Karnataka News Archive: May 2005

New health schemes by Repco
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | AY

Two new policies were launched by the governmnt owned Repco bank, a family health insurance scheme and a policy for household articles.
Repco healthcare is a unique scheme for the members of the bank where they can be reimbursed hospital expenditure arising from illness or accident. Repco home care, is another group insurance to protect the household articles. "The insurance is available for a premium of Rs 400 per year. Central government and State governments of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala are the major shareholders of the bank.

Comprehensive package for SEZ units
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | AY

Both the houses of Parliament have cleared the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Bill which ensures a comprehensive package to SEZ units, SEZ Developers and Off-shore Banking Units. He said that package under the SEZ Bill includes Income Tax exemption for a period of 15 years for SEZ Units, IT exemption for a period of 10 years for SEZ Developers, single window clearance mechanism through Unit Approval Committee and exemption from various kinds of cess. EPCES Chairman T Vasu, said that Karnataka has the unique distinction of being the largest exporting state for EOU sector consecutively for two years.

Karnataka tops Pondi
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | AY

Karnataka bagged full points with a facile 7-0 win over Pondicherry in the inaugural match of the South Zone National under-21 football championship at St. Joseph's College HSS. Arivind did the star turn scoring four goals, inclusive of a hat-trick.

Improvement in electricity supply
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | AY

There is large gap between demand and supply of electricity in our country. The peak power deficit, the gap between requirement and availability during peak hours, rose to 10.5 per cent, from 9,665 MU in April 2004 to 10,681 MU in April 2005. Comaprative to the north south has, however, reported significantly improved performance. The deficit has gone down from 3.5 per cent in April 2004 to only 0.8 per cent in April 2005. The maximum improvement has been seen in Karnataka, where the deficit has gone down from 350 MU, or 11.1 per cent, to 21 MU, 0.7 per cent, in April 2005.

Konkani textbooks to have Kannada scripts
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 | AY

The general body of the Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy, which met here on Monday, decided to adopt the Kannada script for Konkani, taught as an optional language from the sixth standard onwards. It has left the choice of dialect to linguists, according to the consensus arrived at after the academy contacted a number of people for their opinion. The move to decide on the script and dialect for Konkani textbooks gained momentum after Eric Ozario took over as chairman of the academy. A seven-member expert committee will be set up on the directions of Department of State Educational Research and Training after the June 11 meeting to prepare the textbooks.

First Phase of "INS-Kadamba" complete
Monday, May 30, 2005 | AY

"INS-Kadamba", an integrated strategic naval base at Karwar will be dedicated to the nation by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday (May 31) at the Naval Base parade ground, Karwar. Built at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore and being navy's fourth major port after Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Kochi, its main points are the Rs 150 crore ship lift with a 10000 tonne capacity and ship transfer system.With a base operational, the Indian Navy could move some of its most lethal warships like stealth frigates, Godavari class warships and other assets to the new base at Karwar.

Building house to be easy
Monday, May 30, 2005 | AY

A change to the current system of approving building plans is set up by the BCC(Bangalore City Coorporation). Under the new plan an engineer will go through the documentation, check if all the bylaws are adhered to, raise queries if any, and only then pass it on to the town-planning department at the BCC headquarters at NR Square for approval. The citizen can come back to the same centre and pick up the sanctioned plan within a maximum of 15 days. This will put an end to the corruption which was seen in BCC sub-divisional office. The Corporation also has a plan whisch is still at a conceptual stage to introduce the e-sanction facility where the citizen could send his building plan and other documents in an electronic format to the BCC website.

Bangarappa in tough situation
Monday, May 30, 2005 | AY

Former Chief Minister S Bangarappa is campaigning vigorously for the June two bypoll, for political survival in his home constituency of Shimoga. Its a tough task since he has to as he had to surmount both the BJP and the Congress, who are leaving no stone unturned for his defeat. With over 1.26 million votes, the Congress and Mr Bangarappa look mainly towards the backward class, the scheduled castes and the minorities to grab votes, while the BJP hoped to wean away a sizeable chunk of the Lingayat and Brahmin votes. Chief Minister N Dharam Singh is virtually camping in Shimoga to ensure the success of its party nominee Ayanur Manjunath, who had won from Shimoga in 1998 as a BJP nominee and subsequently switched over to the Congress.

IDSP launched
Monday, May 30, 2005 | AY

An Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) was launcehd by health minister, to improve the efficiency of disease control programmes. The minister said that the Centre had decided to launch the project country-wide in three phases. Karnataka had been selected for Phase-1. It aims to establish a decentralised State-based system for keeping in track the communicable and non-communicable diseases,so that timely and effective treatment can be given during a health crisis. Malaria, cholera, typhoid, tuberculosis, measles, poliomyelitis, plague will be covered. Besides, focus will be on diseases like filariasis, Kyasanoor forest disease, Handigodu syndrome and leptospirosis that are prevalent in city.

New project launched
Monday, May 30, 2005 | AY

'Jalagram’ project has been launched by a voluntary organisation, Save A Family Plan (SAFP), to address the water scarcity problem being faced by many villages in the state of karnataka,kerala,tamilnadu. Objectives of this project are, empowerment of the community and the community-based groups, environment education, natural resource management and conservation practices. The SAFP has earmarked Rs 3 crore exclusively for this programme.

Polio has a "Dance therapy"
Sunday, May 29, 2005 | AY

Mr. Satyanarayana who propagates "dance therapy" for polio affected patients says that scores of people wait for 30 to 90 days after surgery before they can be fitted with prostheses to enable them to walk or make other normal movements of polio-affected limbs. Apart from physiotherapy, which can be painful and often monotonous, it is necessary to motivate a patient move at least part of the affected limb so that muscle atrophy does not set in. Mr. Satyanarayana has demonstrated his dance therapy in international medical conferences.

Maternal health is a key to healthy babies
Sunday, May 29, 2005 | AY

A `lifecycle' approach to women's health that begins with childhood and continues through maternity is vital to ensure a generation of healthy babies. National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau estimates that one-third of Indian women weigh less than 40 kg and are less than 5 feet and almost 75 per cent of adolescent girls have nutritional anaemia. Due to poor maternal health and nutrition, every fourth baby born in the country suffers from low birth weight or weighs less than 2.5 kg at birth and around 50 per cent of children below five years of age are undernourished or stunted. Stunted children are likely to develop into physically weak and mentally sluggish adults with lack of vigour and enthusiasm. They are at increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure and coronary artery disease during adulthood. Mothers should be encouraged to take extra calories, proteins and micronutrients like iron, folic acid and vitamins during pregnancy and lactation.

Health sector in the rural area not improved
Sunday, May 29, 2005 | AY

Minister for Industries and Infrastructure Development P G R Sindhia,
said that successive governments in the State had failed to improve the health care delivery system in rural areas. The Minister urged non-government organisations (NGOs) like the Bangalore Diabetes Club to join hands with the Government to improve the health care system and fight killer diseases. He called on Bangalore Diabetes Club members and doctors attending the seminar to give suggestions to the Government on improving the system by using the available resources.

Main event won by Fantabulous king
Sunday, May 29, 2005 | AY

Fantabulous King (Ruzaan up) owned by Mr. & Mrs. Vijay Mallya rep. United Racing & Bloodstock Breeders Ltd. & Mr. Sunil Jhangiani rep. Equest (India) Pvt. Ltd, won the Karnataka Police Cup, the feature event of the races held here on Saturday. The winner is trained by S. Singh.

Cong-JD(S) Ministry completes one year
Sunday, May 29, 2005 | AY

Surviving the coalition blues, the Congress-JD(S) Ministry in Karnataka completed one year in office today. Aware of the coalition compulsions and limitations, Singh himself has admitted that both Congress and JD(S) were forced by circumstances to join hands together to keep the BJP at bay after it emerged as the single largest party in a fractured verdict in the Assembly polls. On the administration front, the State Government needs a pat for its tilt towards farmers and revenue mobilisation but did not initially seem to vibe well with the IT and BT sector. A new trouble after death of Veerappan has come in the form of rising naxalism, forcing the state to deploy the Special Task Force to meet the new challenge.

Narka
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

B.R.Keshava has launched one more film "Narka", after his not so successful movie "Ranachandi". He is producing and directing this film. Vinod Prabhakar is in the lead role of this film. This film would be completing its shooting in a single schedule and is likely to be released during August.

Infosys to catch up in R&D
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

India's second biggest software services exporter, Infosys Technologies Ltd will be opening a research and development centre with French engineering group Alstom. Nasdaq-listed Infosys, is a leader in India's booming information technology services industry, but is better known for work related to business software than research and development for manufacturing clients.

Leading Chip Maker sets up research lab
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

Leading global chipmaker, Intel, has set up a circuit research lab here in Bangalore. Last year, a microprocessor technology lab was set up at Intel India Development Center (IIDC) to focus on circuit prototyping. This has now been extended to cover circuit research - a constant process of making smaller transistors with higher performance. Transistors are miniature electronic switches, which form the base of a microprocessor. Intel fellows are highly experienced engineers, hand-picked to provide strategic technology direction to the company.

CM fed up of IT Industry's comments
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh who completes one year in office that the IT industry continues to criticise him though he has done much in bangalore. He says four new companies are coming up every week, five foreign equity companies are coming every fortnight and one new bio-tech company is starting every fortnight, still there is blame on the Bangalore's infrastructure. He also added that people like Narayana Murthy, chief of Infosys will go to US frequently and will sit there and compare it with Bangalore and comment that Bangalore hasnt reached anywhere.

Shoppers Stop opens new outlet
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

Shoppers' Stop chain, promoted by Raheja has opened their third outlet of 48000 sq. ft. in Bangalore. The store will offer personal accessories, apparel, cosmetics, leather goods and jewelry needs of the customers. Today, Shoppers' Stop is a household name, known for its superior quality products, services and above all, for providing a complete shopping experience. Shoppers' Stop is one and only Indian member of the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS) along with 29 other retailers from across the world including UK's Selfridges, Germany's Karstadt, Japan's Takashimaya, Singapore's C K tang and Dubai's Lamcy Plaza.

