BJP hits out at Congress for calling wheels of economy 'punctured'

Vartha Bharati | 11-06-2018 | 23:47:00 IST

New Delhi, June 11: The BJP on Monday hit back at Congress for calling "wheels" of the Indian economy "punctured" and accused it of making "baseless and irresponsible" allegations against the government.

"Allegations labelled by (former Finance Minister P.) Chidambaram are baseless and irresponsible. He has raised the issue of growth rate while we have emerged today as the fastest growing economy in the world. 

"This quarter (4th of FY 2018), the growth rate was 7.7 per cent. It was more than that of 2014 when they (UPA) left the government. We maintained the pattern of growth rate even when the situation in the world was different," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters here at a press conference.

Attacking the Congress, he said that it was their record that growth rate was always low while the rate of inflation was always high.

"Our government has changed it. The growth rate has increased while the rate of inflation has gone down," he said.

Javadekar was responding to Chidambaram's remarks in which he said that three out of the four wheels - exports, private investment, capital formation - of the national economy have been "punctured" and held the BJP government's "administrative incompetence", "reckless decisions" and "policy blunders" responsible for the rising farm distress, unemployment and economic failure.

He said the only tyre that seemed to be inflated was government expenditure. 

"But here too, the government's options are getting limited because of the pressure on the current account deficit (CAD) and the fiscal deficit (FD)," he said.

Chidambaram said the gross NPAs (Non-Performing Assets) had risen in the last four years from Rs 2,63,000 crore to Rs 10,30,000 crore and would rise further.

Responding to the charges on NPA, Javadekar blamed Congress for the NPA crisis.

He said that the government is working seriously on long term solution over the hikes in rates of petrol and diesel prices.

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Karnataka issues nutrition advisory for govt events; recommends millets, healthier options

13-04-2026 ¦ 13-04-2026 IST

Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Monday issued a nutrition advisory recommending healthier food and beverage options at meetings, functions, and other official gatherings held in the state.

The advisory has been issued by the Department of Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Services to promote healthy dietary and nutritional habits among officials and staff, noting that food, refreshments and beverages served in government offices and official programmes are "often not aligned with nutrition standards."

The advisory recommends serving snacks such as millet-based, low-fat and low-sugar foods, fresh fruits, vegetable salads, sprouts, roasted nuts and seeds during in-house office meetings and breaks.

Beverages such as green tea, low-fat buttermilk, and locally filtered or boiled water served in glass bottles or steel flasks have also been suggested.

According to the advisory, for larger government events, conferences and exhibitions, departments have been advised to include at least one millet-based item during snacks and a minimum of two millet dishes in meals, along with local cuisine and at least one regional recipe.

It also recommends the use of brown rice instead of white rice, freshly prepared vegetable salads, and fresh fruits or low-sugar fruit juices.

If non-vegetarian food is served, it should consist of well-cooked lean or white meat, the advisory stated.

In eateries operating within government office campuses, the department has recommended millet-based foods, fresh vegetable salads, boiled pulses such as horse gram or chickpeas, and low-fat beverages.

It suggests serving food using reusable metal plates and glasses.

The advisory also recommends avoiding microwave-heated food, industrially processed food, fried snacks, high-fat or heavily spiced dishes, carbonated drinks, high-sugar fruit juices, and alcoholic beverages.

It further discourages serving milk-based tea or coffee and plastic-bottled water during official events.

“Overall, hygiene and cleanliness should be maintained while serving food and water. Local cottage industries, self-help groups, prison kitchens, nutri-gardens and others should be preferred for placing food and beverage orders,” the advisory added.