Page 16 - Bengaluru

Rahul Dravid in heated argument after minor road accident in Bengaluru

Eyewitnesses say Dravid appeared upset, but the situation did not escalate further

Transfer passengers' share likely to double in 10 years, says BIAL COO

In an interview with Business Standard, he said about five years ago, the share of transfer traffic in the airport's overall traffic was about six per cent

K'taka govt issues ordinance to assert control over Bengaluru palace land

The Karnataka government has issued an ordinance to assert its rights over the expansive Bangalore Palace grounds, which spans 472 acres and 16 guntas near Mehkri Circle here. The move follows the state cabinet's decision on January 24 to reject the issuance of Transferable Development Rights (TDR) to the Mysuru royal family for acquiring nearly 16 acres of land within the palace grounds. According to the state government, granting TDR for the Bangalore Palace grounds would not be in the best interests of the state. The cabinet had expressed concerns that paying Rs 3,014 crore to acquire 16 acres of land for the development of just two kilometers of road would not be economically beneficial for the state. The ordinance aims to regulate and determine the utilisation of the land under the Bangalore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1996, which vests ownership of the land with Karnataka. The total value of the entire 472-acre property has been assessed at Rs 11 crore as per the .

Infosys co-founder, former IISc director booked under SC/ST Atrocities Act

The case was filed at Bengaluru's Sadashiva Nagar Police Station following directives from the 71st City Civil and Sessions Court

Fidelity International doubles office space to 50,000 sq ft in Bengaluru

In July 2023, Fidelity expanded its presence in India by opening its first office in Bengaluru, adding to existing locations in Gurugram and Mumbai

Dy CM DK Shivakumar urges Sitharaman to fund Bengaluru infra projects

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting the inclusion of more infrastructural projects in Bengaluru in the upcoming Union Budget 2025-26 to reflect its status as the 'Silicon Valley of India'. The letter dated January 23 emphasised that, as a Member of Parliament representing Karnataka, Sitharaman must be aware that Bengaluru, with nearly 1.5 crore residents, urgently requires major infrastructure projects to sustain its growth and maintain its status as a leading technological hub. In his letter, Shivakumar highlighted key infrastructure projects for Bengaluru proposed by the state government that require financial assistance from the Centre. According to him, one of the crucial projects for the city is an underground vehicular tunnel. He mentioned that the East-to-West corridor, spanning 28.5 km from K R Puram Circle to Nayandahalli Junction on Mysore Road and estimated to cost approximately Rs 25,000 cro

'Bengaluru closed for North India' post fuels Kannada language debate

A social media post stating that "Bengaluru is closed for North India" has gone viral, generating debate about the Kannada language row online. In a post on 'X', a social media user stated: "Bengaluru is closed for North India and neighbouring states who don't want to learn Kannada. They don't need Bengaluru if they can't respect the language and culture." The recent post by Babruvahana (@Paarmatma) has garnered significant attention, with over 115,000 views, 198 reposts, and 1,839 likes. (at the time this was written) Reacting to the post, a social media user who claimed to be a "migrant to Bengaluru" said the post might sound a bit harsh. "But whenever I see people in Bengaluru completely disregard Kannada as some sort of tribal language and even look down on those who speak Kannada as illiterates, even in corporate offices, I feel very pained. Kannada is a phenomenally rich language that has received the most literary awards, including Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith awards (sic),"

Birla, Mitsubishi Estate ink JV to invest Rs 560 cr in new housing project

Aditya Birla Real Estate Ltd arm Birla Estates has entered into a joint venture with Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd (MEC) and will invest Rs 560 crore to develop a housing project in Bengaluru. Birla Estates Pvt Ltd has entered a joint venture with Mitsubishi Estate Co Ltd for a Rs 560 crore investment in a residential housing development in Southeast Bengaluru through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). Under the partnership, Birla Estates and MJR Investment Pte Ltd (MIPL), an affiliate of MEC, will share 51:49 economic interest, respectively, in the SPV. The SPV will lead the development of the premium residential project, which spans 40 lakh square feet of built-up area. KT Jithendran, MD & CEO of Birla Estates, said, "We are pleased to announce our strategic collaboration with Mitsubishi Estate, marking its maiden investment in India's residential real estate sector, to develop premium residential project". Birla Estates develops premium residential housing in key markets. The company

SC reserves treasurer post for women lawyers in Bengaluru bar body

Exercising its plenary powers, the Supreme Court on Friday reserved the post of treasurer in Bengaluru advocates association for women lawyers. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh exercised its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution observing the election for the bar body was scheduled on February 2 and the nomination process was over. "We deem it appropriate to invoke our powers under Article 142 of Constitution and direct as follows - (i) the post of treasurer shall be exclusively earmarked for women candidates," it held. The court invoked its powers saying it was "high-time" to provide women reservation in different elected bodies of advocates and there were no express provisions in the memorandum and by-laws earmarking seats for women candidates of the association. The bench directed the high-powered committee constituted to oversee the election and the chief returning officer for the bar body polls to extend the date for inviting nominations and if requir

Govt to bring strict laws to regulate microfinance firms: K'taka Home Min

The Karnataka government is contemplating bringing in stringent laws to rein in microfinance companies, state Home Minister G Parameshwara said on Friday. With reports emerging from various parts of the state about people dying by suicide due to the "atrocities" of loan recovery agents, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened a meeting to address the issue, he said. "Across the state, many people have been complaining that they are in trouble due to these microfinance companies. It has come to our notice that there are shortcomings in the existing laws," Parameshwara told reporters. He noted that while there are provisions in the law to recover money, there are also laws to protect borrowers. "There are several reports from our department highlighting the inadequacies in the existing laws. If stricter regulations are required, the government will introduce them," Parameshwara said. He added that the government has instructed microfinance companies to stop harassing ...

