Karnataka News Archive: June 2005

Infosys Technologies in a partnership with European banks
Thursday, June 30, 2005 | AY

Infosys Technologies and B-Source today announced a technology partnership to provide a 'pay-as-you-transact’ model, known as Business Service Provisioning, to European banks in the private banking and asset management sector. The new approach would enable private banks to focus on delivering value to their customers taking away the headache of managing the IT infrastructure and bank back office administration. B-Source CEO Rajiv Pradhan said that the new solution provided the banks with a predictability of a world class infrastructure to enable them to focus on delivering innovation and value to their customer base.

Japanese aid to beautify Hampi
Thursday, June 30, 2005 | AY

The world famous Hampi heritage site will get a facelift with financial assistance from the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation to the tune of Rs 597.5 crore. A Japanese team headed by Shinji Nambo visited Bangalore to discuss the development works to be implemented in Hampi. The comprehensive plan included development of ring road around Hampi and 128 sq.km of peripheral area. While Rs 373.9 crore had been earmarked for infrastructure development, which included an airport proposal in Hampi, Rs 57.5 crore for tourism development, Rs 82.1 crore for heritage management and Rs 27.9 crore for domestic site development.

Chandrika in a new form
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | AY

Wipro has relaunched the country's first ayurvedic soap brand Chandrika, giving it a facelift 65 years after it came into the market. Wipro, which had acquired the brand in June last year, relaunched the soap in oval shape and new packaging to make the Chandrika brand look young and contemporary, thus enhancing its appeal to today's generation. Besides the traditional do good properties of its natural ingredients, the new Chandrika was also enriched with the goodness of seven essential oils that work from deep within the skin.

Paheli inspired from Nagamandala
Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | AY

Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukerji starring Hindi film ‘Paheli’ released in the last week consists the story of famous Kannada play that was later made as film starring Prakash Rai and Vijayalakshmi in Nagamandala”. Jnanapeeth award winning director Girish Karnad is the author of this play. few months back Shahrukh Khan’s Hindi film ‘Swades’ was released and it is based on the roots. Again this has strong shades of Kannada film ‘Chiguridha Kanasu’ was made in the last year in Kannada. This film in Kannada was also made on the story written by Jnanapeeth award winner Dr.Shivarama Karanth.

K.Kalyan ties the knot
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 | AY

Top lyricist and music director of Kannada cinema, K. Kalyan tied the nuptial knot to Aishwarya on Sunday at Vishala Bhavan in Bangalore. On Sunday at Vishal Bhavan after the muhuratham the icon of Kannada cinema Dr. Rajkumar and Super star Vishnuvardhan with their family members were the notable guests who attended the wedding.

Election to MLC seat on July 14
Tuesday, June 28, 2005 | AY

Election to the Karnataka Legislative Council seat vacated by Congress leader R V Devaraj will be held on July 14. The notification would be issued on June 27 and the last date for filing of nominations would be July four. The last date for withdrawal would be July seven. All the 227 members of the Legislative Assembly would be the voters for the election. Mr Devaraj was elected by the Assembly on June 16 last year but he resigned on May 16 following his decision to contest as the party candidate in the recent byelection to the Chamarajapet Assembly constituency.

Three more engineering colleges
Monday, June 27, 2005 | AY

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has sanctioned three more engineering colleges, including two in Bangalore, for the academic year 2005-06. The institutions which have been given the letter of approval are Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College of Engineering and PES School of Engineering (both Bangalore) and BGS institute of Technology, Bellur. All the three colleges have been sanctioned an intake of 240 seats each for the year 2005-06. Suggestions were given to consider all the three tests — CET, Comed-K and AIEEE — for admissions to professional courses, which will give wider scope for colleges to take in merited students.

Wyse technology in B'lore
Monday, June 27, 2005 | AY

Wyse Technology Inc, the worldwide leader in network-centric computing has established its new India Corporate sales office and software development centre in Bangalore. The 24,000 sq ft, state-of-the-art facility located in the city will service Wyse Technology's global research and engineering needs. Wyse's investment in India represents the single largest capital commitment in the company's 25-year history. As well as supporting Wyse's global needs, the centre will develop specific products designed to capture a significant share of India's growing thin client market.

