News Analysis India

Tag: Tamil Nadu

  • Ensure quality power supply at reasonable rates to industries: FM tells state governments

    By PTI

    CHENNAI: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday appealed to states to build infrastructure and do “energy planning” thereby ensuring uninterrupted, quality supply of power is made available to industries at reasonable rates, enabling them to grow their businesses.

    At an event here, she said the Centre would extend all its support to help states build the necessary infrastructure and this does not pertain to Tamil Nadu but to the others also.

    Referring to her budget announcement of allotting Rs 7.50 lakh crore to the infrastructure sector in the country, she said it was comparatively higher to the Rs 5.50 lakh crore that was allotted last year.

    “My appeal to states is that they should ensure electricity and it should be made available 24 hours, all 365 days at reasonable rates.Industries should get quality power,” she said.

    Sitharaman said every stakeholder should work towards ensuring uninterrupted power supply so that ‘power shortage’ does not occur since it poses as a major hurdle for the industry’s growth.

    The Finance Minister was speaking at the Stakeholder’s Outreach Programme organised by Directorate General of Foreign Trade on the occasion of India signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates and the Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) with Australia.

    Sitharaman stressed on ‘ease of doing business’ following the signing of two agreements with Australia and UAE, respectively, so that adequate infrastructure and energy was readily available to respective states.

    “To states we have released Rs 50 lakh as interest-free loans to build infrastructure,” she said. “States should build infrastructure and tap various forms of energy, including solar energy, so that there is no power shortage,” she added.

    “Though I am standing in Tamil Nadu and making this comment, I am making this request to all the other states as well,” she said.

    To the industrialists present at the venue, she said at the time of making investments, the companies should give a thought about tapping various forms of renewable energy in their respective unit. “The government is also ready to extend its support if you need,” she said.

    Sitharaman said that businesses should come forward and make use of the benefits CEPA and ECTA so as to further boost trade between the countries.

    According to Director General of Foreign Trade Santosh Kumar Sarangi, India was the second largest trading partner for UAE while UAE was the third largest trading partner for India.

    CEPA would propel the two nations (India and the UAE) going forward and this agreement will lead to seamless flow of goods, development between the two countries, he said.

    On account of the India-UAE CEPA agreement immediate market access at zero duty accounting for 90 per cent of India’s exports in value terms was available to UAE and immediate duty free in labour incentive sectors such as gems and jewellery, textiles and apparels, leather and footwear. “Bilateral trade was at USD 59 billion in FY2019-20 in goods”, he said.

    On the ECTA agreement with Australia, the bilateral ties was expected to reach USD 45 billion from USD 27.5 billion in next five years which would lead to generation of one million new jobs.

    “The UAE acts as a gateway to other markets like Middle East, Africa, CIS countries”, he said, adding India was importing large amount of cooking coal from Australia.

    From India, he said agriculture products were shipped to Australia while a majority of Indian students take up studying in that country contributing USD 4 billion every year.

    On the ties between Tamil Nadu and UAE, he said the state government shipped goods worth USD 1.4 billion in 2021-22 while Tamil Nadu export value to Australia stood at USD 349.7 million.

  • SC strikes down 10.5 per cent reservation for Vanniyars in Tamil Nadu 

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the 10.5 per cent reservation provided to Vanniyars, a Most Backward Community (MBC) in Tamil Nadu, in government jobs and admission to educational institutions.

    A bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai upheld the Madras High Court order which had quashed the reservation.

    “We are of the opinion that there is no substantial basis for classifying Vanniakula Kshatriyas into one group to be treated differently from the remaining 115 communities within the MBC groups and, therefore, the 2021 Act is in violation of Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution. Therefore, we uphold the decision of the high court,” the bench said.

    The Tamil Nadu Assembly had in February last year passed the then ruling AIADMK-piloted bill providing internal reservation of 10.5 per cent for Vanniyars, with the incumbent DMK government issuing an order in July 2021 for its implementation.

    It had split the aggregate 20 per cent reservation for MBCs and denotified communities into three separate categories by regrouping castes and provided a 10 per cent plus sub-quota for Vanniyars, formerly known as Vanniakula Kshatriyas.

  • Which provision enables HC to grant bail to a convict, HC asks and directs Nalini to approach SC for relief

    By PTI

    CHENNAI: Wondering which legal provision will empower a High Court to grant bail to a convict, the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed Nalini Sriharan, one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to approach the Supreme Court to seek the relief.

    The first bench of Chief Justice M N Bhandari and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy raised the question when a writ petition from Nalini came for further hearing, today.

