100-crore revamp for six heritage cities - Gulbarga, Bidar, Bijapur & kittur among them

Source: http://expressbuzz.com/cities/bangalore/100-crore-revamp-for-six-heritage-cities/211143.html

BANGALORE: The state government will spend Rs100 crore over the next three years to develop six cities that have been identified as important from the heritage point of view.Kannada and Culture Minister Govind Karjol disclosed this on Wednesday. The cities where basic infrastructure will be developed are Gulbarga, Bidar, Srirangapatna, Bijapur, Kittur and Mysore.Karjol said the blueprint and action plan to develop the cities are ready. The cities would get drinking water facilities, approach roads, interior roads, toilets, parking lots, hotels and rest houses of international standards. The work would start in the beginning of financial year 2011. The gazetteer directorate had undertaken the task of computerising more than five lakh historically important documents, he said, adding that the documents include Tipu Sultan’s correspondence with the British. The project would cost `80 lakh. He said Hampi Development Authority's rules and guidelines will be framed in the next Assembly session.

State proposes seven SEZs for global investors’ meet - IT SEZs: Prososed at Dharwad, Kolar & Mysore.

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/70474/state-proposes-seven-sezs-global.html

With D-date for Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) approaching near, project proposals are flying off drawing boards fast and furious. The State government is working overtime to make the most of the two-day meet to woo as much investment as possible.

So much so, as many as seven Special Economic Zone (SEZ) proposals besides two industrial parks have been lined up for global and domestic private players participating at the GIM. Of the seven SEZs, three are Information Technology (IT), one each in aerospace, textile, food processing and pharmaceutical sectors.

PPP initiative
According to official sources, Expression of Interest (EoI) have been invited for implementation under public-private-partnership (PPP) initiative as part of government’s ambitious Suvarna Karnataka Development Corridor (SKDC) programme. For implementation, selected bidder (individual entities / consortium) will be responsible to plan, design, build, finance, opearte, manage and maintain them, besides marketing and branding.  While IT SEZs will come up at Dharwad, Kolar and Mysore, aerospace SEZ is planned at Bangalore Rural, textile, food and pharmaceutial SEZs at Hassan and industrial parks in Bidar and Gulbarga.

The aerospace SEZ at Devanahalli, sources said, will house units focused on providing IT, design, R&D services and MRO (maintenance, repair & overhauling) facilities on a 252 acre plot. While processing area would comprise facilities for aircrafts, helicopters, IT & design services, avionics services and manufacture of aircraft components, non-processing zone is for ancillary developments like training institutions  and research centres.

IT SEZs at Dharwad, Kolar and Mysore will come up on 30 acre plots and house both IT and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) units. The pharma SEZ on 270 acre area in Hassan is aimed at building quality facilities to attract global and domestic tenants.

Processing area
The textile SEZ over 581 acre plot in Hassan will have processing area of 65 per cent to house textile and related industries like weaving, garments, spinning and related service sector units, household and technical textiles etc. The food processing SEZ at Hassan will come up on 285 acre plot for exported oriented units.

The industrial parks in Gulbarga and Bidar, planned on 200 acre and 300 acre plots respectively, sources said is envisaged to house MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) units across a range of manufacturing sectors serving as hub for MSME manufacturing.

The engineering park at Chitradurga on 200 acre plot will house steel ancillary units like auto components, surgical and hospital equipment, architectural products, hardware, kitchenware, lifestyle products, stamping and forging. At Tumkur, it will come up on 500 acre plot focused on machine tools / precision tools, industrial machinery, hardware, industrial fasteners et al. 
DH News Service

* IT SEZs: Prososed at Dharwad, Kolar & Mysore.
* Aerospace SEZ: Bangalore Rural
* Food, Textile & Pharma SEZ: Planned at Hassan
* Industrial parks: To come up in Bidar & Gulbarga

Dharwad, Gulbarga benches to be permanent

Source: http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Dharwad,+Gulbarga+benches+to+be+permanent&artid=lDBixoh4VQ4=&SectionID=Qz/kHVp9tEs=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=UOaHCPTTmuP3XGzZRCAUTQ==&SEO=

BANGALORE: The people of north Karnataka have reasons to smile as the Union government on Tuesday decided to accord permanent bench status to Dharwad and Gulbarga circuit benches.

