Karnataka News Archive: January 2007

Gandana Mane
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 | MP

Gandana Mane is the title of the upcoming project which has recently been launched by producer R.S.Gowda. S.Mahender is the director of the film. Shivarajkumar plays the lead role in the film and will portray a down to earth character of a bus conductor. Gowri, Doddanna, Avinash, Hema Chaudhary, Karibasavaiah etc are there in the cast. B.A.Madhu handles the story, screenplay and dialogues. his film. Manohar is the music director and Sundarnath Suvarna weilds the camera.

Move to make AIDS test strict for newly weds
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 | MP

In a move to curb the spread of rising AIDS cases in Karnataka, the State Govt even plans to propose a new law in which HIV tests will be made mandatory for those couples entering wedlock. Karnataka is one among the state which has high-prevalence of HIV rates in the country. "There is a consensus within the government on the need to bring in such a legislation within a year," said Health Minister. He also added that the law would also be made applicable to all the prospective legislators in the State.

Sudeep, Vishnu together
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 | MP

Kannada's veteran actor Vishnuvardhan will be acting along talented actor Sudeep in renowned director Nagathihalli Chandrasekhar's upcoming film 'Mathad Mathad Mallige'. Though Vishnu and Suhasini play the lead roles in the film, Sudeep is doing a significant role which is quite different in character. The film is themed on farmers and is shot at Bellary, Honnavara, Kumta and Thirthahalli. K.Manju is the producer of the film.

Kempe Gowda
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 | MP

A film by the name of Bangalore's founder, Kempe Gowda is being planned out. The film is directed by Om Prakash Rao. Actor director Sudeep will play the hero and title role in the film. While actress Sanjana of Ganda Hedanthi fame will be the heroine. Earlier Rakshita was opted for the role. And due to her inconvinence after post marriage, Sanjana is replacing her. The film is already being launched and will be based on the real life sketches of Kempe Gowda.

Konkani as third language in schools
Tuesday, January 30, 2007 | MP

In a move to revive the Konkani speaking community, Karnataka CM has said that Konkani language would be made to study as a third language in schools. The CM also said that request was being put forward before the Cabinet for a decision on this effect. The kannada script for Konkani will be promoted and most of the Konkani literature in the State is written in the Kannada script. There has been constant demands from the Konkani speaking communities to make it mandatory for schools especially in coastal districts of the State, to use Konkani text books in Kannada script for students of both primary and high school.

IT fair in Coorg from Feb 1
Monday, January 29, 2007 | MP

An IT and consumer Fair, is being organised by the Coorg Centre for Information Technology which is scheduled to be held in Madikeri begin from Feb 1st. The event, "IT and Beyond", will be a 4 day affair which would focus on projecting Coorg as an IT destination. Besides the Department of IT and BT and Science and Technology, various sectors like automobile industry, insurance and finance companies, health and fitness equipment distributors, food, beverages industry etc will be taking part in the event. Being a popular tourist spot, the event would also be participated by tourism firms from various parts of the State.

Arasu
Saturday, January 27, 2007 | MP

Arasu directed by Mahesh Babu is from late Dr Rajkumar's family banner. The film also marks Puneet Rajkumar's eight film. Its a two-heroine film with Ramya and Malayalam actress Meera Jasmine donning the female leads. Puneet stars throughout the film while the ladies also make a good show. The film tells the story of an NRI return who falls in love with a rich girl. But when he proposes her for marriage she challenges him and the events that follow forms the rest of the story. The story has been told in a rather different way. But the script has nothing much to offer. Songs are average.

Its an all-men Karnataka cabinet
Friday, January 26, 2007 | MP

Karnataka Cabinet was undergone a further expansion on Thursday with five new ministers inducted into Chief Minister Kumaraswamy's cabinet. Out of the new inductions 3 are from JD(S), while two from coalition partner BJP. However there are no woman representatives in the whole of the cabinet which has a total strength of 34. Disappointed over the non inclusion of women in the Cabinet, none of the women legislators were present at the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan. Meanwhile the CM blamed it on the compulsion of coalition politics for the absence of a woman in his cabinet.

