"We will consider," says Karnataka CM Bommai on further cut in fuel tax
Bengaluru(PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said his government will consider further cut in fuel tax, following the Centre's decision to reduce excise duty on petrol and diesel.
Speaking ahead of his visit to the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, to take part in the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting, he expressed confidence about attracting more investments into the state.
"The decision (Centre's) has come on Saturday night, let's see, we will consider it," Bommai told reporters here in response to a query on any decision from the state government to further reduce petrol and diesel rates, following the Centre's decision.
Bowing to public pressure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced a Rs 8 per litre cut in excise duty on petrol and Rs 6 a litre on diesel to avoid increase in fuel prices that were necessitated due to surge in international oil prices.
Also, the government will give Rs 200 per cylinder subsidy to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries for 12 cylinders in a year to help ease some of the burden arising from cooking gas rates rising to record levels.
Thanking PM Modi and Sitharaman, the CM in a tweet late Saturday night said, "Price of petrol to reduce by Rs 9.5/litre & diesel by Rs 7/litre.....This measure will be a huge boon to our women folk. Our government is of the people' & for the people'. This is a pro people decision."
Bommai, last month was non-committal on any further cut in fuel tax by the state government, and had maintained that any decision in this regard will be taken after looking at the economy of the state.
In November 2021, the state government had cut sales tax on petrol from 35 per cent to 25.9 per cent and on diesel from 24 per cent to 14.34 per cent, which resulted in petrol price reducing by Rs 13.30 per litre and diesel by Rs 19.47 per litre.
The Chief Minister is leading a delegation from the state to Davos, comprising Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, Information Technology and Biotechnology (IT/BT) Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and top officials.
"We will be leaving today and from tomorrow sessions will start there (WEF). Tomorrow there is one session and another one on May 24, we will be attending that. We will be meeting several world leaders and industrialists there," he said.
Noting that in the quarter ended recently, highest Foreign Direct Investment has flown into India, which is good news, he said, "Karnataka stands number one in that, like the last four quarters during this quarter too Karnataka has received highest FDI, so we are encouraged, several foreign and Indian industries are keen on investing in Karnataka. We are confident of getting a good response during the Global Investors Meet scheduled for November."
The government will be taking all the measures to see to it that it not only signs MoUs but Industries actually get established in the state.
"All set to participate in World Economic Forum Summit at Davos. Will be interacting with business heads of 18 countries about important economic & environmental issues. Davos will give great impetus to upcoming #InvestKarnataka2022 Global Investors' Meet," he later said in a tweet.
This will be Bommai's first overseas trip as the Chief Minister. There was earlier speculation on whether or not he will go.
Bommai's predecessor B S Yediyurappa had attended the Davos summit in January 2020, following which the BJP government in the state had introduced major reforms, including a policy change, by making it easier for investors to purchase land from farmers.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