The Union Law Ministry has given permanent status to Dharwad and Gulbarga circuit benches after accepting the representations of the state government and advocates from north Karnataka.Recently the Union government had sanctioned nine additional judges to the north Karnataka benches and communication to this effect had been sent to the state government and the High Court.Law Minister Suresh Kumar confirmed the Centre’s decision to give permanent status to the Dharwad and Gulbarga circuit benches. Suresh Kumar congratulated the Union Government for giving permanent status to the circuit benches of north Karnataka.

45,000 smiles at job melaFair

Source:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/45000-smiles-at-job-melaFair/articleshow/5525515.cms

BANGALORE: Here's a state government scheme that saw more than 45,000 get jobs even during the peak of recession.

While most schemes launched by the government either do not take off or hit a road block, udyog mela or the job fair organized by the labour department, saw overwhelming response.

Launched eight months ago by the government at a time when economic slowdown was at its peak and lay-off by private companies was the norm, the job fair scheme has been able to provide employment to 45,173 people in private companies at all levels (particularly at skilled labour level), making it one of the most successful projects undertaken by the Yeddyurappa government. The labour department, nodal agency to implement the scheme, terms it as one of the largest successful schemes in the country in recent times.

Job fairs are where private companies participate in a fair organized by the government. Candidates, whose turnout is in thousands, are selected on the spot based on their qualification and the nature of job they require. So far fairs have been held in 12 cities in the state.

The first fair in Bangalore itself attracted 87 companies with total requirement of more than 5,600 jobs. Finally, these companies selected over 2,800 candidates. While the Shimoga job fair turned out to be biggest in terms of participation, Belgaum job fair had maximum offers with nearly 14,000 jobs up for the grabs.

Software, telecom, insurance, security guards, apparel, computer hardware, health, hospitality, engineering, tyres, multi-media, education among others are some of the sectors that have offered employment to the job-seekers. Some of the big companies that have participated in the event include Infosys BPO Ltd, HDFC Insurance, Eureka Forbes, Airtel, Reliance, GMR Group, HCL Software and JK Tyres.

"It was a big challenge for us as the global meltdown had just set in. We were apprehensive whether private companies would participate in the udyog mela. But all our doubts were cleared in the first fair itself as good number of companies turned out providing employment on the spot. This method reduces the delay that happens in normal recruitment process,'' labour minister B N Bachhe Gowda told TOI.

City......no. of cos........requirement...........jobs

Hubli........79.........6,820.......3,084

Mysore.......77........10,579......5,561

Gulbarga.....53.......7,119......3,422

Mangalore...109.......6,111......2,814

Belgaum......73........13,841......4,612

Tumkur......105.........8,040.....3,645

Bellary......98........8,959.......3,788

Bijapur......105.......10,939......4,756

Shimoga.....136........10,254.....5,684

Chamarajanagar..94....4,508.....1,868

Karwar........78........11,470........3,132

anil.kumar5@timesgroup.com

Karnataka clears 38 mega projects with Rs 1,38,322.71 cr investment - 70% of the investments are in the North Karnataka

Source: http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=70521


Bangalore, Jan 5: As many as 38 mega industrial projects with a combined total investment of Rs 1,38,322.71 crore have been cleared by the B S Yeddyurappa-led BJP regime on Tuesday.

"This is the highest ever total investment proposals cleared by the State’s High Level Clearance Committee in a single day in the state,’’ the chief minister announced after the meeting.

Yeddyurappa, who is also the chairman of the SHLCC, said the 38 mega projects from globally renowned companies when implemented were expected create direct employment to 92,350 persons.

The selected companies would enter into memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the state government during the global investors’ meet to be held in June this year and were expected to complete implementation of projects in two to four years, the chief minister said.

Among the companies, which have come forward with mega investment proposals, is the world’s biggest steel manufacturer Arcelor Mittal which will be setting up an integrated steel plant with a capacity of six metric tonne per annum along with a 750-MW captive power plant.

According to Industries Department Principal Secretary V P Baligar, Arcelor Mittal representatives have already visited the districts of Bijapur, Bagalkote and Bellary for identifying about 4,000 acres of land to locate their plant. Water would be supplied for the project from the Almatti reservoir, he said.

