Page 68 - Karnataka

K'taka tops direct selling market in south with sales of Rs 1,128 cr: IDSA

Karnataka, with sales of Rs 1,128 crore, has topped the direct selling market in the southern region, according to the annual survey report by the Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA). Providing self-employment to 78,000 entrepreneurs in Karnataka, including 34,000 women, the direct selling business in the State posted a sales increase of Rs 94 crore in 2021-22, a 9.09 per cent growth over the previous year's figure of Rs 1,034 crore, the self-regulatory body for the direct selling industry in India said. The State had a share of 5.9 per cent of the overall national sales, which stood at over Rs 19,030 crore during the period, the survey noted. During 2021-22, the State also contributed nearly Rs 170 crore to the exchequer by way of taxes, it was stated. IDSA Chairman Rajat Banerji told reporters here on Tuesday the growth of over nine per cent reflects that the direct selling industry could withstand the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic, which extended to the first quarter of

Govt to take firm decision on anti-farmer agriculture laws: CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday said the government will take a firm decision on the anti-farmer agricultural laws implemented by the previous BJP government in the state. Speaking to a delegation of farmers led by legislators B R Patil and Darshan Puttannaiah, who met him today, Siddaramaiah said the government will take decisions to protect the interest of farmers. The Land Reforms Act has been discussed and a clear decision will be taken within the next session. There was a discussion in the House today about the amendment of the APMC Act. He said that a separate meeting will be held to discuss the problems of farmers in detail, a statement issued by the Chief Minister's office said.

SC extends interim bail given to Veerapan's associate on medical grounds

The Supreme Court on Monday extended the interim bail granted to Gnanaprakash, an associate of forest brigand Veerapan who was convicted under the stringent TADA for his involvement in the 1993 Palar blast in Karnataka, in which nearly two dozen policemen and foresters lost their lives. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi directed for the continuation of the interim order of relief given to Gnanaprakash till further orders. Gnanaprakash (63), who has been in jail for 27 years, was granted interim bail on November 28, 2022 on health grounds on a petition filed by his wife, Selva Mary. His counsel informed the bench that he has been suffering from a life-threatening disease. The counsel appearing in the court on behalf of the Karnataka government said looking at his condition, the state has decided to release Gnanaprakash prematurely and for this, a letter has been sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs. He also said TADA convicts are not normally considered for remiss

Foxconn proposes to set up Rs 8,800 cr manufacturing plant in Karnataka

Foxconn, a major iPhone assembler for Apple, has proposed to set up a Rs 8,800 crore supplementary plant to that of the unit at Devanahalli Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) in Karnataka, the state's Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said on Monday. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah chaired a high-level meeting with the delegates of Foxconn Industrial Internet (Fii), headed by its CEO, Brand Cheng, in this regard, he said. As per the proposal, Fii, a subsidiary of Foxconn (formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd), has a plan to invest Rs 8,800 Crore. "This would create 14,000 jobs and the land required for the project is about 100 acres," Patil said. The delegates of the Fii would be taken to Tumakuru to examine the available land at Japan Industrial Township near the district headquarters town. The Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge and Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma were also present in the meeting. "Fii will engage in manufactur

May Oppn meeting lead to restoration of democratic values: K'taka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday expressed hope that the meeting of Opposition parties here would lead to restoration of secular, socialist, and democratic values as enshrined in the Constitution. He welcomed the leaders of "prominent" opposition leaders in the country who have come together to fight against authoritarianism, communalism, and corruption. "May the seeds sown in this peaceful garden of harmony (Karnataka) bear the fruit to restore secular, socialist, and democratic values as enshrined in our Constitution," the Chief Minister said in a tweet. Leaders representing 23 parties looking to draw up plans for a joint fight against the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year, are expected to attend Tuesday's meeting.

Zeiss Group plans to invest Rs 2,500 crore in new plant in Karnataka

Global optical lenses major Zeiss Group will invest about Rs 2,500 crore in India on a new plant at Karnataka, mainly to increase its spectacle glasses manufacturing capacity, according to a senior company official. Carl Zeiss India, the group's arm in the country, expects to employ around 5,000 people when the new plant becomes fully-operational. The company, which has completed 25 years of operations in India, is targeting to achieve a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore by 2027. "One of the big things that is coming to the Indian market is the new factory that we have got approved, this is in partnership with Invest in Karnataka. "We have procured 34 acres of land close to the (Bengaluru) airport and are in line to get another nine acres hopefully, with an investment of close to Rs 2,500 crore coming into this," Carl Zeiss India Director and CFO Shreyas Kumar told PTI in an interview. The plant will employ close to about 800 people initially and will go up to 5,000 people when it reache

Mamata to skip oppn dinner on Mon, to take part in discussion on Tue

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will not be attending an opposition dinner on July 17 as she has to follow post-surgery protocols, but will be part of the daylong meeting of the parties on July 18, sources in her Trinamool Congress (TMC) said on Saturday. Banerjee underwent a microsurgery on her left knee at the state-run SSKM hospital in Kolkata on Thursday. The TMC chief suffered a ligament injury on her left knee during the emergency landing of her helicopter at the Sevoke Airbase in north Bengal on June 27. "While her doctors have given her the permission to fly and attend the opposition summit, she has been advised rest. So she will skip the dinner, but will attend the daylong meeting on July 18," a source in the TMC said. A dinner for the opposition parties has been planned by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on July 17. TMC's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien will be accompanying the West Bengal chief .

