CPI office attacked in Bantwal by alleged saffron workers

Bengaluru, Apr 27: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Monday demanded that the Karnataka government announce a special package for farmers who are on the verge of quitting agriculture as their profession following losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Please announce special package for the farmers to bail them out of the loss due to the lockdown.

Drop many of the schemes in the budget but don't leave the farmers in distress," Gowda said in his letter to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.

The JD(S) supremo said the way relief has been announced for the milk producers by procuring the unsold milk and distributing it to the slum dwellers, the same assistance should be provided to the farmers of the state.

"If you don't come forward to assist the farmers, then they will be forced to sell their land," Gowda cautioned the Chief Minister.

The former prime minister said the farmers are on the verge of falling in the debt trap and may be compelled to take the extreme step of suicide due to the losses.

Gowda said the farmers are unable to sell their crop because they are not getting proper price for their produce and are selling their crop at a throwaway price to minimise their losses.

"In just one month farmers reached the brink of bankruptcy as they are unable to sell the standing crops in lakhs of acres of land," Gowda said.

The JD(S) supremo has been championing the cause of farmers in the state and highlighting their sufferings.

On April 3 Gowda has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into the plight of farmers, labourers and the middle class people due to the lockdown.

"In such times of crisis, we should see to it that there is no disruption in farming activities by ensuring proper marketing channels to agricultural produce, especially perishables.

Only then we can sustain our long battle against this pandemic," Gowda said in a tweet.

New Delhi, Jul 16: India’s Covid-19 tally on Thursday jumped to 968,876 after the country reported highest-ever single-day spike in coronavirus cases registering 32,695 new infections in the last 24 hours. According to the government data, India’s Covid-19 death toll stands at 24,915 after 606 fresh fatalities were reported in the last 24 hours.

The number of recovered patients in India stands at 612,814. On Wednesday, the government said that a record 20,572 patients recuperated from Covid-19 disease in the last 24 hours (between Tuesday and Wednesday), taking the country’s recovery rate to 63.24 percent.

While the Covid-19 tally runs in lakhs in states like Maharashtra, Delhi and Tamil Nadu, other states have been reporting a surge in coronavirus infections. Karnataka has reported over 47,000 coronavirus cases till date but its active cases are more that of Delhi. It has overtaken Gujarat as the fourth worst-hit state in the country. Gujarat’s Covid-19 tally stands at 44,552.

Here’s taking a look at the Covid-19 situation across worst-affected states:

Maharashtra

The state Covid-19 tally jumped to 275,640 on Thursday. As many as 152,613 people have recovered from coronavirus in Maharashtra while 10,928 have died.

Tamil Nadu

With 151,820 coronavirus cases, Tamil Nadu is the state with second-highest coronavirus cases in the country and has witnessed 2,167 coronavirus fatalities. The number of patients who have recovered from coronavirus in the state stands at 102,310.

Delhi

The national capital is the third worst-hit in India with coronavirus cases jumping to 116,993 on Thursday. As many as 95,699 patients have recovered from Covid-19 in the national capital while 3,487 have succumbed to the infection.

Karnataka

The South Indian state has witnessed 47,253 coronavirus cases till date and is now the fourth worst-affected in the country. While 928 have lost their lives to the deadly contagion in the state. Nearly 18,466 patients have recovered from the disease in Karnataka.

Gujarat

Gujarat has seen Covid-19 cases reach 44,552 on Thursday. The state has seen 31,286 people recover from coronavirus while 2,079 people have died.

Uttar Pradesh

The Covid-19 tally in Uttar Pradesh has jumped to 41,383 while the number of recoveries has touched 25,743. The state’s death toll has crossed 1,000.

Telangana

The state’s Covid-19 tally stands at 39,342 coronavirus cases. While 25,999 people have recovered from the disease, the Covid-19 death toll has jumped to 386 in the state.

Andhra Pradesh

The state has reported 35,451 Covid-19 patients till date. While 18,378 people have recovered from the virus across the state, the death toll stands at 452.

West Bengal

As many as 34,427 people have contracted Covid-19 in West Bengal till date. The state has seen 20,680 recover from coronavirus while 1,000 people have been killed.

Rajasthan

The state has reported 26,437 Covid-19 cases till date. Covid-19 death toll in Rajasthan stands at 530 while 19,502 patients have recovered.

Hubballi, Feb 16: Rs 72,000 crore investment proposals were received at the Invest Karnataka meet, here on Friday, for the states northern region, said an official on Saturday.

"About 50 foreign and domestic firms have proposed to invest Rs 72,000 crore in the northwest and northern regions of the state and a dozen companies signed agreements with us," state Industries Department Secretary Gaurav Gupta said.

Rajesh Exports, Bengaluru-based group, signed an agreement to set up a manufacturing unit at Dharwad to rollout electric vehicles and make lithium ion batteries.

"Rajesh Exports proposes to invest about Rs 50,000 crore for manufacturing electric cars and lithium ion batteries for the domestic and overseas markets. It will generate about 10,000 jobs," said Gupta.

Similarly, Sonali Power has signed a pact with the state nodal agency (Udyog Mitra) to set up a solar power plant at Davangere at a cost of Rs 4,800 crore, which will generate 2,100 direct jobs.

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa claimed several firms had come forward to collectively invest Rs 1 lakh crore since the BJP government came into being in July 2019.

"Many Indian and foreign firms will sign agreements with the state government at the 3-day Global Investors meet in Bengaluru on November 3-5," Yediyurappa said at the 'Invest Karnataka' meet.

Noting that Karnataka was rich in natural and human resources, especially in high-tech and skilled workforce, Yediyurappa said investment opportunities were plenty in aerospace, automobiles, machine tools, electric vehicles and bio-technology besides information technology.

"About 40 global firms expressed interest to invest in the state at a roadshow held at Davos, Switzerland, on the margins of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet on January 23," he said.

Under the new industrial policy, the state government will set up clusters to make toys at Koppal, textiles in Bellari, solar equipment at Kalaburagi and farm machinery at Bidar.

"We are committed to make North Karnataka a power house of industries for the region's development, with Hubballi-Dharwad as the growth hub," Yediyurappa said.