No cauvery water for TN due to lack of rain
Sunday, June 26, 2005 | AY

Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh said the State was not able to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu due to lack of rain. Just like Tamil Nadu farmers, the Karnataka farmers too were suffering due to want of water. At the CMC meeting, Tamil Nadu had made a forceful plea to ensure weekly release of the waters by Karnataka. Karnataka Chief Secretary K K Mishra had said at the meeting that Karnataka had released 211 TMCFT of water to Tamil Nadu till May this year, more than the stipulated quantity. This was disputed by the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary who said it was due to "incorrect reading" as Karnataka was following the inflow at Biligundlu and not in Mettur.

Dharam on official visit to Delhi
Sunday, June 26, 2005 | AY

Chief Minister N Dharam Singh will attend the National Development Council meeting in New Delhi on June 27, during his three-day visit to the capital. The Chief Minister would also attend the ninth meeting of the Inter-State Council on June 28, besides the conference on urban transport the next morning.

Infosys finacle bags awards
Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY

Infosys Technologies Ltd has announced that Finacle universal banking solution has won "The Banker Technology Awards 2005". Institutionalized by The Financial Times UK, The banker technology awards are annual awards that recognize innovation and excellence in the banking technology space worldwide. Finacle has been architected out of years of experience in the banking Industry and is the most comprehensive, flexible and scalable new generation banking solution in the industry today. Finacle CRM solution is a comprehensive and modular, banking-focused CRM solution, which enables banks to leverage the ready-to-deploy CRM functionality for competitive differentiation.

Shastri
Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY

Director P.N.Sathya who directed ‘Majestic’ and ‘Dasa’ super hit films starring Darshan had a failure when he took up ‘Sardara’. In this movie, "Shastri" from start to finish the action scenes are the key factors. This one aimed at fans of Darshan is difficult to digest for others. is in his usual form. Manya is average. Rest of the artistes does not deserve any mention. Songs are below average. Director has given some punchy dialogues to treat the Darshan fans. A film strictly for fans.
Rama Shastri (Darshan) is fed a sweet with poison in revenge by Manya(heroine)for not reciprocating her in love.Oozing out blood form the mouth Shastri comes out for help where he is attacked by Huchcha Naga and gang. The blessings of the people save him from the death.

Gowda predicts an anti BJP -anti Congress third front
Saturday, June 18, 2005 | AY

Former Prime Minister and JD(S) National President H.D. Deve Gowda declared that a Third Front is emerging in karnataka as well as all over India from Bihar to Kerala. The Third Front would definitely be "anti-Congress and anti-BJP. The political polarisation would pose no threat to the coalition Government in Karnataka. Referring to the situation in Karnataka, Deve Gowda said that the JD(S) was forced to align with the Congress as the people of Karnataka had not given a clear mandate for any of the parties and the JD(S) did not want re-election.

3 New medical colleges gets approval
Friday, June 17, 2005 | AY

Medical Education Minister Iqbal Ansari said he was confident that the Medical Council of India (MCI) would clear at least three new Government medical colleges at Mandya, Hassan and Belgaum from this academic year. The MCI had given approval for 100 seats at the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hubli. The MCI had reduced the seats at KIMS by 50 percent last year because of poor infrastructure. The minister said the government was considering setting up three new colleges at Gulbarga, Koppal and Karwar from the next academic year.

Dharam sticks to take up the Metro rail stand project
Friday, June 17, 2005 | AY

Brushing aside former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) President H D Deve Gowda's suggestion to reconsider the Metro Rail project, Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh today asserted that the project will be implemented as per schedule. He said the state government was committed to take up the project as it had collected over Rs 600 crore from Bangaloreans through petroleum cess. Mr Singh noted that the project was clinched for Bangalore, despite strong bids from Mumbai and Chennai. Mr Gowda had sent letters to both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mr Dharam Singh to re-examine the project and see whether the Metro could be built in a cheaper and less destructive way.

