Page 33 - Bengaluru

Karnataka BJP meeting in Bengaluru underway to chalk out LS poll strategy

Earlier on December 28, Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president BY Vijayendra held a meeting with senior leaders of the party in Bengaluru ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls

Cybercrime cases shoot up in Bengaluru in 2023, detection low: Police data

Cybercrimes shot up by a whopping 77 per cent in 2023 in Bengaluru compared to the previous calendar year with the city police registering 17,623 cases, according to official data. As many as 6,422 cybercrime cases were reported in Bengaluru in 2021 and 9,940 in 2022, shows the data shared by the city police. Out of the 17,623 cases reported in 2023, the police could detect only 1,271, it said. A senior police officer said cybercrime has been the biggest challenge for the city police and such cases are now being registered in all police stations across the city, leading to a spike in complaints. "Even complaints from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and complaints received at 112 (all-in-one emergency helpline number) gets converted into FIRs. Through the social media accounts of the city police, the Bengaluru Police has also started its awareness campaign by giving cyber tips," he said. When asked about the low detection rate of cybercrime cases, the officer said: "In ma

Crimes against women, children rise in Bengaluru in 2023, show police data

Bengaluru has witnessed a significant increase in crime against women in 2023 with the city police registering 3,260 cases including 1,135 related to molestation, shows official data. The police attributed the rise to enhanced awareness, initiatives of filing suo moto cases and registration of e-FIRs, among other factors. In 2023, the city also witnessed an increase in other crimes as compared to the previous two years with the police registering 205 cases of murder, 153 cases of chain snatching, 673 robbery cases, 1,692 cases of house thefts and 5,909 cases of motor vehicle thefts, according to the data shared by the police. According to the data, the city police registered 2020 FIRs related to crime against women in 2021, 2630 FIRs in 2022 and 3,260 FIRs in 2023. Out of the total cases of crime against women reported last year, the city police was successful in detecting 3,121 cases. In 2023, the police registered 176 cases of rape, 1,135 cases of molestation, 60 cases related to

Zoomcar to turn profitable for the full year in 2024: CEO Greg Moran

Car sharing platform gets 90% of its business in India, went public last week

Wipro's lawsuit against ex-CFO referred to arbitration by civil court

The court took this decision as Dalal produced agreements that indicated that disputes were to be settled through arbitration

Bengaluru-based IT company Mphasis appoints new Europe & GBPS head

Mphasis specialises in cloud and cognitive services and is based in Bengaluru. It has recently launched a dedicated AI Business unit

Office space demand up 15% in top 8 cities, Bengaluru sees 14% fall: Report

Leasing of office space rose by 15 per cent across eight major cities last year, despite a decline in demand in Bengaluru, the largest workspace market, according to Knight Frank. In a webinar, real estate consultant Knight Frank India on Wednesday released its report on the Indian housing and office market. The data showed that office demand grew 15 per cent annually to 59.6 million square feet in 2023, despite global economic and geopolitical concerns. The demand was mainly driven by Global Capability Centres (GCCs), which took on lease 20.8 million square feet last year, up 58 per cent from 2022 level. Knight Frank highlighted that the total office leasing number is the second-best year with the peak level achieved in 2019 at 60.6 million square feet. According to the data for 2023, compared with the previous year, the leasing of office space in Mumbai grew 16 per cent to 7.4 million square feet. Delhi-NCR saw a 14 per cent rise in office space demand to 10.1 million square ...

Hyderabad airport among global airports with highest on-time performance

The airports at Hyderabad and Bengaluru have been ranked second and third among the top ten global airports in terms of operational performance and punctuality, according to a report released on Tuesday. In the 2023 On-Time Performance (OTP) Review prepared by aviation analytics firm Cirium, there are a total of three Indian airports -- Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata -- and one Indian carrier -- IndiGo. With an OTP of 84.42 per cent, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is at the second spot in the global airports as well as large airports categories. Kempegowda International Airport is at the third position in both the segments with an OTP of 84.08 per cent, Cirium said. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in the US has topped both the lists with an OTP of 84.44 per cent. In the medium airports category, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport in Kolkata is ranked ninth with an OTP of 83.91 per cent. The medium airports category is topped by Osaka International Airport in Japa

Godrej Properties buys 4-acre land parcel in North-West Bengaluru

The recent project by Godrej Properties is estimated to have a developable potential of approximately 0.7 million square feet of the saleable area

