Page 19 - Kerala

Govt rejects allegations of bias in MGNREGA fund release amid Oppn protest

The government on Tuesday said it has never discriminated against any state in the release of MGNREGA funds amid a protest by opposition MPs in the Lok Sabha against the alleged delay in payment to some states for the rural employment scheme. As the issue was raised during the Question Hour, the Lok Sabha witnessed protests with DMK and Trinamool Congress MPs entering the well of the House. Speaker Om Birla urged them to return to their seats, but they did not budge. Following this, the House was adjourned till 12 pm. Birla urged the Opposition not to "politicise" the questions raised during the Question Hour. Congress MP from Kerala Adoor Prakash highlighted a decline in the MGNREGA workforce in his state and attributed it to delayed payments and low wages. "Workers in Kerala have not received their wages for the past three months, and Rs 811 crore is due under the scheme. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development has recommended linking MGNREGA wages to inflation

Kerala govt to urge Centre to regulate airfares for Haj pilgrims, expats

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday that the state government would continue to pressurise the union government to regulate the exorbitant ticket charges imposed by airline companies on Haj pilgrims and expatriates. Airline companies are charging huge amounts as ticket fare from Haj pilgrims and expatriate Keralites who come to the home state during festival seasons and on vacation, the CM said while replying to a submission in the state Assembly. A letter has already been sent to the Union Minister of Civil Aviation seeking the intervention of the Centre in this regard, he said. The issue was also discussed during the recent meeting of Members of Parliament ahead of the monsoon session of the Parliament, he said. The Centre, however, adopted a stand that airlines are responsible for setting and revising airfares and, that the government does not interfere in their commercial and marketing activities, Vijayan further said. By removing the restrictions on fixing

Emerging technology hub will be set up at Rs 350 crore, says Kerala CM

Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday announced the launch of an Emerging Technology Hub in the state capital by the Kerala Startup Mission. The hub, being developed at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore will focus on leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) across key sectors including agriculture, healthcare, defence, and renewable energy. Responding to a calling attention motion by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) legislator Manjalamkuzhi Ali in the Assembly, he added that this hub, being set up on a three-acre site in Technocity, Thiruvananthapuram. Vijayan added that the state government is formulating a draft Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy to include AI-driven software development, database creation, innovation centres, skill development initiatives, and support for AI startups. "In the recent state budget, the government announced key initiatives to support startups in the AI sector," he said. As part of this effort, a deep-tech ecosystem will be developed, including the

Ex-Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar is new president of Kerala BJP

Former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar was elected as the new president of Kerala state unit of the BJP on Monday. The party's central observer Prahlad Joshi made the announcement during the BJP's state council meeting held here. Chandrasekhar was the sole nominee for the top post and the leader filed two sets of nomination papers for the position at the BJP headquarters here on Sunday. During the time of the announcement, all prominent state leaders of the BJP including outgoing president K Surendran and state in charge Prakash Javadekar, were present. Surendran handed over the party flag to Chandrasekhar on the stage. During his address, Surendran said the BJP has witnessed unprecedented growth in Kerala in the past 10 years. Stating that Chandrasekhar was elected to the top post by all party leaders unanimously, he said the leader's experience and expertise in various sectors would accelerate the growth of the BJP in the state. The former president also rejected criticism

Rajeev Chandrasekhar likely to become Kerala BJP president unopposed

BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar is likely to become the state president of the saffron party, as he is the sole nominee for the post, party sources said. A formal announcement will be made following the party's state council meeting on Monday. BJP's central observer Prahlad Joshi is expected to officially declare his appointment on Monday, sources added. On Sunday, Chandrasekhar filed two sets of nomination papers for the position at the BJP headquarters in the state capital. Present on the occasion were state president K Surendran and senior BJP leaders Kummanam Rajasekharan, V Muraleedharan, PK Krishnadas, MT Ramesh, along with Union Ministers Suresh Gopi and George Kurian. At 60, Chandrasekhar brings two decades of political experience to the role. He has served as a Union Minister of State for the departments of Electronics and IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Jal Shakti. He served as Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka for three terms and a

Kerala Governor warns against politicisation of educational institutions

Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar on Saturday got irked by a banner against Savarkar at Calicut university here and said that such "politicisation of educational institutions" should not be tolerated. Arlekar, who arrived at the university for a Senate meeting, also told the Vice Chancellor that he should take care of "all such things". "This politicisation of the educational system, educational institution, should not be tolerated," the Governor, who is also the Chancellor of universities in the state, said. Arlekar said that he saw a banner which said 'We need a Chancellor and not a Savarkar' and asked, "I don't know what thinking is this? What sort of thinking is this? Was Savarkar an enemy of this country?" "What we need, we do not understand. The Chancellor is here with you, you do now whatever you want to do with the Chancellor. But, what bad thing Savarkar has done? "If you go through his educational thinking, you will understand what he has given to this society.