Oh Priyathame
Friday, June 17, 2005 | AY

"Oh Priyathame" produced by Dr. Chandrasekhar, under the banner Lakshmi Narasimha Productions and directed by Sivaprabhu is almost complete. Ajay Rao, Sanjana, Sharathbabu, Geetha, Sudharani, Aswath Neena Sam, Sathyajith, Chitrashenoy, Ananthvelu, Ratnamala, 'Comedy Time' Ganesh, Ganesh Rao, Sandhyasri, Sobha Sivalingaiah, Sangamesha, Nagasekhar etc. are in the star cast.

Indecent behavior against tourist inside bus
Thursday, June 16, 2005 | AY

According to agencies a driver and conductor of the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) have been suspended from service for allegedly molesting a British national.According to NWKRTC, action against the two had been taken on a complaint filed by British tourist Dun Tasa. A departmental inquiry has also been initiated against them. The victim had come to the Dandeli bus terminus to catch a bus to Ganeshgudi. The two forced her into their bus and behaved indecently. She later left for England after handing over a complaint to her friend to be forwarded to the police.

Indefinite strike by truck owners
Thursday, June 16, 2005 | AY

The trucks will stop plying on the roads of Karnataka from the 20 th of June in wake of an indefinite strike called by the Federation of Karnataka Lorry Owner's association. The strike is in protest of government's improper policies and unneccassary fines levied on them. The association wants the government to fix a proper guide line regarding the transport of Sand in the state. The leaders said they will wait for the government to act till monday.

Computer kiosks to open in 5,000 rural villages
Thursday, June 16, 2005 | AY

The Reuters reported today that a consortium of high-tech firms, banks and government officials are gearing up to create rural business centers across Karnataka. Officials of Wyse Technology of San Jose, California said their company is teaming up with Comat Technologies Ltd., a Bangalore computer consultantcy that is helping digitize Indian land records as part of a government rural development push. But while the plan is to erect computer kiosks in 5,000 rural villages around Karnataka, the focus of the project is not to deliver technology itself -- but the education, banking, healthcare and legal services that villagers crave.

Thai martial art for Kannada film
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 | Editor

The Kannada film "Sri", starring Vijaya Raghavendra, will introduce the Thai martial art of Muay Thai to film audiences. Raghavendra recently went to Bangkok to train in Muay Thai, the martial art that has developed over the years into the popular sport of kickboxing. "Muay Thai is one of the many forms of a folk art developed by Thai fighters, like our own Kalari from Kerala," informed Raghavendra. Before leaving for Bangkok, Raghavendra underwent gymnastics training for a month in Bangalore. "This training was necessary to prepare for Muay Thai training," he said. "I have had to reduce my weight, but have gained a high level of physical fitness," the actor added.

Tata Group plans "lots of investments" in Karnataka
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 | Editor

Bangalore, June 10 : Tata Group has "lots of investment plans" in Karnataka, where it has proposed to take up projects in a short period of time, its Chairman Ratan N Tata said today.

Tata met Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh and Major Industries Minister P G R Sindhia here and discussed issues on investments and projects.

Both sides declined to talk on specifics after the meeting.

"I will come back with people (from the Group to finalise) to discuss the areas in which we can make investments. We will reinvest in a major way in Karnataka," Tata told reporters.

He chose not to talk on the plans. "Let the projects commence," Tata said. "We have lots of investment plans in Karnataka and also other plans," he said but did not elaborate.

Singh said Tata would come back with a team of company officials for detailed discussions.

Singh said the State offered areas such as mining, automobile, IT and BT sectors for investment.

Infy chairman will quit soon
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 | AY

Infy chairman N R Narayana Murthy who will turn 60 next August said that as a part of the company’s policy he would cease to be the chairman of Infosys once he completed 60 years (on Aug 20, 2006). He also added that the decision on whether he should continue as the non-executive chairman is something that the board of directors would have to take. Infosys which paid out a record 230% dividend in FY ‘05 is monitoring the return on capital, Murthy added.
Incidentally Infosys had a return of 5.8 times the cost of capital in FY ‘05.

Infosys has a role in the success of Airbus A380
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 | AY

Infosys Technologies today (Jun 14, 2005) announced that it has worked with Airbus on the Airbus A380 programme. Infosys worked on the design and development of the top and bottom skin extensions within the inner fixed trailing edge for the Airbus A380. Infosys also played a key role in developing tools and processes for product life cycle management. Using Infosys product design and development skills, we were able to deliver cost effective development solutions for Airbus.