Police Department gets a new system to fight crime
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

A computerised control room with hi-tech facilities was set up at the police department in Bangalore. This new system will record telephone calls and information will be passed on to all police control rooms unlike in the past where the information was available only at the particular control room. Earlier with only one recorder they could record only the important calls, now thanks to the new system, all calls are recorded. This will be a great help to the police department to carry out their duty more efficiently since a track of the hoax bomb calls and the other threat calls too can also be made.

Heavy rain in the city
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

The heavy rainfall of 59.2 mm on Friday evening caused extensive damage in the city. Bangalore City Corporation (BCC) control room was flooded with emergency calls after residents panicked as water rushed into houses and shops located in basements. Over 75 trees were uprooted in the downpour in Jayangar V Block, BTM Layout, Wilson Garden, LIC Colony, Rajajinagar II and III block, Ashoka Pillar, Banashankari II stage, Srinagar, Bull Temple Road, Sangam Circle, Jayanagar IV T Block Jayanagar and JP Nagar. People heading home from work reached two to four hours late as the public transport system crashed.

Cops controls dance bars
Saturday, May 28, 2005 | AY

The State Government has issued a notification titled "The licensing and controlling of places of public entertainment (Bangalore City) Order, 2005," which empowers the police to issue license to these joints. The new rule empowers the police to inspect the premises and suspend license of the dance bars indulging in flesh trade. The police are also empowered to stop music being played beyond the specified hours. Though there are only 51 dance bars in Bangalore as per police records, unofficially the number is nearly 100. Chief Minister N Dharam Singh had instructed Bangalore Commissioner S Mariswamy to formulate measures to regulate the activities of these notorious joints.

Varsha
Friday, May 27, 2005 | AY

Varsha, hits bulls eye and is all set to be another feather in the cap of Vishnuvardhan. The film 5th remake of superhit malayalam movie, 'Hitler' goesdown well with kannadigas also. The story line is of an affectionate and protective brother who takes care of his 5 sisters and two half sisters. Director, S. Narayanan mixes everything well from comedy to sentiments and action to romance. The star cast include Vishnuvardhan, Manya, Ramesh Arvind, Anu Prabhakar, Doddanna, Sreenivasa Murthy, Shobharaj, Lakshman, Komal and everyone does their part well. Music is by S.A.Raj Kumar, while Cinematography is by P.K.H.Doss. Varsha is a clean family movie and is slated to bring back smiles to Producer, Rockline Venkatesh. A must see movie for Vishnuvardhan fans.

Rama Shama Bhama
Friday, May 27, 2005 | AY

Ramesh Aravind's directorial debut is titled, 'Rama Shama Bhama’ and the Superstar of SouthIndian filmdom, Kamal Hassan teams up with him in the lead. Kamal is Dr.Sham, a Gynecologist in the hilarious movie which is a remake of his hit movie 'Sathi Leelavathi'.The movie is produced by K.Manju. Ramesh Aravind has Rajendra Karanth and Deshpande to support him in dialogues. P.K.H.Das is the cameraman and Gurukiran the top music director today is scoring five tunes . There are talks that the movie may be dubbed in malayalam also.

COMED-K results announced
Friday, May 27, 2005 | AY

Results of the Under-Graduate Entrance Test (UGET) held by private professional colleges for admissions to management quota seats in BE, MBBS, BDS and B.Arch courses have been announced. The Comed-K UGET held on May 1 was the only route through which non-Karnataka students could gain admissions in colleges in the State. R Prashanthakrishna Sai has topped in Engineering rank list while Shruthi Ramakrishna has the first rank in Architecture stream. Nishant Gupta from Punjab has topped the medical/dental rank list. Each college will have its own seat selection process and allotment based on the merit list. However, as the seat-sharing ratio is yet to be decided and the seat matrix is likely to be issued only in the second week of June, the consortium will be allotting seats only after that. There is also considerable confusion over conflicting orders or opinions of the Supreme Court and High Court. However, colleges will start calling for applications from students by June first week.

Akash collects 10 million in B'lore & Mysore alone
Thursday, May 26, 2005 | AY

"Akash" is turning out to be a golden goose for producer Parvathamma Raj Kumar. The film roughly collected around 10 million rupees in the Banglore and Mysore distribution areas alone. The main attraction seems to be the hero Puneet Raj Kumar and his female lead Ramya. There is massive crowds in front of theatres playing Akash and its all set to break records.

Drastic reduction in new AIDS cases
Thursday, May 26, 2005 | AY

Union Health Minister, Anbumani Ramdoss was a happy man, as he disclosed the survey about the AIDS menace in the country. From a staggerring 5.2 lakhs new cases in 2003-2004, the nation was able to bring down the number of new cases just to 28,000 in the year 2004-2005. He said, the ministry is happy to announce the huge reduction of cases. Although the new cases found was low, India is all set to cross South Africa as the leader in total number of AIDS patients. The elated minister said,"The government has been carrying out widespread AIDS awareness programs for many years and the effect is showing in the lower growth rate of new infections." The 2004 data shows that the disease has spread more widely in the Indian rural areas, which today account for as much as 60 per cent of the total infections. Among the infected are nearly two million women. The disease is known to have killed 1,114 people in 2004 compared with 1,514 a year ago. The full-blown cases stood at 103,000. The government intends to focus its attention on the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur and Nagaland. India is destined to have 20 million HIV/AIDS-infected people by 2010, according to a prediction by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, but India has debunked this contention and has been able to demonstrate that it could indeed bring down the rate of increase of infected people.

Dharam touches nerve among IT community
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | AY

Chief minister Dharam Singh has supposedly created a spark among the IT communities. He claims that he has released Rs 135 crore for road improvement and the CEO's of the IT companies have not contacted him since. But responding to his allegations, The Bangalore Forum for Information Technology (BFIT) -- an association of over 20 leading IT firms expressed disappointment and said that not been a single word from the government regarding the status has been informed to them. Even the plan they have asked for to outline for the projects that are to be taken up have not been drafted yet.

Vijaya Raghavendra on martial arts
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | AY

The silent and sensible actor of Kannada cinema Vijaya Raghavendra (elder brother of Murali the rising star) has taken one month training in ‘Mua Thai’ martial art in Bangkok. He is now using the techniques in the new Kannada film ‘Sri’ the third directorial venture of his cousin Prakash of ‘Kushi and Rishi’ fame.

Bank on dividend hopes
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | AY

The stock of Karnataka Bank has been attracting a lot of market interest. The stock has been buzzing since the announcement of the banking reforms by the Finance Minister earlier this month. Market participants see the bank as a prime target for acquisition and some investors are increasing their exposure into the stock on this anticipation. Dealers say that market speculation is very strong that the bank might also announce a dividend along with the results.

LPG station opens up in Bangalore
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | AY

Elf gas India, a fully-owned subsidiary of Total (Paris), to strengthen the auto LPG business has chalked out a plan to set up 50 LPG dispensing stations in south India where Karnataka gets 30 stations. Of these 10 will be in Bangalore. This station has been set up jointly by Elf gas India and Dars Automobiles. Elf gas India commenced marketing of auto grade LPG under its brand name ‘elf Auto LPG’ in Kerala and then opened an outlet in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Now the company is entering the Karnataka market.

Cardiac camp at Mangalore
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | AY

Free cardiac camp called Hrudaya Bhagya will be held from June 1 to June 30 at A J Hospital and research center, Mangalore in collaboration with Rotray Club of Mangalore East to cater to the needs of persons suffering from heart related problems. At the cardiac camp the cardiac consultation, ECG, ECHO will be done free of cost, Angiogram at Rs.4,000, open heart surgery will be done at Rs.50,000 and other procedures in cardiology will be done at a concessional rate, even blood required for the surgery be provided at concessional rates. The people with congenital heart disease, rheumatic disease, coronary heart disease, those who require Bypass open heart surgery, other heart problems can be attended at the camp.

Govt medical and dental colleges increase fee
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | AY

Annual tuition fee in Government medical colleges has been increased for this acdemic year. The Cabinet has agreed to admit more students along with the increase in fee in 4 government medical colleges and one dental college. Fee for post-graduate medical (pre-clinical) course has risen from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 and for PG (para-medical) from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000. For PG (clinical) course, the fee has been revised from Rs 5,000 to 50,000. For PG dental (pre-clinical) course, the revision is from Rs 1000 to Rs 5000. For PG (dental) clinical, the fee has increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000. The Cabinet also decided to increase the intake of students in four medical colleges from 100 to 150 students per college.

Psychiatric tests for Anjali Gupta
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | AY

The Flying Officer Anjali Gupta who is facing the General Court Martial (GCM) proceedings will undergo a thorough medical check-up, including a psychiatric evaluation to rule out suicidal tendencies. In her earlier letter to the Karnataka State Women's Commission and to the IAF, Anjali had stated that she was on the verge of taking her life. Panel of medial specialists, including a psychiatrist and a lady specialist from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHNS) in the city will be conducting the tests.

Kannadiga in Kerala tv serial
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | AY

Sruthi top actress of Kannada, with 100 films to her credit, is playing a lead role in malayalam serial "Streethuwam", a family tearjerker. Vinaya Prasad is another Kannada actress who became a household name and hugely popular through the Malayalam serial "Sthree" telecast on Asianet. Sruthi is known to malayalee movie goers as the heroine of Mammootty in 'Oraal Mathram'

Mr.Bakra
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | AY

Debutante director Vasanth's movie "Mr.Bakra" casts Jaggesh, Rohini, Srinivasamurthy, Mukyamantri Chandru, Biradar and others. Gopal (Jaggesh), the only son of Bettappa (Srinivasamurthy), a coconut merchant of Gopalapura, goes to the city and enters tinsel town. Gopal gets looted by Shankar(Mukhyamantri Chandru). How Gopal manages to recover his money and goes back to his village to marry his relative forms the rest of the plot. Music by Manohar is good. Producer is Babu Reddy.

