#Karnataka Governor gives nod to prosecute CM #Siddaramaiah in the alleged #MUDA land scam case

Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot has given nod to prosecute CM #Siddaramaiah in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land scam case. Congress alleges BJP appointed Governors are working like BJP agent targeting opposition ruled states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal.

The Muda scam involves alleged irregularities in the 50:50 incentive scheme of the Mysuru Urban Development Authority.

There are accusations that some individuals received alternative land in areas with a higher guidance value—i.e., the official minimum land value—compared to the original locations where the layouts were developed. This discrepancy is said to have caused MUDA significant financial losses, amounting to hundreds of crores.

BengaluruITE.biz gets underway in the midst of #AkroshDivas protest against #Demonetisation on #CyberMonday

Hundreds of Congress workers led by State Congress Working President R Gundu Rao took out a procession to Mysore Bank Circle from Town Hall, causing major traffic snarls in Bengaluru today to protest against demonetisation. Life in Bengaluru and elsewhere remained normal with commercial establishments, educational institutions, banks and private offices working as usual and public transport and Metro maintaining their regular services.

https://t.co/C0wxYCKdoB gets underway in the midst of #AkroshDivas protest against #Demonetisation on #CyberMonday pic.twitter.com/0Q4Wk3qSd0

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) November 28, 2016

Massive crowds at Aakrosha Divasa rally in Bengaluru. Common man is feeling the heat of Modi's Tughlaq decision. pic.twitter.com/AjFdZqeuUz

— Dinesh Gundu Rao (@dineshgrao) November 28, 2016

Meanwhile, Karnataka’s flagship event on IT and Electronics BengaluruITE.biz was inaugurated today by CM Siddaramaiah in the presence of other dignitaries that included R.V. Deshpande, Minister for LMI and Infrastructure Development, K.J. George, Minister for Bengaluru, Development and Town Planning and Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT, BT and Tourism with much fanfare.

We always encourage product start-ups in Karnataka : @PriyankKharge at @NASSCOM_Product

Congratulations to all the winners of Emerge 50 of @NASSCOM_Product . Stay inspired! pic.twitter.com/Id1LM1YaU7

— Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) October 26, 2016

5000 plus start-ups are already registered with us : @PriyankKharge at @NASSCOM_Product pic.twitter.com/NeNouqQHMc

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) October 27, 2016

Cops brutally lathicharge farmers in Dharwad #Karnataka

Protests in Dharwad have turned violent and cops have resorted lathicharge to contain the violence. #KarnatakaBandh pic.twitter.com/oJl7hYjWIT

— NEWS9 (@NEWS9TWEETS) July 30, 2016

#Karnataka is a trailblazer in creating its own Regional Economic and Trade Organisation #ManiShankarAiyar

Today economic diplomacy is the backbone of political diplomacy and with the formation of Karnataka Region Economic and Trade Organisation (KRETO) Karnataka has become a trailblazer in creating a global brand in itself said Senior Congress leader and former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar at the  launch of KRETO in Bangalore yesterday.

#Karnataka is a trailblazer in creating its own Regional Economic and Trade Organisation #ManiShankarAiyar pic.twitter.com/zh5sqLlNrb

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) July 28, 2016

KRETO plans to issue 3,000 E-Tourist Cards this year to encourage potential investors who visit the state as tourists.
Every potential investor visiting as a tourist will be exposed to quality offers that give them a taste of the local culture and tradition, said KRETO Executive Director Asif Iqbal.
KRETO signed an MoU with the Asian Arab Chamber of Commerce for setting up an innovation centre in United Arab Emirates. It also signed an MoU with the Bosnia and Herzegovina governments to screen Kannada films in an exclusive Kannada panorama in the upcoming Sarajevo film festival.

