Karnataka to borrow Rs 33,000 crore to cope with revenue loss
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to borrow Rs 33,000 crore to cope with the revenue loss owing to COVID-19 pandemic situation and take up development works, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said.
The state cabinet meeting decided to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Act to increase its borrowing limit from three per cent to the five per cent of the GSDP, utilising the provision proposed by the Centre, he said.
"The centre this year has increased the borrowing (limit) up to 5 per cent of GSDP due to COVID. Hence, we have decided to change the state Fiscal Responsibility Act to increase our borrowing from three per cent to five per cent," Madhuswamy told reporters.
"After the amendment, the state will be able to borrow Rs 36,000 crore. We have decided to borrow Rs 33,000 crore to start development works," which had been impacted due to severe revenue loss following the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.
When asked why Karnataka went for borrowing when several other states were demanding that Centre should borrow and give it to the states, Madhuswamy said such demand was made at the GST Council meeting recently.
He said the state's demand for Rs 11,000 crore of its share on GST remains and it will not compromise on that.
Madhuswamy clarified that the two per cent increase in the borrowing was only a one-time measure that too in view of the COVID situation.
He conceded that the increased borrowing will be a burden on the state. "Because we are in such a situation that we are forced to borrow," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