Karnataka tops
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | AY

In the junior National throwball championship that concluded at Doddaballapur, Karnataka tops Tamilnadu and Madhyapradesh. In the boys' final, Karnataka defeated Tamil Nadu 15-4, 15-9 while in the girls' final it beat Madhya Pradesh 15-11, 15-10.

Karnataka hits the target
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | AY

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah claimed the coalition government led by Congress in the state has achieved to improve the financial position of the state. In appreciation of the State's achievement, the Planning Commission has sanctioned Rs 262 crore additional funds to the state's plan size of Rs 13,555 crore which is highest for any state in the country.

Poojary slashes at Deve Gowda
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | AY

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president B Janardhan Poojary said that congress is ready for a mid term election if JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda decides to withdraw support to the coalition. Poojary stated that he would not tolerate anyone criticising either Chief Minister Dharam Singh or Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and warned that Deve Gowda should not try to ‘blackmail’ the Congress. About the byelections to the Shimoga and Chamarajapet seats, the Congress president said his party candidates had bright chances in both places and they would win with the biggest margins.

New bills to be introduced
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka government is contemplating to bring in four new bills in the coming assembly session to ensure human, child, food and education rights to the people of the state, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil informed on Monday. He informed that the government was also contemplating to establish a state-level human rights commission and a final decision would be taken in a couple of weeks.

"Jo Bole So Nihaal" pulled out from theatres
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | AY

The only cinema theatre PVR multiplex screening "Jo Bole So Nihaal" on Monday pulled out the controversial film following a request by the Karnataka police in the wake of the bomb blasts in two Delhi theatres. Though the film opened a fortnight ago in eight theatres in the city and six towns across the state, its screening had dwindled to one theatre in Bangalore (PVR) after the first week.

BJP challenges JD(S)
Monday, May 23, 2005 | AY

Opposition leader in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly B S Yediyurappa today challenged the Janata Dal (Secular) to withdraw its support to the Government on land grabbing issue. He said that if Mr Gowda was really concerned about land grabbing, about which he had made much noise, should have approached the Supreme Court Chief Justice and President of India with all evidence on the issue instead of simply threatening the government.he also added that if Mr Gowda had real courage let him demand for an inquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to which BJP will fully cooperate.

New guinness record entry
Monday, May 23, 2005 | AY

Devranjan Mishra, a first year student of National Law School of India University (NLSUI) is seeking an entry into the Guinness Book of World by reciting in order, 100 object words blindfolded and without help or repeating a word. The existing record was 57 object words, set by a UK-based student named Justin Hartley in October 28, 2002. The words uttered by Mishra and the format prescribed by the Guinness Book regulations is that the words should be names of objects that are simple and common (eg: ball, bat, shirt, cap etc).

TB rising high
Monday, May 23, 2005 | AY

Tuberculosis is seen to be widely spread in poor and backward regions of north Karnataka especially Gulbarga. Owing to poor hygiene and illiteracy, it is a breeding ground for all sorts of diseases. The National TB control programme was first introduced in Gulbarga in 2003 and implemented in a phased manner. Several reasons for its failure for instance the patient and doctor must be in constant contact and the treatment has to be monitored. But in Gulbarga, primary health centres do not have a doctor for TB patients. TB cases are going undetected and uncared for in Gulbarga.

International airlines to Mangalore
Monday, May 23, 2005 | AY

An appeal to grant permission to international airlines to be operated through Manglore city's airport has been submitted by the Karnataka NRI Forum (UAE) to Union Minister for civil aviation Praful Patel. Mangalore has a great inflow of NRI passengers mostly from the Gulf region, and there would be tremendous benefits in various fileds once Mangalore airport was raised to international standards.

Largest gold exporter expands
Monday, May 23, 2005 | AY

Bangalore-based Rajesh Exports, India's largest gold jewellery exporter, is in an expansion mode that will see it entering the branded jewellery segment with offerings in diamonds. They are gearing up to get into the designer jewellery segment with the launch of separate brands for the domestic and international markets. Importing around 60 tonnes of gold annually, the company currently re-exports 80 percent of this as machine and handcrafted products made at its 250-tonne capacity unit commissioned in 2003. The international brands to be launched in the US and Europe will offer jewellery in 18, 14 and nine carats. The Indian brands, to be available in the Gulf too, would be in 22 carats for gold and 18 carats for diamond-studded jewellery.

Oracle signs MoU with BITES
Sunday, May 22, 2005 | AY

Oracle India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Board for Information Technology Education Standards (BITES) to provide software and curriculum to 50 selected engineering colleges in Karnataka with software grants valued at over $ 95 million. Under the MoU, Oracle would grant software licenses for Oracle software-Oracle Database 10g, Application Server 10g, and Oracle Developer Suite 10g, and provide faculty training to the selected engineering colleges. Oracle would donate software licenses for Oracle product to the colleges for teaching purposes and would work with BITES, to provide training support to 50 faculty members of these colleges. With the MoU, Oracle's total software grants to education institutions in India, under the Oracle Academic Initiative Programme would be over $ 140 million.

Two hydel projects in Cauvery valley
Sunday, May 22, 2005 | AY

The power-starved states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will soon get some relief as two hydel projects across river Cauvery are on the way. The Union Ministry of Power has asked Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to study and approve an agreement to be signed with the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) for executing the two projects (400 megawatt) across the river Cauvery. In the first phase, the NHPC will take up the Shivanasamudram project in Karnataka and Hogenakal in Tamil Nadu. The two projects are estimated to cost nearly Rs.900 crore. On commissioning, the two hydel units would generate and supply to the grid about 1100 million units and the cost would be Rs 1.20 per unit.

First laproscopic repair in Hubli
Sunday, May 22, 2005 | AY

A rare surgery for an abdominal incisional hernia was performed in Hubli. The operation was performed with wide vision of the abdominal cavity, the intestines are pulled back from the sac and a poly propylene mesh placed below the wall covering the defect and anchored to abdominal wall which prevented the herniation of the intestines into the defect.

New technology to revive the gold glory
Sunday, May 22, 2005 | AY

A new cost-effective technology promises to bring back the lost gold glory which was earlier found in the land of gold, Kolar Gold Fields (KGF). Phytomining, a novel technology suggested by a city-based scientist, Dr BS Ramesh, uses plants to extract gold from large residual dumps and low-grade ore. Researches have proved that wild cultivars of local plants are best for the purpose and they accumulate high amounts of gold up to 30-40 mg/kg of plant dry weight in the presence of a known chelating agent which increases the availability of gold to plant roots.

Capital punishment for Swami Shraddhananda
Sunday, May 22, 2005 | AY

Capital punishment was ordered by the city court to Swami Shraddhananda for murdering his wife Shakereh Khaleeli and burying her alive in their house in Bangalore 14 years ago. Shakereh was the granddaughter of the former Diwan of Mysore, Mirza Ismail, and ex-wife of Akbar Khaleeli, former Indian High Commissioner to Australia. On May 29, 1991, Shraddhananda sedated his wife, and buried her alive in a wooden box. Following a petition filed by Shakereh's daughter Sabah in August 1992, investigations began, and finally in 1994 vital clue against the accused was found.

Gowramma
Saturday, May 21, 2005 | AY

"Gowramma" produced by Sailendrababu is being directed by Naganna has been inspired from the telugu hit "Nuvvu Naaku Nachav". Upendra and ramya plays the lead roles. Camera is by Satish, music is scored by S.A.Rajkumar, S. Manohar is the editor, Ravi Varma is the stunt chreographer, Cool Jayanth is the dance choreographer. The story is about Upendra who works under his father's close friend, who has a daughter ramya. Her marriage is fixed to an NRI professional, but she ends up falling in love with the hero. Will Upendra sacrifice Ramya to a stranger or marry her with the help of their parents forms the climax.

New project of KCN Kumar
Saturday, May 21, 2005 | AY

Nagendra Prasad, well known lyricist since 1993 is all set to make entry as Music Director for a new film by KCN Kumar. KCN Kumar latest film Kaashi from village, which didn't went on well as per his expectation hopes best in this new project. Upcoming Hero Auditya is playing lead role. The project may hit the floor in the mid of July.

Impact of new life style on breast cancer
Saturday, May 21, 2005 | AY

The incidence of breast cancer is destined to experience an upsurge as we progress more towards a stronger economy.The blame for the high incidence of breast cancer is on the sluggish life-style, lack of exercise, delay in birth of the first child, shorter lactation period and high consumption of fat. breast cancer is common in urban community, cervix or uterine cancer is common in rural community. Nowadays, oncologists do not only target on curing the patient but even on conserving the breast. Instead of going for radical surgery resulting in amputation on the entire breasts, only the cancerous growth is removed.

iGate Marketting Head Joins Wipro
Saturday, May 21, 2005 | AY

Jessie Paul who was the head of the marketing department at iGATE Global Solutions, is set to join bigger rival Wipro in the first week of June. Prior to joining iGATE Global Solutions she was the global brand manager for Infosys. Her efforts in setting up the marketing department at Infosys, and putting in place the marketing infrastructure and processes earned her the Chairman's Award in 1998. She anchored the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award, which was the recipient of the US-based IT Services Marketing Association's Diamond Award in 2002.

Infosys moves up
Saturday, May 21, 2005 | AY

Indian software major Infosys Technologies has landed the ninth place in '2005 Wired 40', Wired Magazine's annual list of the 40 companies leading in technology and innovation. Last year, Infosys ranked 11 and has moved two places up, ahead of industry bellwethers IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Dell and Nokia. The magazine describes this year's winners as 'masters of technology and innovation' and 'global thinkers driven by strategic vision'. The top three crowns were bagged by Apple Computer, Google and Samsung Electronics respectively.