Similarly, South Korean steel giant Posco has proposed to set up a steel plant with a capacity of six metric tonne per annum with a 400-MW captive power plant at a cost of Rs 32,336 crore either in Bellary or neighbouring districts.

Another world leader in cement manufacturing, Lafrage would be investing Rs 1,500 crore for setting up its cement plant and 43-MW thermal power plant in Gulbarga.

The committee has also cleared two gas pipeline projects from the Reliance Group’s Relogistics and the Central public sector undertaking, Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL).

While Reliance (M/S Relogistics) will lay 455-kms of gas pipeline through Chennai-Bangalore-Mangalore at a cost of Rs 6,796 crore, GAIL will lay 746-kms of gas pipeline from Dhabol to Belgaum and Bangalore at a cost of Rs 4,544 crore.

These two pipelines are expected to help the industries as well as the state’s proposed gas-based power plants along the pipeline route.

Another industry major Shell has proposed to set up its R&D Centre in Bangalore at a cost of Rs 1,376 crore.

Other proposals which got clearance include that by Zuary Fertilisers and Chemicals for setting up an urea plant with a capacity of 11.55 million tonnes per annum in Belgaum at a cost of Rs 4,565 crore, an integrated steel plant to be set up at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore in Bagaklote by Surya Vijayanagar Steels and Power Ltd, oil refinery project at a cost of Rs 8,655 crore in Dakshina Kannada by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a Rs 486-proposal by Tata Elexi to set up a hardware design and development facility near International Airport and an IT expansion unit by Wipro at a cost of Rs 477 crore near international airport.

Though the proposed investments are in 14 different sectors, a majority of them (Rs. 1,00,871.03 crore) are in Iron and Steel sector followed by Oil and Gas (Rs. 19,995 crore), Cement (Rs 7,945.24 crore), Fertilisers and Chemicals (Rs 4,565 crore) and sugar (Rs 1,415.16 crore).

Over 60% of the proposed projects and 70% of the investments are in the northern districts of the state, the chief minister said pointing out that the government was keen on redressal of the regional imbalances and ensuring the development of the backward northern Karnataka region,

Yeddyurappa claimed that the fact that more than 30 leading industries of the world and country have come forward to invest in the state had shown that Karnataka had become preferred destination for investors.
With these proposals, the government was confident that the global investors’  meet to be organised by it in June this year would be a success, he added.

CET will soon organize placements too

BANGALORE: Forget placements at B-schools. Now, IT biggies might soon land at the Karnataka Examination Authority campus to recruit students. The state government is working on using KEA as a platform to allow these companies to recruit students. Starting with the engineering stream, government plans to have placements at the end of sixth and seventh semesters.

According to sources, some companies recruit students only from cities leaving out rural areas, which has some of the best brains. If all the students are brought under one umbrella, it’ll be easy for companies to select students.

What has provoked the government is an incident at Bhatkal where a meritorious engineering student couldn’t get into campus placement as the companies did not visit his campus as it was located in a rural area.

“We have students with barely 60% from prime colleges making into the campus placement. But when it comes to a student from rural engineering college with over 75% he fails to get in as companies find it difficult to visit such colleges. This, in spite of these students having all the essential skills,” sources told TOI.

Recruitment process may commence in November as the CET seat selection process will conclude in September. “There won’t be much work after the counselling. Instead of allowing the building to be vacant we can utilise it for recruitment. A new building at KEA can also be used for the recruitment process,” sources added.

Stating that the move is not restricted to government colleges, sources said: “Our aim is only to provide a common platform.”

The government will provide all the facilities at KEA for the companies. It will not interfere in the selection criteria of the companies. The companies can either use the place for conducting tests or conducting interviews or both. “Since the placement happens at the end of 6th and 7th semesters, accommodating these students should not be a problem. The placement process can be held region-wise. We conduct counselling in six centres — Bangalore, Hubli, Gulbarga, Davanagere, Shimoga and Managalore. The companies can simultaneously conduct the interviews/selection process in all these centres,” sources explained.

The government will collect information from Visvesvaraya Technological University and from company placement officers on the candidates expected and the date they plan to conduct the selection process. After the schedule is given to KEA, necessary arrangements will be made.