Dharam asks Lalu for new rail connections
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 | AY

Chief Minister N Dharam Singh has urged the Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to introduce new rail connectivity in the State which would promote trade and commerce, facilitate development of tourist places and develop economy of the region. In separate representations, suggestion was made about the Railway Ministry to take up rail connectivity between Mangalore-Udupi, Bangalore-Kollur, Mangalore-Raichur, Mangalore-Bellary, Thiruvananthapuram-Kollur and Kollur-Shimoga. He also demanded the implementation of rail connectivity between Udupi-Puri, Udupi-Hyderabad, Udupi-Tirupati, Chamrajnagar-Kollur, Hassan-Chikmagalur, Hubli-Dharwad-Mangalore.

Mysore airport to be a reality soon
Monday, June 13, 2005 | AY

The memorandum of understanding between the Karnataka government and the Airport Authority of India on the Mysore airport will be signed by this month-end. AAI has sought 165 acres more land in addition to the present 275 acres, as it had changed the design of the runway. The present runway runs from east to west but the new one will run from southeast to northwest. It will be an airport where 50-seater planes can land and take off.

New strategies to attract tourists
Monday, June 13, 2005 | AY

Karnataka government is developing all dam sites as gardens on the lines of the Brindavan gardens at Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir, to woo tourists. The project would be taken up shortly with the cooperation of the Horticulture and Irrigation departments. State Tourism Minister D T Jayakumar announced that 1,000 tourist police personnel would be appointed to assist tourists in various places in the state.

Shalimar paints planning new strategy
Monday, June 13, 2005 | AY

Shalimar Paints, the country’s oldest, nearly 100-year old, paint manufacturer is planning a new branding strategy to strengthen presence in the southern and western markets. The company has doubled its advertising budget to Rs 7.5 crore this year. The company will set up a new plant in Karnataka or Tamil Nadu to cater to the southern market which will have a capacity of 1,200-1,500 kilolitres per month. Shalimar has an 18 per cent market share in the protective coating segment. While Asian Paints leads with around 40 per cent market share, Shalimar has only 6 per cent market share.

H D Deve Gowda recovers after surgery
Sunday, June 12, 2005 | AY

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda today successfully underwent a minor operation on his right knee at a superspeciality hospital here in Bangalore. According to Janata Dal (S) sources, Mr Deve Gowda is keeping fine and likely to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.

Dharam Singh stays: KPCC
Sunday, June 12, 2005 | AY

Reacting to former Prime Minister and JD(S) President H D Deve Gowda's remarks that the Congress high command should consult his party if Chief Minister N Dharam Singh was replaced, KPCC President B Janardhan Poojari told newspersons here that the party had never said that it would change Mr Singh. By issuing such statements, Mr Gowda was trying to create confusion among the public and the party cadres, he alleged. On the outcome of the recent byelections in the State, he said the JD(S) might have won the Chamarajpet Assembly polls, but it was the Congress which won the Bidar Lok Sabha byelection and a majority of seats in the gram panchayat polls. Mr Poojari ridiculed the prediction of Samajwadi State President S Bangarappa that there would be an earthquake in the Congress. The drastic decrease in his victory margin in the recent Shimoga Parliamentary bypoll had prompted Mr Bangarappa to make such a remark, he said.

Volvo buses between Mysore and Chennai
Sunday, June 12, 2005 | AY

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), Mysore City Division, has launched the services of two new Volvo buses between Mysore and Chennai, via Bangalore from June 9. One of the buses leaving Mysore at 7 pm everyday, reaches Bangalore at 10.15 pm and arrives in Chennai at 6.20 am. KSRTC is also starting Volvo bus services between Mysore-Hyderabad via Bangalore, from today.

Infosys ranked eighth in fastest growing tech firm in US
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

Indian software giant Infosys Technologies Ltd and IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions have been named the 8th and 9th fastest growing companies, respectively, in the United States by Business 2.0. Infosys was also the only Indian company to make it to the Wired magazine's 'The Wired 40' list recently. 2004, a Financial Times-PwC annual survey of the world's most respected companies saw Infosys being ranked at number 62nd. Infosys, has even managed to keep the Accenture and IBM challenge at bay by opening its own consultancy centres in the US.