Summer diseases kept under control
Saturday, May 21, 2005 | AY

Although summer has reached a peak in the state, the authorities have successfully kept many water borne diseases away from the city. The main diseases which are usually seen are gastroenteritis, chicken pox ,cholera, dysentry,and main culprit being contaminated water. Anyway Bangalore City Corporation(BCC) along with the BWSSB is purifying the water with utmost care before it reaches homes.

Japan offers monetary support for Cauvery Project
Saturday, May 21, 2005 | AY

The fifth stage of the Cauvery Project would be taken up in Karnataka with a financial assistance of Rs 3,384 crore from Japan, Chief Minister N Dharam Singh said today. He said that the state government had recently signed an agreement to this effect with the Bank. He said population of the hitech Bangalore city has put a great preasure on the available infrastructure in and around the city and the government was in the process of developing necessary infrastrucuture at a fast pace.

TATA tourney from 21st
Friday, May 20, 2005 | AY

TATA Coffee All India Inter Camp Cricket tournament will be inaugrated tommorrow at the Banglore Military School grounds by the former India captain, Mohammed Azharudin.The tournament being conducted by Karnataka Institute of Cricket (KIOC) has attracted teams from Delhi, Allahabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Haryana and an academy from Sri Lanka. In all, over seventy teams are participating in this eleven days event that will be played on a thirty-over league cum knock out basis.

Red Ribbon Express
Friday, May 20, 2005 | AY

Red Ribbon Express is a mega project conceptualized by Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and NACO with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan as the chief implementing agency. It is a country wide attempt to generate awareness on HIV/AIDS in over 30,000 panchayats and would be an endeavor towards achieving the national objective of reducing the rate of new HIV infections in highly vulnerable states by the year 2007. Red Ribbon Express is being planned to generate awareness on HIV/AIDS issues across the country wherein four special trains will start from 4 different directions i.e. from Jammu (J&K), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) and Guwahati (Assam). These special trains will move on different routes, will cover a distance over 6000 k.ms each and hold over 29000 programs and activities in over 29000 villages/urban areas. The first train from Jammu to Nagpur will cover the States of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chandigarh (UT), Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, UP, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The second Train from Jodhpur to Nagpur will cover the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. The third train from Guwahati to Nagpur will cover the states of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh (Eastern Region), Madhya Pradesh (Three Districts), Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The fourth train from Kanyakumari to Nagpur will cover the states of Tamilnadu, Pondicherry (UT), Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Supreme Court lawyer to defend Anjali Gupta
Friday, May 20, 2005 | AY

IAF Flying Officer Anjali Gupta, accused on charges of indiscipline, insubordination and financial irregularities, has hired Supreme Court advocate S B Mishra to defend her case in the military court. The 28-year-old officer informed the General Court Martial (GCM) about advocate's consent and that he seeks time as he has to go through a voluminious document. But the court rejected his plea and asked him to come to the court 24th May with all preparedness. Earlier, the Court withdrew her defending officer Wg. Cdr Vijay Bhupesh as per her desire. Gupta had told the court her line of defence was different from that of him, and prayed for his withdrawal. Gp. Capt. Vijaykumar was her 1st choice in the list of 5 defending officers when the GCM proceedings began last month. But, service exigencies did not permit him to appear for her. But in recent hearings, Gupta had made it amply clear that she would not choose to be defended by any of the IAF officers. She wants a professional civil counsel with defence background to argue her case effectively and properly, as she has repeatedly maintained.

HC asks Pvt Dental colleges to admit PGstudents
Friday, May 20, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka High Court has directed the managements of KLE College of Dental Sciences, Belgaum; College of Dental Sciences and Bapuji Dental College and Hospital, Davangere and R V Dental College, Bangalore, which have refused to admit students under the government quota to the post-graduate dental courses, to admit the students to the respective courses. The honourable High Court asked the colleges to comply with the Rajiv Gandhi University of Dental Sciences' allotment letter while admitting students for the post graduate degree courses. Vacation judge, Justice B S Patil issued the direction while hearing the petitions filed by Dr Sankeshwari Roopali and 22 others who have secured a PG dental seat in the above colleges, under the government quota in the PG entrance test conducted by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Dental Sciences. The managements have denied admission saying that the fee structure fixed by the government was not acceptable to them and informed the students that they would be admitted to the courses if they were willing to pay the fee demanded by the respective colleges. In a related case, the High Court has issued similar direction to Yenepoya Dental College, Mangalore on the petitions filed by Dr Riyaz Ahmad Mantur and three others. The college had refused to admit them to the PG dental courses on the ground that it cannot accept the 50:50 seat sharing between the management and the government and claimed that it has the right to fill up 80 per cent of the seats on its own.

Big B to act and speak in Kannada
Friday, May 20, 2005 | AY

Latest movie news says, the biggest name in Indian cinema is going to travel southward for the first time in his three decade long acting career. Yes, its going to be true. Amithab Bachan is going to play a role in a Kannada movie named, Amrutha Dharae to be directed by Nagathihalli Chandrasekhar. The hero of the cinema is Dhyan and Bachan plays the role of his protector. Ramya will be the female lead. The story is by the producer-director himself. It is still unknown whether Amithab will speak Kannada himself, but grapewine says he may want to do the dubbing himself as always.

Gunna
Thursday, May 19, 2005 | AY

The release of film "Gunna" had a major attraction piece not because of a good script or any big star cast, but the producers of this film had tried with the "Olefaction" method in one bangalore theatre to create a soothing ambience for the film audience to enjoy the song. The "olfaction" method attracts crowd by releasing a lovely odor coming out in the theatre during the song sequence, but it didnt work out. The whole film falls flat because of its pedestrian presentation, music and also surprisingly the camera work by Sundaranatha Suvarna. The story of the film revolves around Shambhu, living in a slum with some poor people. Shambu has the capacity to solve many problems with tactfulness. A Don Rangayana Raghu who is in deep love with Chaitra Hallikeri liked this quality in Shambu. Raghu engages Mayur to create a right atmosphere for Chaitra to love him. In the process, Chaitra starts loving Mayur. This is not to the liking of Raghu who wants to take revenge on Mayur and his friends in the slum. Finally Mayur wins the battle and Chaitra.

Prasad wants to be bowling coach
Thursday, May 19, 2005 | AY

Venkatesh Prasad, who was one half of the most effective new-ball pairing that India have had in recent times, had expressed his desire to be India's bowling coach. Acquiring a certificate from England, he would love to work with the new generation of Indian pace bowlers. He said he would gladly accept the offer if BCCI approaches me with the job. He commented that India has the finest bowlers and it would be his previleage to work with them.

End of a major company
Thursday, May 19, 2005 | AY

Mysore Kirloskar Company set up in 1941 by Rajaram Kirloskar and Lakshmanrao Kirloskar after its six decades of service has finally come to an end. Its property which includes 197.5 acres of land, plant and machinery, furniture and vehicles, was auctioned for Rs 70 crore to Kolkata-based Shubhachandi House Construction Company. The company which was considered to be a role model for other industries had generated employment opportunities for people in and around Harihar. However the company started to have bad luck from 1995.

JD(S) President hints of a New Third Front
Thursday, May 19, 2005 | AY

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (S) president, H D Deve Gowda, has hinted at the possibility of regional parties on forming of a Third Front. He also stated that his party would not be joining the third front,recalling his earlier bitter experience with the third front.

Dr.Rajkumar denied voting rights
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 | AY

The icon of Kannada cinema Dr.Rajkumar and 20 plus other members of his family including his wife Parvathamma Rajkumar, three sons and brother Varadappa family could not vote this time since their names was not their in the voters list. Today is the first phase of election to Karnataka Assembly and Lok Sabha seats. This is the first time in his 75 years of age Dr.Rajkumar could not vote.

Premji concerned over lack of health care
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 | AY

Wipro chairman Azim Premji on Tuesday, while inaugurating the Narayana Children's Hospital, said that there are 52 neo-natal deaths per thousand births, while 70 out of every thousand children die before reaching five years of age in the state due to lack of proper medical attention or facilities. Narayana Children's Hospital which is equipped to conduct any specialised surgery, will have an conducive ambience for children,and the unit offers neo-natal surgery, paediatric surgery and paediatric urology services.

BPCL achieves 100 MW capacity
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 | AY

Renewable energy is gaining a lot of momentum in the country, and India can be proud of the fact that Bhoruka Power Corporation Limited (BPCL), Karnataka’s leading Renewable Energy Developer, is set to cross an installed capacity of 100 MW through renewables. The company was currently implementing two major small hydro projects--the 24 MW Chayadevi project in Gulbarga district and the nine MW project coming up near Dharmasthala which takes the installed capacity to 77 MW. In addition, the company was also working on two smaller hydro projects, one in Dakshina Kannada and another in Coorg district, bordering Kerala,which takes installed capacity of the company beyond 100 MW.

All India Invitational Cricket
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 | AY

The Mysore University Colleges Sports Council would organise All India Invitational Cricket Tournament here from May 23 to 29. Council secretary said that more than 15 teams from across the country would participate in the tournament to be held at Sport Pavilion. As many as 21 matches and 24 league matches apart from two knockout one-day matches would be held at these venues.

Goverment not kept the promise to the STF
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 | AY

Nine months have passed since the sandalwood smuggler Veerappan was killed in an encounter with the special task force(STF), but the reward of Rs 50 crore package promised to the STF personnel by Chief Minister Dharam Singh is yet to be implemented. Reports and status of the related file are not to be known by any officers. On the other hand, the STF counterpart in Tamil Nadu has already been rewarded by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Hysterectomies under Local Anaesthesia
Wednesday, May 18, 2005 | AY

Hysterectomies, a surgery in which a womens uterus is being removed permenently can now be done without the patient going undergeneral anaesthesia. A technique called painless vaginal hyeterectomies have emerged, in this technique surgery is done under local anaesthesia using ERBE Biclamp. This technique is a very good choice for diabetic patients with uncontrolled diabetes and in case of emergencies.