Tata Group in advanced stages to acquire Wistron's Karnataka plant

Tata Group is understood to be in advanced stages to acquire the Karnataka manufacturing unit of Taiwan-based Wistron, a contract manufacturer for Apple, to become the first Indian iPhone maker, sources said. The acquisition will be carried out through Tata Electronics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, the promoter holding firm of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group, they added. When reached for comments, Tata Group declined to comment. An e-mail sent to Apple did not elicit a response. Wistron could not be reached for comments. According to one of the sources, a public announcement on the development would depend on what Apple chooses as the company closely controls its ecosystem. It is likely that apart from iPhone, once Tata Group takes over the Karnataka plant, other new Apple products could also be assembled from the unit. The latest move by the Tata Group to acquire Apple supplier's unit, is also expected to give fillip to Apple's efforts to tap into production .

Process of giving land to Foxconn mobile manufacturing unit in final stages

Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil on Thursday said that the process of handing over land to Apple Inc supplier and Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn, for its mobile devices manufacturing unit near here is in "final stages". "Foxconn is coming up in about 300 acres. The process relating to handing over land is in the final stages. There were some issues, so I have personally held meetings four times in this regard, as we did not want to lose the project. Foxconn, which manufactures Apple phones, is very prestigious for us," Patil said. "Foxconn will invest USD 1 billion, which is Rs 8,400 crore, and will create 50,000 employment in the first phase", the minister said in the Legislative Assembly responding to a question raised by Doddaballapura BJP MLA Dheeraj Muniraju during question hour. The Karnataka government in March, through its state high-level clearance committee (SHLCC), had cleared the investment proposal by Foxconn. The project will

FIR registered against BJP MLA Munirathna for using explosives for mining

Former Karnataka Minister and BJP MLA Munirathna has been booked under the Explosives Act and Karnataka Land Revenue Act along with three others for carrying out blasts to mine stones in a quarry at Hunasamaranahalli. Based on a complaint by the Yelahanka Tehsildar Anil Arolikar, the Chikkajala police registered a case against Munirathna, Anandan, Ganesh V and RAdhamma. The FIR said the Jai Bhim Sene had requested the Tehsildar to stop the 'illegal' mining activities. The villagers too had staged a demonstration against the usage of explosives for quarrying. Following the complaint, a field survey was carried out, where it was found that explosives were used for quarrying. These activities were damaging earth in that region, according to the FIR. The sale of stones was also resulting in loss to the state government. The investigation also revealed that those mining the quarry did not have any permission from the competent authority, the FIR said.

Tata Tech evinces interest to set up CEFCs in K'taka, investing Rs 2,000 cr

Tata Technologies has come forward to set up three Common Engineering Facilities Centres (CEFCs) in the state by investing Rs 2,000 crore, to facilitate MSMEs, Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said on Wednesday. Representatives of the leadership team of the company met the Minister at Vidhana Soudha here on Wednesday and submitted the proposal in this regard, his office said in a release. The company has intended to set up these centres to facilitate, particularly the MSMEs, Patil said. The proposal is to set up the centres through the PPP model where Tata Technologies will have 70 per cent stakes and the rest 30 per cent stakes will be that of the state government, he added. This is said to be the first such proposal for setting up such centres for MSMEs. Each centre is estimated to cost about Rs 630 crores. The CEF centres will cater to Advanced Manufacturing 4.0, Electric Vehicle Testing and Aerospace & Defence, and vastly benefit the upcoming MSMEs and

Karnataka CM, leaders protest against Rahul Gandhi's disqualification

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar along with a host of ministers, legislators and Congress top leaders in the state on Wednesday staged a "silent protest" here against the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi from Parliament and the "politics of vendetta" unleashed by the Centre. This comes days after the party stated it would move the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court refused to stay Gandhi's conviction in a 2019 defamation case over his "Modi surname remarks. The protestors tied a black ribbon on their mouth to symbolically convey that the freedom of speech was in danger and anyone speaking against the Central government would face backlash. Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar and others held placards at the Freedom Park here with the photograph of Rahul Gandhi and a message that the "roar of the truth must prevail". Alleging that the BJP deployed "dirty tricks" to disqualify Rahul Gandhi from Parliament, the All India Congress Committe

