Karnataka approves Rs 1,000-cr investments in logistics - One in Hubli

Source: The Hindu

Bangalore, May 31: 

Ahead of the Global Investors Meet (GIM), the Karnataka Government has cleared investments in logistics and warehouses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore.

Also on its own, the government plans to build four Logistics Parks with a total investment of Rs 1,800 crore through private partnership route.

To facilitate development across the state, the Infrastructure Development Department has initiated moves to build Logistics Parks in Bangalore, Hassan and Hubli on public-private partnership (PPP) mode. According to a senior Infrastructure Development Department (IDD) official, the government is looking for an integrated approach by providing multi-modal/integrated logistics transport centre, warehouses, inland container depots, domestic rail head, and air cargo centres.

invites registration of interests

Logistics Parks are to come up at Harohalli Industrial Area in Bangalore with an investment of Rs 500 crore, Dabbaspet (Rs 600 crore), Hassan (Rs 350 crore) and Hubli (Rs 350 crore).

The department has invited registration of interests (RoI) from global, national companies and is open to joint ventures and consortia for development of logistics parks.

An industries department official said the projects cleared recently are Vikram Logistics and Maritime Services which is investing Rs 342.59 crore to set up logistics services at Maranaikanahally and Samanduru villages in Anekal.

The project is to come up on 120 acres of land owned by one of the directors of the company.

It is likely to give employment to 675 people. Property developer Gopalan Enterprises is to build a warehouse at Cheelur village Maralvadi hobli in Kanakapura with an investment of Rs 188 crore and offer employment to 5,000 people.

The promoters of the project have sought 104.06 acres of land.

The government has instructed project proponent to obtain consent to an extent of 70 per cent from the land owners for further assistance.

The Gurgaon-based Siddhivinayaka Farm Fresh is to set up a muti-commodity agri-cold chain network and logistic hub at Vishwanathapura near Devanahalli. The project is to come up on 11 acres on a private land at an investment of Rs 160.66 crore.

Magna Warehousing and Distribution Private Ltd with an investment of Rs 381 crore to develop spaces and infrastructure for IT offices, hotel rooms, meeting spaces and convention, shopping including food courts, restaurants, cinema, departmental stores to complement with the location at EPIP industrial areas at Hoodi Village next to Sri Sathya Sai Hospital at Whitefield.

[Belgaum] Karnataka seeks Rs 4329.40 crore central assistance

Source: Deccan Herald

The Karnataka Government today requested the Centre to extend Rs 4329.40 crore financial aid to transform Belgaum into the 'City of the Decade 2011-2021.'

"The project envisaged by the state proposes to provide citizens a safe and sustainable environment, with state-of-the-art infrastructure, service delivery, connectivity, and economic well-being, supported by an efficient governance framework," Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

To achieve the desired results in consonance with the Mission statement,the state government has prepared a detailed "City Development Strategy and Investment Plan for Belgaum City" , he said.

Total investments estimated for development infrastructure would be around Rs 4329.40 crore, he said and urged the Prime Minister to include the project in the ensuing budget as a special project.

Karnataka Government would be willing to bear 10 per cent of the cost as per Government of India guidelines, he said.

"I shall be thankful if you could kindly issue directions to the Union Urban Development Ministry to incorporate this project on priority to commemorate visit of Mahatma Gandhi to Belgaum City for the 39th Annual Session of the Congress and hope our request is considered favourably", he said.

The Karnataka Government is organising the second World Kannada literary conference in Belgaum next month.

