, "the government should be concerned about protecting the economy and should spend what is needed". Devendra Kumar Pant, Chief Economist at India Ratings, also backs the idea of government borrowing more and supporting the economy at the cost of fiscal prudence, saying the repercussions of not spending now to support the poor and the economy will be much more severe and irreparable. "The need of the hour is money. The Centre being the best and the largest borrower, it has to do the heavy-lifting in these extraordinary times and should not be constrained by the worries about fiscal deficit and other attendant pains. "Money is the only need now," Pant told without directly calling for monetising debt. According to him, the Centre should bring money from wherever possible and give to the states as loans at a lower interest rate than they are being forced to pay now. That Kerala, despite being the best performing large state in the COVID-19 fight, had to pay 8.96 per cent is not something that the Centre should ignore, Pant noted. He underlined that talking about fiscal prudence now will be suicidal "as the repercussions of not spending now will be so severe that it will take years to return to normalcy". Singaporean lender DBS Bank's economist Radhika Rao also favours higher spending and suspending the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act) goal posts given the extraordinary risks to growth and the need for pump-priming the economy. She also expects a larger fiscal package being offered soon as the so far given support -- Rs 1.7 lakh crore or 0.8 per cent of GDP -- is much smaller than the anticipated economic cost of the lockdown. "The second package should be a combination of higher food and cash handouts to the vulnerable, backstop for MSMEs, shouldering part of the wage burden for smaller enterprises, temporary relief to taxpayers, amongst others," she told . The Reserve Bank should contain the borrowing costs of the Centre and the states by higher bond purchases which will help quell bond yields, she added. Rajan's comments on monetising deficit has came after the finance ministry on May 8 decided to raise market borrowing by 54 per cent to Rs 12 lakh crore for FY21, up from Rs 7.8 lakh crore estimated in the budget. This will take the total market borrowing by the Centre and the states to close Rs 24 lakh crore this fiscal. "Monetisation will neither be a game-changer nor a catastrophe, if done in a measured way. However, the caveat-- it should be measured -- is key," Rajan said. On fiscal deficit, which is slated to top 5 per cent this year, Rajan in his blog post said the government "should also worry about getting fiscal deficit back in shape over the medium term, and the more it spends now, the harder that will be. But its inability to finance itself or fears of monetisation should not be a constraint". According to Rajan, the professor for finance at the Chicago University, large government spending will directly ignite demand which is needed especially "in abnormal times like this when demand is depressed and the environment is disinflationary, and this should not be a central worry". BEN RAM

Calls for debt monetisation gain traction as COVID-19 cripples economy

Thiruvananthapuram, May 13 () The Kerala governmenton Wednesday decided to increase the price of Indian-madeforeign liquor (IMFL) in order to gain some extra revenue amidCOVID-19 lockdown and subsequent slowdown in the economy. The state cabinet, which met here, decided torecommend the Governor to issue an ordinance to increase thesales tax on the IMFL.It has recommended to increase ten per cent tax forbeer and wine and 35 per cent for all othercategories. At present, the sales tax on IMFL is 202 per centfor brands priced up to Rs 400 and 212 per cent for brandsabove that. With the new rates, thepercentage will increase to237 and 247 per cent respectively. "All the major revenue generation options of thestate government has been stopped due to the lockdown.Lotterysale was stopped, Bars were closed. The GST revenue has drastically dropped.Hence thestate cabinet has decided to find a revenue generationmethod," a release issued by the state government said. The state cabinet has recommended to increase tenper cent tax for beer and wine and 35 per cent for allothercategories. At present, the sales tax on IMFL is 202 per centfor brands priced up to Rs 400 and 212 per cent for brandsabove that. With the new rates, thepercentage will increase to237 and 247 per cent respectively. RRT BNWELCOME BNWELCOME