TCS, Wipro to foray into Dakshina Kannada, Udupi
Thursday, January 25, 2007 | MP

Top IT firms like Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services are planning to expand their operations into the other Karnataka districts like Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Wipro is planning to acquire 100 acres of land in one of these districts to set up an IT campus which is estimated to be a Rs 1,800 crore project. TCS is also to invest Rs. 640 crore on 100 acres of land which is expected to create upto 20,000 jobs. This was informed by the Industries Minister who said that 14 companies had given assurance to invest Rs. 3,301 crore on various projects in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts over the next three years.

Rs 350 mn health insurance scheme for the poor
Wednesday, January 24, 2007 | MP

Karnataka Chief minister has announced Rs.350 million to provide health insurance to around 1.2 million families below the poverty line (BPL).'It would be our first step to ensure better health to the underprivileged and many such steps will be taken soon,' he said. The scheme will be held on a pilot basis and is likely to cover nearly 20 percent of the total BPL families. The State has around six million families below the poverty line. The CM's announcement came on the sidelines of his visit to Ingalagi village in Bagalkot district, where he spent one night with an HIV/AIDS victim's family.

Govt plans to curb communal rallies
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 | MP

In the wake of the recent communal riots in Bangalore, the State government is planning to put a check on huge communal processions and conventions that could trigger similar violence in the busy city areas. A ban on processions and rallies in Bangalore City is being under consideration and special places to hold such events will be identified to keep it out of the city limits, said Karnataka CM. He also added that it was the organisations and leaders who organise such events to take responsibilty of such situations in case of any violence.

Kannada Seriel on cultural heroes Koti Chennaya
Monday, January 22, 2007 | MP

A Kannada Tv seriel is in the making based on the life of Koti-Chennaya, the twin brothers who lived in the 17th century and fought for social justice for the Billawa community. They are being worshipped as cultural heroes.Long time back a Tulu film by the name 'Koti Chennaya' was made under the Praja Films banner and the same production house is making the seriel for the TV viewers. The cast will have popular Kannada artists and the project is already underway with the work.

Sneha Parva
Sunday, January 21, 2007 | MP

Sneha Parva directed by G k Mudduraj tells a friendship tale. The film tells the story of a girl(Soumya Murthy playing the female lead) who gradually develops an intimate friendship with her fellow employees. Most of the cast are nwecomers who gives it out an impressive performace. The camera work is rather disappointing which in turn affects the whole image of the film itself. The story though simple could have turned better with little more attention from the technical sides.

Gulbarga declared 100 pc FID
Friday, January 19, 2007 | MP

Gulbarga district of Karnataka has bagged the unique distinction of becoming the first district in the State to have been declared as the 100 pc financial inclusion district. This means each and every family in Gulbarga has a bank account. The scheme initiated by the State Bank of India was launched to promote financial inclusion as a drive towards social inclusion and has set March as the deadline for achieving FID in the remote district of Gulbarga. However this has been achieved in Jan itself with over 1.85 lakh urban families and 3.97 lakh families in rural areas opening bank accounts.

CET on May 9th
Thursday, January 18, 2007 | MP

This year's Common Entrance Test(CET) for admissions to various professional courses in the State will be held on May 9th. This year the CET CEll had also decided to conduct the exams for all the 4 subjects physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology on the same day. Physics and Chemistry exams will be held during the morning session from 10 am-12:30 pm. While the mathematics paper will be from 2pm -3:20 pm and Biology paper scheduled from 4pm-5:20 pm on the same day. The Cell has also made it compulsory to provide left hand thumb impression of candidates on application forms as well as the OMR sheets to avoid impersonation.

MAHE renamed as Manipal University
Wednesday, January 17, 2007 | MP

The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) is now been known in a new name as Manipal University. The new name will be applicable to all the campuses including those in Nepal, Malaysia and UAE. Besides the institute is also making some cahnges in its entrance exam patterns. Admissions for all the courses including MBBS, BDS, BE, BPharm, BHM, BA Journalism & Comm Studies will now have to undergo the online entrance test that will be held at various centers which will be open for more than 35 days. Students need to apply for the same and fix their slot to take up the exam.

