Amit Shah to Kannadigas: Want solution for Mahadayi water issue? Bring Yeddyurappa to power!

Bengaluru, Jul 11: Karantaka Congress chief DK Shivakumar on Friday raised questions over claims that Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project Madhya Pradesh was "largest in Asia" and said a 2000 MW had been built in the state.

"BJP central government is claiming today that it inaugurated Asia's largest solar plant of 750 MW at Rewa, MP. What then is the 2000 MW Solar Plant in Pavagada, Karnataka which was built in just 3 years by Karnataka Congress government and has been operational since 2018?" Shivakumar said in a tweet.

The Congress leader further said that the most unique thing about the solar project set up in Karnataka was that the farmers were being paid yearly rents for the land upon which it was constructed as it had been leased and not purchased from them, helping them retain ownership.

"The unique thing about the 2000 MW Pavagada Mega Solar Park was that not a single acre of land was acquired from the farmers. All 13,000 acres have been leased from the farmers who are being given yearly rent. Karnataka model of renewable energy was accepted as the best in India," he said.

"Union power minister must answer as to how the Central Government can claim that the Rewa Solar Park (750 MW) opened today is Asia's largest when clearly the Pavagada Park in Karnataka is much larger (2000 MW) and was opened two years back!" he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Power Project to the nation on Friday. 

Mangaluru, Mar 24: The District Wenlock Hospital Superintendent Dr H R Rajeshwaridevi has filed a complaint with the police on Tuesday seeking action against those circulating fake videos of a man infected with COVID-19, at the hospital.

In the video, a man was seen struggling to breathe at a hospital. The message in the video says that the man was admitted at Wenlock Hospital.

Dr Rajeshwaridevi, who issued a clarification, stated that video clips which are being circulated on social media is not from Wenlock Hospital.

Moreover, Wenlock Hospital does not use blue colour beds.

May 11: The Karnataka government appears set to roll out red carpet welcome to foreign companies seeking to move out of China.

The State's Large and Medium Scale Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said the Government plans to constitute a task force, under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, to spearhead the drive to attract such investment. A proposal to this effect has been sent to the Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa for approval, the Minister told PTI in an interview.

This panel would take feedback and suggestions from a consultative committee to be formed with prominent industrialists from the State and representatives of various countries located here, Shettar said.

In recent days, the Minister held consultations with industrialists such as co-founder and Non-Executive Chairman of Infosys Ltd, Nandan M Nilekani, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Ltd, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Chairman of early-stage startup accelerator and venture fund Axilor Ventures Senapathy (Kris) Gopalakrishnan to fine-tune the States outreach push.

Shettar also held interactions with industry bodies, including Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) and Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA).

Industrialists who took part in the deliberations suggested to the government to focus on ease of doing business and improving the single window clearance system for approvals, as the Minister spelt out government's intent of further improving the investment climate to attract industries to Karnataka.

To boost the industry sentiment in the State, they also stressed the need on easing land acquisition regulations, and leveraging the knowledge base of Bengaluru to promote technology-based manufacturing.

"Given the interest shown by some companies in moving their manufacturing bases out of China, the industry leaders recommended that the State government identify a target list of 100 firms to reach out to for attracting to the State, and work out a strategy to bring them to Karnataka," an Industry department official said.

The industry leaders assured cooperation from the private sector in reaching out to and facilitating interactions with CEOs of these companies.

Shettar said restrictions on acquisition of agriculture land for starting industries have now been relaxed with the passage of an amendment to the land reforms act in the recent Legislature session.

This would facilitate immediate land allotment to industries, he added.

The Minister has also submitted a proposal to the Chief Minister on relaxing labour laws.

Secretary General of industry body ASSOCHAM, Deepak Sood, told news agency recently that there is a broader consensus that the global manufacturing supply chain would be more spread than concentrated in major economies like China.

"If India comes out of the present crisis with minimum of impact, we can be the destination of choice for the global manufacturing giants in different sectors like electronics, computer hardware, pharmaceuticals, including medical devices, automobile, including components and other engineering products," Sood had said.

Gopalakrishnan, also co-founder of Infosys and former CII President, said India has to target companies which have operations in China, reach out to them, understand what their needs are and hold discussions with them.

"We have to make sure that their requirements are addressed, be it with regard to land, office space, faster approvals, and some concessions on local taxes. It depends on the businesses that the companies are in, and if we are able to respond to those requests, I think we will be able to attract them", he told news agency.

"All states will compete for this business (foreign investment)," Gopalakrishnan added.