Kerala fishermen express concerns over Centre's deep-sea mining proposal

"They can bring in the navy or even the army, but we will not allow sea mining off our shore. This is a matter of life and death for us, and we will not let anyone take away our livelihood," Robin said passionately about their stance on the Union government's proposed deep-sea sand mining. The fishermen in Kerala have already launched several protests against the proposed plan to open up the sea to private mining companies as part of the Union Government's 'Blue Economy' initiative. All the fishermen's associations stand united in their protests against this proposal, alleging that it would bring an end to the fisheries sector in the country, not only in the Arabian Sea but also in the Bay of Bengal. "The mining, according to the scientific report we have, can disturb the seabed and completely destroy fish spawning habitats. It can also release poisonous gases trapped on the deep-sea floor, causing severe environmental issues," Kerala Minister for Fisheries, Saji Cherian, told PTI.

Mohanlal's Empuraan makes history in pre-sales, gears up for grand opening

Mohanlal's 'L2: Empuraan' trailer has already been released, and advance bookings are set to open from today, March 21, 2025, at 9:00 am. The official release date of Mohanlal's film is March 27

Kerala becomes first Indian state to establish senior citizens commission

Kerala has become the first state in India to pass a law creating a commission for senior citizens, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday. Hailing the law enacted on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said this new commission would focus on protecting the rights, welfare, and rehabilitation of the elderly. "The LDF government is implementing policies that wholeheartedly embrace senior citizens. Kerala, which ranks first in the country in elderly welfare, is setting another example in this field. "To strengthen the initiatives launched for senior citizens since the previous government's tenure, the state is now establishing the country's first-ever Senior Citizens Commission. As a step towards this, the Kerala Legislative Assembly passed the Kerala State Senior Citizens Commission Bill yesterday (Wednesday)," Vijayan said in a Facebook post. He said that with the establishment of this commission, "we will be able to ensure the rehabilitation, security, and welfare" of senior .

ASHA workers begin indefinite hunger strike outside Kerala Secretariat

A section of ASHA workers, protesting outside the Secretariat here for 39 days, on Thursday intensified their agitation with three of their members starting an indefinite hunger strike as part of their demands for post retirement benefits and increased honorarium. The indefinite hunger strike was kicked off amidst slogans against the ruling Left government with the protesting Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers accusing it of "corruption" and being "cruel" towards them. Prior to the start of the hunger strike, Congress leader and former state Health Minister V M Sudheeran met the protesting ASHA workers and extended his support to them. Thereafter, speaking to reporters here, he accused the ruling CPI(M) of adopting a "neo-fascist" stand against the protestors. "They appear to be attracted by neo-fascism," he said. When reporters told him that state Health Minister Veena George went to Delhi earlier in the day to raise the issue of the ASHA workers, he termed it as ...

ASHA workers intensify agitation in Kerala laying siege to Secretariat

Hundreds of ASHA workers, who have been staging a protest for over a month pressing various demands, on Monday intensified their agitation by laying a siege to the state's Secretariat here. A section of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers has been protesting here for the last 36 days seeking post-retirement benefits and a hike in their honorarium. As they are yet to get any assurance from the authorities on their demands, the agitators today laid a siege to the Secretariat by blocking its various gates, in the heart of the city. After gathering at the protest venue, they moved towards the state's administrative hub, squatted on the road and raised slogans. Police placed barricades on the premises to block the protesters. Security was intensified in and around the Secretariat and over 800 police personnel were deployed to prevent the protesters from entering Secretariat. Police said the agitation didn't create any hurdle to the normal functioning of the Secretariat.

