Page 54 - Kerala

Internet for everyone has become reality with launch of K-FON: Kerala CM

Internet access to everyone has become a reality in the state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday after launching K-FON -- a government-owned broadband service provider. After launching the service, which in its initial phase would provide internet connections to 14,000 households in the state, Vijayan, in a dig at the Congress-led UDF opposition, said there were those in Kerala who were opposed to any kind of development in the state. The Congress-led UDF opposition boycotted the launch of the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) alleging corruption in the implementation of the project. In a press conference held at Kochi, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan contended that such an "extravagant" event was being conducted in the Legislative Assembly at a cost of over Rs 4 crore when various welfare schemes and pension payments were stalled due to lack of funds. Satheesan also alleged that the optical fibres were not made in India, but were inste

Low-pressure system may influence monsoon advance towards Kerala: IMD

Skymet says it could arrive around June 9

Malayalam actor and mimicry artist Kollam Sudhi passes away at 39

Malayalam actor and mimicry artist Kollam Sudhi died in a car road accident as three other mimicry artists, Binu Adimali, Ullas, and Mahesh had undergone injuries

Formation of low-pressure system may influence advance of monsoon to Kerala

A cyclonic circulation which is set to develop into a low-pressure area over the southeast Arabian Sea and intensify in the next two days is expected to critically influence the advance of the monsoon towards the Kerala coast, the India Meteorological Department said on Monday. The weather department, however, did not give a tentative date for the arrival of the monsoon in Kerala. "Westerly winds over the south Arabian Sea continue to prevail up to 2.1 km above mean sea level. However, because of a cyclonic circulation over the southeast Arabian Sea, the cloud mass is more organized and concentrated over the same area and there has been some reduction of clouds off the Kerala coast in the last 24 hours. "Also, under the influence of this cyclonic circulation, a low-pressure area is very likely to form over the same region during the next 24 hours. It is likely to move nearly northwards and intensify into a depression over the southeast and adjoining east central Arabian Sea during t

Senior leaders get 'factionalism' notice in Alappuzha CPI(M) unit of Kerala

Their explanations will then be scrutinised in the next state committee meeting of the party and sources in the know of things say that it wouldn't be surprising if a few heads roll

Monsoon misses onset date in Kerala; conditions becoming favourable: IMD

The monsoon missed its onset date in Kerala on Sunday with the India Meteorological Department anticipating a further delay of three to four days. The southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about seven days. In mid May, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it might arrive in Kerala by June 4. In a statement on Sunday, the IMD said, "Conditions (are) becoming favourable with the increase in westerly winds over the south Arabian Sea. Also, the depth of westerly winds is gradually increasing and today, June 4, the depth of westerlies has reached up to 2.1 kilometres above the mean sea level. "The cloud mass over the southeast Arabian sea is also increasing. We expect that these favourable conditions for monsoon onset over Kerala will further improve during the next three-four days. It is being monitored continuously and further updates will be provided tomorrow (Monday)." Scientists, however, said the delay is unlikely to impac

Traffic violators detected by AI cameras in Kerala to face heavy fines

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) cameras installed by the Kerala government in association with KELTRON will commence functioning from Monday onwards

UDF asks govt to curb rising airfares to Kerala from Gulf during festivals

The Congress-led UDF opposition in Kerala has appealed to the Civil Aviation Ministry to take steps to curb the "skyrocketing" air fares of flights from the Gulf countries to Kerala during the festive season. The UDF has also sought the Centre's intervention to make provisions for direct flights from the Gulf countries to the four international airports in Kerala. These requests have been made by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan in a letter sent to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia. "I am writing this letter to elicit your urgent action on the legitimate request of expatriates to make provisions for direct flights to Trivandrum, Kochi (Nedumbassery), Kannur, and Kozhikode International Airports from the Middle East and other foreign countries," he said. Satheesan, in his letter, has said that expatriates from Kerala working in Gulf countries have raised concerns about the rising airfares during festive seasons and lack of direct flights to

Sharing dais with Kerala CM Vijayan in US to cost $50,000: Reports

A controversy is brewing over reports claiming that anyone who wishes to share dais with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan in the US next month will have to turn into a sponsor by paying US $ 50,000 and more

Kerala to implement comprehensive geriatric care programme: CM Vijayan

The Kerala government will soon implement a comprehensive geriatric care programme to address the health issues of elderly population in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Wednesday. He directed the officials concerned to compile a draft for the same after consulting with various departments, a CMO statement said here. Vijayan was speaking while chairing a high-level meeting of the Aardram Mission, which envisages to completely transform the public health sector of the southern state. The state's old age policy would be revised in accordance with the time, the Chief Minister said during the meeting, it said. A comprehensive rehabilitation policy would also be formulated to rehabilitate those who are confined to their homes due to physical ailments following accidents or diseases, he said. The Chief Minister further directed the officials to complete the construction of isolation wards in the state at the earliest and set up de-addiction centres in all ...

Kerala govt raises ceiling on purchase of products from startups to Rs 3 cr

The Kerala government has considerably increased the ceiling on purchase of products and services from startups registered with KSUM from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore in its effort to boost the state's startup ecosystem. The raising of the public procurement ceiling on the purchases by government departments, public sector undertakings (PSUs), boards, corporations, and local self-government (LSG) institutions from ventures registered under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), was announced by it in a statement on Wednesday. KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state. The increase in the monetary ceiling in public procurement will enable more government departments to leverage innovative technology solutions from startups, it said. As per the government order (GO) issued in this regard, the benefits enjoyed by IT-related startups have been extended to non-IT ventures as well, thereby enabling PSUs, boards, ...