Bengaluru Namma Metro rail fares to get costlier by 30-40%: Details here

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is increasing the ticket fare citing increasing operational costs

'Speak Kannada': Police mistake foreigner's call during burglary for prank

A Spanish national's emergency call for help went ignored by police due to language barrier in burglary incident in Bengaluru

Q3 FY25 for home developers: Flat pre-sale growth, strong revenue expected

Demand remains strong and developers expected to make launches, according to analysts

Jaishankar hails US Consulate opening in Bengaluru as key in India-US ties

Jaishankar highlighted several aspects of the India-US ties and said that the opening of the consulate was long due

US Consulate to open in Bengaluru on Jan 17, says BJP MP Tejasvi Surya

The long pending demand for a US Consulate in Bengaluru will become a reality on January 17. The Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya made an announcement in this regard. "My dear Bengaluru, It's official. The US Consulate is opening on January 17th," the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) national president said in a post on 'X'. He hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for making it possible. To convey his gratitude, the 34-year-old MP offered Mysore Pak to Jaishankar. "It's been made possible only and only because of PM @narendramodi and EAM @DrSJaishankar's efforts. What better way to thank our EAM than with our own Mysuru Pak!" Surya added. It has been a long-pending demand for a US Consulate in Bengaluru for hassle-free Visas. Till now, people have been travelling to Chennai or Hyderabad for a US visa.

Dublin-based Inspeq AI enters India market with office in Bengaluru

Dublin-headquartered AI-safety startup Inspeq AI on Thursday announced its foray into the India market with its first office in Bengaluru. The office has 25 staffers, with plans to hire an additional 50 employees over the next few months across engineering (software and service), operations, and client-facing roles, the company said in a statement. This will be the company's third global office, following the ones in Dublin and London. Founded in 2023 by Apoorva Kumar and Ramanujam Macharla Vijayakumar, Inspeq AI is an AI infrastructure firm. It provides an enterprise-ready LLM Ops platform to help developers integrate AI safely and responsibly in their enterprise AI applications, while also simultaneously improving these applications. The platform claims to accelerate the development of generative AI applications by up to four times and reduce development costs by as much as 70 per cent. "India represents a major market for Inspeq AI's growth as we work toward transforming busine

Takeda opens Bengaluru ICC, targets 750 employees to boost India presence

The flagship ICC in Bengaluru complements Takeda's existing centres in Slovakia and Mexico, highlighting its strategic focus on data and advanced digital technologies

Macrotech Developers buys 20-acre Bengaluru land, targets Rs 2,800 cr sales

Real estate company Macrotech Developers has acquired nearly 20-acre land parcel in Bengaluru for development of a housing project worth Rs 2,800 crore, as part of its expansion plan. Mumbai-based Macrotech Developers, which markets its properties under the Lodha brand, has been acquiring land through outright purchases as well as forming partnerships with landowners for the joint development. Out of the total, nearly 20 acre land was acquired in Bengaluru, the company has outright purchased some portion of land, while entering into joint development agreement with the landowner for the remaining part, sources said. In its latest operational update for the December quarter, Macrotech Developers informed that the company has added one new project in Bengaluru with GDV (gross development value) of Rs 2,800 crore. With this acquisition, the company now has five locations in Bengaluru. These are expected to provide opportunity for significant pre-sales growth in Bengaluru from next .

Kolkata overtakes Bengaluru as India's most congested city in 2024: Report

According to the traffic index released by TomTom, drivers in Kolkata needed an average of 34 minutes and 33 seconds to cover a distance of 10 km

Passenger traffic at Bengaluru airport grows 9% to 40.73 mn in 2024

Passenger traffic at Bangalore International Airport grew 9 per cent year-on-year to 40.73 million in 2024, driven by higher air traffic movements and the addition of new destinations, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) has said. The airport handled 37.2 million passengers in January-December 2023, BIAL said. The airport also reported its highest-ever annual cargo tonnage of 496,227 MT in 2024, reflecting strong performance in international and domestic segments, it added. Bangalore Airport welcomed 40.73 million (4.07 crore) passengers in 2024 compared to 37.2 million (3.72 crore) in 2023, with the highest number of passengers in a single day getting recorded at 1,26,532 on October 20, the private airport operator said. Additionally, the airport recorded a peak of 782 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) on October 17, 2024, with an annual average of 723 ATMs per day. Stating that the facility witnessed robust growth in both passenger and cargo traffic during 2024, BIAL said this