kochi l tuesday l july 05, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION ‘Gujarat, karnataka are best states for startups in India’ The two states provide the best system for new entrepreneurs, according to States’ Startup Ranking 2021 released on Monday Meghalaya best performing small state Four states, 1 ut skip ranking exercise Meghalaya has been adjudged the best performer among smaller states, according to the ranking by the Dept for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade. The rankings are based on the initiatives taken to develop the startup ecosystem. Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir have been included in the top performers category ■ Andhra, Bihar, Mizoram and Ladakh are ‘emerging startup ecosystems’. Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa are in the ‘Leaders’ category. West Bengal, Sikkim, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Lakshadweep did not participate in the exercise 26 action points Across 7 broad reform areas were evaluated for the ranking of states CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Strong startup ecosystem helps Kerala keep ‘top performer’ spot Shares place with Maha, J&K and 2 others in Startup Rankings released by Centre E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram 13 killed, 2 hurt after Himachal bus falls into 200-ft gorge Chandigarh: Thirteen people were killed and two others injured after a bus fell into a 200-ft gorge in Sainj valley of Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh on Monday. The bus was on its way to Kullu from Shainsher when the driver lost control at a hairpin bend near Jangla village. Rescue work started late because of the remote terrain. Deputy Commissioner of Kullu Ashutosh Garg said the accident happened around 8.30 am. Athawale push for census of all castes, not just the OBCs PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale backs the idea of a nation-wide census of all castes and not just of Other Backward Classes. In an exclusive interview to this newspaper, Athawale said: “I have always supported caste census. My party’s position is that not only OBCs, all castes should be counted. This will provide clear data of the caste-based marginalisation and deprivation.” He is the president of the Republican Party of India, a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. The assertion comes at a time when the BJP’s ally in Ramdas Athawale Bihar, the JD(U), is ready to conduct a caste-based census in the state. “Now that many parties are demanding it, the Central government should consider it,” he said. It also comes in the face of the Union government maintaining in an affidavit to the Supreme Court that a castebased survey is not feasible. Athawale also allayed fears of a repeat of Mandal politics if a caste-based census is carried out. “Now that the NDA government provided 10% reservation for EWS category we , won’t see any more protests,” he said. Meanwhile, Athawale also said the Centre will look into the demands of various tribal communities to recognise Sarna as a separate religion. Guv Khan Governor wrote to Union Ministers seeking to expedite SilverLine nod He wrote two letters, one to then Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on December 24, 2020 and later to his successor Ashwini Vaishnaw on August 16, 2021 | P4 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Kerala’s sustained efforts towards developing a strong startup ecosystem were rewarded on Monday as it retained its spot in the ‘Top Performers’ list in the States’ Startup Ranking 2021 of the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union ministry of commerce and industry . Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal released the rankings in New Delhi on Monday. Kerala had figured in the Know more The latest ranking recognises the efforts of the states and union territories from October 1, 2019 to July 31, 2021. The framework was launched in 2018 ■ The timelines have been created keeping in mind the impact of Covid. Thus it provides a longer span of time to evaluate the efforts of states ■ Kerala 15th in ease of doing business index | P4 ‘Top Performers’ category in the 2019 rankings too alongside Karnataka. In the latest report, four more states — Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha and Jammu & Kashmir — figure in the category with Kerala, while Karnataka is placed in the ‘Best Performer’ category . The DPIIT said Kerala had taken some praiseworthy initiatives in the startup sector such as providing institutional support to startups through knowledge dissemination in regional languages, developing Kerala Startup Mission Digital Hub as a one-stop facility for all product design and development activities and also supporting gover nment departments in the form of capac- Chemotherapy facility in 25 more govt hosps E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram In a move that will immensely benefit cancer patients, the health department has launched chemotherapy facilities in 25 more government hospitals in the state. Government hospitals in Nedumangad, Kollam, Kozhenchery, Mavelikkara, Kottayam, Thodupuzha, Muvattupuzha, Pala k k a d , T i r u r, Perinthalmanna, Nilambur, Kannur and Thalassery; General Hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Pala, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Thalassery and Kanhanhad; taluk hospitals in Punalur, Vadakkancherry and Ottapalam; Beach hospital in Kozhikode and Nalloornadu tribal hospital in Wayanad will offer the facil- Mahatma’s photo intact when SFI left Rahul’s office: CM by the police photographer at 4.04pm, he said. At 4.29pm, when another round of pictures In a major embarrassment to were