KARNATAKA

While the monsoon has intensified over the past week and Dams, especially in southKarnataka, have been filling up, scanty rain in June has left large swathes of the state dry and has exacerbated the shortage of drinking water, revenue ministerKrishna Byregowdarevealed in the legislative assembly

the lowerHousethat the government has sanctioned Rs 1 crore to each district to supply drinking water, and that he has directed deputy commissioners (DCs) of districts to take steps to supply water through tankers. Last week,Byregowdahad pegged the deficit of rain in June at an overall 50%, although he had said that in some parts of the state the deficit was as much as 90%.

Replying to former chief ministerBasavaraj Bommai, who during , raised the issue of acute shortage ofdrinking water due to the delayed monsoon, Byregowda said 193 villages across the state are suffering from a scarcity of drinking water. The minister said arrangements are being made to supply water to residents from borewells and tankers.

Data shows that 11 districts recorded a deficit of rain in June, while four saw large deficits. A deficit of 19% is considered normal and anything above 60% is considered a large deficit. However, while the coastal and some parts of theMalnadregion have received large amounts of rain over the past few days some regions in north Karnataka continue to remain dry.

The is all set to open 438 Namma Clinics in all major cities and towns, including Bengaluru, on the lines of the Mohalla Clinics of Delhi.

The state cabinet, which met here on Friday, approved the proposal announced by CM Basavaraj Bommai in his maiden budget, presented on March 4. To begin with, the government has decided to open Namma Clinics, also called Urban Health and Wellness Centers, in all 242 wards of Bengaluru city, keeping an eye on the upcoming Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Elections.

Yediyurappa(Karnataka CM) has unveiled the Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi scheme-2021. This taxi scheme will serve as a bridge between daily commuters and public transport. The scheme focuses on the reduction of travelling time and the inconvenience in reaching the bus, RAILWAY and also metro stations.

Highlights:

The Scheme will allow people, PARTNERSHIP firms and companies to participate.
The concerned authority of Karnataka will issue licences under this scheme. Vehicles under this scheme will be in the transport category for which the government has given several exemptions like permits, tax & financial benefits for electric vehicles manufacturers.
The Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi Scheme will enhance self-EMPLOYMENT, promote an eco-friendly Environment, fuel conservation, strengthen public transport & encourage establishing related industries.

The latest rankings for higher Education institutions in the country, released by the National Institute of Ranking Framewok (NIRF), present a not-so-encouraging picture forKarnatakainstitutions with just a handful of universities making it to the list and only two colleges from the state finding a place in the top 100.

The silver lining came in the form of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) that managed to retain its top position among the state’s universities for the eighth consecutive year, even as the number of universities from Karnataka in the top 100 dropped from 12 to ten.

The rankings were done on the basis of TEACHING, Learning and Resources, research and professional practices, graduation outcomes, outreach and inclusivity, and perception.

NLSIU retained its first position in law for the sixth consecutive year. While Christ University improved its ranking from 16 to13, Alliance University stood at 87th in management studies.

In a bid to contain the spread of Covid and to provide early medical intervention for the infected patients to avoid hospitalisation, the has decided to follow Covid Mitra concept.

Decentralised Triage Centres (DTC) will be constituted in all the city corporation limits.
The new system will be adopted in Belagavi, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Hubbali-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Davanagere, Vijayapura, Shivamogga and Tumakuru districts immediately. DCs of the districts concerned and municipal commissioners of the city corporations have been asked to follow this module.
It may be recalled that Covid Mitras were started by the District Administration and the city corporation in Mysuru to ensure that the Covid patients get treatment even before getting the Covid-19 test results.

In the first quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2023, Bengaluru saw the highest absorption of officespaceamong all Indian cities, according to estimates by global real estate consulting firmCBRE.

Of the country-wide absorption of 12.6 million sqft of office space, Bengaluru accounted for 3.5 mn sqft. The overall absorption marks a 9% increase in lease of office space compared to the first three months of 2022, the report said. One of the key movers, CBRE said, is companies moving back to working from the office.

Bengaluru has long been the leader in office space leasing, mainly driven by the IT/ITeS sector. Major transactions in the latest quarter included the 458,000 sqft leased by Table Space, 350,000 leased by HDFC Bank, and 240,000 leased byZebra Technologies. Bengaluru was followed by New Delhi at 2.4 million sqft of absorption, Chennai at 2 mn sqft, Mumbai at 1.6 mn sqft, Hyderabad at 1.4 mn sqft, and Pune at 1.2 million sqft.

In terms of addition to the office space by real estate players, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Pune and Hyderabad led the supply, accounting for a cumulative share of nearly 82%. Nearly half of the newly completed developments during the current quarter were green-certified (LEED or IGBC), indicating a strong emphasis on sustainability, CBRE said.

Solar energyplants meet about 20 per cent ofKarnatakas dailypower requirementsas the overall share of renewables continues to climb. At 7,346 megawatts (MW), the state has the largest installed capacity of solarpowerin the country, and the biggest local plant is in Pavagada (Tumakuru).

According to data fromKarnataka PowerCorporation Limited, accounts for more than 50 per cent of the states installed capacity of green energy (13,544 MW). The government plans to expand it further by setting up a solar park in Firozabad, Kalaburagi. The park will have a capacity of 500 MW.

As of February 28, Karnataka had installed rooftop solar capacity of 100 MW. Gujarat had 943 MW and Maharashtra 694 MW.

A day after chief minister Basavaraj Bommai presented his maiden budget, educationists and experts appreciated the decision to boost development in government schools. However, they feel more could have been done.

The CM had announced a Rs 31,980 crore outlay for Education, an increase from Rs 29,688 crore in 2021. Of this, Rs 500 crore has been allocated for Infrastructure Development in government schools across the state.

The government proposals to develop Bengaluru Public Schools and provide coaching for NEET in all taluks to help poor students. He, however, suggested state-level entrance exam for medical education as is done for engineering, and said the government should allow class 12 public exam results for admission to help students from rural areas and marginalised groups.

More than 31,000 farmers are still awaiting the benefits of the ‘s farm loan waiver scheme.

The highest number of such farmers are in Belagavi (3,676), followed by Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Tumakuru and Mandya.

These five districts together account for around 45% of all such farmers.On the other hand, the government said more than 17 lakh farmers have benefited from the scheme that has so far cost the exchequer nearly Rs 8,000 crore.Data from the state co-operation department shows that overall, the government had identified more than 17.4 lakh farmers across districts who were together scheduled to get loan waivers to the tune of Rs 8,155 crore.

Of these, more than 17 lakh farmers’ loans worth Rs 7,987.5 crore have already been waived.

Since the start of 2017-18 till the beginning of the current fiscal year, more than 4.5 lakh people have applied for ration cards inKarnataka. Although officials have cleared nearly 60% of these applications 2.7 lakh none has been issued yet, infuriating applicants. The delay in issuance of a ration card has only added to the already long list of problems of the underprivileged.

The department of food and civil supplies was to begin issuance of ration cards to applicants, the credentials of whom had been examined and verified, in August 2021. But the second wave of the pandemic delayed the process.