5 passport facilitation centres - Hubli gets one

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/33032/5-passport-facilitation-centres.html

As part of its ambitious project of revamping passport offices across the country, Bangalore will get two passport facilitation centres, while Gulbarga, Hubli, Mangalore will get one centre each, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna announced on Tuesday.

Speaking at a meet-the-press programme organised by the Press Club of Bangalore, the External Affairs Minister said the new offices would help in easing the present pressure on passport processing and clearance.

External Affairs Ministry officials said, each centre will have at least 20 counters to help people apply for passports with ease. Efforts would be made to make these centres functional by December 15, they said.

Army recruitment rally on November 4

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/23/stories/2009102354740500.htm


Belgaum: The Army Recruitment Office, Headquarters Recruiting Zone, Bangalore, will hold a recruitment rally in Bangalore on November 4 for posts of ‘X’ and ‘Y’ of the Havildar Education Group of Education Corps of the Indian Army.

Candidates who are permanent residents of Belgaum, Bijapur, Bidar, Bagalkot, Bellary, Dharwad, Gulbarga, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal and Raichur districts are eligible to take part in the rally. The other eligibility conditions are M.A./M.Sc./MCA or B.A./B.Sc./BCA with B.Ed. pass for the post of ‘X’ post. Those who are applying for the post of ‘Y’ should have passed B.A./B.Sc./BCA/ with B.Ed.

According to a press release here on Thursday, the physical and medical tests for the candidates will be conducted on November 4, while the written tests will be held on December 20. The admission cards to the candidates will be distributed through the Recruitment Office in Belgaum Fort between October 24 and 28. The candidates should appear before the officers concerned along with all the necessary testimonials and documents. For details, contact 080-25006567/25006569, 0831-2465550 or 0824-2458376.

Attestation for visa made easy

Come September 1 and applicants seeking visas for higher education or employment abroad need not necessarily travel to Bangalore for attestation of documents. They can get their papers authenticated at the offices of the jurisdictional regional commissioners and additional commissioners.

The State Government will decentralise the process of authentication of original documents by delegating powers to additional commissioners (administration and development), regional commissioners, and additional commissioners (land and maintenance projects) of Bangalore, Belgaum, Mysore, and Gulbarga. Currently, the attestation of documents is done only at the Home Department, Secretariat, Vidhana Soudha, Bangalore. Based on the attestation by the State Government, the Ministry of External Affairs and the consulates concerned take up the documents for further processing. One of the pre-requisites for obtaining visas is that the applicants have to submit attested original documents, such as education certificates and birth, marriage and experience certificates. “Those residing in Bidar, Gulbarga and other districts, had to come to Bangalore to get their documents attested. Besides, over the years, there has been an increase in the number of such applications. The decentralisation will help in streamlining the process,” sources in the Home Department said. The decentralisation will also help companies and private organisations proposing to set up commercial establishments abroad or sign MoUs with foreign companies, as attestation of documents of establishment and registration as per company norms is mandatory. The State Government has obtained approval from the Human Resources Development Ministry for the delegation of powers. A government order delegating powers was issued on August 12. The order will come into effect from September 1. *Government order to be effective Sept 1 *Regional commissioners to attest papers *People of Bidar, Gulbarga to benefit *Decentralisation to help private companies

Industrial corridor: Chennai-Mumbai national highways via Bangalore, Davanagere, Hubli, Belgaum and Pune

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/industrial-corridor-19-firms-show-interest/361151/

Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS), KPMG, Infrastructure Development Corporation Karnataka Ltd (iDeCK) and IDBI are among the 19 companies that have evinced interest in providing consultancy services to Karnataka on developing the proposed industrial corridors along National Highways 4 and 17 to attract investment and create employment opportunities for people in North Karnataka.

According to Murugesh Nirani, Karnataka’s minister for large and medium industries, the industrial corridors will be developed on the public-private partnership model.
Recently, the state government had invited an expression of interest from reputed consultancy firms to prepare detailed project report and advise the state government on the model to execute the new industrial corridor projects.

“Apart from these two Indian companies we have also received a proposal from an internationally-reputed foreign agency to participate in the project. We are evaluating their proposals and will soon finalise the bids,” Nirani told Business Standard.

