Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai requested the Centre to grant Rs 4,300 crore for implementation of theKarnataka Optical Fibre Network(KOFN), which aims to provide high-speed Internet connectivity in all government offices, including panchayat ones.
In a memorandum, Bommai said that because of BharatNets limited reach and telecom companies poor presence at the panchayat level, the had been unable to fulfil the connectivity requirements of 25,000 government offices and institutions.
From heritage conservation to pushing for projects to boost investments, Mysuru district is expecting a lot from the record 14thbudgetof CM Siddaramaiah, who is a native of Mysuru.
Stakeholders from various walks of life are expecting various new interventions, announcements for the overall development of the district.
Hosur Kumar, president of Mysuru district unit of theKarnatakaRajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS), said he is expecting announcements in Fridays budget with regard to support price for various farm products, including tobacco, procurement of paddy, finger millet and other grains on time besides timely payment of Money to the growers, modern markets for ginger and Cotton, two major commercial crops of the district. The government should announce a comprehensive policy on farm procurement, and market interventions in this budget as a confidence- building measure among the farmers, he said.
According to the department of public instruction, there are around 1,387 tonnes of E-Waste lying in 5,000 schools. The department of state Education research and training has decided to call tenders for disposing of this waste. The highest bidder will get the waste which are mostly desktops, projectors and lead acid batteries.
Since the department introduced computer education in 2000-01, many of its schools were equipped with computers, thin clients, UPS systems with lead acid batteries, projectors, printers/multi function devices, modems, etc for technology assisted Learning.
The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved a scheme to provide special incentives for Oxygen manufacturing and associated enterprises in the State.
Pointing out that the state had faced a shortage of oxygen due to Covid-19, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Basavaraj Bommai said there were 9 oxygen manufacturing units/factories in the state and six oxygen suppliers.
“The manufacturing capacity is 815 MT and storage capacity is 5,780 MT.To increase the capacity, if any entrepreneurs come forward, we will give them incentives,” he told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
The incentives include capital subsidy of 25 per cent of the value of fixed assets subjected to minimum of Rs 10 crore, 100 per cent exemption from electricity duty for three years after commencement of commercial production, additional power tariff subsidy of Rs 1,000 per metric tonne on supply to the government.
There will also be 100 per cent stamp duty exemption and reimbursement from loan and land documents, concessional registration charges, 100 per cent reimbursement of land conversion fees, he added.
KarnatakaCMSiddaramaiahsaid that his government will accept the report of the 2015 socio-economic survey, popularly known as caste census. The CM said on the basis of the report, the government will extend facilities to different communities.
The move is bound to give impetus to the demand for a caste-based census made by parties like JD(U), RJD, SP,DMK,NCPandBJDfrom time to time.
The governments decision to accept the report commissioned in 2015 by Siddaramaiah during his previous stint as CM is likely to create a flutter in the State Politics as the findings could be a challenge to the hegemony of castes like Lingayats and Vokkaligas that have so far enjoyed political preferences due to their perceived bigger share in the states Population.
The caste census data for Karnataka, the first such survey conducted by any state after 1935, has been gathering dust since 2018. Successive governments have refused to accept the report and reveal its findings on the pretext that it was not signed and validated by the then member secretary of the commission. However, according to political observers, the real reason is the strong opposition from Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
Contrary to popular belief, leaked excerpts of the key findings of the report just before the 2018 revealed SCs constitute the largest community with 19% representation in the states population, followed by Muslims at 16%. According to the 2011 census, SCs comprised 16% and Muslims 13% of the states population.
The leaked excerpts pegged Lingayats at 14% of the population and Vokkaligas at 11% way lower than what is commonly perceived. While Lingayats claim they form 20%, Vokkaligas say they constitute 17%.
With Karnataka generating surplus power from its Plants, the government is planning to enter a long-term agreement with power deficit States to sell power.
The State has hydro and thermal power plants having generating capacity of 30,562.56 MW. The States Average generation is about 8,750 MW these days.
About 18% of the total power generation has been consumed by the Industrial Sector and the Chief Minister told the Energy Department officials to take measures for ensuring uninterrupted power supply to industries.
Stressing the need for better urban connectivity, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday assured citizens that she would convey their concerns on the issue to the urban development ministry in order to speed up work on keyinfrastructure projects.
Sitharaman took part in an interaction with resident welfare associations, chartered accountants and entrepreneurs at an event held by theKarnatakaunit ofBJP. Responding to citizens concerns over Bengalurus traffic woes, the minister said the Centre had built expressways between Bengaluru and Mysuru, funded the citys Metro projects, approved the RAILWAY Network and provided assistance in building flyovers.
The said the government has to decide to reintroduce midday meals from April 15, as long as classes 6-10 students are going to school.
Earlier, in its status report, the government said it will continue providing Food Security allowance to students in the form of foodgrains, keeping in view the second wave of the pandemic. It said cooking and serving meals on school premises would lead to more Covid-19 infections.
As for providing meals at Anganwadi centres, the government said a decision will be taken as per the advice of the Health and family welfare departments technical advisory committee.
The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) Average number of children a woman would have in the course of her life in Karnataka has fallen faster than the trend observed nationally.
When the countrys TFR was 3.4 in 1992-93, Karnatakas was 2.65. Thirteen years later in 2005-06, the States TFR had dipped below replacement (the rate at which the Population replaces itself) at 2.1. It further dipped to 1.8 in 2015-16 and 1.7 in 2019-21 signifying that the fertility drop has not levelled off yet, according to observations made in the Karnataka Economic Survey 2021-22, which was released recently.
With the Percentage of registration for both births and deaths increasing across India, the steep fertility decline is consistent.Data from the survey revealed that the estimated births and gross of infant mortality deaths is stagnating for the last five years, and possibly declining. The total number of deaths in the country is also increasing.
Growing demand for jaggery and jaggery-based products, thanks to rising awareness about healthy lifestyles, and widespread adulteration of the item have prompted the commerce and industries department to contemplate regulating the sector and set standards.
A state-level coordination committee will meet this week to decide on conferring the ” tag on the sector.
Given jaggery has a higher nutritional value than sugar, its consumption will only increase with the rising focus on sustainable lifestyle. While India is the biggest exporter of jaggery, Karnataka being the third biggest sugarcane growing state should have cashed in on the advantages that jaggery production offers. However, lack of the authorities focus has cost Karnataka dear as can be seen by the fall in jaggery production in Mandya. An industry tag will certainly go a long way in not only reviving the sector but also generating jobs. It will bring the units under regulatory control so that quality can be ensured and adulteration checked.