Modi govt asks Malaysia to extradite Dr Zakir Naik: Report

Bengaluru, Jan 24: On the last day of his four-day trip to Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum, chief minister BS Yediyurappa urged the global business community to invest in cities other than Bengaluru in the state.

On Thursday, while extending an invitation to entrepreneurs to participate in the Global Investors Meet in November in Bengaluru, Yediyurappa highlighted the “conducive investment climate” in the state vis-a-vis others by pointing to its 7% growth rate which is much higher than the national average of below 5%.

He also pointed to the state’s rich history and the fact that it is home to a number of desi MNCs such as Infosys, Biocon Wipro and Dynamatics. “At the same time, the state has one of the lowest unemployment rates compared to the national average,” Yediyurappa said.

In his address to heads of businesses, industries minister Jagadish Shettar also urged investors to consider Tier 2 and 3 cities for investment. “Land banks have been created in Tier 2 and 3 cities and regional connectivity has improved. Let us strive to place Karnataka on a highgrowth path,” Shettar said.

Lending a “helping hand”, Union minister Piyush Goyal, in his address, appealed to the community to invest in Karnataka, which “has a robust and congenial industrial atmosphere”, but also urged them to spread “tentacles” to all parts of the country.

Bengaluru, Jun 10: Internet connectivity, provided under the central government's BharatNet initiative, will be improved in rural areas of Karnataka in the next two to three months, said Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan.

After video conferencing with heads of different agencies and officials, on improving the quality of internet in rural areas, Ashwath Narayan said, "I reviewed the progress of the BharatNet implementation and the steps to be taken to improve the quality of internet connectivity in the next two to three months."

"We also discussed the possibility of giving the implementation of BharatNet to a different agency. We will seek permission from the central government and continue the project. We will ease communication with rural people by ensuring quality and high-speed internet to all Gram Panchayats," he added.

When BSNL officials and other agency representatives who attended the video conference shared their problems, the Deputy Chief Minister assured to solve them through proper coordination.

"Through BharatNet, several government schemes are being implemented in rural areas. Civic service centres are issuing birth and death certificates, Aadhaar cards and social security pensions among others. Of the total 6,000 Gram Panchayats in the state, 4,000 have high-speed internet connectivity, and the remaining will be provided with better internet connectivity through a new agency,'' said Ashwath Narayan.

Additional Secretary (e-governance) Rajeev Chawla, Additional Chief Secretary (IT-BT) EV Ramana Reddy, Principal Secretary (RDPR) Uma Mahadevan, Director (IT) Meena Nagaraj, Collegiate Education Director Pradeep and other senior officials were present in the meeting.

Udupi, June 30: A girl who appeared for SSLC exams in three subjects tested positive for COVID-19 in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district today.

Sheshashayana Karinja, Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) said that the 15-year-old girl had a headache and her parents took her for testing and she had tested positive for COVID-19.

She will appear for the remaining three subjects during the supplementary exams in August.

The room where the girl appeared for the exam had been sanitised. But exams would not be held in that room. All precautions have been taken in that exam centre in Kundapur taluk, Mr. Karinja said.

The other 19 students will be allowed to write their exams as there was a distance of one metre between them and there was no contact between the students during the exams, Mr. Karinja added.

It is learned that a couple of months ago, a Mumbai returnee who recovered from COVID-19 had visited the girl’s house. However, it is not clear that she got an infection from the Mumbai returnee.

It could be recalled here that a student from Hejamadi in Udupi district who was preparing for the Science exam had tested positive two days back and she is currently being treated at a hospital.