Ms. Caliphornia
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 | AY

New movie by Director Kodlu Ramakrishna called "Ms. Caliphornia" is inspired from a novel 'Meghamandaara' by C.N.Muktha is ready for release. His first commercial movie has many newcomers. Jaanu and Sowmya Murthy are the two heroines in this film . Debu actor Dignath plays the role of hero. Along with them Geetha, Bhavya, Dattatreya, Sarathbabu, Jayanthi are the other stars.

City docs perform rare surgery
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 | AY

A team of doctors at the Mallya Hospital claimed to have performed a rare surgical operation on a 65-year-old man with fistula connecting the great vessel, aorta, to the oesophagus (food pipe). The phenomenon is called aorta-oesophageal fistula in medical terminology. It results from a thoracic aortic aneurysm (swelling) that erodes into the adjacent food pipe. A majority of patients with this disorder die because of exsanguination due to haemorrhage. Symptoms will be vomiting of blood, chest pain and difficulty in swallowing.

No More Child Labour
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 | AY

Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL), Karnataka has passed a resolution stating that all child below the age of 18 years who are employed in various houses or hotels should be freed and enrolled in theschools for the coming academic year. They have also warned that anyone going against the law will be tracked down by the CACL-K with the help of police.

Postal Department becomes Hi-Tech
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 | AY

In the South Karnataka Region Chief Post Master, M P Rajan said that the Department of Posts is moving towards providing high quality service by adopting scientific technology and modernisation. He informed that about 120 branches under South Karnataka have already been computerised and the rest will follow soon.

Karnataka team for 25th national championship
Tuesday, May 17, 2005 | AY

The following players have been selected to represent Karnataka in the 25th National Junior Taekwondo Championship to be held at Khuman Lampak Indoor Stadium, Imphal from May 26 to 28. Boys: M Girish (Fin), S Sunil (Fly), Pradeep (Bantam), Anil Kumar(Feather) n Bishworjit Singh (Light), Fairoz Khan(Welter), Mohd. Tousif (Light Middle), Shashidhar (Middle), S S Vnayaka (Heavy). Coach: W Rajeswor Meitei, Manager: Puinavabati Devi. Girls: Jayanti Pathak(Fin), J Shruthi (Fly), M Madhuri (Bantam), D K Roopa (Feather), R Pallavi(Light), Reshma Mohanan (Welter), B Varsha (Light Middle), Aditi Bajaj (Middle). Coach: Syed Manfoosh, Manager: B G Sharmila.

Maternal Mortality
Monday, May 16, 2005 | AY

Reducing maternal mortality, is the fifth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and one of three MGDs focusing on health. In Koppal, a district in the poorer, northern region of the southern state of Karnataka, , poor women are more vulnerable to inferior maternal health outcomes due to the denial of their reproductive rights. When a survey was conducted it was found that four women died of sepsis, two from hemorrhage, three from severe anaemia and one from eclampsia,these are the biomedical causes of maternal death. These failures to save pregnant women’s lives have been grouped under three main delays: delays in seeking care, delays in reaching appropriate health facilities, and delays in receiving appropriate care once in health facilities. For this to change government health services need to do far more than fall back on minimal family planning and ANC services and their slogans about institutional delivery. Immediate steps to be taken include expanding effective and equitable access to emergency obstetric care.

Congress candidate for the Shimoga
Monday, May 16, 2005 | AY

Ayanur Manjunath is selected as the party candidate against Samajwadi Party Karnataka president and former Chief Minister S Bangarappa for the June two Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency by-election. Manjunath had lost the Shimoga seat to Bangarappa in the last polls, in which the latter contested as the candidate of BJP, from which he resigned recently and joined the Samajwadi Party.

Macromedias development centre in B'glore sold
Monday, May 16, 2005 | AY

$1.7 billion Adobe is now acquiring Macromedia’s Bangalore-based development centre. One of the largest desktop software company, Adobe has recently acquired multimedia software firm, Macromedia Inc for about $3.4 billion in stock. Macromedia’s 8.1 % stake in Mumbai-based mobile gaming company Indiagames is learnt to move to Adobe India too. Adobe’s India development centre, housing over 500 techies, is its second largest outside the US and the third largest overall.

Akaash
Monday, May 16, 2005 | AY

Puneeth Rajkumar’s latest release "AKAASH " has beaten the box office collection records of all his previous four films. The film produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under the banner Chakreswari Combines has dialogues by M.S.Ramesh and Mahesh Babu has directed it. Music is by R.P.Patnaik. Artwork is by Arun Sagar. Brinda, Chinni Prakash, Raju Sundaram, Kalyan have choreographed this film. Along with Puneeth Rajkumar, Ramya, Sunderraj, Sonia, Savitha, Avinash, Pavithra Lokesh, Kavana, Ashitha, Dharma, Honnavalli Krishna etc. are in this film.

KSRTC starts new service
Monday, May 16, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has started the service of an airconditioned bus 'Mayura', between Bangalore and Dharmasthala, for the convenience of the general public. Passengers can avail of 10% discount on their return-ticket fare, if booked in advance. They can also avail themselves of a discount of 5% on their ticket fare, in case 4 or more tickets are booked together.

Om Prakash with a commercial movie
Sunday, May 15, 2005 | AY

Om Prakash Rao with two successive hits ‘Kalasipalya’ and ‘Ayya’ is turning into a producer in his new venture. Darshan, Rakshita and Radhika are playing the lead in this pukka commercial venture. On October 7th the Ayudha Pooja day the film will be released.

Kamal Hassans new movie
Sunday, May 15, 2005 | AY

The gentleman actor of Kannada cinema Ramesh Aravind is directing a film with India’s best actor Kamal Hasan playing the lead in it. Earlier movies done in Kannada by Kamalhassan are ‘Thappida Thala’, ‘Mariya My Darling’ and ‘Benkiyalli Aralidha Hoovu’.

CM asks PM to intervene in projects of Andhra
Sunday, May 15, 2005 | AY

Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and asked him to protect the rights of the people and to restrain Andhra Pradesh from going ahead with the "unapproved" irrigation projects in the state. Singh told the Prime Minister that despite clear observations of the Supreme Court against construction of permanent irrigation projects to use the surplus waters of Krishna Basin, Andhra Pradesh has gone ahead with as many as 11 "unapproved" irrigation projects. He also drew the attention of the Prime Minister to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the state government with ONGC for an investment of Rs 22.000 crore to set up five mega petrochemical projects.

First International Marathon in Bangalore
Sunday, May 15, 2005 | AY

The Lipton Bangalore International Marathon, spearheaded by the Indian Council of NGOs for a social cause, will be flagged off at Sri Kanteerava Stadium in the heart of the city at 6 a.m., go up to the outer ring road and return to the starting point after covering a distance of 42 km. With total prize money of Rs.1 million, the top 10 finishers of the full, half and celebrity marathons will get prizes ranging from a high of Rs 132,000 to a low of Rs 4,000. Cricketers like Syed Kirmani and Javagal Srinath, Kannada actress Vasundhara Das and fashion designers Prasad Bidappa and Mahesh Dattani are among over 100 high profile personalities who will be seen in action with other runners.About a dozen marathon runners from Kenya and Ethiopia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have confirmed their participation in the event.

EFI to raise bangalore head count
Sunday, May 15, 2005 | AY

Foster Bay, California-based efi (formerly electronics for imaging) will raise the headcount at its Bangalore development centre to 275 by the end of 2006 from 120 at present. Bangalore centre has gained importance not only in numbers but is being assigned greater responsibility. The engineering ownership of certain efi products, its proofing solutions and the software for pre-press environment, OneFlow now rests entirely with the Bangalore centre. In India, the company has created product awareness by tying up with printers’ associations, training through partners and a possible partnership with printing technology students in engineering colleges.

French company opens development centre in B'glore
Sunday, May 15, 2005 | AY

Valtech India, a subsidiary of France-based $ 100 million Global Consulting Group, Valtech, opened its Global Development Centre in Bangalore and said it plans to reach a headcount of 600 this year from 450 now.As part of its strategy, Valtech aimed at achieving a "critical mass" in India with delivery staff of over 1,000 engineers in 2006. Valtech India president and CEO B V Venkatesh said the company also planned to upgrade the existing facility in Bangalore, apart from the new centre, and the entire investment on it and the new facility would together be three million Euros.

NKIUDP -Mega project
Saturday, May 14, 2005 | AY

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will contribute US $ 400 million for the North Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Programme(NKIUDP) which is waiting for the the State Cabinet’s approval. Once approved, the State will receive funds from the Centre. The works constituted in the programme will be to develop storm water drains, potable water lines and underground drainage. The project would be completed in two phases.Towns where commercial operations would be affected will be taken up first.

Eradication of Polio
Saturday, May 14, 2005 | AY

The second round of the nation-wide pulse polio drive will be held on May 15. This drive will target 72 lakh children in Karnataka and nearly 30,500 booths will be set up, involving around 1,05,000 vaccinators and supervisors. The polio eradication efforts have reduced Polio cases across the world from an estimated 3,50,000 cases in 1988 to 1200 cases in 2004, a drop by 99 per cent.

First Eco-Informatics Centre established
Saturday, May 14, 2005 | AY

City-based ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) has launched the country’s first Eco-Informatics Centre here to promote national and international collaboration in applied research and capacity building in eco-informatics. ATREE president said that this will facilitate exchange of data among institutions and promote the application of information technologies to conservation and natural resource management in India. M.Y.S. Prasad, director ISRO’s Master Control commented that ‘‘A synergy of IT, BT (biotechnology) and Space would provide a sustainable ground for growth in all fields and coming together of government, industry and academia would be the apt model".

