Page 9 - Karnataka

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 ...

Kannada actor Santhosh Balaraj dies at 34 of jaundice-related complications

Kannada actor Santosh Balaraj died at the age of 34. The son of the late producer Anekal Balaraj was reportedly suffering from jaundice and was later admitted to the ICU at a K'taka private hospital

Karnataka transport corporation strike: Unions demand pay revision, arrears

The strike left thousands of passengers stranded, particularly in major cities such as Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Belagavi

Karnataka bus services hit as workers begin strike, passengers stranded

Employees of Karnataka's state-owned transport corporations began an indefinite strike on Tuesday morning, severely affecting public bus services across the state and leaving passengers in the lurch. The unions went ahead with the strike despite a court stay against the agitation, underway pressing demands including wage revision. Buses remained parked at depots and only a few were seen running, as some staff chose not to participate in the strike. Some buses in rural areas operated as a few drivers opted to work for the convenience of students to ferry them to their schools, said sources in the transport department. The transport corporations are learned to have roped in trainee bus drivers to manage the situation. Bus stands in major cities like Bengaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Raichur, Chitradurga, Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Tumakuru, Hassan, Madikeri, Shivamogga, and Kalaburagi saw heavy passenger rush, with thousands stranded and struggling to find alternate wa

Protest vs protest: Govt prepared for Cong, BJP agitations, says K'taka HM

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said all necessary security precautions have been taken ahead of the protests planned for August 5. Countering an agitation called by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against vote theft during Lok Sabha polls last year at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, the opposition BJP is also protesting at Vidhana Soudha, to inform the public about the misleading stand of Congress. The day will also see state-wide protests by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) employees. Speaking to the reporters, the Home Minister said, The government has the capability to handle everything. Adequate police personnel have been deployed for security. Instructions have been issued for all necessary measures. Parameshwara also gave more details about the Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF), formed to eradicate drugs in Bengaluru city. They function like a task force. They act based on wherever the information comes from. We have already given specific instructi

Karnataka to host 'Quantum India Bengaluru Summit' from July 31 onwards

The Karnataka government is all set to host a two-day 'Quantum India Bengaluru Summit' here starting from July 31, officials said on Wednesday. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the summit, while Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will release the 'Karnataka Quantum Roadmap'. Through this summit, the government aims to showcase quantum technology to the world and strengthen Karnataka's leadership in this transformative field, they said. According to an official statement, state Minister for Science and Technology N S Boseraju has conducted several preparatory meetings, engaging with private technology companies, startups, and representatives from various technical institutions. The landmark event will witness participation from quantum experts representing eight countries and over 1,000 delegates from across India, it said. The summit will also be attended by IT & BT Minister Priyank Kharge, Higher Education Minister M C Sudhakar, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda,

BJP urges K'taka govt to act against firms selling fake seeds, fertilisers

Accusing the ruling Congress of 'failing' Karnataka, state BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Sunday urged the Siddaramaiah-led government to file a criminal case and take strict action against companies that are supplying fake seeds and fertilisers to farmers. He said a police vigilance team should be formed to take strict action against the networks that cheat farmers. The BJP chief was responding to reports about fake seeds and fertilisers being supplied to farmers in some parts of the state. "The efforts to trouble the food-providing farmers and exploit them within the system have been ongoing for a long time. Companies supplying fertilizers and seeds are engaging in the despicable act of sabotaging agricultural activities by providing fake seeds to the enthusiastic farming community that are expecting a good harvest in the backdrop of a promising monsoon this time," Vijayendra said. "I urge the government to file a criminal case against such companies in this regard and take stri

SIT begins probe into mass burials in Dharmasthala amid new evidence

The SIT officers are visiting key sites in Dharmasthala, Karnataka, and preparing to question the anonymous complainant