Kerala to hike IMFL prices steeply amid COVID-19 lockdow

<ul><li>In the wake of <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword>, Niti Aayog CEO <keyword id="6358887" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="amitabh-kant">Amitabh Kant</keyword> in a recent interview said that India needs to be ready for a huge economic impact. </li><li>He said that people will lose jobs in rural and urban areas. </li><li>Kant said that small businesses should be provided better working capital. </li></ul>India is facing one of its darkest hours and is caught in between the need to contain Covid-19 and stop businesses from closing down. Amitabh Kant, CEO, government’s think tank Niti Aayog described them as ‘extraordinary and challenging times’. In a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGWsdvJBcgo&amp;feature=youtu.be"> virtual interview</a> with the Observer Research Foundation, Kant warned of the economic implications – people will lose jobs, small businesses will suffer. “There will be an economic impact and we should be ready for it. People are going to lose jobs not only in rural areas but urban areas. The state’s first responsibility should be towards people who are at the margin and are going to lose their jobs, and should be able to provide them with a source of livelihood. And that should be in the form of a direct benefit transfer,” he said. While <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/while-pm-modi-called-for-a-janata-curfew-the-kerala-government-implemented-some-serious-steps/articleshow/74717250.cms">Kerala</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coranavirus-cases-in-tamil-nadu-news-and-updates/articleshow/74785909.cms">Tamil Nadu</a> announced measures like free ration and a handout, no national level programme to support daily labourers and other small businesses has been announced. For small businesses, Kant said that we need to look at options of providing them with better working capital. “This is not a time to over-concern yourself with fiscal deficit. This is a time to support the industry,” he said. The government’s fiscal deficit which is the difference between government’s revenues and spending - has ballooned to ₹9.85 lakh crore in the current financial year. ‘RBI needs to look beyond the definition of non-performing assets’ Apart from government, Kant also believes that the central bank should also play a part. According to him, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should provide a larger window for repayment of loans by micro and small and medium businesses. “We have a system where defaults after 90 days are termed as non-performing assets, this needs to be relooked at by the RBI. We need to provide a much much longer window as Coronavirus will go on till about May end minimum and then it will take another 7-8 months for factories to revive themselves,” he said. This also means that supply chains across the world are broken. Kant believes that this also gives India the massive opportunity to step in and become a major supplier. “The Cabinet recently passed a scheme for mobile phone operators of ₹42,000 crore, for big manufacturers to establish their supply chain in India. Based on incremental production in India, they will get support. The second step the government took is a ₹17,000 crore scheme for supporting the manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredients in India,” he said. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/while-pm-modi-called-for-a-janata-curfew-the-kerala-government-implemented-some-serious-steps/articleshow/74717250.cms">While PM Modi called for a 'janata curfew', the Kerala government implemented some serious steps</a>

People will lose jobs, warns NITI Aayog chief as he pushes for cash handouts

New Delhi, Feb 1 () BJP-ruled states hailed the Union Budget as focussed on boosting development, creating jobs and taking every section of the society along, but those governed by the opposition parties expressed disappointment saying it lacked vision to revive the economy.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar and their counterparts from Karnataka and Goa - B S Yediyurappa and Pramod Sawant - said the budget will help generate jobs, boost rural economy and create infrastructure for growth. They thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the budget.
 Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal termed the budget "pro-people" since it was structured on the overall theme of 'Ease of Living'.
"I congratulate Finance Minister Smt. @nsitharaman ji for a common man centric budget, and for taking ahead Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji's vision for a robust and vibrant India," Sawant added in a tweet.
But West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and their Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh counterparts - Uddhav Thackeray and Kamal Nath - were not impressed by the budgetary proposals.
Banerjee slammed the central government's proposal to sell a part of its shares in LIC, describing it as a plan to "ambush" the legacy of public institutions. Thackeray and Kejriwal alleged the budget gives "step-motherly" treatment to Maharashtra and Delhi.
Nath termed the budget "disappointing" and a "labyrinth of data", saying it lacked a plan to deal with the economic slowdown and the inflation.
"When Delhi doesn't figure in the BJP's priorities, why should people vote for it?" he said on Twitter in Hindi. "Delhi had high expectations from the Budget, but step-motherly treatment has been meted out to it again," Kejriwal said.
His deputy and Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia too criticised the budget as the "biggest injustice" to the people of the national capital.
At a press conference, he pointed out that the Centre has allotted Rs 325 crore to the Delhi government as central taxes share, which is the same since 2001. He alleged Delhiites give Rs 1.5 lakh crore as taxes to the Centre annually, but it doesn't give anything to the Delhi government.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said economy was not a priority for the government, trashing the budget as "high on pomposity and low on tangibles". He said the BJP-led Central government, which was too busy pursuing its "negative and divisive agenda".
Singh particularly highlighted that the "16-point action plan for agriculture" makes no mention of any initiatives or schemes to encourage crop diversification, and a failure to diversify would further aggravate the problems for the country on the agriculture front.
Terming the budget "a jugglery of words", Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot said there was no focus on providing relief to people or industries. "Budget speech lacked any substance to solve present economic crisis. It was simply jugglery of words without any focus on providing relief to common people or to industries," Gehlot tweeted.
The Rajasthan BJP countered Gehlot's charge, saying the budget was "balanced and inclusive" and Finance Minister Sitharaman appropriately focussed on all sections.
"Changes in income-tax slab is a big relief to middle class. Every section has been focused. Budget provisions for the welfare of all sections and sectors including education, health, infrastructure development, tribals, senior citizens have been made," BJP state president Satish Poonia said.
Industry bodies in Rajasthan gave a mixed reaction to the budget.
Federation of Rajasthan Trade and Industry chairman Suresh Agrawal said looking at the present economic situation, businesses and industries had big expectations from the budget.
"The budget should have been more focused on business and industries. Exporters, textile and automobile industries will be benefitted with the budget but MSME sector's expectations were not met," he said.
Confederation of Indian Industry's Rajasthan chairman Anand Mishra said the budget has covered many items. "There is a good outlay of Rs 2,500 crore in tourism which we are sure that Rajasthan will be able to take benefit. The removal of dividend tax would lead to investment in stock market."
Haryana CM Khattar too highlighted the budgetary provisions made for the tourism sector, thanking Sitharaman for announcing that Rakhigarhi, an Indus Valley Civilisation site, will be developed as "iconic sites" with on-site museums.
He said this move will give Rakhigarhi international recognition and boost tourism revenue for Haryana.
"This Budget will also prove to be a milestone in terms of developing the basic infrastructure of the country, farmers' growth, jobs for youth and betterment of health facilities in the country,"
Adityanath said, adding the budget protects the interests of each section of the society.
His deputy Dinesh Sharma said the Union Budget will fulfil the dream of "New India".
"It will also lay the foundation of a USD 5-trillion economy. The New Educational Policy will bring a revolution in the education sector. Study in India programme will publicise India's higher education."
Yediyurappa said the emphasis on rural India in the budget will benefit farmers in a big way.
"This budget is a boon for farmers. It's a clear reflection of the Prime Minister's desire to double farmers' income by 2022. The 'Jal Jivan' scheme extended to 100 water-stressed districts will benefit farmers in a big way," he added.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the budget would not help strengthen the economy or ensure social security, but it will increase inflation and unemployment. He also said that "legitimate needs" of the southern state were completely ignored in the budget. TEAM ABH
ABH

