KARNATAKA

Calls for joint efforts between Goa, Maharashtra, Ktaka for tiger conservation in Wester Ghats region

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Camera traps inside the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary have revealed that the maletiger, which has been repeatedly captured on camera, also moves in the neighbouring forested areas ofMaharashtraandKarnataka.

A year-long occupancy study in the Sahyadri Konkan corridor conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Trust Pune has indicated that tigers travel from Maharashtras Sahyadri Tiger Reserve into Goa and Karnataka and vice versa. It also highlighted the need for improved protection efforts in corridor areas.

Karnatakawill renew its efforts to convince the Centre to continue granting compensation for the loss of revenue due to implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) beyond June 2022 even as the states tax collection is slowly emerging out of the Covid-hit slowdown.Finance department officials said Karnataka has joined other states seeking continuation of GST compensation at least for two more years. Chief ministerBasavaraj Bommai, who holds the finance portfolio and represents the state in the GST Council, will pursue the matter with the Centre. We have already sought for it and further correspondence with the Centre will be done, said ISN Prasad, additional chief secretary, finance department.

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While the state claims Rs 2,500 crore per month on Average, the Centre has released Rs 8,542 crore so far, which includes both general compensation and that for Covid losses for this year, and Rs 11,059 crore is due. The commercial tax department has collected Rs 2,351 crore GST and Rs 1,794 crore sales tax levied on petrol and diesel in September till date, while the state has got Rs 2,000 crore compensation in the month.

Postal department plans to bring out special covers on GI products in Karnataka

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India Post has planned to introduce special covers on Geographical Indication (GI) products in Karnataka. Initially, it will choose 10 products having GI tags, includingByadagi chilli. In this regard, the authorities have already conducted a meeting with Byadagi APMC authorities and others.

According to the department, special covers have philately value. The other products in the pipeline are Dharwad pedha, Sirsi supari, Huvinahadagali jasmine, Kinanal toys, Kalaburagi bark, Navalagunda dhurries, Sandur lambani embroidery and others.

The project will be launched underAtma Nirbhar Scheme, and print at least 1,000 special covers. We recently conducted a meeting with Byadagi APMC authorities and traders association and collected details about the produce.

Karnataka: Private unaided schools demand RTE funds

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Private unaidedschools, which are facing a financial crisis because of the pandemic, have asked the to release the Right to Education (RTE) funds.

Last month, chief minister BS Yediyurappa had announced a onetime Covid relief of Rs 5,000 each for staffers, and these grants were released on Friday. At a press conference on Saturday, Shashi Kumar, the general secretary of the Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools inKarnataka(KAMS), claimed that Money owed to schools had been given in the form of a relief package.

Only 45% of farming in India is mechanised: Study

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A study conducted byNITK Surathkalhas concluded that to date only 45% of farming in India is mechanised, out of which around 20% is semi-mechanised, where farmers use both manual labour and machinery.
The study titled Distribution and Dividends of Mechanised Farming in India was conducted byPradyot Ranjan Jena, associate professor, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management, NITK Surathkal. It was co-authored byPurna Chandra Tanti, a PhD scholar from NITK. The two-year-long study that has analysed various data from more than 20 states of the country was published recently in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, a leading journal.

The study took a sample size of 42,152 households and other data available with the central government. The study also points out that the adoption rate of mechanised farming is still low, and that its distribution is uneven in India.

The impact evaluation estimates show that the adoption of tilling implements such as tractors and power tillers has the biggest positive impact on net agricultural income, which is 31% higher compared to non-adopters. Recently, there has been a surge in small and medium-sized machines in the south, east, and north-eastern regions.

Indira Canteens will soon get CCTV cameras

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To bring discipline and have a close watch on Indira Canteens,Hubballi-Dharwad (HDMC) has decided to installCCTVcameras in the premises.

HDMC aims to monitor hygiene at the meals serving area, parcel packing, quantity and matters from its control room. Indira Canteens have been asked to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner to the needy. In Hubballi-Dharwad, there are nine such canteens. Many poor, lower middle-class people and labourers make use of the canteen.

Sources said officials have decided to install CCTVs, connect them to the control room in HDMC and deploy dedicated persons to keep a watch on the canteens. Currently, the canteens are reporting more than 4,200 footfalls for breakfast, lunch and dinner respectively per day.

Karnataka budget 2023: Startup Park near Bengaluru airport to aid 25,000 ventures

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Making strides at the national level with its vibrant startup ecosystem,Karnatakaon Friday looked to leverage its position further with chief minister Basavaraj Bommai announcing setting up of aStartup Parkat a cost of Rs 30 crore near Kempegowda International Airport.

According to officials from the IT & BT department, the proposed park will be a hub for aspiring entrepreneurs from various parts of the state. Stating that the allocation of Rs 30 crore is only an initial , IT & BT ministerCN Ashwath Narayansaid: This will position Karnataka as a champion state for startups by stimulating the Growth of 25,000 startups in the coming years. The minister added that the move is in line with the state governments vision of building a $300-billion digital economy by 2025.

The CM took pride in Karnataka adding six startups to the list of successful unicorns.

Cybersecurity Hub In Bengaluru By IBM

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International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has launched a cybersecurity hub in Bengaluru to deal with the concerns of its clients across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

Highlights

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) has launched a cybersecurity hub in Bengaluru to deal with the concerns of its clients across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

The multi-million dollar IBM Security Command Center will be located at the IBM office in Bengaluru in Karnataka. It’s the primary of its kind facility within the region.

The IBM global analysis report for 2022 states that Asia emerged because the top-most targeted region for cyberattacks, representing 26% of attacks analyzed in 2021.

The Cybersecurity Hub:

This cybersecurity hub will deliver training in cybersecurity response techniques, to organizations of all kinds, through highly realistic, simulated cyberattacks to organize everyone, from C-Suite to technical staff.

The new cyber security hub is among IBM’s sole two such centers globally. The opposite one is found within the US.

Karnataka orders survey of Arabic schools

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TheKarnatakagovernment has ordered a survey of Arabic schools as they were allegedly not following thesyllabusprescribed by the state Education department.

The step was taken after the parents of students reportedly complained to the education department, saying that their children studying in Arabic schools were not on par with other students. “So we decided to conduct a survey of Arabic schools,”Nageshsaid.

According to education department officials, there are 200 Arabic schools in Karnataka, of which 106 are aided by the government and 80 are unaided. They are all registered under the Karnataka Education Act and bound to follow rules and regulations of the Karnataka government, Nagesh said.