ಸರ್ಟಿಫಿಕೇಟ್ ಕೋರ್ಸುಗಳು ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರಂಭ

Source: http://thatskannada.oneindia.in/news/2008/10/20/cisco-gtap-launched-in-india.html

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು, ಅ. 20 : ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಿತ ಸಾಫ್ಟ್ ವೇರ್ ಕಂಪನಿಗಳಲ್ಲೊಂದಾದ ಸಿಸ್ಕೋ 'ಗ್ಲೋಬಲ್ ಟ್ಯಾಲೆಂಟ್ ಎಕ್ಸಿಲರೇಶನ್ ಪ್ರೋಗ್ರಾಮ್'(GTAP) ಎಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಟಿಫಿಕೇಟ್ ಕೋರ್ಸ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರಂಭಿಸಿದೆ. ಈ ಕೋರ್ಸುಗಳು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಆಫ್ರಿಕಾದ ಜೋಹಾನ್ಸ್ ಬರ್ಗ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಜೋರ್ಡಾನಿನ ಅಮಾನ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿವೆ.

ಸಿಸ್ಕೋ ಕಂಪನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ 4500 ಸಾವಿರಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಅಧಿಕ ವೃತ್ತಿಪರ ಇಂಜನಿಯರ್ ಗಳು ಕೆಲಸ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಕಂಪನಿಯ ಉದ್ಯೋಗಿಗಳ ಗುಣಮಟ್ಟ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಲು ಸುಮಾರು 17 ಸಿಸಿಐಇ(cisco Certified Internetwork experts)ಗಳು ಕೆಲಸ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಇದೀಗ ಇದನ್ನು ಕಂಪನಿಯೇತರ ಉದ್ಯೋಗಿಗಳಿಗೂ ಮುಕ್ತವಾಗಿರಸಲು ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಈ ಕಂಪನಿಯ ಎಚ್ ಆರ್ ವಿಭಾಗದ ಉಪಾಧ್ಯಕ್ಷ ಲಿಯೋ ಸ್ಕ್ರೀವ್ ನರ್ ಹೇಳಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಇಂಜನಿಯರಿಂಗ್ ಪದವಿಗಳನ್ನು ಮುಗಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಬರುವ ಹೊಸ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಈಗಾಗಲೇ ಕೆಲಸ ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವ ಇಂಜನಿಯರ್ ಗಳು ಸರ್ಟಿಫಿಕೇಟ್ ಕೋರ್ಸಿನ ಪ್ರಯೋಜನವನ್ನು ಪಡೆಯಬಹುದಾಗಿದೆ ಎಂದು ಅವರು ವಿವರಿಸಿದರು.

ಸಿಸ್ಕೋ ಕಂಪನಿಯು ಮುಂದಿನ 3 ರಿಂದ 5 ವರ್ಷಗಳ ಅವಧಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಪನಿಯ ಉದ್ಯೋಗಿಗಳ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸುವ ಚಿಂತನೆ ನಡೆಸಿದೆ. ಈ ಮೂಲಕ CCIE ಗಳನ್ನು ಕೂಡಾ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಲು ನಿರ್ಧರಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. GTAP ಒಟ್ಟು 37 ವಾರಗಳು ತರಬೇತಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವಾಗಿದೆ. ತರಬೇತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳಿಗೆ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ನೈಪುಣ್ಯತೆ, ಕಂಬೈನ್ಡ್ ಕ್ಲಾಸ್ ರೂಮ್ ಟ್ರೇನಿಂಗ್, ಇಂಡಸ್ಟ್ರೀಸ್ ಇಂಟರ್ಯಾಕ್ಷನ್, ವರ್ಕ್ ಎಕ್ಸ್ ಪೀರಿಯನ್ಸ್ ಮತ್ತಿತರ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಮಾಹಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳಿಕೊಡಲಾಗುವುದು ಎಂದು ಅವರು ತಿಳಿಸಿದರು.