L&T wins Rs 1,040 cr contract for part of Bengaluru suburban rail project

Larsen and Toubro was issued the Letter of Acceptance on Saturday for the design and construction of an elevated viaduct including associated works between Heelalige and Rajanukunte of Corridor-4 of the Bengaluru Suburban Rail project, officials said. The contract price is Rs 1,040.51 crore including GST and the contract period is 30 months. The physical work is expected to commence shortly, they said. In a statement, Karnataka's Rail Infrastructure Development Company (K-RIDE) said, "Larsen and Toubro has been issued the Letter of Acceptance today for the design and construction of elevated viaduct of length 8.960 km and At-Grade of length 37.920 km (excluding station buildings) including associated works between Heelalige and Rajanukunte, on EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) mode, in Corridor-4 or 'Kanaka' line of Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP)." This contract also includes construction of a double decker alignment of 1.2 km length for BSRP Corridor-1 and

Bengaluru's net office space leasing soars 15 times in Oct-Dec: Report

Bengaluru saw a 15-fold jump in net office leasing during the quarter due to many large leasing transaction from corporates as well as low base effect, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield said on Saturday that the net leasing of office space stood at 18.63 million sq ft during the October-December period across major eight cities as against 9.06 million sq ft in the year-ago period. The Bengaluru office market achieved the highest volume and also maximum surge in percentage term during the current quarter of this calendar year. The net office leasing or absorption in Bengaluru jumped to 80,50,266 sq ft during October-December from 5,18,622 sq ft in the year-ago period. "Many large deals that were under negotiation in the previous quarters, but occupiers were adopting a cautious approach and delaying, have sailed through in Q4. As a result, fresh leasing of space jumped," the consultant said, explaining the sharp jump in office demand in

Court to pass orders on ex-CFO's plea for arbitration with Wipro on Jan 3

A civil court in Bengaluru will pass orders on January 3 on two interlocutory applications (IA) by Wipro Limited's former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jatin Pravinchandra Dalal seeking arbitration with his former company. The suit filed by Wipro on November 28 seeks payment of compensation of Rs 25,15,52,875 with interest of 18 per cent for allegedly violating a clause in his employment contract with the company. Dalal resigned from Wipro in September and is set to join rival Cognizant in January. Allegedly, the non-compete clause prevents Dalal from joining a rival within one year of leaving the company, failing which he would be liable to compensate Wipro with the value of the Restricted Stock Units (RSU) allotted to him or the sum of his total remuneration in the previous 12 months. Earlier on November 28, the counsel for Dalal had filed a memo stating that the defendant was hospitalised. In a subsequent hearing, Dalal's counsel filed IA No 4 under Section 8(2) of the Arbitrati

Foxconn invests fresh capital of around Rs 461 crore in Bengaluru unit

Taiwanese electronics manufacturing services major Foxconn has infused USD 55.29 million (about Rs 461 crore) in Bengaluru-based Foxconn Precision Engineering Private Limited, according to a regulatory filing. The company has made the investment through its Singapore-based subsidiary Foxconn Singapore Pte Limited. Foxconn Singapore has acquired about 46,08,76,736 shares at Rs 10 each, amounting to around USD 55.29 million (Rs 460.87 crore), according to the filing. Foxconn Precision Engineering was incorporated around six months ago. In July, Foxconn proposed to set up a Rs 8,800-crore supplementary plant to that of its unit at the Devanahalli Information Technology Investment Region in Karnataka. It has also bought 300 acres at Devanahalli. According to the announcement made earlier by the Karnataka government, Foxconn is expected to create employment for about 50,000 people in the first phase at Devanahalli.

Gross leasing of office space up 12% this year across 6 cities: Savills

Gross office space leasing rose 12 per cent to a record 62.3 million square feet this year, while fresh supply remained flat across six major cities, according to Savills India. The absorption of office space stood at 55.4 million square feet in the previous year. New supply of office space stood at 53.3 million square feet, as against 53.4 million square feet in the previous year. "Office gross absorption across India's six major cities is recorded at a new all-time high of 62.3 million square feet in 2023, registering a 12 per cent growth over last year," Savills said in a statement. Bengaluru saw a decline of 10 per cent to 15.6 million square feet this year, from 17.3 million square feet in the previous year. "Mumbai saw record leasing activity at 10.1 million square feet owing to large transactions by tech and consulting occupiers. Gross absorption increased by 51 per cent compared to 2022," Savills said. Delhi-NCR saw similar absorption levels as last year at 11.3 million s