BJP-ruled states praise 'pro-people' budget, others say it lacks vision to revive economy

<keyword id="6362858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kerala-Tourism">Kerala Tourism</keyword> is targeting a healthy 10-12 per cent growth in both arrivals as well as in earnings in the year to March 2020 as the state has returned to normalcy after the worst deluge in a century had ravaged the entire state last year, a senior official has said. Despite the killer floods, the state had recorded a 6 per cent increase in both footfalls and revenue in 2018. It can be noted that tourism was one of the worst affected business sectors of the state's economy that was impacted by the worst deluge in a century that ravaged the entire state in August-September of 2018. The tourism hot-spot <keyword id="30469" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kochi">Kochi</keyword> and the surrounding areas and the Alappuzha, known for its famed boat-houses and backwaters, bore the brunt of the floods bringing the industry to a complete standstill. Apart from remittances, tourism is the mainstay of the Kerala economy with 12 per cent of the state GDP is contributed by this. "After the worst floods last year, tourism has recovered fully from January 2019. We saw 8.07 per cent growth in arrivals in the first quarter at 41,90,468 against 38,77,712 during the same period last year. Looking at the current trends we expect 10-12 per cent growth in both arrivals as well as in earnings this fiscal year," Kerala Tourism information officer Suraj PK told PTI. Despite the floods, Kerala closed 2018 with total footfalls of 16.7 million, up 6 per cent over 2017 while the earnings were over Rs 36,520 crore, up from Rs 28,740 crore, he added. In 2017, the footfalls were 15.67 million, recording an increase of 5.93 per cent. Of the total footfalls, 1.09 million were foreign tourists. The share of revenue from foreign visitors touched Rs 8,764.46 crore. Domestic tourism sector also gained during the period with visitors exceeding 15.6 million, showing an increase of 6.35 per cent, according to the numbers shared by the department. Buoyed by a healthy surge in domestic tourist arrivals, Kerala Tourism is all set to kick-start a new aggressive marketing campaign with a string of partnership meets across 10 cities, showcasing a combination of the state's traditional art forms and its attractive products of touristy appeal. Suraj said tourism will also get a boost from the very first edition of the Kerala's Champions Boat League (CBL), which began from late August. The boat league is conceived in the IPL format. "Every weekend any tourist who comes to Kerala will be able to witness one 'Champions Boat Race' in any of the major backwaters. It will end with the President's Trophy Boat Race in <keyword id="6357351" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="kollam">Kollam</keyword> on November 23, holding 12 races during the intervening weekends. It will be a world-class experience for the guests," he added. To attract tourists, the state has also added an array of new destinations and experiences that will make Kerala a 365-day destination for leisure travel. "A special attraction would be the <keyword id="61688" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jatayu">Jatayu</keyword> Earth Centre, an hour drive north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, which houses a giant statue of Jatayu, he said. The statue is 200-feet long, 150 feet wide and 70 feet in height, making it the largest functional bird sculpture in the world, Suraj added. Another new attraction is the country's first biodiversity museum, which is tucked away on the outskirts of the capital city. This museum, once a boathouse, is now home to the state's first-ever science-on-sphere system. Another first is the <keyword id="489015" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Muziris">Muziris</keyword> Heritage Project, expected to be completed this year, is the largest heritage conservation project in the country. The remains of a once-thriving port frequented by the Arabs, the Romans and the Egyptians during the first century BC is preserved across 25 museums. Another offering in the historical space is the Spice Route Project that rekindles the 2,000-year-old ancient sea links and the shared cultural and culinary legacies with 30 countries. Kerala is keen to figure prominently in the meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) tourism destinations as well, Suraj said.

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