Current economic situation challenging: Union Minister Sadananda Gowda
Bengaluru, Sep 12: Union Minister D V SadanadaGowda Gowda on Thursday said the current economic situation in the country was "challenging", but expressed the hope that the measures taken by the union government to address it would see India quickly progress ahead 'in a very short time.'
"In 2008-09 also we had seen global slowdown, but during the time of economic slowdown, the measures taken by the administrative machinery is important as it plays a crucial role.
I agree that our GDP, that was 8.2 per cent, has now come down to five per cent. This is certainly a challenge for the administration," Gowda said.
Pointing out that the union government has taken a slew of measures to address the situation like for the automobile sector,infusion of funds to banks and addressing of liquidity issues concerning MSMEs, he said these were to address the "notion of financial instability".
"Because of several such reform measures, in a very short time we will progress ahead," he said, noting that in the past too India had faced even more challenging times, but the country has "come back".
Gowda was addressing a press conference here to showcase the hundred days' achievement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led NDA 2 government.
The more the employment is generated, the further push it would give to the financial sector, the Minister said and pointed out that the government was also giving an impetus to self-employment through schemes like Mudra loan.
To a question on the delay in release of central funds for Karnataka that was hit by incessant rains and floods, Gowda, who hails from the state, said it would be released at the earliest, but did not specify any time-frame.
SDRF funds to be released in December has already been released, he said, as he clarified that the Centre has not released any flood relief funds to any affected state so far.
"All major work for restoration and rehabilitation will only start once the rain stops.For immediate rescue and relief work, the state is using available funds," he said, as he expressed confidence that central funds would also be released at the earliest.
As many as 103 taluks in 22 districts were affected by the recent floods in many parts of Karnataka and the government has sought Rs 38,000 crore as relief from the Centre.
Rejecting the charges of the opposition and a section of the public that union Ministers and MPsfrom Karnataka "lack courage" to question the Prime Ministeron the "delay" in granting central relief,Gowda said "it is far from the truth."
He pointed out that during every cabinet meeting on Wednesdays, Ministerscan raise issues concerning their states with the Prime Minister directly.
"Last week also I had shared with him the information I had gathered from Karnataka On the situation in the affected areas."
BJP governments at both the centre and the state have been facing flak from the opposition Congress and JDS on the "delay" in grant of central funds, despite Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman visiting the affected regions.
The Opposition parties have accused the Modi government of showing its "apathy" towards Karnataka, despite the state sending 25 BJP MPs.
To a question on criticism of the steep fine amounts under the amended MV Act, Gowda said the intention behind the act was to control accidents and protect lives, but states can change it as they are the implementing authority.
He referred to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari's recent statement on the matter that accidents have drastically reduced after implementation of the act and new fines.
Gowda, the Minister for Chemicals and Fertiliserssaid his ministry has no plans to set up any new fertiliser plant.
The government was reviving four fertiliser plants at Ramagundam, Sindri, Barauni and Gorakhpur at a cost of Rs 15,000 crore and once operational, "we will able to fulfill the 22 per cent that we are importing right now," he said.
Noting that many private players have evinced interest in setting up fertilizer plants, he said the Karnataka state Marketing Federation has come forward to invest Rs 6,000 crore for a plant in Davangere and they were also in talks with a private player.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