The industrial corridors are planned along the Chennai-Mumbai national highways via Bangalore, Davanagere, Hubli, Belgaum and Pune. Cities falling on the National Highways NH-4 and NH-17 like Bangalore to Belgaum will be developed as a major corridor and Bangalore to Bidar on NH-17, Shimoga to Davanagere and Shimoga to Mangalore. It has been planned to create industrial townships in seven sectors like steel, cement, textile, automobile, food processing, oil & chemicals and fertiliser.

The minister said cement industries will be encouraged in Gulbarga, Bagalkot and Chitradurga, iron and steel industries in Bellary, Koppal and Tumkur. Automobile industries will be promoted in Belgaum, Hubli and Mysore. Meanwhile, Bangalore will be promoted further as a preferred destination for information technology and biotechnology, electronics and general engineering. He said, basic infrastructure will be upgraded in these cities to enable industry to progress. Star category industries will be provided facilities including residential townships and other infrastructure.

In addition, Nirani said centres of horticulture like Bagalkot, Bijapur, Belgaum, Shimoga districts could have food processing units.

A foundry zone will be developed in Belgaum. The government is in the process of identifying 500 acres on the outskirts of Belgaum for the proposed foundry park. Land acquisition is in progress, he said.

Nirani said the government will also complete the land acquisition process before holding the long-pending Global Investors Meet (GIM) in Bangalore in December.

The GIM will be held in December this year. The government is in the process of finalising the knowledge partner, event partner and media partner for the event.

Karnataka to get four passport facilitation centres

Source: http://www.sahilonline.org/english/news.php?catID=statenews&nid=5644&viewed=0

Bangalore, June 11 (IANS) The external affairs ministry has decided to set up four passport facilitation centres in Karnataka to help people apply for and secure passports with ease, the state government said Thursday.“The ministry has decided to locate two facilitation centres in Bangalore and one each at Hubli in central Karnataka and Mangalore in coastal Karnataka. A mini facilitation centre will also be set up at Gulbarga in north Karnataka,” an official statement said.

Thanking External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna for the decision, state Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said the facilitation centres should be upgraded into full-fledged passport offices to help people avail all services at one place.

Krishna, who hails from Karnataka, was the state’s chief minister 1999-2004.

Army recruitment rally next month

DHARWAD: Belgaum’s Army Recruitment Unit will conduct army recruitment at the district stadium in Haveri from May 4 to May 9. Candidates in the age group of seventeen-and-a-half to 23 with a pass in SSLC or PUC are eligible. The recruitment rally is open for candidates of Belgaum, Bijapur, Bidar, Bagalkot, Gulbarga, Koppal, Haveri, Gadag, Dharwad, Bellary and Raichur districts.
The candidates will be selected through physical test and then a written test, a release said. — Staff Correspondent

Rs. 75,541-crore worth projects get the nod - Benefited NK districts are Bijapur, Gulbarga, Bagalkot

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2009/01/29/stories/2009012959420600.htm

BANGALORE: The State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) on Wednesday cleared 15 new projects with a total investment of Rs. 75,541.25 crore.

These projects will come up in 11 districts with an employment potential for 65,932 people.

Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, who heads the SHLCC, told presspersons that the projects would be implemented in two to six years.

Of the 15 projects, Suzlon Energy’s proposed steel plant in Bijapur district is the biggest with an investment of Rs. 49,720 crore.

The project, to be implemented in four phases, will provide employment to 9,000 persons.

According to Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh R. Nirani, this steel plant would have facility to manufacture the equipment required by wind mills, among other things.

This will cater to both the domestic and foreign requirements. Official sources said that Suzlon Energy had indicated that it might require about 6,000 acres of land and that the authorities said that the requirement should be scaled down.

The other prominent projects include Hazira Steel Limited (Essar Steel Karnataka Limited) with an investment of Rs. 17,760 crore to come up in Bagalkot and Brooke Bond Real Estates Private Limited’s projects with an investment of Rs. 1,602 crore to come up in Bangalore Urban district.

The highlight of the clearance provided by the SHLCC on Wednesday is that a major chunk of the investment would be made in northern districts. While north Karnataka will get eight projects with a total investment of Rs. 72,025.25 crore, the southern districts will have seven projects with a total investment of Rs. 3,516 crore.

However, the projects sanctioned to southern districts will create 35,563 new jobs, while the projects in northern areas will provide employment to 30,369 persons.

