Page 8 - Karnataka

Welspun One to invest ₹2,150 cr for warehouses across Karnataka, Tamil Nadu

Welspun One Logistics Parks expands Karnataka and Tamil Nadu portfolio to 260 acres with Rs 2,150 crore investment, targeting 6 msf development in high-potential corridors

Welspun One acquires 107 acres in Karnataka for warehousing projects

Welspun Group-backed warehousing and logistics platform Welspun One Logistics Parks (WOLP) on Wednesday announced it has acquired two land parcels totalling 107 acres in southern India for two warehousing projects. With this acquisition, the company's total footprint has expanded to over 260 acres across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, marking a significant step in strengthening its pan-South India presence, Welspun One said. This portfolio represents a development potential of over 6 million sq ft, supported by a committed investment of USD 250 million (Rs 2,150 crore), the company said. Welspun One said it has acquired around 51 acres of land in Hoskote and 56 acres in Devanahalli, Karnataka. With these acquisitions, the company has further strengthened its presence in South India, underscoring its confidence in the region's long-term growth potential. "The Bengaluru market in particular holds immense promise, and these investments demonstrate our conviction and capability," said ...

Karnataka Cabinet decides to provide internal reservation among SCs

The Karnataka cabinet on Tuesday night decided to provide internal reservation among Scheduled Castes by categorising 101 castes among them into three categories, official sources said. In a special meeting, the Cabinet discussed the recommendations of the Justice H N Nagmohan Das Commission report, aimed at providing internal reservation among Scheduled Castes (SCs). The commission had submitted its 1,766-page report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on August 4, and it was placed before the cabinet on August 7. The internal reservation is aimed at slicing up the 17 per cent reservation matrix given to 101 scheduled castes. According to sources, the cabinet decided to accept the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission's report, but made some alterations. Of the 17 per cent reservation that SCs have in the state, as per the internal reservation formula evolved by the Cabinet, the SC (Right) and SC (Left) will get 6 per cent each, while the 'touchable' Dalit communities (Lambani, Bhovi, Korm

FASTag annual pass crosses 500K users nationwide within four days of launch

The newly introduced FASTag annual pass facility has crossed the landmark figure of five lakh users across the country within four days, an official statement said on Monday. FASTag annual pass, applicable on about 1,150 toll collection booths on National Highways and expressways allowing users to cross 200 toll plazas in a year for a one-time payment of Rs 3,000, was launched on August 15. The facility has received an overwhelming response from the National Highway users across the country. Tamil Nadu led with the maximum number of annual pass purchases in the last four days, followed by Karnataka and Haryana, the statement said. Besides, maximum transactions through FASTag annual pass were recorded at toll plazas in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, it added. The pass is applicable for all non-commercial vehicles with a valid FASTag and gets activated within two hours of the one-time payment using Rajmargyatra app or the NHAI website.

Put wire mesh on safari vehicles, urge tourists to act properly: Minister

Karnataka Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre has said that he instructed biological parks officials to install mesh on the windows and photography holes of all safari vehicles. The minister issued the notification immediately after a leopard entered a safari vehicle at the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BNP) in Bengaluru on August 15. The leopard had scratched a 12-year-old boy before it could be chased out of the vehicle. BNP's leopard safari enclosure, launched last year, covers 20 hectares and is India's largest leopard safari featuring semi-wild leopards, mostly rescued from in and around Bengaluru. Khandre said he had instructed the officials to take all necessary precautionary measures during the safari and to give appropriate warnings to tourists and to print a warning message on the safari ticket itself.

Have right to label content when it enters public domain: Priyank Kharge

The fake news bill is under review, with an expert-only panel and public consultation planned before finalising provisions, says Karnataka IT minister Priyank Kharge

Karnataka-specific education policy in the works: CM Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said steps are being taken by the state government to frame a comprehensive "Karnataka-specific" education policy which will lead to holistic development of the youth. A commission constituted for this purpose has recommended a two-language policy in school education and that Kannada or the mother tongue be the medium of instruction up to Class 5. In his address during the 79th Independence Day celebrations here, the chief minister also said the government was upgrading first-grade colleges and polytechnics in the state, and establishing 13 new technical education institutions. "Recently, the State Education Policy Commission, chaired by Prof Sukhadeo Thorat, submitted its report. For the first time, steps are being taken to frame a comprehensive, Karnataka-specific education policy which will lead to holistic development of our youth," Siddaramaiah said. The Commission had submitted its report to Siddaramaiah on August 8. It was constituted i