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಸಿಸ್ಕೋ ಕಂಪನಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೊದಲನೇ ತರಬೇತಿ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಶೀಘ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಲಿದೆ. ಇದಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳನ್ನು ನೇಮಕ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಒಟ್ಟು 130 ವೃತ್ತಿಪರರನ್ನು GTAP ಕಕ್ಷೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿದ್ಧಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಯೋಜನೆಯನ್ನು ಸಿಸ್ಕೋ ಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡಿದೆ.

Karnataka to set up IT Parks in tier II cities

Source: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=97916

BANGALORE October 21, 2008: Karnataka Government has now decided to set up Information Technology (IT) parks in second tier cities such as Shimoga, Gulbarga, Belgaum, Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli-Dharwad to attract investment both domestic and foreign in the software sector.

Minister for IT/BT Katta Subramanya Naidu told journalists on Tuesday that a decision has been taken to set up the IT Park near the Bangalore International Airport Limited, Devanahalli.

BJP Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa will conduct Bhoomi pooja for IT parks in Shimoga, Gulbarga, Belgaum, Mangalore and Hubli-Dharwad in November. The foundation stones will be laid for IT parks in Myore and Bangalore in December, he said.

The government has already set up IT parks in Mangalore, Hubli and other parts of the State. There was no space for IT firms in the existing park at Hubli and Mangalore, he said.

The Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) would build IT parks in the next 20 months. The IT Park at Devanahalli would be developed on public-private partnership (PPP) model by Jain Heigts, a city-based software company at a cost around Rs. 80 crore. The Karnataka Industrial Development Board would acquire land from farmers, he said.

The Government has also decided to establish an IT/BT Authority soon. The authority will only handle proposal of IT/BT companies. A Bill would be placed before the coming session of the legislature, Mr. Naidu said.

Bangalore IT.biz 2008, an annual exhibition will be held for three days from November 6 at the Palace Grounds in the City, he said.

Mr. Naidu, who is also the Minister for Excise, said the government has decided to come out with a new licensing policy for opening of liquor shops (CL-2) and bar and restaurants (CL-9) in rural areas. A committee has been set up to draft the policy, he said

Shree Renuka Sugars acquires majority stake in Gokak Sugars

Source: http://www.domain-b.com/industry/Sugar/20081020_shree_renuka_sugars.html


India's largest sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars today said it had acquired an 87-per cent stake in Karnataka-based Gokak Sugars Ltd for Rs69.3 crore, including debt of Rs65 crore.

Gokak Sugars Ltd. has a 2,500 TCD sugar manufacturing unit, which is equivalent to 7 per cent of Shree Renuka's total crushing capacity and a 14MW co-generation power plant at Kolavi village, Belgaum in Karnataka.

Narendra Murkumbi, managing director, Shree Renuka Sugar told a business news channel that Gokak Sugars will would add Rs12 crore to Shree Renuka's revenue.
The Belgaum-headquatered Shre Renuka has sugar refining capacity of 4000 tons per day --- the largest in India --- comprising two 1000 TPD refineries integrated with its plants at Munoli and Athani and a 2000 TPD port-based refinery coming up in Haldia.

The acquisition by Shree Renuka, which aims to become the most-efficient integrated processor of sugarcane in the world, is in keeping with its strategy to expand capacity through acquisitions of low-priced sugar assets to raise its refining capacity.

In August it had announced its intention to set up a new 700,000 tons per annum sugar refinery in the Mundra SEZ in Gujarat at project cost of Rs350 crore to raise its sugar refining capacity to 6000tpd, which includes the 2,000tpd refinery at Haldia and the refining capacity at two of its integrated sugar mills in Karnataka

Shree Renuka Sugars, which also has interests in power and ethanol, has also leased the Raibag-based sugar cooperative Raibag Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Niyamit, which has a daily crushing capacity of 2,500 tonnes, from the Karnataka government on a 30 year-lease.