Conference to be held in bangalore on "IT For Defense"
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

A three-day national conference on "IT for Defence- Force Multiplier" would be held in Bangalore from June 16-18, the event organisers announced today. The objective of the conference was to bring all the Armed forces--Army, Air Force and Navy and IT industry on a single platform to discuss the "state-of-art" Defence weapons systems and military applications with emphasis on the role of computer applications and information systems. There are nearly 36 invited talks covering almost all the important facets of Applications of IT and computers for Defence weapons systems. More than 200 delegates from all the armed forces, Government of India, intelligence agencies, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Academia and IT industry were expected take part in the conference.

Laksmi Rai has her career shaping up well
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

Lakshmi Rai, who started her career in with Vikranth in "Karkka Kasadara", is one of the busiest actresses in South India. Soon after finishing Karkka Kasadara, she signed "Valmiki" with Sivaraj Kumar in Kannada which is in progress. She has recently signed for an untitled film in Malayalam with Jayaram. Her Telugu film Kanchanamala Cable TV with Srikanth is ready for release.

Hotel Atria ordered to be demolished
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

The State Government has ordered demolition of the elite Atria Hotel and a few other structures surrounding it on Palace Road in Bangalore and recover the property. The action from the Revenue department followed an elaborate enquiry to re-claim the government land measuring 4 acres 3 guntas. In all, there are 10 occupants of the area including former Chief Secretary M Shankaranarayanan. The Revenue Minister said that the hotel claimed to have purchased the land from the family members of the then Diwan of Mysore, the Kantharaje Urs.

Equal ratio between govt and management seats
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday acceded to the private managements' demand and agreed to a 50:50 seat-sharing formula in medical and dental courses. The fee structure will remain at last year's level. Following the 50:50 decision, about 150 medical seats that would have gone to the government quota will go to private managements, limiting the merit seats in medical to 1,668. Last year, under the 60:40 formula, 1,887 of the total 2,887 seats in the state went to merit students, who were admitted via the government CET. Engineering seat-sharing is not disturbed and continues at 65:35. Shivaram maintained that the loss of 150 seats would be made up by the fresh intake in the six new government medical colleges that have been proposed.

Three zones planned by the state
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

Karnataka is planning three special economic zones and a exclusive zone for the garment industry. Karnataka minister for large and medium-scale industries, infrastructure, and civil aviation, P G R Sindhia, said Mangalore would have a petrochemical and an IT software/hardware zone and Hassan a sector specific zone. The state’s exports have touched Rs 50,000 crore this year, compared to Rs 35,000 crore registered last year. The state has witnessed growth in the manufacturing sector with many companies going in for capacity expansion and bagging export orders. Seeing this growth, the government through its consultancy arm Tescok has identified five districts and taluks which are backward for promoting industrial investments.

Tata has plans to channel its investments into K'taka
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

The Government of Karnataka on Friday invited the Tata Group to invest in the auto, mining and IT sectors in Karnataka. Tata said the group will be back in Karnataka to discuss the sectors in which they can make investments. Observers said this is a significant assurance for Karnataka after relationship with the Tatas were sour when their airport venture in the state turned abortive.

KPCC president post soon to be filled
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

The race has begun for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president post. All the three major communities in the State –– Lingayats, Vokkaligas, and Kurubas –– have claimed stake for the coveted post. The first move was made by AICC General Secretary Oscar Fernades, who supported H.K. Patil, a strong man from the Mumbai-Karnataka region. This irked the Lingayats in the State which made them give a representation to the party high command, stating that Patil did not belong to their community. Among the Vokkaligas, Mandya MP Ambarish enjoys majority support, veterans like H C Srikantiah and D B Chandre Gowda are making individual efforts to get the seat. Even Kurubas have made their claim for the post, with former minister Vishwanath being the front runner. At the moment, the Congress high command is yet to finalise the caste combination, with which it wants to move ahead.

KSRTC booking on net
Saturday, June 11, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka State Road Transportation Corporation (KSRTC) will launch ‘Avatar’ service, which will enable passengers to reserve tickets on buses via the internet, from August, P B Karumbaiah, senior divisional controller, Mangalore division, KSRTC, has said. The facility will be introduced on an experimental basis, he said at an event organized to flag off an ‘Airavat’ volvo bus service from Mangalore to Mumbai here on Friday, June 10.