#Karnataka State Co-operative Apex Bank targets to earn Rs.100 cr. net profit in FY 2016-17

#Karnataka State Co-operative Apex Bank targets to earn  Rs.100 cr. net profit in FY 2016-17 pic.twitter.com/QcRLELksSq

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) July 23, 2016

During the financial year 2016-17, the Bank plans to advance various types of non-agricultural loans to the extent of Rs.2000 cr. and intends to advance agricultural loans of Rs.12000 cr. the 24 lakh farmers through the District Central Co-operative Banks. It has also prepared an action plan to increase the deposit level to Rs.8200 cr. and Working Capital to Rs.17866 crores for the year 2016-17.During the financial year 2015-16, the Bank has earned a net profit of Rs.31.45 cr.and gave Rs.10020 cr. agricultural loan and Rs.2013.08 cr. non agri loan.

#Karnataka gets Rs.2000/-per tonne coal from #Telangana

Telangana's  Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) will supply Rs.2000/-per tonne coal to Karnataka Power Corp Ltd.(KPCL). As per new MoU signed yesterday between SCCL and KPCL, SCCL will supply 70 lakh tonnes of coal per annum to two thermal power of plants located in northern Karnataka's Ballari and Raichur districts.

#Karnataka get Rs.2000/-per tonne coal from #Telangana ; MoU signed pic.twitter.com/8BYMYnn80t

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) July 1, 2016

Singareni Chairman N. Sridhar and KPCL Managing Director G. Kumar Naik signed the MoU in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar here in Bengaluru.As per the MoU,the quality of coal to be suplied by SCCL would be G5 to G15 and washery grade G9.

KPCL's new units at Bellary and Yermarus, with a capacity of 2300 MW, will function with full capacity this year. pic.twitter.com/mqxBl8My9X

— DK Shivakumar INC (@withDKS) July 1, 2016

Karnataka could save upto Rs 450 cr from this MoU mainly due to price rationalisation offered by SCCL.

Karnataka gets 60 per cent of its energy from hydel resources and six units of the Raichur thermal power station and two units of Bellary thermal power station generate 2,720 MW from coal.

#Karnataka 's first 370 MW Gas based Power Plant by #BHEL; Works begin at Yelahanka today

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) is setting up a Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) in Karnataka on EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) basis, involving supply and commissioning of a fuel-efficient state-of-the-art Advanced-class Gas Turbine. Valued at Rs.12,020 Million, the order for the 370 MW Gas Turbine-based CCPP to be installed at Yelahanka on the outskirts of Bengaluru city, has been placed on BHEL by Karanataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL). Significantly, this will also be the first gas-based Utility Power Project of KPCL.

#Karnataka 's first 370 MW Gas based Power Plant by #BHEL; Works begin at Yelahanka today pic.twitter.com/zcwK2kOjp5

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) June 21, 2016

With this order, BHEL has contracted 242 GTs including 22 advanced-class GTs. Notably, this plant will replace the old Diesel Generator based power plant of 128 MW capacity, which has not been operating for some time due to environmental issues. Yelahanka CCPP will not only address environmental concerns but will also improve the power supply in Karnataka and specifically Bengaluru city. BHEL has a long association with KPCL and BHEL supplied sets account for 74% of its installed capacity. Another 3,100 MW of projects are presently under construction by BHEL at Bellary, Yeramarus and Edlapur. Significantly, BHEL is the JV partner of KPCL in Raichur Power Corporation Limited (RPCL) and is constructing the 2x800 MW Yeramarus TPS and 1x800 MW Edlapur power projects of RPCL.

BHEL is doing design, engineering, manufacture, supply, construction, erection, testing & commissioning of the EPC Package comprising an advanced-class Gas Turbine-based combined cycle power plant. The key equipment for the contract will be manufactured at BHEL’s Hyderabad, Trichy, Haridwar, Bhopal and Jhansi plants.
 Gas-based power plants have the advantage of quick start-up and are environment friendly besides being suitable for peaking power. With the recent gas price revision and proposal for gas price pooling, gas availability is likely to improve which will result in setting up of more gas-based power plants.

Ruchi Soya receives approval from Karnataka Govt. to set up palm oil processing units

Ruchi Soya had entered into a MoU with the state of Karnataka in November 2015 for setting up these facilities. Ruchi Soya will set up multi-location palm fruit & Kernel processing units producing edible oil, palm kernel cake, palm kernel oil and solar power. The units will be set up at multiple locations in Dakshina Kannada district. The company will also set up a nursery to produce high-yielding varieties of plant species and creating awareness about oil palm cultivation. The new facilities, when ready, will offer employment to over 17,000 people including farmers, contract farming and agricultural workers, the company claims.