Blore to host Aero India 2007 from Feb 7-11
Tuesday, January 16, 2007 | MP

The 6th International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition, Aero India 2007 will be held at the airforce station in Yelhanka at Bangalore from Feb 7-11th. The event jointly organised by the FCCI and Farnborough International Ltd. will bring in around 450 exhibitors from across the world that will exhibit opportunities for the aviation and aerospace industry. India's Ministry of Defence would be the overall promoters of the airshow. Around 80 aircrafts are expected to take part at the air show this year.

Thayiya Madilu
Monday, January 15, 2007 | MP

Thayiya Madilu directed by S.Narayan takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. The film brings Shivarajkumar teaming up with S.Narayan after six long years. The film deals on mother- son sentiments. Jayasudha is refreshing to be seen on screen after a long gap. Rakshitha has nothing much to offer than looking pretty. The film has six songs and offers some good music. Cameraman P K H Das offers some exotic locales shot in Berlin, Egypt, Switzerland Austria with camera handled by P K Das. The big budgeter may turn out a crowd puller these Sankrathi holidays.

Solar cooking system for apartments in the offing
Saturday, January 13, 2007 | MP

Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. (KREDL) has come up with a solar steam cooking system which is suited for apartments, large hotels and community kitchens. The solar cooking system uses renewable energy by trapping sunlight and heat energy using parabolic-shaped reflectors. It is made to concentrate on an aluminium pipe through which water is passed which gets converted to steam and in turn used for cooking purposes. In case of apartments, there could be steam pipe inlets for individual kitchens. The whole installation comes little expensive which could cost over Rs. 13 lakh for a system capable of cooking 500 meals at a time. But on the long run the investment would mean reasonable as there is very less maintenence costs.

BDA to allot 2 lakh sites this year
Friday, January 12, 2007 | MP

Karnataka CM had said that the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) would allot two lakh sites this year of which 10 pc would be kept aside for the poor and the needy. Govt intends to provide these sites to people belonging to the low income group like the auto rickshaw drivers and this will be made available to them as constructed apartments instead of sites and more on this will be known after directions with the BDA.

CM to stay with AIDS affected family in Bagalkot
Thursday, January 11, 2007 | MP

Joining in the campaign to fight the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, Karnataka CM had promised that he would stay with an AIDS hit family during his next village tour to Bagalkot scheduled for January 23rd. This was announced on the sidelines during the launch of Samastha project which addresses the needs of AIDS affected rural population in 12 high prevalence districts and three major cities of the State. Karnataka is estimated to have more than 5 lakh people with HIV/ AIDS and the numbers are significantly rising in rural areas.

Sixer
Wednesday, January 10, 2007 | MP

Sixer directed by Shashank tells a sport themed film which tells the story of a cricket crazy youngster who strives hard to get into the sport. Prajwal Devaraj's son Prajwal makes his Kannada debut playing the lead in this Ramoji Rao's film. Prajwal does a good job with his acting performance. Heroine Devaki is okay but could have done better. Hamsalekha's music is not upto mark. The first half of the film entertains while the second half has nothing much interesting. Overall a timepass affair.

Govt to promote Neera health drink
Tuesday, January 9, 2007 | MP

The Karnataka Government is taking initiatives to promote Neera, a sweet drink extracted from coconut, date, palmyra trees as a health drink. The State's Horticulture Dept is involved with this and preparing on the Neera policy. The govt plans to promote the product as a health drink which has medicinal properties and also has acquired the technology to preserve the drink from 1-2 months. Neera could be delivered in sachets and bottles and has nutritional values rich with minerals, protiens and vitamins.