Free rice scheme: Cong says K'taka has given befitting reply to Modi govt

The Congress on Monday lashed out at the Modi government, accusing it of playing "petty and vindictive" politics on the issue of food security and sabotaging the Karnataka Congress' guarantee of providing free rice to the poor. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh asserted that the Congress Government in Karnataka will not be shaken in its resolve to implement its guarantee. Therefore for the time being, it is launching a scheme today that will transfer Rs. 170 every month to each of the 4.42 crore persons in the state covered by ration cards, he said in a statement. This transfer is equivalent to the amount the state government would have paid the Food Corporation of India (FCI) had the Modi Government not intervened at the last minute and stopped the sale of rice even though there are ample buffer stocks available, the Congress leader said. "The cash transfer scheme launched today by the Congress Government in Karnataka is a befitting reply to the Modi Government's vindictive

2.2 mn BPL families may not get DBT benefit under Anna Bhagya scheme

As Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is set to launch Direct Benefit Transfer under the Anna Bhagya scheme on Monday, about 22 lakh families living Below Poverty Line (BPL) may not get the assistance immediately as they do not have bank accounts. Karnataka has 1.28 crore ration card of Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Households and 99 per cent of these cards are seeded with Aadhaar numbers. Among them, 82 per cent comprising 1.06 crore of these cards are linked with active bank accounts. The cash will be transfered to those card holders. The remaining card holders will be intimated to open new accounts," an official statement said on Sunday. A total of 1.27 crore ration cards have one member designated as Head of the Households (HoH). "Cash will be transferred to the bank accounts of these HoH. Of them 94 per cent are women and five per cent are men," it said. The Congress had promised to give 10 kg rice to each BPL family member in the state under the Anna Bhagya scheme if

K'taka HC stays probe into poll code violation case against BJP chief Nadda

The High Court of Karnataka has stayed the probe into the model code of conduct violation case registered against BJP national president J P Nadda during the assembly elections in the state. Nadda was accused of making a speech during a party campaign at Harapanahalli town in Vijayanaraga in May 2023, in which he allegedly lured voters. The criminal petition filed by Nadda, seeking to cancel the case against him, was heard by a single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna, which gave an interim order staying the investigation on Friday and adjourned the hearing to June 21. Officials of the Election Vigilance Division lodged a complaint with the Harappanahalli Police stating that the speech was delivered in a manner luring and threatening the voters. It also said that he had violated the Model Election Code of Conduct. Nadda has filed the petition in the High Court seeking to quash this investigation.

Rain-related mishaps: Karnataka minister warns officials against laxity

Officials dealing with rain-related calamities will be directly responsible for any lapses on their part in taking precautionary measures in affected areas, Dakshina Kannada district-in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has said. Strict action will be taken against the officials in case of shortcomings while dealing with the situation, the minister told a meeting held at the command control room of the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) on Friday night. Discussions were held with district administration officials on the steps taken to manage the disasters occurring due to the incessant rains in the district. Gundu Rao said sufficient steps should be taken to prevent mishaps in low-lying areas, river shores and places near ponds. Fishermen should be given necessary instructions not to venture into the sea. He directed that officials remain in the control station and take disaster management actions without fail. Nodal officers are to be deputed in areas prone to disaster during the ...

K'taka to spend Rs 52k cr annually on 5 key promises, to benefit 13 mn

Seeking to highlight the Congress party's poll promises, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said approximately Rs 52,000 crore would be spent annually for the five key poll 'guarantees' and it is expected to benefit 1.3 crore families. Presenting the 2023-2024 budget, with an outlay of over Rs 3.27 lakh crore, in the Legislative Assembly, he said through the five 'guarantees' (poll promises), the government will be providing an average additional financial assistance of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 a month to each household. The five 'guarantees' related to free bus travel for women, 200 units of free electricity, 10 kilograms of free foodgrains to the poor, Rs 2,000 for the woman head of the house and unemployment benefit of up to Rs 3,000. According to some political analysts, these pre-poll promises found resonance with the electorate leading to the Congress' resounding victory in the Assembly elections. In the polls to the 224-member Assembly, the Congress bagged 135 seats

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah set to present State Budget today at 12 noon

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has arrived at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to present the state budget

Wife employed earlier can't sit idle and seek maintenance: Karnataka HC

Justice Rajendra Badamikar said that a wife who was employed previously is bound to make efforts to meet the expenses for her livelihood and can seek only supportive maintenance from her husband

Modi taking revenge for K'taka defeat by depriving it of foodgrains: Cong

The Congress on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre's discontinuing the sale of foodgrains from its pool to state governments, calling it a revenge on Karnataka. The party said that the discontinuation was a "political decision" taken by Modi as a revenge on the people of Karnataka for rejecting the BJP in the assembly polls. On June 13, the Centre discontinued the sale of rice and wheat from the buffer stock to state governments under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) officially due to inflationary pressure and concerns over monsoon. The Congress has alleged that the move was aimed at scuttling the Karnataka government's Anna Bhagya scheme. The Anna Bhagya scheme, one of the five pre-poll guarantees of the Congress, promises 10 kg rice for every BPL (below poverty line) family in the state. In a tweet, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said it was clear after Wednesday's meeting of Piyush Goyal with state food and civil supp