Earlier in July 2007, Shree Renuka Sugars had bought a 100 kilio litres per day capacity distillery from Dhanuka PetroChem in Khopoli, Maharashtra, for Rs 6 crore. The distillery can produce ethanol from alcohol. Simultaneously, it acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Pune-based KBK Chem-Engineering Pvt Ltd, a neutral alcohol manufacuturer, with engineering capabilities in distellery, ethanol plants and bio-fuels for Rs37 crore.

Around the same time it also bought Ratnaprabha Sugars Ltd, which owns a mill in central Maharashtra and 1,250 tons of sugarcane crushing capacity and a 30 kilo-litres per day distillery for Rs23.75 crore and Godavari Bio-fuel Pvt. Ltd as part of its focus on the fuel ethanol market, for Rs1.8 crore. The company has 4.8 acres of land adjacent to the ethanol plant in Khopoli, Maharashtra, which it plans to use to build ethanol storage tanks, being strategically located near the Mumbai.

Last month Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up an integrated sugar and ethanol plant in Maharashtra jointly with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. (See: Hindustan Petroleum, Shree Renuka Sugars to jointly set up integrated sugar, ethanol plant)

Shree Renuka has posted a total income of Rs1,493.2 crore and a net profit of Rs 97.1 crore for the 9 months ended 30 June 2008.

Job Fair evokes good response

Source: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=97554

BANGALORE October 18, 2008: The Job Fair organized by the Karnataka Government has evoked a good response on the first day and 700 candidates registered seeking jobs.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who inaugurated the two-day Job Fair, called upon the educated youth to utilize an opportunity to get jobs. The Labor Department conducted the programme for providing jobs to candidates of industrial training institutes of the state. About 100 industrialists participated in the fair. The fair would be concluded on Sunday.

The State Government has decided to organize similar fairs at the district and taluk levels and in November and December the job fairs will be held in Hubli and Gulburga respectively, the chief minister said. A sum of Rs. 25 crores had been released for conducting h job fairs and creating facilities for providing training to the job seekers. The authorities would be instructed to hold jobs fairs in all district headquarters before 30 March 2009, Mr. Yeddyurappa said.

The Government had committed to generate 10 lakh jobs in the next five years. A Skill Development Corporation has been created which will take steps to enhance the employability skill levels among the educated youth, Mr Yeddyurappa said.
Mr.Yeddyurappa also launched the job hotline 080-600-12345 and a website www.karskills.com.

The Government has also an agreement with five different industries giving effect to the training and employment process to over 30,000 youths.

Labour Minister B.N. Bachche Gowda said the countrys top companies including Infosys, Maruthi Udyog Limited, L&T and many other firms are participating in the job fair. There were 958 Government and private Industrial Training Institutes functioning in the state and about 90,000 trained youth were coming out every year.

A large number of graduates and diploma holder in various industrial grades from Gulburga, Raichur, Gadag, Hubli, Bidar, Dakshina Kannada and other districts had queued up before the counters to register their names.

Skills Commission

Karnataka Government today has formed the 'Skills Commission' to provide training to ten lakh youth in the next five years and empower them with skills to take up suitable employment.

This year's budget provided Rs 25 crore for skills development programmes and an additional Rs ten crore would be made available in the supplementary budget, the statement added.

CM welcomes Centres decision

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today welcomed the Centre's decision on holding a joint survey of the controversial Hogenekkal Project, across River Cauvery, undertaken by the Tamil Nadu Government.

Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of 'Job Fair' organised by the State Labour department here, he said, the truth will come out and Karnataka which had objected to the project will be vindicated. Stating that for the first time the Centre had acknowledged the Karantaka's concern over the project by agreeing to hold a 'Joint Survey,' the Chief Minister said the State would extend all co-operation for Centre's initiative on the issue.

The Karnataka Government had raised an objection over the project contending it was being built in the area belonging to it. It had also petitioned to the Centre seeking a joint survey and also the details of the Rs 1,240 crore project.

Vayavya Labs, has been nominated for the TATA-NEN Hot start-ups -2008 contest

Belgaum very own company Vayavya Labs, has been nominated for the TATA-NEN Hot start-ups -2008 contest.