State HC dismisses Ms Gupta's petition
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | AY

Karnataka High Court today dismissed IAF Flying Officer Anjali Gupta's writ petition seeking quashing of the on going General Court Martial (GCM) proceedings against her. In her petition, Ms Gupta had prayed the court to dismiss the proceedings and charge sheet against her and also challenged the convening of the GCM to try the seven charges, including indiscipline, insurbordination and financial irregularities, against her. Meanwhile, the Military Court read out proceedings pertaining to cross examinations of former adjutant of Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment (ASTE) Wg Cdr RS Chaudhary regarding Ms Gupta's absenteeism from morning briefings and PT. In a letter to IAF Training Command Chief Air Marshal Subhash Bhojwani, copies of which had been sent to President A P J Abdul Kalam and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, she said ''For fair, just and reasonable trial, I request a change in the place of trial, preferably to New Delhi.

Sakha Sakhi
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | AY

"Thiruda Thirudi", the Tamil film is being remade in Kannada as "Sakha Sakhi" by Rockline Productions. Chaya Singh, the female lead of the original movie plays the lead role here too opposite Sunil Rao. This marks the return of Bangalore lass Chaya back to Kannada films. The film was remade in Telugu but it bombed.

Bangarappa scoring over Dharam
Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | AY

Addressing a maiden press conference, Samajawadi Party (SP)leader and re-elected member of the Lok Sabha S Bangarappa said that his party would not try to break the Dharam Singh-led Coalition government in Karnataka as it (govt) would "crumble on its own".He said, "it was a shameful and irresponsible act on the government's part to have abandoned Vidhana Soudha and camped in Shimoga and thereby neglect the welfare of the state". About his victory in the by-election, Bangarappa said he was confident of securing a lead of over one lakh votes but for the "last minute understanding between the Congress and the BJP" in the constituency. He informed that he would undertake a tour of the Hyderabad-Karnataka and Mumbai-Karnataka region from June 20 to organise his party and also to strengthen it.

State approves Rs 13,937 crore projects
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 | AY

The high-level committee of the Karnataka Government, headed by the Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, has approved 14 projects with a total investment of Rs 13,937 crore and providing employment to nearly two lakh people. The State Industries Minister, Mr P G R Sindhia said that among the approved projects, six were software development units, five pertained to the iron and steel sector and a five star hotel in the city. The software projects included a Rs 100-crore proposal by IT major Wipro for setting up software and BPO centre in the high tech city. The software firm, which had sought 50 acres for the proposal, would be building the facility in an area of 2.2 million sq ft and provide employment to 26,440 people.

New tie ups with Mexico
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 | AY

Mexico's Durango State Governor C C P Ismael Hernandez Deras today invited trade and business alliances, from India particularly in high technology industry and sophisticated service companies, to his state. Meeting the CM, the main purpose of their visit to the city was to learn and exchange ideas with the people in the industry here. They also commented that city had established itself as a knowledgeable city and was now emerging as a centre for human resources in frontline technology.

JD(S) deadline not taken seriously by CM
Tuesday, June 7, 2005 | AY

Rejecting his coalition partner JD-S' three-day deadline for appointing new heads to boards and corporations, Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh on Tuesday said he would undertake the exercise before the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat polls. Congress is also keen on reconstituting boards and corporations, which has been delayed by a year after the coalition government assumed office in May last, he said, adding by-elections and panchayat polls came in the way of appointing new heads.

Its a victory for Gowda
Monday, June 6, 2005 | AY

Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) National President H D Deve Gowda today said his party's victory in the Chamarajpet by-election proved that it enjoyed the support of all sections of the society, particularly the economically weaker class. Mr Gowda said the ''the anti-poor and anti-farmers budget presented in Parliament by the UPA government has enabled the JD(S) to further strengthen its ground and the party's victory has proved that it has won the favour of the minorities, slum dwellers and the unorganised sector".