    Originally, Nalini (now on parole granted by the Tamil Nadu government) had filed a petition praying the court to order her release even without the consent of the state Governor.

    Now that the Supreme Court had granted bail to A G Perarivalan, another convict in the same case, her counsel pleaded the bench to apply the same yardstick and grant bail to Nalini.

    Observing that the apex court is the supreme judicial body in the country and that the High Court cannot follow the same yardstick adopted by the former, the bench asked the counsel under what legal provision a High Court can grant bail to a convict.

    The bench advised the counsel to approach the Supreme Court with the bail plea. As regards the main plea of release from the case, the bench posted the matter for March 24.

    The Supreme Court had on March 9 granted bail to Perarivalan, serving life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, taking note of the submission that he has been in jail for over 30 years and his conduct inside the prison and during the period of parole has been satisfactory.

    Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a woman suicide bomber, identified as Dhanu, at a poll rally.

  • Russia-Ukraine war: Reaching Slovakia half battle for stranded Indian students

    Express News Service

    CHENNAI: The death of an Indian student in Ukraine has left parents here frantic with worry as many students from Tamil Nadu are still stranded in Ukraine. The Russian forces have intensified the attack to lay siege on Kyiv and Kharkiv. According to officials, more than 80 per cent of the students from the State who went to study in Ukraine are in the two cities.

    Official sources said nearly 200 students from these cities have left to reach Slovakia, from where they will board flights to India. “We are hoping the rest of the students stuck in places where the attack has been intensified can also find their way to Slovakia,” said an official. 

    One of the students, Shanmugam Balamurugan from Sivagangai, a second-year medical student at Kharkiv National Medical University, said that he was standing in line to cross the border to Slovakia. A total of 20 students (16 boys and 8 girls) started their journey towards Slovakia on February 26. 

    “We stayed in a metro station in Kharkiv for two days. After eight hours of waiting, we boarded a train at 5 pm on February 26. From there, we reached Lviv in the western part of Ukraine. There was no food for several hours as we were supposed to board a train to Uzhhorod from there. Since there was no train on that day, we connected with friends of our seniors in the city and stayed with them for a night,” he said.

    The group of 20 students then arranged a bus from Lviv to Uzhhorod, which cost them around Rs 60,000, on Monday and then stayed in a sports hall. “From there, we arranged another bus to the Slovakia border and are currently standing in line,” Shanmugam told TNIE.

    The family of a 22-year-old medical student from Thiruvallur sought the help of State and central governments as their daughter Aswini Priya (22), student of VN Karazin Kharkiv National University, was allegedly stuck in the bunkers with other students. The students had been allegedly asked to vacate the campus by the college administration, said sources.

    According to B Amul Mary, mother of Aswini, “My daughter called me at 4.30 pm on Tuesday saying all the students in the bunkers were asked to vacate by the college administration.” When contacted Aswini told TNIE, “The network is poor here. There is a commotion among the students who are here at the bunker. However, a few officials contacted me from TN and had arranged for rescue operations.”

    GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors’ Association for Social Equality, said the situation has now worsened. Steps should be taken to bring the students back as soon as possible, he added.

  • India seeks clearance for State team to visit SL, again

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The Indian High Commission in Colombo has once again sought clearance from the Sri Lankan government for a team from Tamil Nadu to visit the island nation. According to a statement from the Commission, at the outlet, it is stressed there is an existing bilateral understanding between the Government of India and Government of Sri Lanka on this.

    In accordance with this understanding, a team from Tamil Nadu was to visit Sri Lanka regarding modalities to finalise disposal of unsalvageable Indian fishing boats in Sri Lanka. The High Commission has recently again sought necessary clearance from the Government of Sri Lanka for the visit.  

    The statement added, “Till the team from Tamil Nadu gets clearance and reaches Colombo, it is pertinent for the Sri Lankan authorities to exercise a freeze on the auction as the fisherman back in Tamil Nadu would lose their livelihoods if their trawlers are sold.”

    Fishing boats that were impounded by court order in Colombo were auctioned on February 7. The boats belonged to Tamil Nadu fishermen and are reportedly to be auctioned across five ports in Sri Lanka. The auctions are likely to continue till February 11.  According to reports, there are around 135 Indian boats that were detained.

  • TN opposes CWC’s suggestion to review Mullaperiyar dam safety

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the State of Kerala has been repeatedly thwarting the efforts by them to carry out the strengthening work of the Mullaperiyar dam.The Tamil Nadu government told the court that the dam is safe and there is no pressing need to have a fresh review of the dam’s safety as was suggested by Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Supervisory Committee of the dam through an affidavit filed before the Court on January 27.