Of the 15 projects cleared, 10 with an investment of Rs. 70,652.25 crore are in the manufacturing sector and the remaining with an investment of Rs. 4,889 crore are in the service sector.

A majority of the investments are in iron and steel sector (Rs. 71,420 crore), followed by IT /ITES Special Economic Zones (Rs. 2,032 crore), cement (Rs. 1,294 crore), tourism (Rs. 177 crore), sugar (Rs. 151 crore), education (Rs. 145 crore), super speciality hospital (Rs. 125 crore), distillery (Rs. 99 crore) and automobile (Rs. 98 crore). Bijapur district will get the highest investment of Rs. 49,720 crore, followed by Bagalkot (Rs. 17,760 crore), Bellary (Rs. 2,587 crore), Bangalore Urban (Rs. 2,209 crore) and Gulbarga (Rs. 1,445 crore).

CET counselling centre may open at Dharwad

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/cet-counselling-centre-may-open-at-dharwad/00/12/346749/

The students of North Karnataka districts and Hyderabad Karnataka region could be spared of the trouble of going all the way for CET counselling to get admission for engineering and medical courses. The state government has decided to set up CET counselling centres in Dharwad-Hubli and also at Gulbarga.

Commissioner of Pre-University Education Shridhar Hegde along with CET administrative officer S P Kulkarni visited a few places in Dharwad-Hubli on Sunday to select the location of CET counselling centres. He visited IT Park in Tirakaramanakere near swimming pool in Hubli, SDM College of Engineering and Technology, Dharwad and University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad.

The team will also visit Gulbarga for the purpose. Speaking to Business Standard S G Hegde said the idea was to enable the students attend the counselling at a nearby place instead of travelling all the way to Bangalore. The students will be free to opt for any counselling centre-Bangalore, Dharwad/Hubli, Gulbarga. The move will avoid rush at Bangalore CET cell besides saving money, time and energy for the parents.

“We are visiting different places and having a look at the infrastructure and other facilities. The final location is not yet decided” Hegde said.

The Karnataka government and private colleges have fixed the seat-sharing formula at 50:50 for engineering and 42:58 for medical courses. The CET has been done away with for dental, Ayurveda, Unani and Homeopathy courses from this academic year. Admissions will be based on Class 12 or PUC marks.

The fee structure has come down for engineering courses, while it is unaltered for medical courses. In the 50:50 engineering seat ratio, 25 per cent would be kept for poor and meritorious students. The fee for them is Rs 15,000. The remaining 25 per cent of seats will have Rs 25,000 fees same as last year.

In minority institutions, 20 per cent government engineering seats are allotted for poor and meritorious students with fee of Rs 15,000 and another 20 per cent for Rs 25,000. The rest would be given to managements. In non-minority colleges, 50 per cent seats will go to managements. NRI quota will be decided by the Supreme Court.

Job fair in Gulbarga from Saturday

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/20/stories/2008112050740200.htm

GULBARGA: Wipro BPO, business process outsourcing (BPO) arm of Wipro, and Poojya Doddappa Appa College of Engineering will host a two-day job fair for students of various streams from November 22 in Gulbarga city.

Training and Placement Officer of PDA College of Engineering Mahadevappa Gadge said here on Wednesday that graduates and postgraduates of all disciplines, including BE, BA, B.Com, B.Sc, BCA, LL.B, M.Sc, MCA and MBA, were eligible to participate in the fair. Eligible candidates should be in the age group of 18 to 45, and candidates having excellent command over English have a bright chance of being selected. Call 9880351592 for details.

Karnataka Transport corpns to recruit 18,000 personnel

Bangalore, Nov 4 The four state owned Transport Corportions in Karnataka would recruit 18,000 personnel including drivers, conductors and technical staff this year, Karnataka Minister for Transport R Ashok said today.

Directions have been issued to all the corporations to commence the process of recruitment, he told the press here.

The minister said the entire process would be transparent and in accordance with the rules.

The government has decided to establish driving training schools in Hassan, Hubli and Gulbarga and the work on a similar school in Bangalore was on.

Ashok reiterated that the government was firm on banning plying of private buses on nationanalised routes.(Agencies)

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

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.

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.