Record 11,801 Kerala government employees set to retire on Wednesday

A record 11,801 Kerala government officials are set to retire on Wednesday

Kerala CM directs officials to take steps to ensure monsoon preparedness

Ahead of the arrival of the monsoon in the southern state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday issued a slew of directions, like procuring rescue equipment, storing it locally and cleaning out drainage systems in cities prone to waterlogging, to ensure safety of people during the rainy season. The directions for intensifying the preparations for the monsoon were issued by the Chief Minister in a meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The meeting was held after the Central Meteorological Department announced that the monsoon is expected to hit the state by June 4. Vijayan directed the officials that a review of monsoon preparedness should be conducted in each district of the state in the first week of June, July, August and September in view of the unpredictable nature of the rains, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office said. The Chief Minister said that procuring and storing the rescue equipment locally would help civil, defence and oth

Kerala govt launches project to make capital largest solar city in India

A three-day expo was inaugurated by the Kerala government-run ANERT where the public can learn about and buy several solar energy systems

LDF govt seeks details from Centre on amounts it can borrow: Kerala FM

The LDF government has decided to seek details from the Centre regarding amounts that Kerala can borrow in the financial year 2023-24 as the figures have not yet been provided to it, State Finance Minister K N Balagopal said on Tuesday. Balagopal said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired a meeting earlier in the day to discuss the calculations referred to by Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan at a press conference a day ago. At the meeting, officials told the CM that no such calculations or figures were shared by the Centre with the State and therefore those details would be sought from the central government, the minister said. On Monday, Muraleedharan had claimed that Kerala was allowed to borrow Rs 55,182 crore in the financial year 2023-24 and out of that, the state has already taken around Rs 34,661 crore, leaving a balance of Rs 20,521 crore from which Rs 15,390 crore has been sanctioned for the first three quarters of the financial ...

Congress-led UDF to boycott K-FON project inauguration, claims corruption

Alleging corruption behind the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan on Monday said the Congress-led UDF will boycott the inauguration ceremony of the Left government's programme to provide free internet connectivity and all events related to it. The Congress leader said the UDF was not against the project but decided to boycott the inauguration on June 5 because of the "corruption behind it". "The opposition levelled the allegations of corruption with solid proof. However, the Chief Minister is not yet ready to respond," he told reporters here. Satheesan said that when the K-FON project was launched in 2017, it was announced that free internet connections would be provided to 20 lakh people in 18 months. "But even after seven years, only 14,000 people are being given connections. The estimated amount of Rs 1,028 crore (for setting up the project) has been increased by 50 percent to Rs 1,531 crore," he alleged. The ...

Union Minister slams Kerala FM over his claims on financial grants

Muraleedharan pointed out that according to the RBI figures, in the country, Kerala is there in the list of five states which have the highest debts in the country

Cong MLA's plaint against Kerala House marshals: ethics committee refered

Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer has directed the Ethics and Privileges Committee to conduct an inquiry into senior Congress MLA Ramesh Chennithala's complaint that a few House marshals and a police officer made false allegations against Opposition MLAs who participated in a protest in front of the Speaker's office in March. In his breach of privilege notice, Chennithala had alleged that police registered a case against seven MLAs from the Congress-led UDF under non-bailable sections of the IPC on the basis of a false statement given by a female watch and ward officer that she suffered a fracture in her hand due to the violent attack of the opposition legislators. The watch-and-ward staff, also known as house marshals, oversee the security of the State Assembly and work under the control of the Speaker and the Secretary to the Legislature. Chennithala claimed that there were reports that the medical examination had proved the officer's allegation wrong. The senior Congress ...

Manner of inaugurating new Parl building unbecoming of nation: Kerala CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said the inauguration of the new Parliament building was carried out like a religious function which was unbecoming of our nation. Vijayan said a government function of this nature ought not to have been conducted in the manner of a religious event. Furthermore, Indian President Droupadi Murmu should have been made a part of it, the CM said. "What happened today in Parliament, the manner it was conducted in, like a religious function, not making the President a part of it, all of it was unbecoming of our nation," he said, speaking at an event held in memory of former MP and late LJD leader M P Veerendra Kumar. Earlier in the day, both the ruling-CPI(M) in Kerala and the Opposition Congress in the state criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP on the inauguration of the new Parliament building and called it a "black day" for Indian democracy and an attempt at creating a parallel history. The Congress attacked the Centre fo

Cutting Kerala's borrowing capacity a 'sadistic approach' of the Centre: CM

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday lashed out at the BJP-ruled central government over its decision to cut down the borrowing limit of the state by half by terming the move as "sadistic". Vijayan said while the central government jumps at every opportunity to fill its coffers, like implementing GST, it was taking a "negative approach" when it came to helping the state progress. He contended that the Centre demanded payment for the help provided, like foodgrains and aid of armed forces, by it during various calamities face by the state. "This is not just a problem of the LDF government. It is a problem for the whole state. It is a matter of the progress of the people. Should the union government take the position of letting a state perish is an issue to be considered," the CM said. Vijayan said the stand taken by Centre was another crisis being heaped upon a state which has faced and survived several calamities. At the same time he also indirectly criticised the ...