Work on Dharwad-Goa road finally starts

Source: http://sify.com/finance/work-on-dharwad-goa-road-finally-starts-news-news-kliaO8dggea.html

It is official now. The road between Dharwad and Ramnagar that connects Karnataka to Goa and which has been in a very bad condition for decades is being converted into double-lane highway by the state government. On Sunday, public works minister C M Udasi performed the bhoomi pooja for the road construction work at Alnavar in the presence of rural development and panchayat raj minister Jagadeesh Shettar and MP Prahlad Joshi.
The state government has entrusted the works to the Karnataka Road Development Corporation which in turn has given the responsibility to Hyderabad-based GVR-RMN-Pratyusha Companies consortium named GVRMP Dharwad-Ramna-gar Tollway Private Limited. The 61.50 km stretch on the Aurad-Sadashivagad state highway No 34, which has made the journey for those travelling to Goa from Dharwad via Ramnagar a herculean task, will be re-laid for Rs237.60 crore. It will be on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) / viability gap funding (VGF) basis.
The nine-metre-wide road covers 29.9 km in Dharwad district and 31.50 km in Belgaum district before entering Goa. It will pass through three railway crossings, one bridge and 12 culverts. There will be two truck lay base, five under passes and two toll gates. The work is expected to be completed in two years. When completed, it will give a big boost to tourism, trade and commerce in Dharwad, Belgaum and Uttara Kannada districts.
The road has been in a bad shape for decades and any number of petitions and complaints to the authorities had failed to yield results. Those traveling to Goa were forced to take a route via Belgaum and Savantawadi, covering an additional distance of 80 km.
Kannadigas settled in Goa had repeatedly appealed to the legislators and ministers visiting Goa to get the road repaired, but to no avail.
Udasi, being the public works minister for second term, had failed to fulfill the demand. Successive governments had given up the road repair work after conducting ‘bhoomi pooja’, citing financial crunch. Dharwad MP Prahlad Joshi and minister Jagadeesh Shettar’s efforts to get the road included in Central Road Fund during the regime of H D Revanna as public works minister had also not been fruitful.
Now it seems the road is set to be repaired with state government contributing 20 per cent of the cost while the Centre will contribute matching amount. The companies taking up the work on BoT basis will bear 60 per cent of the cost. Th e BoT is for a period of 30 years and the time frame for getting the road ready is two years.

Vishwa Kannada Sammelan in Belgaum February 2011

Source: http://belgaumblog.blogspot.com/

The second Vishwa Kannada Sammelan will be more than a show of culture and has been planned to be held for 3 days in Belgaum in February 2011. This year's Sammelan was postponed due to floods.
Government has earmarked Rs. 10 crore in budget; it has promised to release Rs. 20 crore more.
The sammelan will be a meeting place for successful non-resident Kannadigas in various parts of the world. There is a plan to honour the people of Karnataka origin who have made it big outside the State and abroad, B.R. Jayaramaraje Urs Secretary, Kannada and Culture said in Mysore.
Apart from sessions on literature and heritage, issues connected to the status of Kannada and development of the State would figure in the meet.

HINDALCO Expansion in Belgaum

25 Jan 2010 Hindalco Press Release

The Belgaum unit of Hindalco, located in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, houses an alumina plant, a world-class research centre for alumina, and a carbon paste and block plant.



The alumina plant started operating in 1969 with an initial capacity of 75,000 tpa of alumina hydrate. It currently produces around 380,000 tpa. Since the 1990s the plant has become predominantly an export-oriented unit of metallurgical alumina, while producing several grades of special aluminas and hydrates for non-metallurgical applications, like refractories, ceramics, polishing, fire retardant plastics, alum, zeolite, etc.

Over the years, the plant has expanded its capacity of speciality products to around 138,000 tpa, with approximately 120 different grades, serving more than 600 customers across 35 countries. In addition to providing technical support to the alumina plants of the Aditya Birla Group on the Bayer process and special products, the research centre has been carrying out projects for international clients.

The Belgaum unit has earned recognition in the form of national awards in the areas of energy conservation, R&D excellence, environment, and safety. It also has the Star Trading House status.
The 1182-acre plant has a large colony for its 752-strong workforce, with a well-equipped occupational health centre, club / community centre for sports and recreational activities, and an upper primary school. The unit has adopted seven nearby villages and the CSR initiatives cover different areas like education, women’s empowerment, sustainable livelihood, health and infrastructural development.

