1. Karnataka’s Political Crisis Blows Over
The JD(S)-Congress coalition appears to have survived its first major crisis with disgruntled Municipalities Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on Wednesday announcing that he had no plan to quit the Congress and expressed hope that the party would resolve issues.
Though he appeared to have dropped the demand for the deputy chief minister's post, Ramesh has come out with a new set of demands which are, according to him, in the interest of the Scheduled Tribe community. The demands are: increasing reservation for STs from 3% to 7.5%, a Cabinet berth for an ST leader, appointing a community leader to the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and making an ST leader member of the Legislative Council.
“I am not joining the BJP. But I have asked the party to take certain measures in the interest of the ST community. I am confident that the Congress leaders will resolve all issues...I don’t want to comment on any other issues. The Chief Minister (H D Kumaraswamy), too, has assured us all issues will be resolved.”
(Source: Deccan Herald)
2. Karnataka Plans Manufacturing Clusters in 9 Districts
In an effort to boost Karnataka’s industrial and innovation capability, the State government has identified nine districts to foster innovation and product diversification.
The programme to be implemented in various districts include Kalaburgi for manufacturing of solar power goods, Chitradurga for manufacturing of LED lights, Hassan for manufacturing of sanitary goods, Koppal for manufacturing of mechanised toys, Mysuru for ICB manufacturing unit, Ballari for textile industry, Chikkaballapur for mobile phone components, Tumkur for sports and fitness goods and Bidar for manufacture of agricultural implements.
In order to achieve the objective of recreating manufacturing and boosting job development across the State, the government has set up vision groups for each of the identified groups comprising of industry leaders and experts.
(Source: The Hindu BusinessLine)
3. Get Rid of Potholes By Today, Karnataka High Court Tells BBMP
The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday set a stiff challenge for the BBMP: Fix all potholes by Thursday. “This court expects that there should not be a single pothole in Bengaluru by tomorrow. The city cannot be allowed to be at anybody’s mercy and it needs to given its glory from every angle. Work will have to be done in right earnest. Let us see if you are able to do it tonight,” the court said before adjourning the hearing to Thursday.
A division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice S G Pandit made this observation while issuing an oral directive to fill all potholes during the hearing of a public interest litigation filed by Vijayan Menon and three other residents of Koramangala in 2015, pointing to the pathetic conditions of the roads in and around the city and particularly, the menace of potholes and ditches. The court’s directive comes a few days after it ensured that the BBMP and the city police implemented the law to remove all unauthorised hoardings, flexes and banners in the city.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
4. Bengaluru Ranked Among Top Locations for Tech Enterprises in Asia
Bengaluru, along with Singapore and Shenzhen, figure in the list of best locations for tech enterprises in Asia. A research report ‘Top Locations in Asia: Technology Sector,’ released by Colliers Research and based on a comprehensive study of 16 cities in developed and emerging markets across Asia, examines nearly 50 criteria across a spectrum of socio-economic, property and human factors to determine the viability of these cities as tech hubs, as a workability index for the tech sector.
The report recommends the best urban locations for technology firms. Bengaluru, Singapore and Shenzhen stand out as top choices for starting or expanding technology operations in Asia.
“Popularly known as the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru has been chosen as the No 1 choice in Asia for technology occupiers. Bengaluru’s top ranking is based on its socio-economic strengths, making it among the fastest-growing cities in Asia, with an average predicted annual GDP growth of 9.6 percent till 2022.
Further, it benefits from a wide and experienced talent pool. The city has the largest number of higher education institutions across India relative to its population, with an employability ratio of 24 per cent for the IT sector. As the natural hub for technology start-ups, Bengaluru has attracted the highest quantum of start-up investment at an annual average of $4 billion over the last three years.
(Source: The Hindu BusinessLine)
5. Hawala Money Trail From Karnataka to Congress HQ in Delhi: BJP
The BJP on Wednesday demanded that the top Congress leadership respond to the purported “confessional statements” made to Income Tax department by alleged associates of Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar claiming the money trail in a “hawala network” went to Congress headquarters here.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra hit out at Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, saying he has been asking questions on a daily basis from the government but these statements “have exposed his party, which has become synonymous with corruption.”
“The Congress is standing on a tripod of unaccounted cash, hawala transactions and corrupt deeds,” he alleged. The case shows that money trail from the state went to the Congress' headquarters at Akbar Road, he alleged.
(Source: The Times of India)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)