Page 53 - Karnataka

Davos 2024: Karnataka signs MoUs worth Rs 22,000 cr with 7 cos at WEF meet

The Karnataka government said on Wednesday it has signed MoUs with investment proposals to the tune of Rs 22,000 crore with seven companies at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. As part of the MoUs signed on Tuesday, Web Werks proposes to set up a Rs 20,000 crore data centre park in the State, while four other companies plan to invest a total of Rs 2,000 crore, according to a statement issued by the Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development M B Patil. A delegation from the state, headed by Patil, engaged in a series of deliberations with industry leaders during the WEF Meet 2024 in Switzerland, it said. The Lulu Group is set to venture into food processing in Vijayapura district, with plans to invest Rs 300 crore in a plant dedicated to exports, the statement said. Takeda Pharmaceuticals intends to establish a global innovation centre in Bengaluru and is actively scouting for suitable campus locations, it was stated.

Gujarat, Kerala, K'taka best states in nurturing startup ecosystem: DPIIT

Gujarat and Karnataka are ranked as the 'best performers' in developing startup ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs, according to the ranking of states and Union territories by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh are also categorised as the best performers. The ranking is a yearly exercise under DPIIT that evaluates all states and Union Territories on their efforts to build an ecosystem conducive to startup growth. A total of 33 states and Union territories (UTs) participated in the exercise. They are ranked under five categories -- best performers, top performers, leaders, aspiring leaders and emerging startup ecosystems. The states and Union Territories were broadly divided into two sections based on their population size --those having more than 1 crore and the ones with less than 1 crore. Gujarat has been ranked as the best performer for the fourth time in a row. Karnataka has been ranked in this segment

Karnataka's Prakhar Chaturvedi breaks Yuvraj Singh's 25-year-old record

Chaturvedi broke the record for Yuvraj Singh for the most runs scored in the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy, India's premier U-19 First-Class tournament

K'taka's clearance committee approves 73 projects worth over Rs 3,900 crore

The State-Level Single Window Clearance Committee headed by Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Friday approved 73 projects worth Rs 3,935.52 crore. The projects are expected to generate employment for nearly 15,000 people, according to a statement. Proposals submitted by Bengaluru-based companies -- ETL Secure Space Limited, and DhaSH PV Technologies Private Limited -- which are going to invest Rs 490.5 crore and Rs 346.35 crore respectively were among the marquis projects greenlighted by the panel. Patil, the minister for Large and Medium Industries, and Infrastructure Development said the projects that received a nod would ensure equitable investment across the diverse regions of the state. Many of the projects approved by the SLSWCC would be implemented in the districts of North Karnataka, he added.

Karnataka HC: Xiaomi files appeal against ED's seizure of Rs 5,551.27 cr

A division bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Friday heard an appeal filed by smartphone maker Xiaomi challenging a single-judge order which had upheld the Enforcement Directorate's seizure of Rs 5,551.27 crore from its bank accounts. The bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice M G S Kamal heard the arguments submitted by the counsel for the company before adjourning the hearing to January 20. The Court specified that there would be no further extensions and both the company's counsel and the government advocate were expected to complete their arguments on that date. The counsel for the company argued that the seizure was unnecessary and under Section 37A of FEMA even the necessity of suspicion is not required. Even the qualification of the "authorised officer" to take action was not prescribed. The court was told that Section 37A "seems to be clearly draconian", as for 30 days after the seizure the company has to only wait for the authority to decide on it. "Why

Bengaluru CEO not cooperating in probe, 'note found': Things we know so far

Suchana Seth, the CEO of 'MindfulAI Labs' startup, allegedly killed her son at a rental apartment at Candolim in Goa and later stuffed the body in a bag and tried to carry it to Karnataka via taxi

Don't spoil K'taka's future by misplaced caste priorities: Pai tells Cong

The information technology industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai has urged the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka to not spoil the state's future by "misplaced" communal and caste priorities. Sharing a post on 'X', the former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys said: "Karnataka govt should introspect on their misplaced priorities." Pai, partner at proprietary venture fund Aarin Capital, also tagged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Home Minister G Parameshwara among others in his post and further said, "Pl do not spoil Karnataka's future by misplaced communal/caste priorities". On Wednesday, a retired flight lieutenant, Anoop Verma took to 'X' and shared a list of issues that he claimed were current topics in Gujarat and Karnataka. He shared how topics in Gujarat right now were about how to make it one trillion economy state, making it a semiconductor manufacturing hub, India's 20% job creation from the state whereas those in Karnataka

Quality control necessary for country to compete with world: Karnataka HC

The High Court of Karnataka has rejected a petition that sought its interference in the quality checks on plastics imported to India. As per a notification issued by the Government of India, quality control has been imposed on plastic imported into the shores of the country effective from January 5, 2024. Calling it a necessary step for quality control, the HC in its judgement said, "If the quality emerges right from the word go, till the finished product, under the 'Make in India' programme, it is only then that the country would be able to compete with others. A step towards that will not be interfered with by this Court except, that if the step towards that, depicts palpable and demonstrable arbitrariness, which is neither pleaded nor present." The All India HDPE/PP Woven Fabric Manufacturers' Association had filed the petition before the HC which was heard by Justice M Nagaprasanna. In its judgement on January 8, the Court noted that "Except contending cartelisation and nexus,