Kerala CSR scam: 1,343 cases registered, 6 persons nabbed, says CM Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that scamsters collected Rs 281.43 crore from 48,386 people by promising scooters at half the price using CSR funds, but gave vehicles only to 16,348 people as per 386 cases registered into the CSR fund scam in which investigation began. Responding to a query raised by CPI(M) MLA Murali Perunelly on the status of probe into the CSR scam, Vijayan told Assembly that the police have registered 1,343 cases related to the scam till March 12. Of these, 665 cases have been handed over to the Superintendent of Crime Branch, Ernakulam, leading the special investigation team under the supervision of ADGP (Crimes), CM said. The CM was referring to the case where thousands of people were allegedly cheated by falsely promising two-wheelers and laptops at half price using CSR funds. The Chief Minister added that several crucial documents were seized from the prime accused, whose bank accounts have been frozen. The police have arrested six ..

Kerala's central tax share has halved from 10th to 15th FC: Vijayan

He tells that the Centre has double standards in dealing with borrowings of certain agencies in the state and those at the Centre as sovereign debt

Drug menace: Congress demands disbanding of SFI, targets Pinarayi Vijayan

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday alleged that SFI is mainly responsible for the widespread drug distribution and consumption in colleges and hostels in Kerala and CM Vijayan is "encouraging" them. He also demanded the disbanding of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student organisation of ruling CPI(M). The Congress's sharp reaction came in the wake of police seizing two kilograms of ganja from the men's hostel of a Government Polytechnic College in Kalamassery in Kochi on Thursday night and arresting two students. CPI(M) strongly rejected the charges saying that there is an agenda to eliminate SFI. The incident triggered a blame game among student outfit leaders, including those from the Kerala Students Union (KSU) and the SFI, over the alleged involvement of their activists in the crime. The Congress leadership has been alleging that SFI leaders were involved in the ganja seizure case and the left outfit is playing a key role in the spread of drug

Who is Alexsej Besciokov, Lithuanian crypto kingpin arrested in Kerala?

Alexsej Besciokov faces multiple charges, including money laundering, conspiracy to violate sanctions, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business

Meningitis sparks alarm: 5 cases reported in Kerala, 26 dead in Nigeria

Over the course of several weeks, Nigerians confirmed the deaths of at least 26 due to outbreak of meningitis. In Kerala, India, around 5 people have shown signs of the illness

Preserving paddy fields needed for food security, groundwater: Kerala govt

The Kerala government on Wednesday said it intends to protect and preserve the existing paddy lands in the state at any cost and will not allow them to be converted for other purposes. The announcement was made in the state assembly by Kerala Agriculture Minister P Prasad in response to a query during question hour on whether the government intends to preserve existing paddy fields. The minister stressed the need to preserve the existing paddy fields from the perspective of ensuring food security and recharge the groundwater table. According to Prasad, one acre of paddy land collects around five crore litres of water underground in a year and therefore, it was important to preserve them from the angle of water resources. The minister opined that just like forest reserves, "there should be paddy reserves". However, we cannot tell a farmer that his agricultural land is being declared a reserve paddy field, he added. "That is why we enacted the Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and

Kerala Governor backs CM Vijayan in presenting state's demands to Centre

The Governor further emphasised that everyone should work together to achieve their goals 'without politicising' the issues

Kerala has emerged as most investment-friendly state in country: CM Vijayan

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has highlighted the ruling CPI(M)'s policies on attracting investments, saying the party's vision has made Kerala the most investment-friendly state in the country. Speaking at a public meeting as part of the four-day CPI(M) state conference on Sunday, Vijayan emphasised the need for resource mobilisation to drive Kerala's progress. "Some are spreading propaganda that the CPI(M) is planning something detrimental to the state," he said. Clarifying the party's stance, he said, "We welcome any capital that does not harm the interests of the country. However, we will not accept investments with conditions that are harmful to our interests. Kerala should attract such investments." He claimed that Kerala has emerged as the number one state in investment-friendliness, a fact acknowledged across the country. "As part of this, various companies are bringing investments to our state, as witnessed at the recently held Invest Kerala Global Summit. In the first

Kerala ASHA workers live on hope as promised wage hike remains elusive

As women health care workers' protest enters 30th day amid political blame game, ADITI PHADNIS explores the Centre-state funding ratio debate