Bhimgarh (Dist: Belgaum) now wildlife sanctuary

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Bhimgarh-now-wildlife-sanctuary-/articleshow/5541334.cms

BANGALORE: A decade’s struggle has paid off. The ministry of environment and forests gave its consent to declare Bhimgadh in Belgaum district as a wildlife sanctuary. Goa is probably heaving a sigh of relief as it had locked horns with Karnataka over the Mahadayi river valley diversion project.

Bhimgadh was in the eye of a storm for two reasons. While it was a political issue between Goa and Karnataka over sharing of Mahadayi water, wildlife enthusiasts were keen on saving this unique habitat. Chief wildlife warden B K Singh confirmed that the Centre had given its consent for declaring 138 sqkm of forest as a wildlife sanctuary and the government issued the order three days ago.

UNIQUE HABITAT
Bhimgadh shelters two rare bat species — Wroughton free-tailed bats and Tomb bats. In India, Barapidi in Bhimgadh has the only colony of Wroughton free-tailed bats. Their only other habitat in the world is Brazil. Tomb bats are found in West Bengal. B K Singh said the Barapidi caves were part of the sanctuary. Wildlife enthusiast Ajay Desai said the forest was also a triangular corridor for tigers and elephants, which migrate between Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.

MAHADAYI RIVER
State wanted water share
 
Bangalore: Bhimgarh, a unique habitat for two rare bat species, had been caught in a political wrangle with Goa even as wildlife enthusiasts fought to save it.
Karnataka wanted to build two check dams at Kalasa and Banduri to tap 7.5 tmcft water for supplying drinking water to Hubli-Dharwad. The project involved submerging 323 hectares of forest and the issue had been referred to the forest advisory committee for clearance.

The main Mahadayi project involved three dams at Potli, Alsara and Harinala. Karnataka argued that its catchment contributed 45 tmcft water to the Mahadayi river and over 200 tmcft of river water flowed into the sea.

Karnataka wanted a share of this water, to which Goa objected. The Goa government even favoured forming a tribunal to settle the dispute.

The issue was politically hot till 2004 during Congress rule. Subsequent coalition governments didn’t show much interest in this issue. Now, if the government wants to take it up, it has to obtain clearance under Wildlife Protection Act (1972).

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.

Zuari Industries plans $900 mn fertilizer plant in Belgaum, Karnataka

Source: http://www.livemint.com/2009/11/16223726/Zuari-Industries-plans-900-mn.html


Bangalore: Fertilizer maker Zuari Industries Ltd is likely to spend $800-900 million (around Rs3,688-4,149 crore) to build a gas-based factory in Karnataka that would have a capacity to produce 1 million tonnes (mt) of urea a year.
The plant will be built in the Belgaum district bordering Maharashtra and Goa that has a gas pipeline running through it. Natural gas is a feedstock for fertilizer plants.
The company has asked for approval from the Karnataka government to go ahead with the project, a state industry department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
All investment plans exceeding Rs50 crore in the state require approval from a panel headed by the chief minister. The matter will come up for discussion at the panel later this month, the official added.
“It is in a very preliminary stage,” Zuari Industries managing director H.S. Bawa said over the telephone from New Delhi on Friday. “The project will progress based on the availability of gas.”
Zuari Industries and HT Media Ltd, which publishes Mint, are both part of the KK Birla group.
The firm will take around 40 months to build the factory once it inks a deal that ensures the supply of natural gas, Bawa said. The Union government has allocated about one-fourth of the 60 million standard cu. m per day of natural gas from the offshore KG D6 field of Reliance Industries Ltd to fertilizer companies.
An analyst said that Zuari Industries may be preparing itself to establish a new plant in anticipation of additional gas commitments.
There is unmet local demand for urea. India consumed 25.59 mt of the fertilizer in the year ended 31 March, of which 5.67 mt was imported, according to industry lobby group Fertiliser Association of India.
“India has much more gas than before. You will see lot of these guys (fertilizer companies) announcing new plants,” said the analyst who tracks the fertilizer industry at a Mumbai brokerage. “But the key thing to monitor is when they get the gas linkage.” He didn’t want to be named as he is not authorized to speak with the media.
“Probably, they (Zuari Industries) will keep all the approvals ready in six-eight months. Once the (gas supply) agreements are signed, they can begin work,” he said.
On 12 November, Zuari Industries said it signed a reliquefied natural gas supply agreement with GAIL (India) Ltd for its fertilizer plant in Goa. The expected date of supply of the gas to be used as a feedstock in place of naphtha is 1 January 2013, the firm told the National Stock Exchange.
Bawa said the firm supplies fertilizers from its Goa factory to Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and would expand its base in these markets.