    “There is neither deformation nor abnormality in the Dam. Further, silting of the Dam is very minimum. In this water year 2021-22, water was stored in the Dam at a level of +142 ft. from November 30, 2021 for about 18 days, and all the parameters of the Dam were found to be within limits,” the response filed by Tamil Nadu said.

    The Tami Nadu government, therefore, said that that CWC / Supervisory Committee or by its instrumentalities should be directed to carry out review on the safety of the Dam only after completing the balance strengthening works and maintenance works as had been directed by the Supreme Court in 2006 and later in 2014.

    Tamil Nadu government has, thus, prayed that Kerala be directed to cooperate, and provide all necessary assistance in a time-bound manner so that the remaining strengthening and maintenance works are implemented in letter and spirit during the next four months commencing March 2022 before the monsoon season starts.

    The Mullaperiyar Dam, situated in Kerala’s Periyar River and which supplies water to five districts of Tamil Nadu, has been a contentious issue between the two states. While Kerala has been maintaining for the past few decades that the Dam is unsafe, TN has all along vouched for its safety.

  • NCW asks TN DGP to take action against actor Siddharth for ‘derogatory’ remarks against woman anchor

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The NCW has asked the Tamil Nadu police chief to intervene and take appropriate action against actor Siddharth for using derogatory remarks against a woman anchor on Twitter, a day after it flagged another tweet of the actor against badminton player Saina Nehwal.

    In a statement, the National Commission for Women (NCW) said it has come across the post of the actor-producer-musician which is “offensive, unethical and shows disrespect towards the dignity of women”.

    The commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.

    “Chairperson Rekha Sharma has written to Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu seeking intervention and appropriate action against the offender as per provisions of law to refrain him from making such kind of statements in future. The Commission has to be apprised about action taken in the matter at the earliest,” the NCW said.

    The statement comes a day after the NCW asked Twitter to suspend Siddharth’s account and Maharashtra Police to register to a case against him for using “lewd and inappropriate” words against Nehwal.

    The NCW claimed the comment was misogynist, outrages the modesty of a woman and amounts to disrespect and insults the dignity of women.

  • IAF chopper crash: Probe report likely to be submitted to Air HQ next week

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The report of the tri-services investigation into the chopper crash, that killed CDS Gen Bipin Rawat and 13 others, is set to be submitted to the Air headquarters next week, people familiar with the development said on Saturday.

    They said the investigation into the December 8 accident near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu has nearly been completed and the voluminous report is being finalised for submission in the next few days.

    It is learnt that the probe team led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh examined all likely scenarios for the crash, including a possible human error.

    The experts also investigated if it was a case of disorientation by the crew when the helicopter was preparing for landing.

    The sources said the findings of the Court of Inquiry and the procedure it followed in the probe are being legally vetted.

    “The legal vetting is being done to ensure that the probe team followed all the laid down norms and procedures,” a source privy to the developments said.

    When asked about possible causes of the crash, several aviation experts said there were a significant number of air accidents caused by visual disorientation triggered by the loss of situational awareness by pilots.

    And, bad weather could be a factor contributing to the loss of situational awareness at times, said one of them while refusing to speculate on the Coonoor crash.

    They said the probe team, led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh, investigated all possible angles and is finalising the report, which is expected to be submitted to Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, in a week’s time.

    However, there are no official details available on the matter.

    The black box, comprising the flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), of the ill-fated Mi-17V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) was recovered from the crash site on December 9.

    The Chief of Defence Staff had left the Palam airbase in an IAF Embraer aircraft at 8.47 am and landed at Sulur airbase at 11.34 am. He took off from Sulur in the Mi-17V5 chopper at around 11.48 am for Wellington.

    The chopper crashed at around 12.22 pm.

    Air Marshal Singh, currently heading the Bengaluru-headquartered Training Command of the IAF, is known to be one of the “best available” air crash investigators in the country.

    Before taking the reins of the Training Command, Singh was the Director General (Inspection and Safety) at the Air headquarters. He had developed various protocols for flight safety while serving in the post.

  • Bullock cart race: SC to hear Tamil Nadu & Karnataka on Maharashtra’s application

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday asked the Maharashtra government to serve a copy of its application, which has raised issues about the bullock-cart race, to states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, saying anything said by the court in the matter might ‘affect’ them.

    The application filed by Maharashtra, which has urged the apex court to permit the state to conduct a bullock-cart race, came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar.

    Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who was appearing for Maharashtra along with advocate Sachin Patil, told the top court that the bullock cart race is carrying on in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. “We will have it next week. You give notice to the advocates for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka also” Anything said here may affect there, adversely or in favour, we don’t know,” the bench told Rohatgi.

    The senior counsel told the bench that the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka are before the apex court in the pending matter and there is a reference made to the constitution bench as well.

    “For the nature of the issue involved, it may be appropriate to hear the parties appearing in proceedings pending in this court pertaining to the state of Tamil Nadu and state of Karnataka in particular,” the bench said.

    One of the advocates appearing in the matter said that the bullock cart race was banned in Maharashtra on the ground that it was cruelty to the animal. “What is cruel in other states would be cruel in Maharashtra also,” the bench observed. It asked the parties to file their response or written note in the matter before the next date of hearing.

    The Maharashtra government has said that there is a prohibition on bullock cart race in the state as the Bombay High Court in its interim order had refused to lift the ban in 2017, while there is no stay on the concerned Acts of the other two states.

    In February 2018, the apex court had referred the pleas related to ‘Jallikattu’ to a five-judge constitution bench which would decide if the bull-taming sport fell under cultural rights or perpetuated cruelty to animals.

    Jallikattu, also known ‘eruthazhuvuthal’, is a bull-taming sport played in Tamil Nadu as part of the Pongal harvest festival.

  • Kerala seeks to decommission Mullaperiyar dam, says consequences of dam failure will be catastrophic

    By Express News Service

    KOCHI: The 126-year-old Mullaperiyar dam, which is a composite gravity dam (combination of concrete and embankment), is in a deteriorating condition due to age and it should be decommissioned to enable the construction of a new dam, Kerala submitted before the Supreme Court in a written note on Thursday.

    “The consequences of any failure of the dam could be extremely catastrophic and beyond human imagination. The apprehensions of the Kerala government regarding the life and safety of more than 30 lakh people in 5 districts residing downstream of the dam have to be given due importance and consideration”, Kerala submitted in the note.

    The state has opposed the view of the Supervisory Committee constituted by the Supreme Court that the dam would hold 142 feet of water level. The Supervisory Committee and Tamil Nadu maintain that there is no danger or threat to the dam. The Committee recommended before the Supreme Court on Wednesday that there is no need to change the water level in the dam.

    Kerala meanwhile added that the hearting (material used as fill) of the dam which accounts for more than 60 percent of the volume of the dam was constructed with lime surkhi concrete. Quite understandably, seismic forces were not considered in its design. In spite of the strengthening measures taken twice, the dam is in a deteriorating condition. There would be an exponential increase in water pressure and uplift pressure acting on the dam when the water level is raised from 136 feet to 142 feet.

    ALSO READ: Kerala launches evacuation drive as TN set to release water from Mullaperiyar at 7 am on Friday

    The catchment area of Mullaperiyar reservoir is 624 sq km. The gross storage capacity is only 12.758 TMC ft at 142 feet. Mullaperiyar, therefore, is exceptionally vulnerable because it has a large catchment area and limited storage capacity. Consequently, the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam increases rapidly compared to Idukki which has a catchment area of 650 sq km and a storage capacity of 70.5 TMC ft.

    Kerala sought to keep the water level in Mullaperiyar at 139 feet as Idukki reservoir is nearing full reservoir level and any sudden large release from the upstream dam can worsen the situation, forcing to make large releases from Idukki causing flood in downstream areas.

    Kerala pointed out that Tamil Nadu was not utilizing the full outflow capacity of the Mullaperiyar dam. At 137 feet, the full outflow possible is 2,735 cusecs but Tamil Nadu was drawing only 2,200 cusecs.  Which was increased to 2,300 cusecs as the water level reached 137.8 feet.

    Kerala pointed out that Tamil Nadu can create additional storage facilities at appropriate places in Tamil Nadu and enhance the capacity of the Vaigai dam to store water drawn from Mullaperiyar. The capacity of the existing tunnel can be enhanced or an additional tunnel can be constructed for drawing more water, which will help to keep the reservoir level at a safer level without reducing water viability as suggested by an empowered committee constituted by Supreme Court in February 18, 2010.

    Kerala does not demand a reduction of water used by Tamil Nadu. In fact, Kerala is requesting to use more water by adopting appropriate measures, Kerala’s standing counsel G Prakash said in the note.

    Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu has agreed to open the shutters and release water from the dam from 7 am on Friday.

    Though located in Kerala, the dam is operated and maintained by Tamil Nadu.