Who is Suchana Seth, startup CEO held for murder of four-year-old son

Suchana Seth, 39, checked into a rental apartment in North Goa with her four-year-old son on Saturday, where she allegedly killed him and carried the body to Karnataka in a taxi

Karnataka HC bans mining around KRS dam, till safety survey completion

Expressing concern over the mining blasts affecting the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam in Srirangapatna, Mandya, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday imposed a ban on mining and blasting activities within a 20-km radius of the structure. The ban issued on Monday will be in force till the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad, conducts a dam safety survey. However, the HC has not fixed any deadline for the study to be undertaken under the Dam Safety Act, 2022. The HC had earlier made the State Committee on Dam Safety (SCDS) a party to the petition. The division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit were hearing a petition filed by one CG Kumar who had challenged the deputy commissioner's order that conversion of land for stone quarrying would be granted only after a trial blast was conducted by the Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited. Kumar had challenged this condition as being illegal. The petition was however converted to a public ...

JSW Group's Sajjan Jindal suggests setting industrial parks near airports

Co-chairman of Invest Karnataka Forum (IKF) and JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal on Monday suggested setting up industrial parks in areas that are only about a two-hour drive from airports in the state. While participating online in the first reconstituted IKF meeting chaired by Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil, Jindal said setting up industrial parks in areas close to airports would attract increased investment. Responding to Sajjan's suggestion, Minister Patil said the government also intended to set up industrial parks in an area of about 5,000 acres to 10,000 acres. It was also decided at the meeting to form sub-groups within IKF to focus on sectoral investment. The meeting reviewed key developments of the past months and deliberated on charting the roadmap for going forward.

ED raids premises of Karnataka Cong MLA Nanjegowda in money laundering case

The premises of Karnataka Congress MLA K Y Nanjegowda and some of his linked entities were raided on Monday morning by the Enforcement Directorate as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said. The 61-year-old legislator represents the Malur assembly seat in Kolar district. The officials of the central agency are covering the MLA's premises and those of his linked entities in Malur and Kolar as part of a investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. The ED case of money laundering is understood to have been filed on the basis of some local police FIRs related to alleged irregularities in the appointment of staff in the Kolar-Chikkaballapur District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KOMUL), of which he is the president, and some other charges. The office and plant of the milk cooperative in Kolar are also being searched, the sources said. As per KOMUL, it is Karnataka's second highest milk producing district ...

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

True power of Shri Ram: Karnataka BJP reacts to Cong circular for temples

The BJP further said that Ram bhakts have pushed Congress to the brink making them realise their end is near

BJP MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi booked for cheating Karnataka Cooperative bank

A case has been registered against BJP MLA and former minister Ramesh Jarkiholi and two others for violating the condition of the loan taken from the Karnataka Cooperative Apex Bank and its other banks of its group. According to the FIR, the general manager of the bank has charged that Soubhagya Laxmi Sugars Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Ramesh Jarkiholi and its two directors Vasant V Patil and Shankar A Pawade had borrowed a loan of Rs 232.88 crore loan from July 12, 2013 to March 31, 2017 from the Karnataka Cooperative Apex Bank and other banks of its group for the establishment and expansion of the firm. The accused had a balance of Rs 439.07 crore as on August 31, 2023, the complainant said. He added that there was a condition that till the loan was repaid, the firm was not supposed to change the managing director and its directors. Despite this condition, the accused appointed unknown persons in his place without informing the bank and "with an intention to cheat," the ..

Party will take call: K'taka Dy CM on attending Ram Temple consecration

"I have not been invited. Neither our CM nor I have been invited. I saw that our Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge) has been invited but the party will take a call," Shivakumar said.

Millets will be included in Indira Canteens, mid-day meals: Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said millets will be used in Indira Canteens -- a state-run food subsidisation programme -- and mid-day meals of school children, and also announced that the state government will set up a centre for promotion of millet crops. He was speaking after inaugurating the Millets and Organic International Trade Fair 2024 and the Exhibition and Sales organised by the Department of Agriculture here. The Chief Minister said a meeting of the concerned departments will be convened soon to discuss and decide on the use of millets in Indira Canteens and school meals "so that the people and school children of the state can become more healthy and strong". Siddaramaiah assured that his government will set up a centre for promotion of millet crops and facilitate production of high quality millet seeds, development of new varieties and export of millets. "Millets can be grown even in places where rainfall and soil fertility is low. Millets are very ..

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

760 new Covid-19 infections in India; JN.1 variant cases cross 500 mark

Covid-19 cases: Two deaths were reported in the past 24 hours. While active cases stood at 4,423, Karnataka reported the highest JN.1 variant cases at 199