Please visit the below site to vote for Vayavya as the best start up company

http://www.hottests tartups.in/ viewandvote. do?method= fetch&businessFn=viewandv ote&startupId=741

Your's Truly,
Giri (Belgaumite)

Karnataka offers land to set up Railway Coach Factory

Source: http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/2E4DE181EEDA5AF5652574E4005A2E30?OpenDocument

Bangalore, Oct 16 (PTI) Seizing an opportunity to attract investment, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa today wrote to Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, saying that the state was willing to extend all facilities, including land, to set up a coach factory in Karnataka.
The facilities could be set up either at Hubli or any other part of Karnataka, "in the interest of the development of the Railways in the state," he said.

The Chief Minister sent the letter after the Railways dropped plans to set up the factory at Rai Bareilly, following cancellation of land allotment by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Yedyurappa also requested the railway minister to take an early decision on the matter.

The Karnataka government has already given 100 acres of land in Hubli free of cost to the Railway Ministry for expansion of cargo and workshop activities. It has been providing upto 67 per cent of the cost of railway projects being implemented in the state, he said. PTI

Karnataka Govt to recruit 10,000 police personnel

Source: http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=477343&sid=REG

Dharwad, Oct 19: Karnataka government has decided to recruit 10,000 personnel to Police Department in an attempt to strengthen the force, State Minister for Home Dr V S Acharya said on Sunday.

There was a need to augment staff to maintain law and order and to combat terror activities, he told the press here.

Police Commissionerates would be established in Belgaum, Gulbarga and Mangalore soon, he said.

Acharya said steps would be taken to increase the strength of the Anti-terrorist and Bomb Disposal squads.

Bureau Report

IT Expo in Hubli from tomorrow

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/16/stories/2008101651030200.htm

HUBLI: Twenty-five companies will participate in “IT Expo,” an exhibition of computer systems and accessories in Hubli from Friday to Sunday. President of the Association of IT Traders Ashok Tolannavar told presspersons that for the first time a multi-brand IT exhibition was being held in north Karnataka.

He said the event would provide an opportunity to the consumers to “touch and feel” various computer products and accessories.

Tata-Marcopolo bus to roll out in a month from Dharwad plant

Source:http://news.moneycontrol.com/india/news/business/tata-marcopolo-bus-to-roll-outa-month/09/44/361065

The first product from the Tata Marcopolo Motors Ltd (TMML) bus plant at Dharwad will roll out in a month’s time.

“The trial production has already started. Final tests are going on. In less than a month’s time the first product will roll out,” Mr Prakash M. Telang, Tata Motors Executive Director – Commercial Vehicles, told Business Line. The first set of products will be buses in the light commercial vehicle segment.

The Dharwad plant, set up with an investment of Rs 325 crore, has an annual capacity of 30,000 vehicles. The plant is expected to produce about 2,000 buses in the current financial year.

“The plant is much larger than what we had planned earlier. It would be one of the largest plants of its kind in the world. We did this expansion because we believe the market is going to grow in India. Not only in India and but also in the entire Third World,” said Mr Telang.

Tata Marcopolo Motors is a joint venture between Tata Motors and Marcopolo, the Brazil-based company that is into body-building for buses and coaches, with Tata Motors holding 51 per cent stake and Marcopolo the balance.

Belgaum will get one Textile park soon

Source: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=96880

Karnataka aims to mobilize Rs. 10,000 cr to boost textile industry

BANGALORE: October 14, 2008: In order to provide the much-needed thrust to textile and apparel industry, Karnataka Government has come out with a new Suvarna Textile Policy (2008-13) and it envisages attracting investment to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore over the next five year period.

It has decided to establish textile and apparel parks in various districts in the State. The BJP government will be providing subsidy of Rs 500 crore during the five-year policy period, which has an ambitious target of creating five lakh jobs. The Government has decided to hold an investors meeting in Bangalore on November 1, 2008.

Minister for Textiles Gulihatti Shekhar told journalists on Monday that the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) had started acquiring land for the parks and the process would be completed in the next few months. The first phase of the Apparel Park at Doddaballapur in Bangalore Rural District had been completed.