Dinesh Shahra – Founder and Managing Director, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited said, “ This proposed new integrated platform is expected to have significant value for both the Indian farmer, in terms of efficient handling of produce and sales realization, as well as for the Indian consumer, who will stand to gain from an increased range of high quality finished products.”
Currently, the company has procurement rights in palm planted area of over 2,00,000 hectares; including 4000 hectares in Karnataka.

Sweet water fish 'Amur' developed by #karnataka Veterinary University & Stirling and Wales University #UK

To ensure enough supply of fish and fish products at par with increasing demand,  Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute in Hesaraghatta has developed a new river fish species called Amur. This is the result of extensive research work by Professor Y Basavaraju since last one decade in association with The University of Stirling and Wales, United Kingdom.

New sweet water fish 'Amur' developed by #karnataka Veterinary University & Stirling and Wales University #UK pic.twitter.com/ZnSO67MVX0

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) April 5, 2016

Unique features of Amur fish variety: according to the experts and consumers, among the tens of fish species of sweet water (lake and river water), Amur has been considered as the high quality. It is now become important sweet water fish species in line with Katla, Rohu, Migal etc.

Avg. fish consumed by Indians was 16.8 kilo grams in 2010 which is expected to reach 18.5 kilo grams by 2020. pic.twitter.com/lTOGJ2RH22

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) April 5, 2016

According to the extensive research, one of the advantages of the Amur fish species is that it grow fast and becomes  adult very slowly. As a result the fish production will increase by whooping 30% person.  This factor will help those who depend upon the fish farming to improve their livelyhood.

Tourists dissatisfied with lack of tourism amenities in #Karnataka; Tourism Dep. hosts Karnataka fest in #Mumbai

A CAG report had said that a survey conducted along with the Department of Tourism had found that 65 per cent of tourists were dissatisfied with road connectivity around tourist spots at Hampi, Pattadakal, Belur and Halebidu.

Tourists dissatisfied with lack of tourism amenities in #Karnataka; Tourism Dep. hosts Karnataka fest in #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/smY3OfBLpt

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) March 6, 2016

Of a sample survey of 165 tourists, 33 per cent said they were unhappy with basic facilities such as drinking water, toilets, restaurants and their maintenance at tourist destinations. It said 39 per cent of tourists were dissatisfied with the availability of budget accommodation at reputed tourist places, and 35 per cent were not happy with the availability of information boards. It said 36 per cent were unhappy with the services of the guides.
The report was tabled in the Karnataka State legislature.

Department of Tourism, Government of Karnataka is hosting a 3 day extravaganza-called “Karnataka Habba” at Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla from 4th to 6th March 2016. The 3-day fest is an initiative by Tourism Department of Karnataka to showcase the state in all its glory to the people of Mumbai.

#Karnataka Govt. decides to withdraw #luxury tax on #ICUs after severe criticism

#Karnataka Govt. decides to withdraw #luxury tax on #ICUs after severe criticism pic.twitter.com/uFBUfVVr80

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) January 21, 2016

Announcing the decision to the media, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said a section of private hospitals had recently urged the government to exempt ICUs from paying luxury tax as it would burden the patients. Further, patients had objected to the imposition of the tax. “After looking into the issue, the government has decided not to impose luxury tax on ICUs in private hospitals.

CM & former CM of #Karnataka at the launch of new #Kannada daily News Paper 'Vishwavani'

Vishweshwar Bhat the former editor of Vijay Karnataka, Kannada Prabha and Suvarna News channel has launched a new daily Kannada News Paper called Vishwavani. Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah and former Chief Minister of Karnataka B.S. Yeddyurappa were also present at the launch function.