Karnataka govt to set up police training centre in Dharwad

Source: http://www.sahilonline.org/english/news.php?catID=statenews&nid=5977&viewed=0

Hubli, July 25 : The Karnataka government has sanctioned Rs five crore for setting up of a police training centre in Dharwad Superintendent of Police D Prakash said today Talking to newspersons here he said that the works of establishing the training centre would begin soon.
The Government had also provided Rs 2 crore for building school for children of police in Dharwad and under the scheme already 32 acres of land was purchased.

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.

Karnataka plans to develop 250 toll roads

Source: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=125794

BANGALORE, May 22, 2009: Karnataka Government on Friday decided to develop more than 250 state highways and major district roads with private participation and levy toll on road users.

The State Cabinet meeting presided by Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa fixed toll rates for the four-lane and two-lane roads for various category of motor vehicles.

Minister for Rural Development & Panchayat Raj Shobha Karandlaje told reporters here that the basic toll rate per kilometre on a four-lane road for cars, jeeps, light motor vehicles, vans would be 65 paise and on two-lane roads it would be fifty paise.

Mini-buses and mini goods vehicles will have to pay Rs 1.05 per km for using four-lane road and 75 paise for two-lane. The toll would be Rs 2.20 for buses and trucks on four-lane road and Re 1.50 on two-lane road, she said adding that heavy construction machinery vehicles would be charged Rs 3.45 per km on four-lane road and Rs 2.25 on two-lane roads. Toll will be collected on roads where more than 10,000 vehicles ply, she said.

However, toll will not be collected on existing roads, Karandlaje said.
At an investor’s meet held in January 28, 2009, the Government had decided to develop a Core Road Network (CRN) of 66,000 km at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,77,000 crore under the public-private partnership module in the next six years (2009-15).

In the first phase, it was decided to upgrade 10,000 km of State highways and major district roads (MDRs) apart from 12,600 km of village roads in the first phase. The estimated cost for development of 10,000 km of State highways and MDRs is Rs. 31,400 crore. About 40,000 km of roads will be developed in the second phase at an estimated cost of Rs. 1.08 lakh crore and 16,000 km in the third phase with an investment of Rs. 36,800 crore.

Officials said the 66,000-km CRN would connect Bangalore with other IT hubs such as Mysore, Hassan, Davangere, Hubli, Dharwad, and Mangalore. The objective of the CRN was to promote industrial and urban development and integrate economically backward and remote areas.
All these roads would be toll roads, and toll booths would be established every 50 km. The toll would be based on the rate fixed by the National Highways Authority of India, he said.

Agricultural non-transport vehicles, two and three-wheelers and local short-distance vehicles used only for passenger transport would be exempted from payment of toll. Service roads would be provided for local traffic, he said.

Mr. Yeddyurappa said at present the State had a road network of nearly 2.09 lakh km: 3,978 km of national highways, 20,738 km of State highways, 37,973 km of district roads and 1,47,212 km of village roads.

The CRN would be an all-weather, smooth road network with a minimum two-lane carriageway and feeder roads and four to six lanes near urban settlements.

The roads would be developed under various PPP models such as build operate, transfer; design, build, operate, transfer; and viability gap funding. The developer would be given one acre of land for every five km of road developed for business activities. Land acquisition and development would be undertaken by private entrepreneurs.

A State-level task force headed by the Chief Minister had been constituted to monitor the progress of roads, and committees headed by the deputy commissioners had been constituted for fixation of compensation rates for land acquired for roads.

Farmers to get credit at 3 pc from nationalised banks

BANGALORE: The Karnataka government on Friday decided to ensure credit to small and marginal farmers at three per cent interest rate through nationalised banks, but with a loan cap of Rs 50,000.

The state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa approved the extension of the subsidised interest rate scheme for farm credit to nationalised banks with effect from April 1 last and decided to earmark Rs 250 crore towards reimbursement of the difference interest amount to banks. The Government has decided to disburse crop loans at three per cent rate of interest in the State budget for 2009-10.

Addressing presspersons after the Cabinet meeting, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Shobha Karandlaje said that it has been estimated that about six to seven lakh farmers avail credit from nationalised banks in the state.

About 13 lakh farmers in the state who get credit from cooperative institutions already enjoy the low interest rate credit, she said.

Farmers’ loans up to Rs 50,000 would be eligible for the low interest rate. Continuing its populist schemes, the government decided to extend the scheme of awarding cash incentives to meritorious higher secondary boy students hailing from SC and ST communities, a benefit already given to their girl counterparts to enable them continue higher studies.

The Centre had instructed nationalised banks to grant crop loans at the interest rate of seven per cent. The State Government would reimburse to banks the difference of the amount which would be Rs. 1000 crore in 2009-10.The cooperative institutions would disburse crop loans at rate of interest of three per cent to small and marginal farmers. The cooperatives had disbursed Rs. 3,290.3 crore in 2008-09 for 13,17,983 farmers in the State. Cooperatives are expected to disburse Rs. 3,500 crore loans to farmers in 2009-10.

Cooperation Minister Laxman Savadi said elections to various cooperative bodies, including Karnataka Milk Federation, would be held between May 23 to July 27 in different phases.

Tata Marcopolo Motors’ Dharwad plant goes on stream

Source: http://machinist.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1898&Itemid=2

30,000-unit plant to produce full range of world class intra-city and inter-city buses

Mumbai: The state-of-the-art bus manufacturing facility of Tata Marcopolo Motors Limited at Dharwad (Karnataka) has begun commercial production.

The plant, spread over about 123 acres, will have a capacity to produce 30,000 units a year, to be achieved in phases. In 2009-10, the first full year of operation, production can be up to 15,000 units. The joint venture has already invested about Rs.200 crores.

The plant, at full cacpacity, will generate over 6,500 direct jobs. It will be supported by a vendor park.

Tata Marcopolo Motors Limited is a 51:49 joint venture of Tata Motors and Marcopolo of Brazil.

The Dharwad plant will cater to India’s growing need for world class fully built buses for intra-city and inter-city transportation with international standard comfort, quality and safety.

The plant will produce a comprehensive range of buses. The range, to be marketed under the ‘Starbus’ and ‘Globus’ brands, includes 16 to 54-seater standard buses, 18 and 45-seater luxury buses, luxury coaches and low-floor city buses.

Karnataka Power plans 3 solar power projects - Belgaum gets one

Source: http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/01/14/Nzg0MzU%3D/Karnataka_Power_plans_3_solar_power_projects.html

Projects today reported that Karnataka Power Corporation will be setting up 3 solar power projects in Karnataka to tap natural resources. It is taking up the solar power projects on a pilot basis at an estimated cost of INR 225 crore.

Mr BS Yeddyurappa CM of Karnataka has laid the foundation stone for the country's first ever, 3 MW solar photovoltaic power plant at Yelesandra in Bangarpet taluk of Kolar district on January 9th. The power produced from the plant will be supplied to the state grid through an 11 kV transmission line, which is about 100 meters from the proposed plant. The cost of each megawatt will be in the range of INR 25 crore.