Biodiversity park in city outskirts
Monday, June 6, 2005 | AY

Eco-Watch, an environment activists’ organisation has launched a Biodiversity Park, in 30 acres on the Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation campus as part of the World Environment Day celebrations. The Bio Park, which will host a wide range of indigenous species collected by Eco-Watch from different geological regions, will also function as a ‘Carbon Sink’ and help to maintain clean atmosphere. Bio Park would is the second project after the Urban Forest being created by Eco-Watch on Army land.

Bangarappa retains Shimoga
Monday, June 6, 2005 | AY

Former Karnataka chief minister and Samajwadi Party candidate S Bangarappa has retained the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka in a keenly contested by-election. By polling a total of 2,67,575 votes, Bangarappa defeated his nearest Congress rival Ayanur Manjunath, who bagged 2,50,942 votes. The BJP, which had won the seat during the last elections, was pushed to the third position with its candidate Bhanuprakash barely managing to secure around 1,48,000 votes. Bangarappa's victory, by a margin of more than 16,000 votes, has helped Samajwadi Party open its account in Karnataka.

Vishu Sena
Sunday, June 5, 2005 | AY

The Tamil film "Ramana", which had Vijayakant and Simran in the lead is going to be remade in kanada titled "Vishu Sena" directed by Naganna. Vishnuvardhan and Gurlin Chopra are in the lead roles. It has Ramesh Aravind in a pivotal role of a cop on the trail of the mystery man who annihilates the corrupt. Music by Deva, the film's heroine Gurlin had acted opposite Darshan in Sardaara. The film is produced by Govindu.

State plans big budget to promote tourism
Sunday, June 5, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka Government has come up with a Rs 1,000-crore master plan for promoting tourism in the state, Tourism Minister D T Jayakumar informed today. Mr Jayakumar informed that an action plan had been prepared by the tourism department which includes creation of all necessary infrastructure in historic places in the state and involving of private agencies to promote all kinds of tourism like eco, adventure, health, beach, heritage and pilgrim. He stressed the need for creation of marine drives along the 320 km coast in the state to attract domestic and foreign tourists.

Kannada compulsory in CBSE
Sunday, June 5, 2005 | AY

The Karnataka government is contemplating making Kannada a compulsory subject in CBSE schools for wards whose parents are Kannadigas. This is mainly to stop the trend of Kannada-speaking students of CBSE schools in the state studying languages such as Sanskrit and French which will make kannada unknown to them in speaking and writing. It will not be applicable to parents transferred to Karnataka. The law department’s opinion will be sought before going ahead with the proposal.

New chief marketting officer in Wwipro
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

Wipro Technologies, the global IT services division of Wipro Ltd, has announced the appointment of Jessie Paul as chief marketing officer, Wipro Technologies. She would be responsible for further enhancing Wipro's brand and ensuring a platform to win and engage customers through its domain-specific, IP-led technology and business solutions.

Foreign interns at infosys
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

A group of 40 interns from around the world has arrived at Infosys, Bangalore, as a part of the company’s InStep - an intensive eight to 24 week internship programme. InStep’ is the largest institutionalised global programme of its kind in India. It has representation of students from countries such as US, Japan, Canada, Germany and France. InStep’, which began with 300 applications for 14 positions six years ago, re-ceived over 9,000 applications for 100 positions this year. Interns are provided hands-on experience on projects ranging from application development to business consulting.

Abhinandane
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

N.Ramachandra directing his next movie "Abhinandane" said the film is fast progressing. Newcomer Yashwanth, Ramkumar, Anu (grand daughter of veteran actress Anjalidevi), Sudharani, Sathyajith, Dattatreya, Brahmavar are in the cast. Saritha Patra is producing this film under the banner 'Prem Movies’.

Infosys expects rectification in FBT
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

Infosys Technologies hoped that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram would rectify the anomalies in the fringe benefit tax (FBT) proposed on expenses incurred by companies on their employees. The IT industry had reacted strongly against the proposal to levy 30 per cent FBT on expenses incurred by companies on their employees, except on conveyance and canteen facilities.

Hindustan Aeronautics exhibits products
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would exhibit its products - advanced light helicopter (Dhruv) and intermediate jet trainer (HJT-36) - in the 46th international Paris Air Show-2005 to be held from June 13 to 19. Dhruv and HJT-36 will be displayed showcasing their capabilities to the international community at the static as well as flying display.

