Rs 178 Cr package for coconut growers
Cabinet takes a decision
Bengaluru, October 04: The Cabinet on Thursday decided to release Rs 178 crore package for the coconut growers whose coconut plantations have become unproductive due to continuous drought in the state.
After the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy at Vidhana Soudha here, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that it was decided to give Rs 400 per tree or Rs 18,000 per hectare of plantation as relief package, for which, the Horticulture department would submit a proposal . The state government had submitted a proposal to the central government for incentive for the coconut growers a year ago. But nothing was happened. So, it was decided to give incentive to the farmers and this would help the growers in Chitradurga, Tumkur, Hassan, Chamarajnagar, Mandya and other places, he said.
As the agreement between the state government and the GVK Company to provide 108 ambulance service was expired, it was decided to continue the old agreement for one more year with the company. Within next one year, tender process for the fresh agreement and ambulance service would be completed, he said.
The Cabinet has given administrative approval to take up various development works at Hassan government engineering college at a cost of Rs 50 crore. It was also approved to set up a super speciality hospital on the premises of the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences at a cost of Rs 129.75 crore and in the first phase, Rs 50 crore would be released immediately, he said.
The Cabinet also decided to set up Government Tool Room and Training Centre in Yadagiri, Humnabad, Lingasugur and Hospet in collaboration with Dassault Systemes India Private Limited at a cost of Rs 224.08 crore, of which, the government would invest Rs 21.7 crore and the rest would be borne by the Dassault company, he said.
The Cabinet also decided to withdraw the proposal submitted to the Central government in 2016 on appointing retired IAS officer V. Umesh as the State Administrative Tribunal Member and set up State Horticulture Excellent Centres Agency in the state. The Cabinet also decided to give Rs 2,000 monthly pension for five years along with Rs 5 lakh compensation to the family of those who were killed from wild animals attacks, he said.
The Cabinet also decided to handover 4.7 acre of land belonging to KSRTC Hassan Regional Workshop to Hassan Cooperative Milk Union and withdraw 14 criminal cases booked against Raita Sangha, Pro-Kannada activists and general public in various police stations across the state, the Minister added.
It was decided to start cardiac treatment unit with Cath Lab facility in Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences at Rs 7.25 crore and cardiac treatment centre along with the Cath Lab facility at Super Specialty Hospital of Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences at a cost of Rs 7.81 crore, he said.
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Canada is already examining tariffs on certain US items following Trump's tariff threat
Toronto (AP/PTI): Canada is already examining possible retaliatory tariffs on certain items from the United States should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on his threat to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, a senior official has said.
Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico if the countries don't stop what he called the flow of drugs and migrants across southern and northern borders. He said he would impose a 25 per cent tax on all products entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico as one of his first executive orders.
But Trump posted Wednesday evening on Truth Social that he had a "wonderful conversation" with new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and she "agreed to stop Migration through Mexico".
"Mexico will stop people from going to our Southern Border, effective immediately. THIS WILL GO A LONG WAY TOWARD STOPPING THE ILLEGAL INVASION OF THE USA. Thank you!!!" Trump posted.
It was unclear what impact the conversation will have on Trump's plan to impose tariffs.
In Canada, a government official said on Wednesday that Canada is preparing for every eventuality and has started thinking about what items to target with tariffs in retaliation. The official stressed no decision has been made. The person spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly.
When Trump imposed higher tariffs during his first term in office, other countries responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own. Canada, for instance, announced billions of new duties in 2018 against the US in a tit-for-tat response to new taxes on Canadian steel and aluminum.
Many of the US products were chosen for their political rather than economic impact. For example, Canada imports USD 3 million worth of yogurt from the US annually and most comes from one plant in Wisconsin, home state of then-House Speaker Paul Ryan. That product was hit with a 10 per cent duty.
Another product on the list was whiskey, which comes from Tennessee and Kentucky, the latter of which is the home state of then-Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump made the threat Monday while railing against an influx of illegal migrants, even though the numbers at Canadian border pale in comparison to the southern border.
The US Border Patrol made 56,530 arrests at the Mexican border in October alone — and 23,721 arrests at the Canadian one between October 2023 and September 2024.
Canadian officials say lumping Canada in with Mexico is unfair but say they are ready to make new investments in border security and work with the Trump administration to lower the numbers from Canada. The Canadians are also worried about a influx north of migrants if Trump follows through with his plan for mass deportations.
Trump also railed about fentanyl from Mexico and Canada, even though seizures from the Canadian border pale in comparison to the Mexican border. US customs agents seized 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last fiscal year, compared with 21,100 pounds at the Mexican border.
Canadian officials argue their country is not the problem and that tariffs will have severe implications for both countries.
Canada is the top export destination for 36 US states. Nearly USD 3.6 billion Canadian (USD 2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day. About 60 per cent of US crude oil imports are from Canada, and 85 per cent of US electricity imports are from Canada. Canada is also the largest foreign supplier of steel, aluminum and uranium to the US and has 34 critical minerals and metals that the Pentagon is eager for and investing in for national security.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a emergency virtual meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of Canada's provinces. He stressed they need to present a united front.
"I don't want to minimize for a moment the gravity of the challenge we now face," Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said. "Now is really a moment for us not to squabble amongst ourselves."
The provincial premiers want Trudeau to negotiate a bilateral trade deal with the United States that excludes Mexico.
Sheinbaum, Mexico's president, said earlier Wednesday that her administration is already working up a list of possible retaliatory tariffs "if the situation comes to that."
She later said she talked to Trump and had "an excellent conversation".