As per report, the other 2 projects will be set up at Itnal village in Chikodi taluk of Belgaum district and in Shikaripur taluk of Shimoga district. Each of these three projects will supply 3 MW of power during the day to the state grid, which is sufficient to charge around 400 irrigation pump sets and irrigate 1,200 acre.

KPCL has floated tenders for the projects in Kolar and Belgaum districts. So far, 24 companies, both domestic and international have participated in the tender including TATA BP Solar, BHEL, Sun Technics, Iso Photon of Spain, Zecon Solar of USA among others.

The report added that KPCL will use the solar photovoltaic modular crystalline technology for this entire project. For each plant the corporation requires 15 acre. The projects will be completed and commissioned by the next Kannada Rajyotsava falling on November 1st 2009.

Karnataka clears 12 mega projects (Bangalore, Bagalkot, Belgaum, Raichur, Dakshina Kannada and Mysore)

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/holnus/004200811192232.htm

BANGALORE: The State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC) on Wednesday cleared 12 investment proposals to the tune of Rs. 7,080 crore, which have potential to create 82,393 new jobs. This included a proposal by the State-owned Karnataka Power Corporation Limited to set up two thermal generating units with a capacity of 600 MW each at Chicksagur (Yermarus) in Raichur district, located close to the Raichur Thermal Power Station.

The KPCL had requested the Government to allot an additional 234 acres of land to commence the work on the first unit.

The Government on Wednesday agreed to the request. The work on the project would commence soon after getting the various clearances and the first unit is expected to be ready for generation in about four years.

The high-level committee also cleared a proposal by the HAL to set up an aircraft and engine overhaul unit near the Bengaluru International Airport at a cost of Rs. 2,095 crore.

Briefing presspersons after the SHLCC meeting, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa noted that this unit would create 285 more jobs.

The other proposals which got clearance are a cement manufacturing expansion unit in Bagalkot to be set up at a cost of Rs. 520 crore by Nirani Cements (700 new jobs); an energy generation project by N.K. Utilities to be set up in Bagalkot at a cost of Rs. 1,740 crore (500 new jobs); and two separate automobile industries to be set up by Stanzen Toyotetsu and JBM Auto in Ramanagara at a cost of Rs. 173 crore and Rs. 81.95 crore respectively. Together, they will create 849 new jobs.

The high-level committee also cleared a proposal for setting up an IT and ITES Park in Bangalore Urban district by D.M. Estate at a cost of Rs. 336.28 crore, which would create 13,900 new jobs.

The other clearances related to setting up a Rs. 302-crore multi-utility commercial and tourism complex in Dakshina Kannada district by Jaiprakash Group (11,100 new jobs); establishment of a rubber park in Mysore at a cost of Rs. 137 crore by Rubber Marketing (4,500 new jobs); Rs. 90-crore co-generation project to be set up by Satish Sugars Limited in Belgaum (177 new jobs); a Rs. 129.50-crore plastic industry to be set up in Bangalore Urban district by Plastic Udyog Nagar (5,000 new jobs); and a Rs. 75.65-crore sugar factory to be set up in Belgaum by Basaveshwara Group (282 new jobs)

Mr. Yeddyurappa said the main feature of Wednesday’s clearance was that the investment proposals were spread out in different districts of the State unlike the earlier times when they used to be concentrated in Bangalore.

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.

Karnataka to introduce rural IT policy

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=335173

In first such initiative by any state government in the country, the government of Karnataka is in the preparatory phase of bringing out a ‘Rural IT policy’ to attract IT investment to the tier-II and tier-III cities in the state.

While the basic framework of the proposed policy has already been laid, the government is involving the IT industry in seeking their suggestions and guidance in finalising the incentives to be given to IT companies in the proposed policy.

“We are in the process of coming up with a rural IT policy to specify the incentives for the industry to go to the tier-II and tier-III cities. The policy will come as a boost for the company in setting up operations in eight cities in the state, which have been identified by Nasscom as emerging IT destinations in the country,” Karnataka IT secretary Ashok Kumar Manoli said.