Poojary slashes at Deve gowda
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

Lashing out at former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda for his reported statement that Parliament has become irrelevant, Karnataka PCC president B Janardhana Poojary demanded that he quit his Lok Sabha membership. The statements by Gowda, who held the office of Prime Minister, amounted to ‘contempt of Parliament’, he alleged at a press conference here.

Govt policies on outsourcing
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

Karnataka holding the pre-eminent position in the field of Information Technology & Biotechnology in the recent past has attracted a spectacular amount of foreign investment. The state has seen at least one new foreign IT Company coming up every week and one new Biotech Company every month for the last two years. The recent investments in the knowledge-based sector have attracted a large number of BPO companies as well. Karnataka's Department of IT in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as well as the STPI, Bangalore has worked with McKinsey to chalk out a strategy to create a million jobs in Karnataka by 2010. Based on this study and the extensive discussions with the BPO companies in India and the IT Task Force, Karnataka is pleased to announce the Millennium BPO Policy.

Demand for Rs 20 crore for the Karwar airport
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

State Co-operation Minister RV Deshpande made a request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, to bear an additional expense of Rs 20 crore for the acquisition of 75 hectares of additional land in order to remodel the Karwar naval airport into a civilian airport. The Centre should bear this additional cost as the Navy was constructing 2000 metres of runway for its aircraft. To enable this airport to cater to civilian aircraft, the runway needs to be another 1000 metres long.

Demand to take up the river linking project
Saturday, June 4, 2005 | AY

Former Union minister and BJP national secretary Ananth Kumar suggested that MPs, MLAs and MLCs from Udupi take a delegation to the President, the Prime Minister and also to the Chairman of the Central Water Commission to press the demand on the government to take up the ‘River linking project in the Western Ghats’ - a project worked out by agriculturist and senior BJP leader AG Kodgi with assistance from Dr VS Acharya and Prof NA Madhyastha. Ananth Kumar alleged the Karnataka government was neglecting the power of water.

Net App to hire 300 in BTC
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | AY

Nasdaq-listed enterprise data storage equipment maker Network Appliance (NetApp) plans to double headcount at its Bangalore Technology Centre (BTC) to 300 in the next one year. NetApp launched in the Indian market on Monday two new mid range storage systems- the NetApp FAS3020 and FAS3050- plus a new serial ATA (SATA) option for primary storage applications. The BTC is a multi-functional operation encompassing the first NetApp R & D centre outside of the USA, and a global support centre servicing the needs of its enterprise customers worldwide.

Infosys Wharton award goes to Samsung
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | AY

Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Awards (WIBTA) 2005 for Asia Pacific (APAC) went to Samsung Electronics for being at the forefront of technology revolution by inventing products that inspire digital integration. The “Technology Change Agent Award” was presented to Wu Ying for inventing and introducing very affordable and flexible PHS wireless technology in China.

Students in favour of UK
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | AY

Many students especially young crowd in B angalore prefer UK as their destination for higher studies. One-year Masters courses in the UK are especially popular among city students since no other country offers one year post graduate courses. The Science and Engineering Graduates Scheme (SEGS) allows students to complete their studies and then get a two-year work permit for fresh Scottish graduates. Education standards are high in the UK but the cost of living is cheaper when compared to the US. Studying in UK, however, does have some disadvantages. Unless the engineering or science graduates find a job within 90 days of completing their course, they cannot stay back in England.,

Karnataka CET results out
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | AY

Rural students scored over their urban counterparts in the CET 2005. Gulbarga performed the best with two seats in the top 10 for both medical and engineering categories. Bangalore had five students in the top ten of both categories. The MES group of Institutions occupied top ten positions in the engineering category. Other districts that figured in the top ten are Dakshina Kannada, Mysore, Davanagere, Puttur and Belgaum.

Renowned carnatic vocalist awarded
Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | AY

Carnatic vocalist M. Balamuralikrishna, received the K. Puttu Rao Memorial Palghat Mani Iyer award 2005. The award has been sponsored by Academy of Music president K.K. Murthy. Awards were also given to H.S Sudindra (H. Puttachar Memorial Award) and L. Bhimachar (Palani Subramanya Pillai Award.

Archive: 2004, 2003