Bangalore will export milk internationally soon
Saturday, May 14, 2005 | AY

An ultra modern milkfood plant of international standards is set being set up in Hassan, whose foundation stone was layed down by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar yesterday. Hassan was chosen for the plant because a large quantity of milk comes from milk co-operatives in Mysore, Mandya, Tumkur and Hassan itself. Now Karnataka Milk Federation is sending surplus milk to neighbouring States like Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa and also to New Delhi. Nearly 4 lakh litres leave Karnataka daily.This project will cost around 100 crore and will be completed in two years.

Deep Space Radar in Bangalore
Saturday, May 14, 2005 | AY

Indian Space Research Organisation has begun the work of fabrication of deep space radar which would be on schedule before the moon mission Chandrayan-1. The deep space centre to be located in Bangalore will have an indigenously built 34-metre diameter S-Band antenna that is capable of tracking and controlling deep space missions. The antenna would be built by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in association with various agencies of ISRO.

Excellent result in PUC, 52.77% pass
Friday, May 13, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka PUC results set new records of sorts this time. The students of this year registered a record 52.77 percent pass which is the highest in the history of 2nd PUC exams. The last only time when the pass percentage was more than 50 was way back in 1977. Girls did better than boys as expected with 59.79% compared to 47.69% percent by their male counterparts. The total number of students was 4,72,360 this time. The results were made be available over telephone, on the internet and also through SMS on Thursday evening. The pass certificates and marks cards are to be sent to the colleges concerned within 10 days.

Karnataka to get water from Koyna Dam
Friday, May 13, 2005 | AY

Maharashtra has agreed to release 2 TMC feet of water from Koyna dam to Athani in Karnataka. This comes in the wake of acute drinking water shortage in the stae. Earlier, Maharashtra Cheif Minister, Vilas Rao Deshmukh who was in Banglore gave this assurance to the Cheif Minister, Dharam Singh. It has to be noted that parts of Athani and Bijapur were facing severe drinking water shortage this year. The help by Maharashtra CM may be seen as a reciprocative measure for giving some extra electricity to Maharashtra by Karnataka earlier to tide over the electricity crisis in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra.

Telgi wants last rites in Belgaum
Friday, May 13, 2005 | AY

The man who had rocked the nation with a multi million stamp paper scam, Abdul Karim Telgi has prepared his 'will' in which he wants his body to be handed over to his relatives in Belgaum. Telgi, who is currently placed in the Yerwada Jail in Pune is seriously ill. He is belived to be a HIV positive. Reports say, he is diabetic and hypotensive and has recently collapsed in his cell. His lawyer says, "Telgi knows that he is seriously ill and that is why he has written his will, asking whom his body should be given to and how his property should be distributed," The will has to be opened only in the end of this month. It is learnt that Telgi says he'd like his body to be handed over to his relatives in Belgaum in Karnataka.

Express way halts again
Friday, May 13, 2005 | AY

The big budget Karnataka Express Hiway Project have some bad omen circulating around it. The six lane highway project between Banglore and Mysore had run into rough waters again. This time, its the Supreme Court which had stayed the project. The apex court will decide on the matter after hearing the petition filed by the state government. The project which started in 1995 has lot of dirt thrown on to it by different political parties. There are countless allegations of corruption and real estate scams intertwined with the express highway project.

Bangarappa files papers in a do or die situation
Friday, May 13, 2005 | AY

For the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency by-polls on June 2nd, former Cheif Minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) Karnataka unit president S Bangarappa today filed his nomination papers. He was elected from Simoga last time as a BJP candidate. He quit the post when he resigned from BJP making way for this By-poll. The election will be critical for the political future of this astute politician. Meanwhile
BJP candidate for the constituency, Bhanuprakash, also filed his papers today.

Auto Shankar
Thursday, May 12, 2005 | AY

Upendra ,the actor and director, acts in his new movie, Auto Shankar. The movie is directed by D Rajinder Babu and produced by Ramu of Ramu Enterprises. Shilpa Shetty pairs with him as heroine. Radhika and Sudharani also gets notable charecters.The film was completed in a single schedule. The movie says the story of middle class who finds it difficult to lead a decent living. Music is by Guru Kiran. The story is by Ajaykumar. B.L.Venu has penned the dialogues. Camera work is by H.C.Venu. The movie has lot of action and sentiments according to the director.

Karnana Sampatthu (Revised)
Thursday, May 12, 2005 | AY

This is a movie which was released 14 years back, but released again in a revised form. The story line is about the Star worship in movies. Ambrish who is the hero deals with his own life and his fans. A group of his fans from a remote village comes to the big city to see their idol and gets entrapped in the problems associated with city life and thier difficulty in meeting Ambirish forms the nutshell. Cast includes Ambarish, Ashwath, Thara, Umasri, Tennis Krishna, Honnavalli Krishna, Late Vasudeva Rao, Sundarakrishna Urs, Mysore Lokesh, Kunigal Vasanth and others. Story, screenplay and direction is by Shantharam Kanagal.

Record gold sales and marriages yesterday
Thursday, May 12, 2005 | AY

The state saw a record breaking sales in Gold jewllery and marriages on a single day. Yesterday was ' akshaya theertha' , an auspicious day for starting a new venture or bringing home some thing close to heart and what best other than a wife or gold. The gold sales were recorded in tonnes due to the aggressive marketing strategies followed by the jewellers. The importance of the day was announced to the public well in advance through media and TV campaigns. The day gained wide popularity from only a few years back thanks to the gold and diamond merchants in the state.

Cheif Sec prosecution stayed
Thursday, May 12, 2005 | AY

The apex court today stayed the prosecution of the chief secratary in regard with the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project. On 2nd May the Karnataka High Court had ordered his prosecution. The stay from Supreme Court came on the Special Leave Petition (SLP) petition file by the state governement yesterday. In its petition, the state government contended that besides the petitioner (Government), all those innocent farmers who have lost their agricultural lands to the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE), which is executing the project, would suffer heavy losses for no fault of theirs if an interim stay was not granted. Also, the State Chief Secretary and an under secretary would have to face criminal proceedings for no fault on their part.

C M gets invitation to visit Bahrain
Thursday, May 12, 2005 | AY

Kannada Sangha, association of Kannadiga's living in Baharin has invited Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh and Deputy Chief Minister S Siddaramaiah to take part in the cultural programme, Kannada Vaibhava which will be held in Bahrain in November.Kannada Sangha president Raj Kumar travelled to Bangalore to urge them to attend the event, to help further boost the Karnataka spirit abroad.
There are around 15,000 Kannadigas in Bahrain and the annual programme has been held for the last 27 years.The state government in the past has recognised and honoured the community with the Rajyotsava award.The community conducts Kannada classes for children and also runs a Kannada library. Details of the celebration will be finalised later.

Karnataka leads in software exports
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | AY

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh has overtaken Chennai in software exports. Karnataka, the leader in software exports, has recorded a 52 per cent growth in the year 2004-05 and shares 35 percent in the total software exports from India. In Karnataka, STPI-Mysore has reported a growth of 72 per cent for 2004-05 and STPI-Mangalore/Manipal's software exports has increased to Rs 567 crore from Rs 456 crore.

Infosys Vice President resigns
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | AY

Hema Ravichander Infosys company's senior Vice President(HR), would be leaving the company. An alumnus of IIM, Ahmedabad, Hema Ravichandar has had a wide and varied HR career spanning several Indian and multi-national companies. Last year, she was chosen as one of the six IT superwomen by the Dataquest magazine. The reason behind the decision is unknown.

Birla in Bangalore
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | AY

The C K Birla Group-owned software company, Birlasoft plans to open centres in Bangalore and Noida. According to Birlasoft CEO Kamal Mansharamani, the Bangalore development center will be opened in August 2005 and the Noida center will be launched in December 2005. He added that the expansion had become necessary as Birlasoft was focusing a lot on offshore activity. The company has featured annual growth of 28 percent during the last three years. He added that they have to achieve growth rates of 35 percent - 40 percent to be a quarter billion dollar company by 2008.

Protect eyes during summer
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | AY

Summer getting on the peak and the depletion of the protective ozone layer is posing a threat to the eyes. Ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause permanent eye damage and vision problems later in life and it affects people of all ages. Symptoms like headaches, squint and light sensitivity are early indicators of problems. With summer, comes there is a higher incidence of acute conjunctivitis popularly known as Madras Eye. Also eye infection caused by air borne allergies and red eye caused by infective organisms come into action during summer. Doctors recommend wearing shatter-proof goggles while engaging oneself in sports activities.

Meeting to be deferred- Karnataka BJP
Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | AY

Karnataka BJP leader Ramachandragowda urged the Centre to defer the meeting called on May 19 to discuss the Bangalore Metro Rail project till an optimum integrated Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) was worked out for the city. He added that the meeting need to be deferred as the high tech city needed high tech solutions and modern management of its problems for progress.

Vamshi ACP
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | AY

Sudeep reveled that 'Vamshi ACP' will be his debut directorial venture produced under his home banner Kicha Creations. Vamshi ACP is remake of Tamil Hit 'Kaka Kaka'. Sudeep says that being an actor himself he knows the pain points of local talents and hence this production banner of his will not be restricted for his own films but will shed light on new talents with good flair of acting. He intends to produce small budget films with such star cast and aims to spread the wings to small screens as well.

Kannada movie to be dubbed in malayalam
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | AY

Kannada film 'Love' that introduced Auditya, the third generation star of Singh family, supposed to be the launch pad for this aspiring star failed to meet the expectation. 'Love' was the first Kannada movie to feature Malayalam super star Mohan Lal in a key role of a taxi driver. Love is now being dubbed to Malayalam and will be called 'Hi Taxi'.