The second phase of the Doddaballapur Apparel Park, adjoining the existing park, would be completed soon. The KIADB would allot land for Hi-tech Silk Weaving Park at Anekal in Bangalore Rural District. Several firms had shown interest in establishing their plants at the park.

The textile park would be come up in Belgaum, Mysore, Bellary, Davangere and Ramanagaram. A textile park had been planned in Gulbarga. But the extent of land required for it had not been fixed, he said.

The establishment of textile parks would attract large investment in the sector apart from reducing manufacturing cost. While the park in Belgaum would focus on power looms, the park in Bellary would promote denim-based garments. Acquisition of land in Gulbarga and Davangere had been delayed because private parties were demanding higher compensation for their land, he said.

He hoped that the State would emerge as a major apparel-sourcing destination with doubling of exports. The State's export stood at Rs. 6,600 crore a year, which was roughly 20 per cent of the country's total exports, he said.

The chief minister said the government would extend financial assistance and cash incentives ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 1200 lakh for various types of activities, especially for dispersal of the garment manufacturing units to districts from Bangalore.

Readymade garments, handlooms, power looms, knitting, and textile machinery manufacturing are among the sectors which will receive special attention under the textile policy, the minister said.

QuEST Global gets Govt. of India Notification to Lease out Land at its Precision Engineering SEZ at Belgaum

Sourec: http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=17178

Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Monday, October 13, 2008 -- (Business Wire India)
QuEST Global, a leading provider of outsourced engineering services and manufacturing, announced today that it has received the Government of India notification for its SEZ (Special Economic Zone) in Belgaum, Karnataka. QuEST Global has also received approval for the units that are coming up in phase 1 of the SEZ.

QuEST Global’s SEZ will be a sector specific precision engineering SEZ, covering over 300 acres of land in the initial phase. This notification allows QuEST Global to lease out the land and also provide build-to-suit requirements in the SEZ to other prospects who would like to set up their business units in QuEST Global’s precision engineering SEZ. The SEZ will provide world class infrastructure in the industrial estate, concentrating mainly on aerospace and automotive related industries. Phase 1 of the SEZ will be operational by December 2008, and Phase 2 is expected to be operational by June 2009.

QuEST Global SEZ has already signed up with 3 clients, namely QuEST Global Engineering, QuEST Global Manufacturing and Aerospace Processing India (API),a joint venture between QuEST and Magellan Aerospace for establishing special aerospace processing capabilities in India.

At the SEZ in Belgaum, API’s facility of 17,500 sq. ft. will support activities such as chromic acid anodizing line, titanium etching, shot peen, paint and primer booth, MPI and FPI in the initial phase.QuEST Global Manufacturing will expand its existing precision machining operations that are currently set up in Bangalore and QuEST Global Engineering will set up an engineering services facility, to provide low cost engineering services.

By starting operations in Belgaum which is a Tier 3 town in India, QuEST Global Engineering is pioneering the way to ensure low cost delivery of engineering in the future also.QuEST Global has obtained specific unit approvals for all the 3 units along with a sanction for the industrial layout.

“Belgaum, as a hub for setting up a supply chain for the Aerospace industry, is the perfect destination as it is ideally located in the industrial heartland of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa, thereby providing access to a large number of manufacturing and machining talent.It is also excellently located in terms of logistics, being just off the Golden Quadrilateral NH4 highway (Bangalore-Pune-Mumbai highway), with proximity to 3 sea ports (Goa, Karwar and Mumbai) and 3 airports (Belgaum, Hubli and Kolhapur).In addition, the presence of a number of educational institutes in the region, will ensure a good supply of engineers at all levels. Along with engineering services and manufacturing, QuEST now has a precision engineering SEZ, of which are very few in the country.This move demonstrates QuEST Global’s thought leadership, which sets it apart from its competitors.” said Aravind Melligeri, Chairman & Co-founder, QuEST.