@BSYBJP @CMofKarnataka at the launch of new #Kannada daily News Paper 'Vishwavani' pic.twitter.com/7GA8DaHiud

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) January 16, 2016

The Kannada newspaper market includes Praja Vani owned by ‘The Printers (Mysore) Ltd’ who also publish English daily Deccan Herald, the second largest English daily in Karnataka. The advertising revenues of the Kannada newspaper market is around Rs 600 crore and all the Kannada dailies put together sell around two million copies daily.There are few other newspapers in Karnataka with the titles Samyukta Karnataka and Udaya Vani are there.Another paper Vijaya Vani is owned by Vijay Sankeshwar who also owns VRL Logistics.

India's #electronics goods import bill putting strain on #foreign exchange : R V Deshpande, Min. #Karnataka

Indian Electronic System and Design Manufacturing (ESDM) is estimated around $94.2 billion, which has grown at a CAGR of 9.68 per cent since 2011. Despite this growth, the ‘manufacturing’ of electronic goods has not been a feature of Indian industry.India imports around 65 per cent of the total demand for electronics which accounts for its second largest import after crude oil. The import translates to Rs.50,000 crore of lost opportunity cost owing to limited manufacturing in India.'The country should seriously look at the growth of domestic electronics industry as burgeoning imports are putting strain on foreign exchange' said Karnataka Industries Minister R V Deshpande at the inauguration of India Electronics Week 2016 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre( BIEC) yesterday."Today, oil prices have collapsed and gold prices have almost collapsed and hence there is no strain on foreign exchange. But there is so much of imports happening in the field of electronics," Karnataka Industries Minister R V Deshpande said.

India's #electronics goods import bill putting strain on #foreign exchange : R V Deshpande, Min. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/28WzFevj3z

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) January 12, 2016

"This should not happen, instead exports should happen with the kind of resources we boast of," he said addressing the gathering at 'India Electronics Week 2016' here.

He said though Karnataka is recognised as the hub of innovation and technology development,the electronics industry in the state has not caught on speed as IT and BT did, despite having more than eight per cent contribution towards growth.

"We are recognised as Silicon valley, but as far as the electronic industry goes, though our contribution is more than eight per cent, I am surprised why this industry could not take the speed. Therefore there is a tremendous scope," he said.

Deshpande urged the electronics players to not only invest in Bengaluru, but also in Tier II and Tier III cities like Mysuru, Mengaluru, Hubli-Dharwad and Belagavi.

#Karnataka to have 20,000 #startups by 2020 : #NASSCOM

National Association of Software & Services (NASSCOM) today announced the inauguration of its second warehouse in Bengaluru.Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah, K.J. George, Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning, R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM were also present.

#Karnataka- the tech-savy state will incubate about 20,000 #startups by 2020 to create 6 lakh direct & 12 lakh indirect jobs.

— NASSCOM (@nasscom) December 14, 2015

Over the years, Bangalore has developed as the start-up capital of India. The city has nearly 3,100 to 4,900 dynamic tech start-ups and has attained the second highest growth rate for exit volume and VC investment among the top 20. The warehouse currently has 20 start-ups and with the new space, the warehouse will consist of 100 start-ups. There will be 5 seats allotted to one start-up. The start-ups will operate for six months. The entrepreneurs will have a list of benefits which could help polish their entrepreneurial skills as well as polish their marketing ability including; Connect sessions, early stage mentoring, access to resources from Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM cloud, Kotak banking etc.

Actor Yash to promote Celkon Mobiles in #Karnataka

Mobile brand Celkon which has significant presence in South India has roped in actor “Yash”  as its brand ambassador for Karnataka.

Actor Yash to promote Celkon Mobiles in #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/PokOvEcRnv

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) December 13, 2015

Commenting on the occasion  Murali Retineni, Executive Director-Celkon Mobiles said “As we look to expand our footprint across Karnataka, our association with Yash is an ideal partnership for us to connect with audiences as he is the leading name in the entertainment industry.”

Expressing his excitement on the association with Celkon, Yash the cinestar said, “I feel proud and happy to be associated with Celkon and I thank the management for this association”

#BangaloreITEBiz 2015 : 80 lakh IT related jobs by 2020 : IT Min. #Karnataka

Currently 40 million people rely on the information technology related jobs in Karnataka and the State Govt. wants to double the nunber by 2020,. This was stated by S R Patil Minister for Information Technology, Biotechnology, Planning, Science & Technology, Karnataka at the sate assembly recently. 

