1. Karnataka Drama isn't Over Yet, 3 Congress MLAs Still Elusive
Two days after BJP's 'Operation Lotus' withered, the Congress will demonstrate its strength at the legislature party meeting on Friday. As three Congress MLAs continue to remain elusive, , much like the two independents, BJP hasn't lost all hopes.
The CLP meeting, convened to put an end to ongoing talk of a few Congress MLAs joining hands with the BJP to topple the seven-month-old HD Kumaraswamy government, will be held in the Vidhan Soudha. If about 10 MLAs fail to turn up, it can be assumed that BJP's operation is still on.
Some BJP leaders are pinning their hopes on Congress MLAs Ramesh Jarakiholi, Mahesh Kumatalli and Umesh Jadhav, who are still holed up in a hotel in Mumbai.
(Source: The Times of India)
2. Soon, Free WiFi at 3,500 Spots in City
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will provide free WiFi services at 3,500 spots across the city soon.
In September 2018, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara had inaugurated a free WiFi facility at Govindaraja Nagar ward, which provides internet facility around a 3 km radius in the ward. A BBMP official said, “After a series of meetings with the state IT Department, we have finalised around 3,500 spots to be connected through WiFi in all the 198 wards in the city.”
“Work will be taken up in a phased manner and all these spots will have WiFi connection in another four months. Around four companies have expressed interest to provide the service. The process will be finalised soon,” he added.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
3. Cable Operators Strike: 60 Lakh TV Screens in K’taka to go Blank on 24 January
TV screens across Karnataka using a conventional local cable connection as opposed to satellite Direct to Home services will go blank in Karnataka, including Bengaluru, on 24 January from 6 am to 10 pm, reports said. The Karnataka State Cable Television Operators Association has announced that they will hold a strike protesting against the new tariff policy by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) coming into effect from 1 February.
There are currently more than 60 lakh users for conventional locally-operated TV service in the state.
VS Patrick Raju, president of the association, called the decision regressive and said the new tariff fixed by TRAI will prove beneficial neither to the customer nor the cable operators. He alleged the new rules are made only to favour the big players in the market.
(Source: The News Minute)
4. ISRO Launches UNNATI; Turns Teacher
Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) just turned teacher in a big, global way. The premier space agency on Thursday, 17 January, officially kicked off the Unispace Nanosatellites Assembly and Training by Isro (UNNATI) scheme to train the first batch of 30 participants from 30 countries.
On the UNNATI agenda are modules to strengthen the participating nations' capabilities to assemble, integrate and test nanosatellites. The list of the participating countries includes Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Oman, Panama and Portugal.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
5. Millets From Karnataka all set for International Exposure Again
The millets from Karnataka are set for international exposure again as this year’s edition of three-day Organics and Millets International Trade Fair is set to be held from Friday, 18 January, in Bengaluru.
The event, being organised by the Department of Agriculture, will be held on the Palace Grounds premises. The main intention of the event is to create new markets for millets in a bid to ensure remunerative price and also to provide consumers access to healthy food.
The fair will see participation from countries such as Chile, Poland, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Singapore, and Switzerland.
(Source: The Hindu)
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