About QuEST

QuEST is a leading provider of outsourced engineering services and manufacturing. The company helps customers in the aerospace, power generation, oil & gas, civil structures, industrial products, and transportation verticals to cut product development costs, shorten lead times, extend capacity and maximize engineering resources availability by providing support across the complete product life cycle from design and modeling through analysis, prototyping, automation, data documentation, instrumentation and controls, embedded systems development, manufacturing support, vendor management, and in-house precision machining. Through our Global Product Development framework and our on-site/off-shore/on-shore models, we leverage our local presence and global reach to support globalization initiatives for our customers. QuEST employs over 1500 people and has delivery centers in India, USA, Italy, Japan and footprints in UK, Germany, France, Spain and China. For more information, visit www.quest-global.com.

GIT silver jubilee celebrations

Karnataka Law Society’s (KLS) Gogte Institute of Technology (GIT) is preparing its silver jubilee to be celebrated for three days from October 23. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L.K. Advani, has been invited to deliver the inaugural address. Sri Visvesha Teertha Swamiji of Pejawar Math will inaugurate the celebrations.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Ministers from the north Karnataka region will participate in the function.

Union Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has been invited to deliver the valedictory address on October 25.

Seven tier-two cities to get Rs. 100 cr. each for infrastructure development

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/03/stories/2008100350680100.htm

BANGALORE: The State Government has decided to develop seven tier-two cities encompassing all the Revenue divisions in the State.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has termed the programme “Looking beyond Bangalore,” funds for which will be provided by the State.

All the seven city municipal corporations, including the recently formed Davangere City Corporation, will receive a special grant for the development of infrastructure. The cities will get special attention with regard to the development of air connectivity irrespective of the fact that some of them already have airports.

For certain major projects, the Government has decided to provide financial guarantee to enable the municipal corporations to raise funds from financial institutions.

Sources in the State Secretariat told The Hindu here that the programme was aimed at changing the face of the seven cities that include Belgaum and Hubli-Dharwad in Belgaum division; Gulbarga and Bellary in the Gulbarga division, Mysore and Mangalore in Mysore division; and Davangere in Bangalore division.

A few days ago, the Chief Minister informally reviewed the progress made in implementation of the programme, the aim of which is to not only decongest Bangalore, but also prevent migration of people from the rural areas to Bangalore. Mr. Yeddyurappa told The Hindu that the Finance Department had been directed to release the funds. Each of the seven cities will receive a special grant of Rs. 100 crore for the development of infrastructure including ring roads and flyovers, and beautification of public parks and lakes. During the implementation of the programme, the Government will hold an investors’ meet in each of the regions.

This special grant is apart from the funds received from the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The Government has constituted task forces headed by the district in-charge Ministers to monitor the development work in the cities. The task forces will comprise legislators, the Mayor concerned, eminent citizens and important industrialists and businessmen of the city.

In Mangalore, the Government has opted for expansion of the airport, and 180 acres of land is being made over to the Airports Authority of India for increasing the length of the runway and expanding the terminal building.

Sunil Mantri unveils Karnataka plans

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Sunil-Mantri-unveils-Karnataka-plans/368008/

Mumbai-based real estate major Sunil Mantri Realty Ltd (SMRL) would promote projects worth around Rs 20,000 crore across the country in the next eight years, a top official of the company said.

Launching a residential project christened 'Mantri Royale' in Bangalore, Sunil Mantri, chairman of SMRL, said the projects would be part-funded through a mix of internal accruals and debt.

SMRL is betting big on Karnataka and Tier II and Tier III cities. He said the projects with an overall outlay of Rs 2,500 crore would be promoted in Karnataka in the next five years. The company's equity in Karantaka projects would be around Rs 500 crore and another Rs 500 crore will be a debt fund while the remaining funds would come from customer advances.

He said the company would launch two residential projects in 2008 and six mega township projects each with minimum of 25 acres in 2009 in Bangalore. SMRL has earmarked Rs 350 - Rs 400 crore for these projects, he added. In addition a township project covering 200 acres would be developed in Belgaum, a Tier II city in Karnataka. Other Tier II cities in Karnataka under the company's scrutiny are Mysore, Bellary and Hubli, he added. Currently, SMRL has presence in 15 cities and will spread across to another 25 cities by 2012. He also said that budget houses in the range of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh would also be promoted in the coming years.