He said the state is ensuring to involve the IT industry in devising the policy, and the first phase of discussion has already been over.

“We are also talking to industry body Nasscom to take their suggestions,” the IT secretary said adding, this is extremely important for the IT sector to go to tier-II, tier-III cities when the whole industry is talking about cost reduction to remain competitive. The draft policy is expected to be ready in the next couple of months.

Earlier, Karnataka IT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu had sought the assistance of Infosys Technologies’ chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy in developing the rural IT policy.

Even though Karnataka government has been promoting cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, the large chunk of the IT exports from the state is coming from state capital Bangalore, which houses most of the global and Indian top-tier IT firms.

However, the last two years have seen the IT exports from some of the emerging cities including Mysore and Hubli are growing over 90 per cent year on year.

Among the cities other than Bangalore which is contributing the state’s IT exports, Mysore tops the list followed by Mangalore.

The state also expects that the SEZs once become operational will work as a catalyst for the IT firms in setting up shop in smaller cities. Of the 41 SEZs that have been formally approved in the state with a proposed investment of Rs 20,000 crore, 30 will be in the IT and ITeS space.

Eighteen of the proposed IT SEZs will be in cities other than Bangalore, according to the state IT department.

Meanwhile, a huge IT park called ‘Aryabhatta Tech Park’ has been inaugurated in Hubli which is expected to be a big boost for companies planning to go to the city.

Tech park has been built up on an area of 56 acres, in public private partnership basis.

State Clears Land for 45 SEZs, Including Mangalore

Source: http://nageeta.blogspot.com/2008/06/state-clears-land-for-45-sezs-including.html

Bangalore, Jun 14: The state government formally approved more than 2,400 hectres of land for setting up 45 special economic zones (SEZs) in Karnataka expected to bring in total investment of over Rs 24,000 crore.The approved SEZs include 33 IT/ITeS companies with investment worth over Rs 18,000 crore. On Friday, major and medium industries minister Murgesh R Nirani said the approved SEZs could generate 10 lakh jobs in the next few years.

Nirani, who owns two cement units and a sugar factory in Bagalkot district, said: “As an industrialist, I am aware of investors’ problems. This government wants to create an investor-friendly climate in the state.’’Investment to the tune of Rs 3,384 crore and earmarking 112 hectres exclusively for airport-based SEZ has been formally approved. Sector-specific product SEZs contribute Rs 1,824 crore and hardware and BT SEZs Rs 633 crore and Rs 750 crore respectively.

The Centre, which gives in-principle approvals for all SEZs in the country, has given its nod to only 8 SEZs in Karnataka having total investments of Rs 20,220 crore, including Rs 400 crore from the IT/ITeS sectors.Nirani said the government, without going in for acquisition of fertile land, will seek the consent of the farmers before developing a SEZ. “Of the developed land, about 20% will be given to farmers, besides employment to one member from the family,’’ he said.Proposed seven exclusive industrial zonesSteel zone — Bellary, Koppal, Raichur districtCement zone — Bagalkot, Bijapur, Gulbarga, BijapurFood processing zone — Shimoga, Mysore, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Kolar, Bangalore RuralIT/ BT zone — Mangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad, BelgaumAutomobile zone — Dharwad and BangaloreReadymade garment zone — Bangalore, Bellary and MysorePetroleum, chemicals and petrochemicals complex — Mangalore and UdupiIn-principle nod for NandagudiMajor and medium industries minister Murgesh R Nirani said that the government has given in principle approval for the Nandagudi SEZ, but its promoters have to acquire land.Keeping regional interests in mind and also to focus on the rapid development of backward areas, Nirani said the government proposed setting up of seven exclusive industrial zones to promote industries in steel, cement, food processing, IT/BT, petrochemicals, automobile and readymade garments.