Karnataka Budget 2008-09 (What NK people will get out of this budget)

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/DeccanHerald.com/Content/Jul172008/state2008071779340.asp?section=updatenews

Here I have listed the highlights of the Karnataka Budget 2008-09 (From NK prospective)

1. To develop 7 major cities in the state, a special grant of Rs.700 crores is proposed. This year an allocation of total Rs.350 crores, at the rate of Rs.50 crores per city is made. Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Davangere, Bellary, Mysore and mangalore will be benifited.
2. To implement the drinking water supply augmentation project in Hubli-Dharward, Rs.136 crores is allocated.
3. A financial support of Rs.50 crores is provided to the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation for improving transport facilities in rural areas.
4. 700 acres of land will be acquired for developing an international airport at Hubli city. The airport at Belgaum will also be expanded by acquiring 370 acres of land.
5. There are some of the Railway projects that will be executed.
   Shimoga-Talaguppa Guage conversion. Bidar-Gulbarga new rail line. Sholapur-Bagalkot-Gadag Gauge conversion. Bangalore-Ramanagaram line doubling. Commerce and Industries
6. Proposed major industrial corridors with 8 lane roads are:
   Bidar-Bangalore via Chitradurga
   Tumkur-Honnavar via Shimoga
   Chitradurga-Mangalore via Shimoga-Udupi
   Bangalore-Belgaum via Davengare-Hubli.
7. A provision of Rs.25 crores has been made for organizing Vishva Kannada Sammelana at Belgaum in December.
8. Preparations are being made to start Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belgaum and hold an assembly session.
9. Financial assistance of Rs.One crores for development of Sangolli Rayanna Memorial at Belgaum.
10. Financial assistance of Rs.One crore for the development of Bada village in Haveri district – birth place of Kanakadasa.
11. Financial assistance of Rs. One crores for Shivayogi Shishunala Sharief’s shrine.
12. Financial assistance of Rs. One crores for development of Vignaneshwara Park and Rangamandira at Marthur, Gulbarga district.
13. To commemorate the tricentenary of the founding of the Khalsa by Sri Guru Govind Singh, a festival is being held at Nanded. An allocation of Rs.25 crores has been made for improving infrastructure in Bidar city and for providing amenities to the pilgrims.
14. A task force will be set up for protecting the bio-diversity and conserving the environment of Western Ghats.
15. Similarly work will be speeded up for construction of Kalasa Banduri Canal for supply of drinking water to Hubli-Dharwad.
16. For setting up drug testing laboratories in Hubli and Bellary in the north Karnataka region an amount of Rs.5 crores has been provided.
17. For the development of famous KIMS hospital in Hubli Rs.36.5 crores has been provided. This will help a large number of poor people in the north Karnataka
18. For improving water supply and sanitation in cities other than Bangalore, the outlay for Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board has been increased from Rs. 231 crores to Rs. 380 crores. A scheme for augmenting water supply to Hubli-Dharwad at a cost of Rs.136 crores will be undertaken during the current year.
19. For the development of second tier cities such as Mysore, Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli-Dharwad, Davanagere, Bellary and Gulbarga it is proposed to provide Rs.100 crores each to the municipal bodies of these cities over a period of two years. During this year, upto Rs.50 crores each will be given to these municipal bodies for specific projects.
20. The Government is determined to develop industry and tourism in all parts of the state. In this connection Rs.150 crores is being provided to develop airports in the year 2008-09. Necessary land is being acquired to upgrade Hubli airport to international standard, and to expand Belgaum and Mangalore airports, Steps are being taken to acquire additional land for the development of Mysore airport. Similarly the airports at Bijapur, Gulbarga, Shimoga and Hassan will be developed on public-private-partnership basis, To give impetus to tourism in the state, it is proposed to spend Rs.40 crores to develop 10 air strips at the cost of Rs.4 crores each in various districts which do not have airports.
21. An IT – BT zone will be established in Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Shimoga and Gulbarga.* Ramanagara, Shimoga and Hubli-Dharwad will be earmarked for automobile zone, and a garment zone will be established in Bangalore Rural, Tumkur, Kolar, Mandya, Belgaum, Bidar, Dharwad and other districts. For the above purposes Rs.500 Crores will be spent by KIADB during the year 2008-09.
22. It is proposed to set up IT and BT parks in cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Shimoga, Davangere, Mangalore through joint ventures of private participation and Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board. KEONICS will be provided with a capital contribution of Rs.10 Crores to promote the above development.