Rajeev
Monday, January 8, 2007 | MP

Kannada film Rajeev is directed by Ravi Srivatsa. The film is complete with its shooting and is expected to reache theateres in January. The movie casts Vijay Raghavendra and Rakshita in the lead roles. Apart from them, Ravi Belegere does a key role in the film. Music is from Sadhu Kokila and has 4 songs. The audio of the film music has already been launched. Shobha Rajanna produces the film. The film is said to be an action oriented thriller.

JD(s) party conclave in Amby valley
Sunday, January 7, 2007 | MP

The Karnataka CM along with 66 JD(s) legislators were in Amby valley resort near Pune to attend the party conclave meeting to discuss on the the governance policies to strengthen the party. The CM held long meetings with the legislators that went on from 9am to 4pm and focussed on the fact that he wanted the JD(S) to come into power on its own. Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy had said that expansion of his cabinet would take place before January 20th. There are also indications that he could go in for a reshuffle of his ministry by Makara Sankrathi that is on January 14.

Terror plot on IT firms foiled
Saturday, January 6, 2007 | MP

Bangalore City police had nabbed a suspected terrorist who carried heavy arms and ammunition including an AK 47 rifle who was on his way to Bangalore from Hospete with a mission to attack IT majors Infosys, Wipro and Bangalore Airport. The maps seized from the suspect contained markings on IT campuses and the airport indicating these buildings as potential targets. Karnataka police is still on with the investigations. Meanwhile security of various IT companies in the City have been advised to be beefed up following the incident.

Jothe Jotheyali celebrates 100 days
Friday, January 5, 2007 | MP

Kannada film, Jothe Jotheyali produced under the banner of Thogudeepa productions and directed by Dinakar starring Prem, Darshan and Ramya has completed 100 days. The success of the film was celebrated with a function in Vijayanagar which was attended by stars and film personalities of the Kannada film industry. Besides the cast and crew, a host of celebrities took part in the event including Sivarajkumar, Parvathamma Rajkumar, Puneet, Ambareesh etc.

Blore gets a Cyber lab
Thursday, January 4, 2007 | MP

Karanataka's first and India's third cyber lab was opened in Bangalore to tackle with cyber crimes. The lab is operated by Nasscom, in association with the Karnataka Government and Canara Bank. This is the third of the kind after cyber labs in Mumbai and Thane. Bangalore cyber lab will focus on giving training to officials of law enforcing agencies operating in the state police department, law department, defence services, banks, insurance etc. Training will consist of familarisation of areas such as Internet, browsing, e-mail and online transactions and education on what constitutes cyber crime.

Zameer quits from HDK ministry
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 | MP

Karnataka Wakf and Haj Committee Minister Zameer Khan had submitted his resignation to Governor T N Chaturvedi on grounds that the CM had hurt the feelings of his community by chosing not to attend the Eid prayers. The minister had earlier expressed his displeasure at the CM not attending Eid-ul-Zuha prayers at his assembly constituency at Chamarajpet and sought an apology. Meanwhile Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy maintained that he felt no need to apologise on the issue as he had committed no mistake that warranted an apology.

Zameer threatens to resign
Tuesday, January 2, 2007 | MP

Karnataka minister for Wakf board and Haj affairs Zameer Ahmed Khan has threatened to quit from his post. The quit threat comes in protest after the Chief Minister failed to take part in the Eid-ul-Zuha special prayers at the Idgah Maidan in Chamrajpet. The minister alleges that the CM stayed away from the prayers inspite of him personally inviting the CM for the Bakrid prayers. Meanwhile the CM had said that he had no intentions to stay away, as he had already conveyed his Eid greetings. 'I will speak personally to him and sort out the issue', said HDK.

Karnataka govt proposes ban on arrack sale
Monday, January 1, 2007 | MP

The coaltion led Karnataka government has proposed a total ban on arrack sale and manufacture in the State from July this year. 'This is a first step in our ultimate goal of introducing prohibition in the state,' said Dy CM pointing out that the govt was not concerned about the revenue losses it would incur on the State. The move is seen as an effort to attract the sentiments of women in rural areas. Karnataka has over 15,200 licenced arrack vending shops with a total sales of 1.5 crore litres a day.

Archive: 2004, 2003