H2O
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | AY

"H2O", Rs.8 crore film has been under production for the last two years. Movie is directed by N. Loknath and Rajaraam and cast Upendra, Prabhudeva, Priyanka, Babu Mohan and others. The story, screenplay and dialogues of this controversial film are by Upendra. Upendra in this movie has dealt with the Cauveri issue between Karnataka and Tamilnadu by a triangular love story. In the film Upendra speaks in Kannada and Prabhu Deva in Tamil, making it a bi-lingual film. Music is by Sadhu kokila, cinematographer is H.C.Venu and the editor is T.Shasi Kumar.

Gowdru
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | AY

"Gowdru" happens to be MP Ambarish's 200th film. The movie is directed by S.Mahender and produced by Sandesh Nagaraj. Hamsalekha has scored the music. The story revolves around village chieftain ‘Gowdru’ (Ambarish), his wife (Meena) and his sister(Shruthi). The happy family of brother and sister is in turmoil when she gets married. She is badly treated by her in-law’s who take it as a chance to take revenge on Gowdru.

Valmiki
Tuesday, May 10, 2005 | AY

Shivrajkumar starrer ‘Valmiki’ directed by M.S.Ramesh has launched its audio at a simple function at Green House restaurant. Gurukiran scores the music for ‘Valmiki’ and is set to be released in the second week of May. The songs are really hummable and is expected to catch with the public in a big way.

This is the time to marry
Monday, May 9, 2005 | AY

Vasundhara Das, the popular singer and actress has decided to tie the knot with her long time friend Roberto Narayanan, a well known musician in Bangalore. Vasundhara who has made her contribution in almost all south indian movies had made her debut with Kamala hassan in the movie "Hey Ram". Her fame rose with the song 'Shakalaka baby' from the film Mudhalvan and recently "This is the time to disco" from the movie "Kal Ho Na Ho" was well appreciated.

Tandhege Takka Maga
Monday, May 9, 2005 | AY

"Tandhege Takka Maga", the remake of Theevarmagan starring Ambarish, Upendra, Laila, Sakshi Sivanand, Ashish Vidyarthi, Komalkumar, Sathyajith, Rameshbhat, Bank Janardhan, Sivakumar, Chitrashenoy, Malathi Sardeshpande had completed the picturisation of its 12-days first schedule at Mysore, Srirangapatnam and the surrounding locations. Thevarmaghan, made in tamil was a super hit with Kamal Hassan and Sivaji Ganesan playing the father and son.

Helmets are a must
Monday, May 9, 2005 | AY

The State Government has issued the notification regarding the new rule of making helmet wearing compulsory in six corporations, including Mysore. The Government has decided to amend the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act 1989's rule 230, the rule makes it compulsory for rider and pillion rider to wear helmets for two-wheelers including mopeds.

Dharam Singh should resign- Opposition
Monday, May 9, 2005 | AY

Opposition leader in the Karnataka Legislative Council D H Shankarmurthy demanded Dharam Singh led Congress-JD(S) coalition government to step down for filing a "wrong" affidavit before the state high court on the issue of Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project. He said that if the chief secretary admitted before the court that the affidavit was filed on behalf of the state government and not on his personal behalf, the government would become totally responsible and had to face a "peculiar situation" in the history of the state and hence Dharam Singh should resign owing to moral responsiblity.

Action Plan to promote tourism
Monday, May 9, 2005 | AY

Minister for Tourism D T Jayakumar said that the state government has drawn Rs 1,000 crore integrated Action Plan, to promote and develop Tourism in Karnataka. Union Minister for Tourism Renuka Choudhary has assured to approve the plan and release funds in part payment of Rs 200 crore per year. Suggestions from the leading international tourism experts were also sought. Tourism sector in the state needs to get a boost to amass more revenue for the state eschequer.

Swedish firm outsources work to Wipro
Sunday, May 8, 2005 | AY

Wipro Ltd., India's third-largest software exporter, announced a strategic alliance with Sweden-based SmartTrust to seek a hot new segment in telecommunications, its largest specialization area. New York-listed Wipro, which employs about 5,000 people in its telecom business, has developed software for handsets, hardware and telecom equipment.Device management would be a separate specialization to help mobile handsets easily receive content and applications.

Multi-million deal between Wipro and Dutch firm
Sunday, May 8, 2005 | AY

IT major Wipro has bagged a three-year "multi-million" euro deal from Dutch pharma major Akzo Nobel for providing infrastructure management services. Wipro said it would also use its global delivery platform and quality procedures and maintain and enhance a wide range of applications like SAP.

Sun Microsystems to open R & D center
Sunday, May 8, 2005 | AY

Sun Microsystems Inc. said yesterday it is expanding four of its engineering facilities outside the United States to save costs. The four research and development centers are in the Indian city of Bangalore, the Chinese capital of Beijing, Russia's St. Petersburg and the Czech Republic capital, Prague. The arrival of Sun Microsystems in Banglore will further open up more jobs in IT sector.

Gowda asks the goverment to act swiftly
Sunday, May 8, 2005 | AY

The Janata Dal (Secular) supremo and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda demanded that the Karnataka government immediately send a proposal to the Centre for the revival of sick sugar industrial units in the public and co-operative sector in the state. Brahmavar Sugar factory immediately required over Rs nine crore for its revival which included payment of dues to sugarcane growers, salary arrears to employees and repairing old machinery. He alleged that despite Union Minister Sharad Pawar asking the state government to send its proposal for the revival of the units, the latter had failed to act swiftly.

Project Seabird is postponed
Sunday, May 8, 2005 | AY

Rs 35,000 crore Project Seabird, the largest naval base in Asia, which was scheduled to be commissioned on May nine, has been postponed. The new Naval base, being set up on a sprawling 4,480 hectares, was expected to enhance the strategic capabilities of the Indian Navy and prove to be the engine of economic growth for Karwar and generate greater business opportunities for the local people.

Manipal facing threat
Sunday, May 8, 2005 | AY

Kasturba Medical College has reported as many as 35 confirmed cases of hepatitis-A. Hepatitis which mainly affects the liver is caused due to polluted water and food. During peak summer when the water level goes down, this disease turns epedemic. Although nowadays many are getting vaccinated,thus preventing hepatitis, there are still large number of people who remains in the dark and needs enlightment about the disease.

Karnataka will not budge: Minister
Saturday, May 7, 2005 | AY

Major and Medium Industries Minister P G R Sindhia said that the Karnataka government would not budge from any kind of pressure from the Centre on the proposed Rs 25,000 crore downstream petroleum products project in Mangalore. He also accused Union Petroleum Minister Manishankar Aiyar by saying that if ONGC(Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) did not have the capability to implement the project, then why did it sign the MoU with the State.

Australia's trade centre opens in Bangalore
Saturday, May 7, 2005 | AY

Karnataka Major and Medium Industries Minister P G R Sindhia after returning from a week-long tour of Victoria and Queensland in Australia said that two states had evinced keen interest in biotechnology, food processing and dairying. Special interest shown with regard to setting up of food parks and other infrastructure projects in Karnataka. Mr Sindhia had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Queensland government on economic relations.

A new tie up to offer better medical care
Saturday, May 7, 2005 | AY

Vivus group and Chennai-based M.V. Hospital ties up to set up a new clinic called "M.V. Diabetic Clinic" which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Dharam Singh’s wife Prabhavati. It promises, a centre of excellence in diabetic care and early diagnosis and management to avoid complications. The clinic will cater to scores of diabetic patients in and around Banglore.

Malaria stii rules in the state
Saturday, May 7, 2005 | AY

Karnataka is the only southern state where the number of malaria deaths has gone up over the last five years according to the reports of malaria death from 1999 to 2003. Parliamentary panel has asked Union Health Ministry to take immediate corrective steps to make effective the Karnataka’s malaria control programme.

End of another gangster
Saturday, May 7, 2005 | AY

Razak, Aide of Mumbai underworld don Chhota Shakeel was shot dead in an encounter at a burial ground near Hosur road in the city late last night. On a complaint lodged by Sampath who was receiving threats from Razack and his gang members in Mumbai and Bangalore demanding that he sell a piece of land owned by him to them, police laid a trap for Razak. Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh rewarded the CCB officers with Rs. 50,000 for shooting down Abdul Razack and said that he will also recommend the names of the four officials for a gallantry award.

A new herbal drug
Saturday, May 7, 2005 | AY

A good news for all those who consume alcohol and suffer from hangover, the following day. Himalaya Drug Company has introduced a herbal drug, "PartySmart" to prevent hangovers. It prevents hangover if taken before or while having the alcohol. When alcohol is consumed, it is converted into acetaldehyde by the liver. It is the build-up of acetaldehyde that results in unpleasant hangover symptoms such as headache, nausea, irritability and fatigue.

Pakkadmane Hudugi
Friday, May 6, 2005 | AY

The classic Hindi hit 'Padosan' will be remade in Kannada as 'Pakkadamane Hudugi'. The hit Hindi movie is still fresh in the memories thanks to the very nostalgic song 'Mere saamne waali khidki mein' sung by Mehmood. The 1960 movie had a rib tickling comedy and very attractive music. In the Kannada version, Mohan will play the role of Mehmood as the comic classical song teacher. Raghavendra Raj Kumar will play the role played by the hero, Sunil Dutt while Anant Nag will try to enact the role played by Kishore Kumar. The answer for who will replace Saira Banu is Ranjitha who is doing her second movie. The Kannada remake is being directed by MS Rajashekhar and is produced by Shekhar Karlekkanavar.

Varsha
Friday, May 6, 2005 | AY

Another hit malayalam movie, Hitler will be remade in Kannada. Vishnuvardhan will play the lead role played by Megastar Mammootty in Malayalam. The story revolves around a big brother who loves and takes care of his five younger sisters. The film is produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The star cast include Anu Prabhakar, Ramesh, Ramesh Bhatt, Sunil and Manya. Hitler was a megahit in Malayalam due to its story and associated family sentiments.