Tesco to set up distribution hub, create 15,000 jobs: K'taka Industries Min

UK-based retail giant Tesco plans to set up a new distribution centre in Karnataka, creating 15,000 additional jobs, Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil said on Wednesday. UK engineering major Rolls-Royce is also exploring fresh investments in the state, he said, adding that the government would expedite all necessary processes to facilitate the company's plans, his office said in a release. Patil made the announcement while addressing a reception hosted on Tuesday by the British Deputy High Commission to mark the signing of the IndiaUnited Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The pact is projected to boost bilateral trade by about Euro 25 billion annually and help double trade volumes to nearly Euro 90 billion by 2030. The FTA would pave the way for duty-free access for 99 per cent of India's exports to the UK and 90 per cent of UK exports to India. This would mean more affordable products, greater market access for businesses, and a surge in commerce benefiting consumers

Karnataka Assembly passes bills to simplify real estate use for MSMEs

The Karnataka assembly on Wednesday passed nine bills, including Karnataka Land Reforms and Certain Other Law (Amendment) Bill. Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, who piloted the Karnataka Land Reforms and Certain Other Law (Amendment) Bill for the consideration of the House said, "There will be auto-conversion." It permits the use of up to two acres of agricultural land for new micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) without the need for a formal conversion process. The bill also proposes doing away with conversion of agricultural lands if they are used for renewable energy projects. It proposes a penalty of Rs 1 lakh for selling any agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes, without getting such land converted or without obtaining prior approval of the competent authority. It has therefore removed a three-year imprisonment clause, because so far, this violation carried an imprisonment for three years and fine of Rs 10,000. The Assembly also passed the Registration .

Street dog menace: Oppn MLAs want SC directions to be extended to Karnataka

Opposition MLAs on Wednesday urged the Karnataka government to implement the Supreme Court directives on addressing the street dog menace in the state and take steps to protect the residents. The MLAs highlighted the stray dog issue near Vidhana Soudha and the Legislators' Home, and sought the Speaker's intervention. These remarks by the MLAs came after the Supreme Court directed Delhi-NCR authorities to permanently relocate all strays from streets to shelters "at the earliest". The top court noted that there was an "extremely grim" situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children. The call for action comes a day after two college students were attacked by stray dogs here and they were hospitalised. The incident occurred inside the Jnanabharathi campus, near Kengeri. Raising the issue, soon after the Question Hour, JD(S) floor leader in the Assembly C B Suresh Babu said if all the corporations of the state were to take similar action, it would ...

ED raids Karnataka Cong MLA, others in illegal iron ore export case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday raided premises linked to Karnataka Congress MLA Satish Krishna Sail and some others as part of a money laundering investigation against the legislator in a case related to alleged illegal export of iron ore, official sources said. At least 15 premises in Karnataka, Goa and Mumbai are being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said. Sail is a Congress MLA representing the Karwar assembly constituency in Uttara Kannada district. Sail, according to the sources, has been accused of exporting illegally mined iron ore which was seized by forest officials at Belekeri port in Karwar, Karnataka. This caused "loss" to government exchequer for an amount of about Rs 38 crore but the actual value of illegally exported ore is worth hundreds of crores of rupees, the sources said. The case originated from a 2010 probe by the Karnataka Lokayukta, which discovered about eight lakh tons of illegally transported iron ore f

Karnataka witnesses 5-fold jump in GST tax evasion at ₹39,577 cr in FY25

Central GST officers in Karnataka detected tax evasion of Rs 39,577 crore in 2024-25 fiscal year, an over 5-fold jump from the year-ago period, Parliament was informed on Monday. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said "Central GST authorities have not issued any notices based on UPI transaction". The minister was replying to a question on whether the government has issued GST notices to small traders and street vendors in the country, including Karnataka, without assessment of their business activities. Last month, numerous small traders and shopkeepers in Bengaluru, Karnataka, received disproportionately high GST notices primarily based on digital footprints, such as UPI transactions. The notices were sent by State GST field offices. To another question on the details of GST evasion detected in Karnataka, Sitharaman shared the details of cases by the Central Tax formations pertaining to the state. In 2024-25, 1,254 cases involving Rs 39,577