Chennai-Bangalore-Mumbai corridorNirani said the Centre has taken up a feasibility study on the multi-crore Chennai-Bangalore-Mumbai (CBM) industrial corridor. The proposed CBM corridor, on the lines of Chennai-Bangalore corridor, will establish connectivity from Bangalore to Belgaum covering 11 districts and 20 towns. “To make Karnataka a leading industrialized state and to enhance the level of investments, we propose to develop industries along 100-150 kms on both sides of the corridor,’’ Nirani said.

In a meeting convened by department of industries policy and promotion (DIPP) in the Union ministry of commerce and industries involving Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh governments for consultation on Chennai-Bangalore corridor proposal a few months ago, the Centre gave positive signals for the state’s move to connect and extend the Chennai-Bangalore industrial corridor till Mumbai.

This could pave the way for conducting a feasibility report onCBM corridor.New industrial policyIn a move to boost industrial development, the industries minister proposes to modify the existing industrial policy. “The government wants to bring in more investment to the state through unveiling a new industrial policy in the next three months,’’ Nirani said. He said modifications would be carried out to the existing policy of 2006-11. Industrial policies of Maharastra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan would be studied before framing the new policy, Nirani added.

Karnataka budget

No new taxes in Karnataka budget

Bangalore/New Delhi, March 10 (IANS) A Rs.61 billion increase in the total outlay with higher spend on infrastructure, rural development, irrigation, education, weaker sections of society, housing and women and children welfare and no new taxes mark the 2008-09 budget for poll-bound Karnataka presented Monday.

The state capital and India's IT hub Bangalore gets Rs.2.4 billion (Rs.240 crores) to improve road maintenance. Major district roads will also be improved with an expenditure of Rs.3 billion (Rs.300 crores), Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said, presenting the budget to parliament in New Delhi.

The budget was presented in parliament as Karnataka is under president's rule since Nov 20 following the fall of the one-week-old Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministry after its coalition partner Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) withdrew support.

The Congress party in Karnataka hailed the budget. Its state chief Mallikharjun Kharge said it addressed the needs of both rural and urban areas. BJP's B.S. Yeddyurappa, who was chief minister for one week in November last year, described the budget as an "election gimmick".
Chidambaram allocated Rs.50 million as Karnataka's initial equity in the new Special Purpose Vehicle to be set up to provide high speed rail link to the new Bangalore International Airport scheduled to start commercial operations from March 30.

The new airport is at Devanahalli, about 35 km from the city centre and connectivity to it remains a problem.

The budget continues all the popular programmes of the previous JD-S-BJP coalition government in the state. They include loans to farmers at four percent interest rate, mid-day meal scheme for schoolchildren and free bicycles for school-going girls to encourage women's education.

The budget allocates Rs.1 billion for upgrading airports in Mangalore, Mysore, Hubli, Bijapur, Shimoga, Hassan, Gulbarga, Karwar, Bidar and Belgaum.

An amount of Rs.500 million is earmarked for a new state secretariat building, Vidhana Soudha, in Belgaum bordering Maharashtra.

Chidambaram also increased by a whopping 58 percent allocation to redress regional imbalances within the state. Called the Special Development Plan, to mainly help north Karnataka which lags behind the south of the state, it was launched in 2007-08 with an allocation of Rs.15.71 billion. In 2008-09, the allocation for the plan will be Rs.24.89 billion.

The total outlay will be Rs.565.42 billion as against the budgeted outlay of Rs.504.66 billion for the current fiscal. Similarly, the annual plan outlay will be Rs.217.51 billion for 2008-09 as against Rs.177.83 billion. The outlays will be from the state consolidated fund.

"By maintaining the revenue surplus and limiting the fiscal deficit to less than three percent, Karnataka will continue to receive the benefits of debt consolidation and waiver of central loans amounting to about Rs.6.5 billion per year," Chidambaram informed the members.

"The budget seeks to promote the development of human capital in the state by enhanced investments in education, health and social welfare. The budget also seeks to initiate special steps to improve the productivity of the farm sector and the economic condition of farmers," Chidambaram said.