DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM `3.6 LAKH CR OUTLAY: FOCUS ON WOMEN, WELFARE SCHEMES DBT,DAhikeinBengalBudget Central funds blocked, state brings job scheme, hints at PMAY parallel ATRI MITRA & RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 8 Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya with CM Mamata Banerjee before presenting the Budget on Thursday. Express RAINING SOPS, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government of West Bengal on Thursday hiked the Dearness Allowance (DA) by another4percentforthesecond time in two months, increased incentives of Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) schemes such as Lakshmir Bhandar – a financial assistance scheme for women – and launched targeted welfare schemes. After state Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya tabled the Rs 3.6 lakh crore Budget outlay for 2024-25 fiscal year in the Assembly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called it a “wonderful Budget” for every section of the society. “I was telling everyone that you will be shocked after seeing the Budget. So, it happened. If you want to do something, you have to have the thinking power,” Banerjee said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE PAGES 4, 5 FM TABLES WHITE PAPER ON ECONOMY IN PARLIAMENT Polls ahead, Govt says economy turned stagnant in 10 yrs of UPA AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 THE UNION Ministry of Finance said Thursday that the decadelong UPA rule under the Congress-led government — 2004-05 to 2013-14 — turned India “from a healthy economy in 2004 to a stagnant economy in 2014”. It was marked by strainedpublicfinances,corruption scams, double-digit inflation, ailing banking sector following excessive lending during the boom phase, and policy uncertainty that marred India's business climate and dented its image. The 59-page ‘White Paper on the Indian Economy’ tabled in Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said when the Narendra Modi government assumed office in 2014,theeconomywasina“fragilestate”;publicfinanceswerein “badshape”;therewaseconomic mismanagement and financial indiscipline,andwidespreadcorruption. “It was a crisis situation. The responsibilitytomendtheeconomy step by step and to put the governancesystemsinorderwas enormous,” the White Paper said.The document prepared by the Ministry of Finance said the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 White Paper red-flags NPAs, scams and policy freeze, skips growth years credit UDIT MISRA & AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 THEFRAMINGoftheWhitePaper on the Indian Economy couldn’t have been more overtly political: the paper, authored by the ● Union Finance E EXPLAINED Sitharaman:Itwas acrisis,mending economystepby stepwashugetask Ministry,startsoff saying“whenweformedthegovernment.” This is an unusual departure from tradition, said at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. PTI least two former Finance Secretaries, adding that, institutionally,theMinistryisn’tsynony- HITESH VYAS MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 8 THE SIX-MEMBER Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Union of States becoming Union over States: Kerala CM as Opp joins protest AISWARYA RAJ NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 8 THE PROTEST at Jantar Mantar ThursdaybytheLeft-ruledKerala government against what it called the Centre’s “discrimination” in allocation of funds, and for “safeguarding the constitutionalrightsofstates”,turnedinto a unity show of INDIA bloc parties minus the Congress which is the Opposition party in the state. At the protest, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, were State ministers and Left MPs and MLAs, as well as Delhi Chief ArvindKejriwal,SitaramYechury,PinarayiVijayan,Bhagwant Mann,DRajaandFarooqAbdullahwithotherleadersatJantar Mantar. Abhinav Saha THEPINARAYIVIJAYANINTERVIEW PAGE7 Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who lashed out at the BJP government. Also present was RBI leaves repo rate unchanged, food inflation uncertainty persists GDP growth for FY25 projected at 7%: Governor Das mous with the Government. This sets the tone for the paper which then goes on to flag the worst of the economy during UPA’s decade-long tenure. From bad loans to high inflation, a slew of corruption cases to policy paralysis, the paper’s political imperative is clear: to draw the battle-lines in the runup to the campaign for 2024. Its tone echoes Prime Minister NarendraModi’ssharpattackon the Congress in his Parliament speeches earlier this week. Shaktikanta Das in Mumbai, Thursday. PTI Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Thursday left the repo rate — the rate at which the RBI lends to banks—unchangedat6.5percent Kejriwal’s party colleague and Punjab counterpart Bhagwant CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY for the sixth time in a row as uncertainty over food inflation continuestoposeathreattoinflation. The RBI projected real GDP growth at 7 per cent and consumer-pricebasedinflation(CPI) at 4.5 per cent for FY2025. Its growth estimate for FY2025 is lower than the 7.3 per cent projected by the National Statistical Office (NSO) for the ongoing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Two killed in Srinagar were neighbours in Amritsar, moved out to earn a little extra PAGE 1 ANCHOR KAMALDEEP SINGH BRAR AMRITSAR, FEBRUARY 8 AMRITPAL SINGH and Rohit Masih, who were killed in a militant attack in Srinagar on Wednesdayevening,hadarrived in the Valley earlier that day — the former after spending the winterathomeandthelatterfor the first time. Both men came from poor families in an The body of Amritpal Singh, who was killed in Srinagar, arrives at his home near Amritsar on Thursday. PTI Amritsar village and had taken up work in Jammu and Kashmir to support those at home. Singh, 31, died on the spot while Masih, 27, succumbed to hisinjuriesonThursdaymorning inaSrinagarhospital.Sourcessaid the suspected militants fired at themjustoutsidetheirrentedaccommodation at Shaheed Gunj. Both hailed from Punjab’s Chamyari village and were neighbours. LateonWednesday,Harjinder Singh Khaira, Station House Officer,Ajnalapolicestation,went CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata