BBMP wards delimitation: Karnataka HC lists orders for Sept 21
Bengaluru, Sep 13: The Karnataka High Court has listed a batch of petitions challenging the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) ward delimitation for orders on September 21.
The State Election Commission (SEC) had submitted to the court that it would be releasing the revised electoral list on September 22.
Justice Hemanth Chandanagoudar is hearing a batch of petitions that were against the manner in which delimitation has been carried out. The number of wards was increased to 243 from 198.
The government had defended the delimitation and said the average population in each ward was maintained at 34,750 with a deviation of 10 per cent.
The Supreme Court had said that the High Court could decide on the issue. The High Court also held as maintainable the challenge to the delimitation exercise.
The court was once again informed today that the final list of voters would be ready on September 22 after considering the objections.
When the advocates of one of the petitioners said the delimitation exercise had malice, the High Court said it was not proved. "Where is the malice? I asked the learned advocates to establish mala fide. That they are unable to do (so)," the court said.
The court said uniformity across all the wards was not an absolute necessity.
"Article 82 has been interpreted by the Supreme Court and held that there not be uniformity in the constituencies," the court said.
The court further said renaming of the wards could wait till the next election.
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Indian economy likely to be 'a little weaker' in 2025: IMF MD
Washington, Jan 11: The Indian economy is expected to be "a little weaker" in 2025 despite steady global growth, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said.
Georgieva also said she expects quite a lot of uncertainty in the world this year mainly around the trade policy of the US.
In her annual media roundtable with a group of reporters on Friday, she said global growth is expected to be steady in 2025, but with regional divergence.
Georgieva said she expects the Indian economy to be a little weaker in 2025. However, she did not explain it any further. The World Economy Outlook update week will have more details about it.
“The US is doing quite a bit better than we expected before, the EU is somewhat stalling, (and) India a little weaker," she said.
Brazil was facing somewhat higher inflation, she said.
In China, the world’s second-largest economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was seeing deflationary pressure and ongoing challenges with domestic demand, she said.
"Low-income countries, despite all the efforts they are making, are in a position when any new shock can affect them quite negatively,” Georgieva said.
“What we expect in 2025 is to have quite a lot of uncertainty, especially in terms of economic policies. Not surprisingly, given the size and role of the US economy, there is keen interest globally in the policy directions of the incoming administration, in particular on tariffs, taxes, deregulation and government efficiency,” Georgieva said.
“This uncertainty is particularly high around the path for trade policy going forward, adding to the headwinds facing the global economy, especially for countries and regions that are more integrated in global supply chains, medium-sized economies, (and) Asia as a region," she said.
That uncertainty is actually expressed globally through higher long-term interest rates, even though short-term interest rates have gone down, the IMF Managing Director said.
Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, replacing Joe Biden at the White House.
Trump, 78, has announced plans to impose additional tariffs on countries like China, Canada and Mexico. He has publicly announced the use of tariffs as a key policy tool.
On inflation, the IMF expects global disinflation to continue, Georgieva said.
"As we all recognise, the higher interest rates that were necessary to fight inflation did not push the world economy into recession. They have delivered the desired results. Headline inflation is converging back to target sooner in advanced economies than in emerging markets,” she said.