Woman dead, 135 hospitalised due to suspected food poisoning in Karnataka

A woman died and 70 others were hospitalised in a suspected case of food poisoning in Hoskote in Bengaluru Rural limits, police said on Monday. Police said they suspect the cause of food poisoning to be an edible offering at a place of worship in the area. Some of those hospitalised have been discharged while others are still undergoing treatment. The health department is closely monitoring the situation. As of now, it is suspected to be a case of food poisoning, but since the investigation is in the initial stage, the exact cause cannot be ascertained at present, they added. Preliminary inquiry has revealed that on Saturday, most of them had visited a temple in Hoskote town where they ate 'prasad'. A day later, a few among those complained of dysentery and vomiting after which they rushed to hospitals for treatment. A woman who complained of the same symptoms was admitted in one of these hospitals on Sunday afternoon and died this morning, a senior police officer said. Many othe

Office demand jumps 92% in Oct-Dec in top 6 cities in 2023: Colliers

Office space demand surged 92 per cent during October-December period across six major cities on better demand of workspace from corporates and coworking operators, according to Colliers India. Real estate consultant Colliers India report shows that gross leasing of office space stood at 20.2 million square feet in the fourth quarter of this calendar year from 10.5 million square feet in the year-ago period. Helped by strong demand during the December quarter, the total leasing of office space rose 16 per cent to 58.2 million square feet during the 2023 calendar year from 50.3 million square feet last year. Colliers tracks office demand and supply of 6 cities -- Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Pune. Gross leasing or absorption does not include lease renewals, pre-commitments and deals where only a letter of intent has been signed. According to the data, the office space leasing in Bengaluru rose 58 per cent to 5.5 million square feet during October-December .

BluSmart raises $24 million via issue of equity rights to fund expansion

Electric vehicle ride-hailing service and charging infrastructure network operator BluSmart on Thursday said it raised USD 24 million (Rs 200 crore) through issue of equity rights to its existing investors for funding the company's expansion. The latest funding round saw participation through over-subscription of equities by existing investors, founders and the leadership team, BluSmart said in a statement. Currently, the platform operates over 5,500 electric vehicles in the domestic market. It owns and operates over 4,000 EV chargers across its 34 charging superhubs. The platform said it aims to scale to a fleet size of around 8,000 EVs across Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru by next year. "BluSmart has raised USD 24 million (Rs 200 crore) in a new equity round in December 2023," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to expand our brand promise of zero ride denials, on time service and clean mobility to more geographies. The overwhelming support for the rights issue by our ..

Accenture launches GenAI studio in Bengaluru to boost adoption of data, AI

IT major has target of doubling AI talent to 80,000 people in the next three years

Germany-based KfW Development Bank to fund Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project

The Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project on Saturday got a major thrust when a loan agreement was signed with KfW Development Bank, Germany, by Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited (K-RIDE) in New Delhi on December 15. As per the agreement, KfW Development Bank will provide Euro 500 million (Rs 4,552 crore) and a grant of Euro 4.5 million (Rs 41 crore) for the BSRP. The loan agreement is meant for Corridor-1 from Bengaluru City Railway Station to Devanahalli and Corridor-3 from Kengeri to Whitefield. K-RIDE said in a statement that the agreement was signed in the presence of senior officials from the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and the Government of Karnataka, and KfW officials. "The loan was signed for Euro 500 million (Rs 4,552 crore) and a grant of Euro 4.5 million (Rs 41 crore). The signing of this loan agreement will facilitate invitation of Corridor-1, Corridor-3 and system tenders and further expedite progress

Companies of Bengaluru techies to be notified if they break traffic rules

Think twice before you jump traffic signals or exceed speed limits on the roads, because if you techies are caught violating any of the traffic rules, the Bengaluru Traffic Police will directly notify about it to your company. According to traffic police, in a bid to raise awareness about road safety and traffic rules, the east division of Bengaluru Traffic Police this week started a unique drive on a pilot basis along the city's Information Technology corridor covering the Outer Ring Road and Whitefield. As of now, the drive is limited to the east division of traffic police, but if there is a significant reduction in violations along the route, then it would also be extended to other major parts of Bengaluru, police said. The initiative was started in the particular jurisdiction after traffic police noticed a significant number of traffic violations, especially by techies who, in an attempt to reach to their destinations faster either end up jumping traffic signals or exceeding spe