Karnataka best for entrepreneurs to start, grow big: CM Siddaramaiah

Pitching Bengaluru as the tech capital of India that is making leaps in new-age technology like quantum science and artificial intelligence, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday invited industry leaders for the 28th Bengaluru Tech Summit to be organised here from November 18 to 20. "We are the best place for entrepreneurs to start and grow big," he added. Siddaramaiah was addressing nearly 100 industry leaders at a breakfast meeting called by the Department of Electronics, IT & BT, Karnataka government, to promote the summit. "In Artificial Intelligence, Bengaluru ranks 5th among the world's top AI cities. It hosts nearly 50 per cent of India's AI talent, making it the second-largest AI talent hub globally," pointed out the CM. He promised that Karnataka's new IT policy will focus on creating infrastructure for AI. According to him, from the Mysuru kings to the first IT policy in 1997 and the Global Capability Centre Policy in 2024, Karnataka has always planned ...

Karnataka election chief asks Rahul to share proof for double voting claim

The Karnataka chief electoral officer on Sunday issued a notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, asking him to share documents based on which he had alleged that a woman voted twice. Soon after the notice was issued to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Election Commission once again asked him to either sign a declaration to substantiate his allegations of vote theft in Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra or apologise to the nation for making "absurd" allegations. Karnataka's top poll officer told Gandhi that the documents will help his office carry out a detailed inquiry. Gandhi had shown the documents at a press conference in the national capital last week. "You have also stated that as per the records given by the polling officer, Smt Shakun Rani had voted twice... On inquiry, Smt Sakun Rani has stated that she has voted only once and not twice, as alleged by you," the notice read. A preliminary inquiry conducted by the CEO's office also revealed that the tick-marked

Karnataka gears up for PM Modi's visit to inaugurate development projects

Preparations are ongoing near Ragigudda Metro Station, and Bellary Road has been decorated ahead of the event

K'taka EC, Dy CM Shivakumar spar over Rahul Gandhi's poll fraud allegations

Karnataka CEO orders inquiry into Rahul Gandhi's claims; Election Commission challenges him to provide proof or apologise, citing earlier Supreme Court ruling

PM-KISAN: ₹15,127.88 cr disbursed to beneficiaries in Karnataka since FY20

A total of Rs 15,127.88 crore was disbursed to beneficiaries from Karnataka under the central flagship scheme PM-KISAN since April 2020, Parliament was informed on Friday. Karnataka implemented the PM-KISAN scheme around the time the central government launched it nationally on February 24, 2019. "A farmer-centric digital infrastructure has ensured that the benefits of the scheme reach all eligible farmers across the country without the involvement of any intermediaries," said Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur, in his written reply to the Rajya Sabha. As per the data placed before the Upper House on disbursal amount from the 5th installment onwards, a total of Rs 15,127.88 crore was transferred to the beneficiaries' bank accounts in Karnataka. The 20th installment of Rs 877.32 crore was disbursed for the April-June quarter to 43,29,135 beneficiaries. As on August 8, the Centre disbursed over Rs 3.90 lakh crore to farmers across the country in 20 installments since t

'Submit proof or stop misleading': ECI on Rahul's K'taka voter fraud claim

The Election Commission has asked Rahul Gandhi to submit names of voters he claims were wrongly listed, demanding a signed declaration after his allegations of electoral fraud in Karnataka

'Elections are choreographed': Rahul Gandhi's big claim against EC, BJP

Rahul Gandhi alleged large-scale voter fraud in Karnataka's Mahadevapura, claimed Election Commission colluded with BJP; claims over 100,000 fake votes cast

IndiGo commences construction work for new MRO facility in Bengaluru

Domestic carrier IndiGo has commenced construction work on its new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility here, with the groundbreaking ceremony taking place at the Kempegowda International Airport on Tuesday. To be built on 31 acres of land, theO with a capacity of up to 12 bays and the capability to handle both narrow and wide-body aircraft will be fully functional by 2028, IndiGo said. The ceremony was attended by the Commissioner for Industries in the Karnataka Government, Gunjan Krishna, IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers, Bangalore International Airport Ltd's CEO Hari Marar, among others. IndiGo had signed a memorandum of understanding with BIAL for the allocation of land in May. This facility will also create over a thousand jobs across engineers, technicians and several more, further contributing towards nation building, IndiGo said. "We are very excited as we commence the project to build this grandO facility in Bengaluru. This also strengthens our ...