Anjali Gupta reports ill.
Thursday, May 5, 2005 | AY

Controversial Indian Air Force official, Anjali Gupta, reported ill and didnot turn up for the court martial proccedings against her. Later she was reffered to Command Hospital for health check up. The court of inquiry, by the IAF to look in to the sexual harassment charges made by her against 3 of her superior officers also could not hold proceedings. IAF officials said the four-member court of inquiry team, headed by Air vice marshal V R Iyer, was waiting to record the statement of Gupta, an education officer of Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) on her charges of sexual harassment but could not proceed due to her absence.

India's first ever PG through virtual classrooms
Thursday, May 5, 2005 | AY

India's first ever Post graduate programme through virtual class rooms were announced yesterday by the Reliance Infocomm and Xavier Institute of Management(XIBM). The Classes will be available in 100 cities around the country through 240 Reliance Webworld outlets. This is a tripatite deal, with XIMB offering the programme in business management through Reliance and Blueshift will manage and co-ordinate the whole show. The officials say, the virtual classrooms will as good as real ones and with added benefit that students can study from their own city without the burden of relocating. This concept will be a big blessing for students and working class alike who intend to do a world class management course without disturbing their present engagements. If successful this new virtual classrooms will revlutionize the educational system in the country.

No ride without a helmet.
Thursday, May 5, 2005 | AY

Agency reports suggest, the state government is planning to impose a new law barring commuters from travelling in two wheelers without wearing safety helmets. The law may come in to effect as early as 15 th of next month. Earlier the High Court had directed the state government to enact a rule making helmets compulsory for both the driver and the pillion rider. It is learned that the Cabinet had also decided to make use of helmets compulsory in select cities including Bangalore, Davanagere, Mangalore, Hubli-Dharwad, Gulbarga and Belgaum as per the recommendations of the Dr H. Sudarshan Committee and Nimhans reports. The goverment will set up a committee to hear the public opinion whether helmets should be made compusory for pillion riders also and will decide on the matter soon.

Maharashtra C M asks for extra water.
Thursday, May 5, 2005 | AY

With Maharashtra realing under one of the worst power shortages in the state, the Cheif Minister, Mr.Vilasrao Deshmuk said he has written to the Cheif Ministers of Karnataka and Andra pradesh on using some extra water from the Koyana Hydro Power Project, to generate more power. He added that Maharshatra is ready to buy surplus power from states and other sources. Parts of Maharashtra have witnessed violent protests over the past two days against severe power cuts in the state.

Bangalore facing threat.
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | AY

Allergic reaction of lungs called "Asthma" has taken a peak by 6 lakhs in the garden city of Bangalore. Health officials say combination of atmospheric pollutants and pollens has led to the increase in the prevalence of asthma in general. Despite high prevalence, asthma medicines are not available in government hospitals to worsen the situation.

Govt & Pvt colleges on logger heads
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | AY

The meeting convened by the Karnataka Chief Minister, N.Dharam Singh to persuade private professional college managements to bring about a consensus on seat sharing and to seek their opinion whether they would continue the last year's formula, failed to evolve since the private managements preferred to wait till May 13 for the Supreme Court verdict. COMED-K (Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka)leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa said they expect the government to honour promises held out last year on reimbursement of fee.

Software companies gets tax notice
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | AY

Income Tax Department has issued a tax notice of Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million) to the Bangalore based software major, "Infosys Technologies" for the year 2001-2002. The tax notice to pay up comes after Infosys was not allowed certain exemptions under the Income Tax Act which it had applied for. Another Bangalore-based software heavyweight, Wipro was similarly asked to pay an additional Rs 262 crore (Rs 2.62 billion) as income tax dues for the year ended March 2002.

Road accidents more by BPO vehicles
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | AY

Study conducted by traffic experts has revealed that 600 accidents in the city each year are caused by drivers of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)/call centre vehicles. It is estimated that Bangalore has over 30,000 call centre employees. Approximately 20,000 trips are made daily by these vehicles and reports have shown that violations like rash and negligent driving, over-speeding, drunken driving, moving against one-way and signal jumping are common among BPO vehicles.

Bangalore to be the centre of business strategy
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | AY

VeriSign Inc a leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services globally for the internet and telecommunications networrks, today announced the launch of its India Development Centre (IDC) in the city. Centre would play a key role in building core mission critical solutions for telecommunications, internet and management information systems.

Sastry
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | AY

New movie by successful director P.N.Sathya is "Sastry". Story, screenplay, and dialogues are written by the director hiself. The movie casts Darshan, Maanya, G.K.Govindarao, Sathyajith, G.K.Govindarao, Mohanraj, Chitra Shenoy, B.V.Radha, Sekhar Kotyaan and others. "Sastry" is almost over and will be released by the end of May.

Akash
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | AY

Puneeth Rajkumar's fifth film "Akash" casts Puneeth Rajkumar, Ramya, Avinash, Kishore, Sonia, Pavithra Lokesh, Honnavalli Krishna, Adarsh, Ashitha, Ashish Vidyarthi. The first half is lively with songs and fights. There is also a message for unemployed youth that one should take any job without resting on the laurels of a degree. Music by R P Patnaik adds another colour to the movie.

JD–S party activists convention on May 9
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | AY

The Belgaum unit of JD–S will organise a party activists convention here on May 9 which will be attended by JD–S supremo H D Deve Gowda, Deputy Chief Minister Sidharamaiah and other top ranked leaders of the party. They claimed that though Congress was a big organisation, it was not close to the people. JD-S was the only party in touch with the public.

Prosecution of Chief Secretary
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka High Court ordered that Chief Secratary ,Misra and Under Secretary M Shivalingaswamy should be prosecuted for withholding important facts from the court, and submitting false statements in the affidavit regarding the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) Project.

Oct 2-The D day, says Deve Gowda
Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | AY

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda after conducting the slum-dwellers' rally on April 30 and studying the various demands from various organizations, submitted a 14-point memorandum to Chief Minister Dharam Singh and declared October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) as the deadline for the Congress-JD(S) coalition government to extend land ownership rights and Yeshaswini health insurance scheme to slum-dwellers and the poor in Bangalore. Dharam Singh agreeing to take up the issue at the Cabinet meeting said he had been cooperative with the government, especially in taking up issues concerning the poor.

Autograph
Monday, May 2, 2005 | AY

Autograph is a tamil remake of the movie by the same name. It deals about a man delving into his past and reliving his childhood and college days with nostalgia. It stars Sudheep as the hero and playing the hero's supportive friend is Meena. Meena may not have much to do in Tamil, but she's making her presence felt in Malyalam and Kannada films.

Good Luck
Monday, May 2, 2005 | AY

New movie "GOOD LUCK" starring Anirudh, Radhika, Akshaya Krishna, Daamini, Chitrashenoy, Sandhya is all set for the release. Modeling world has been chosen as the background for this triangular love subject.Hope the movie will turn "lucky" for the producers Srinivasa Reddy and Srinivasa Shetty.

'Sarthaka Sambrama' title for Dr.Rajkumar
Monday, May 2, 2005 | AY

The title “Sarthaka Sambrama" will be given to the icon of Kannada cinema Dr.Rajkumar on 9th May 2005 at Bangalore Palace Grounds on the occasion of his completion of 50 years in Kannada films.Scores of his fans and followers are expected to attend the validectory function.

Man murders wife and mother
Monday, May 2, 2005 | AY

Due to marital dispute a man killed his wife and his mother with a sharp weapon and then killed himself in Mysore. Police said Mukundan (36) had allegedly killed his wife Manjula (20) and mother Lakshmiamma (60) and then committed suicide.

Chief minister reacts to JD (S)' rally
Monday, May 2, 2005 | AY

Karnataka chief minister N Dharam Singh referring to the just-concluded slum dwellers rally said that it was always congress who has worked for the upliftment of the poor. KPCC president B Janardhan Poojari, who presided over the function, strongly criticised former Prime Minister and JD (S) president H D DEVE GOWDA for his open statements against the Congress-JD (S) coalition government.

Ramya Chaitrakala
Sunday, May 1, 2005 | AY

Kannada film industries famous and well known director Sunil Kumar Desai has launched a new film called "Ramya Chaitrakala". Director has claimed that he has projected love very deeply in this movie. He has tried to project th eregular process of conflicts and controversies in love and marriage in a very delicate way. Sandeep, Nandita, Reshma, Archana, Manasa, Rahul are in the lead roles

Liberalisation, privatisation ruining India
Sunday, May 1, 2005 | AY

Former Prime Minister and JD-S president H D Deve Gowda while addressing a party-organised convention of poor people and slum-dwellers here said that by aping the american way of economic development was only goin to ruin india..He said some sections of our society make big money out of stock markets when on th eother end poor people are trying to meet their both ends meet.He promised the poor people that a legal cell would be formed to assist them.

Fifth economic census
Sunday, May 1, 2005 | AY

The fifth economic census which is covering all aspects pertaining to various entrepreneurships including agriculture (barring cultivation and plantation) and organised enterprises begins tday on may 1 at the Mangalore city coorporation and will continue for another 2 weeks.All these details will be collected separately in district and urban areas.

International airport in Devanahalli
Sunday, May 1, 2005 | AY

KSIIDC(Karnataka State Industrial and Investment Development Corporation)has finally sanctioned a 30-year land lease deed, renewable for a period of another 30 years in favour of Bangalore International Airport Limited.Airport is planned to come up in a place called Devanahalli.

UK Scientists to visit Bangalore
Sunday, May 1, 2005 | AY

Ten scientists from premier research organizations in the UK will be in Bangalore for eight days from Monday to discuss stem-cell research with the best scientists from across India. Workshop involves a series of lectures and practical lab sessions at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) in Bangalore.

Archive: 2004, 2003