taken, the photo was found the Congress, the Wayanad po- lying on the floor with its frame lice have given a clean chit to shattered. The CM said as per the SFI in connection with the the witness’ statement, only damaging of Mahatma Gan- Congress workers were present dhi’s picture kept in Rahul Gan- at the time when the photo was dhi’s MP of fice in found damaged. TV Kalpetta. channels too had The police said the shown the visuals bephotograph that was According to the fore and after the photo hanging on the office was damaged. witness’ wall was intact when Pinarayi said two statement, only S F I wo rke r s we re Congress workers cases have been regiswere present at evicted following their tered in connection violent demonstration the time when the with the attack on the on June 24. This was photo was found office and the probe is damaged pointed out by Chief under way . Minister Pinarayi ViCPM leaders had Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister jayan in the assembly earlier claimed that on Monday while reCongress workers had sponding to a submission by destroyed the photo themselves CPM’s V Joy . and then put the blame on SFI The CM quoted statements of activists. SFI workers had vanthe police photographer and re- dalised Rahul’s office on June ports on TV channels on the in- 24 against his alleged ‘inaction’ cident and said the photo was on the Supreme Court verdict on the wall when SFI workers that mandated a one-kilometre were removed. This was clear eco-sensitive zone around proin the first set of photos taken tected forests. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram/Kozhikode No Service Charge Regulator just shrunk your food bill! Pa r v e z S u ltan @ New Delhi The next time you walk into a favourite restaurant for a meal, you can expect the food bill to be lower than before, as the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has just barred the default levy of ‘service charge’ on it. If it is not, you can file a complaint against the eatery . Also, service charge can’t be collected by adding it along with the food bill and levying GST on the total amount, the regulatory body said in its new guidelines. You can still tip the waiter if you feel the service is superb, but that is your personal choice. And no restaurant can refuse services over non-payment of service charges. The guidelines, released on Mon- ity building programmes and building tailored incentives and schemes. It recognised Kerala as an institution champion, a capacity building pioneer and a procurement forerunner. It also appreciated the state for running 20 startups led by woman entrepreneurs. John M Thomas, CEO of Kerala IT parks and Kerala Startup Mission, told TNIE that the Kerala startup ecosystem had benefited from startups, the state government, private sector and enthusiastic individuals working together for innovation driven social progress. day, seek to prevent unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights. However, Pradeep Shetty, joint honorary secretary of Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India, says industry is already following the guidelines. soumyadip sinha “Nobody was forced to pay the service charge,” he claims. The new guidelines come as a big relief to consumers as most restaurants and bars levy 5-12% service charge on food bill. The bill could burn a bigger hole in your pocket if service charges are levied on liquors because many states levy a hefty value-added tax on the same. So, watch your food bill the next time you eat out. If you are levied service charge, you can ask the restaurant to remove it. Alternatively, you can lodge a complaint on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) by calling 1915 or through the NCH mobile app. You may also file a complaint with the Consumer Commission through the e-daakhil portal (www.e-daakhil.nic.in). ity, which has arranged with the support of medical colleges, Regional Cancer Centre, Malabar Cancer Centreand Cochin Cancer Centre. Health Minister Veena George said the state government was planning to start the facility in more hospi● More on P4 tals.  Shinde wins trust vote; fresh sparring in SC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Mumbai/New Delhi Rebel Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday won the vote of confidence in the assembly, but there was another round of legal sparring between rival Sena camps in the Supreme Court. While Shinde’s faction and BJP together got 154 votes as against the simple majority mark of 145 in a 288-member House, the Opposition polled just 99. Three abstained (SP 2, MIM 1), while 10 Congress members, including ex-chief minister Ashok Chavan failed to show up. Later, the Shinde faction requested Speaker Rahul Narvekar to disqualify 14 Sena MLAs, including Aditya Thackeray, for ‘violating the whip’ and voting for the Opposition. The Thackeray faction made a similar complaint. Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray had issued a letter saying Shinde will be the Sena legislative party leader and Sunil Prabhu chief whip. But the ruling faction appointed Bharat Gogawale the chief whip. “This is illegal as only the party president has the right to make such appointments,” claimed Sena’s Lok Sabha member Arvind Sawant. The matter went to the apex court with advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Thackeray men, tioning it before a bench of justices Indira Banerjee and J K Maheswari. P7 Past-midnight strategy session Giving a sense of how he slipped out of Mumbai to begin his rebellion, Shinde said there was police blockade. “But I know how to evade it,” he bragged. While in Guwahati, he used to leave the hotel at midnight for strategy sessions when other MLAs slept.