#BangaloreITEBiz 2015 : 80 lakh IT related jobs by 2020 : IT Min. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/Qw4EaFL0Mf

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) December 8, 2015

18th edition of Karnataka’s premier IT summit - BangaloreITE.biz was inaugurated today.This year the focus is on Start-ups. Over 60 startup companies along with IT major companies participated at the BangaloreITE.BIZ exhibition.
Vanitha Narayanan, MD, IBM India Pvt Ltd, Kris Gopalakrishnan,Co-Founder, Infosys Ltd. Chairman, Karnataka’s Vision Group on Information Technology,Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister of Karnataka, Kaushik Mukherjee, Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, R. Chandrashekhar, IAS (Retd) President, NASSCOM Former Secretary, IT & Telecommunications, Government of India, Debjani Ghosh, Vice President, Sales & Marketing Group, Managing Director - South Asia, Intel and President, MAIT,  V. Manjula, IAS Principal Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T Government of Karnataka and Dr. Omkar Rai, Director General, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) were present on this occasion.

Lavish weddings over Rs.5 lakhs likely to invite luxury tax in #Karnataka

Lavish #weddings over Rs.5 lakhs likely to invite #Luxury tax in #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/UnOCur9cUm

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) November 20, 2015

Karnataka Congress MLA and former Speaker Ramesh Kumar has tabled a private member's bill in Karnataka Assembly which proposes to levy  luxury tax on people spending over Rs.5 lakh for holding marriage ceremonies. The Bill envisages a bar on number of invitees (max 300 guests), parents overspending on marriages will be penalised as well. In May last year, the Siddaramaiah government planned to introduce a law by bringing in an amendment to the existing Karnataka Marriages (Registration and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1976 but was dropped after civil society strongly opposed such a move.

#Karnatak Lingayat Education Society to hold state-level inter-school Sports Meet

Karnatak Lingayat Education (KLE) Society has announced a state-level inter-school Sports Meet. The KLE Centenary Cup to be held in Karnataka. This sports meet will be co-hosted and conducted by TENVIC, a sports training and consulting company co-founded by former Indian spin legend Anil Kumble.
Speaking on this occasion, Dr. Prabakhar Kore, Chairman – KLE Group and Rajya Sabha member said, “Students have played an important role in the successful completion of 100 years of the KLE Society and The KLE Centenary Cup is dedicated to all of them

#Karnatak Lingayat Education Society to hold state-level inter-school Sports Meet pic.twitter.com/nYiZUVcs0u

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) November 18, 2015

KLE will complete 100 years of its establishment in 2016 today. 250 educational institutions spread across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa are run by  Karnatak Lingayat Education (KLE) Society.

#YatraGenie to invest 50 crores for expansion in #Karnataka

Online bus ticketing and cab booking portal YatraGenie will be investing 50 crores for rigorous expansion across Karnataka. YatraGenie which is currently available across 40 cities in South India has now expanded its services to Hassan, Mangalore, Manipal, Udupi, and many other cities in Dakshina Kannada district.

#YatraGenie to invest 50 crores for expansion in #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/huuxIucYWK

— Press Release Watch (@PrReleaseWatch) October 31, 2015

As a part of their expansion plan, Yatragenie will hire 500 cab drivers under the Driver Cum Owner model launched by the company in association with Maruti Suzuki Pvt. Ltd.  The company will also hire 25 call center executives to set up a YatraGenie call center in Mangalore.

On the occasion, Renil Komitla , CEO, YatraGenie Services Pvt Ltd said  “ With this investment we want to rapidly increase our presence in Karnataka.  In the first phase, our focus is on Dakshina Kannada and Hassan regions.  Continuing with our focus on providing good customer experience in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, YatraGenie will be expanding across regions in Karnataka”

 In the coming months, YatraGenie aims to launch its services in 17 district headquarters in Karnataka. By the end of 2015, YatraGenie plans to expand to 100 cities.