Scam-tainted Yeddyurappa to strengthen BJP

Bengaluru, Jun 3: Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday invited investors in the Electronics System and Design Manufacturing (ESDM) sector to Karnataka, as the state contributes 64 per cent to the sector's total exports from the nation.

During a video conference organised by Invest India for a few select states with leading ESDM players across the globe, Narayan said, "We are the largest chip design hub and home to 70 per cent of India's chip designers."

Karnataka has introduced industry-friendly policies from the beginning and it continues to be the leader in attracting technology-specific investments, he added.

"Karnataka has an estimated GSDP of almost USD 220 billion. We were the first to come out with IT, BT, ESDM, and AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) policies to give a push to the growth of the technology sectors and innovation. We also have vibrant automobiles, agro, aerospace, textile and garment, and heavy engineering industries," Narayan explained.

"We have created sector-specific SEZs for key industries such as IT, biotechnology and engineering, food processing and aerospace,'' he said.

However, the state government is planning ahead as it has initiated talks with other countries.

"We have held multiple consultations with the private sector to seek inputs for returning to business as we ease the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. We are also initiating dialogue with countries across the globe to understand future plans for their companies in the post COVID era and discuss how the Karnataka government can support that," the Deputy Chief Minister stated.

"Karnataka has attracted cumulative FDI inflows in the state from 2000 to 2019 which were recorded at USD 42.3 billion," he said.

Referring to the Karnataka ESDM policy 2017-2022, Narayan further said, "We aim to stimulate the growth of 2,000 ESDM start-ups during the policy period and create 20 lakh new jobs by 2025.

Bengaluru, Jul 21: A man was arrested on Tuesday for riding his high-end bike up to a speed of almost 300 km per hour on a flyover here during ongoing lockdown, police said. After a selfie video of the man's reckless ride went viral on social media, police arrested him for putting his life and that of others at risk and seized his 1000 CC bike.

Identified by police as Muniyappa, he rode his bike on the nearly 10-km long Electronic City flyover, accelerating almost to 300 KMPH as he whizzed past some vehicles, including cars autorickshaws and trucks that were moving in both directions.

"This video made viral by the rider...going at a dangerous speed of almost 300 kmph at Ecity flyover putting his own & others life at risk..CCB traced the rider & seized bike Yamaha 1000 CC.. handed over to traffic (police)," Bengaluru Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil tweeted, tagging the video.

A case of reckless driving has been registered against him, police said. They said the incident occurred during the week-long lockdown in force in the city and outskirts till Wednesday morning to contain the spread of coronavirus, leaving most roads deserted as people remained indoors. However, it was not known when exactly he undertook the ride. A fortnight ago, three youths who were doing wheelies on the city roads met with a ghastly mishap and lost their lives.

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Bengaluru, Jan 12: Karnataka’s ranking in Niti Aayog’s sustainable development goals (SDG) index rose by one place to No. 6 in 2019, compared to the year before.

Of the 17 SDGs that are used to compute the overall index, Karnataka topped in two – ‘climate action’ and ‘life on water’. The former is a measure of how well a state integrates climate action into policies and strategies and promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change planning and management. The latter focuses on preventing marine pollution, ending illegal and destructive fishing practices, and sustainably managing and protecting marine and coastal ecosystems.

It also did well in ‘decent work and economic growth’ and ‘peace, justice and strong institutions’. But it fared poorly, slipping 16 places – from No. 5 in 2018 to No. 21 in 2019 – in ‘industry, innovation and infrastructure’. Rankings in ‘quality education’ and ‘zero hunger’ have also fallen. While in education it is now ranked 7, a drop of three places, in ‘zero hunger’, it has dropped to No. 17 from 13. SDG is a United Nations initiative. Niti Aayog has customised it for India, and 36 states and union territories are ranked. The organisation admits there is an issue of data availability in India, indicating the numbers may not exactly reflect the ground situation.

In ‘industry, innovation and infrastructure, Karnataka scored just 40 out of a target of 100. The country average was 65. It failed to achieve targets in all the four parameters for the category, except in the number of mobile connections, where it has 100 connections per 100 population. The biggest dip was in manufacturing industry jobs and in providing allweather roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana to targeted habitats. Niti Ayog has given a score of 0 for the latter. Speaking on the dismal performance in the ‘industry and infrastructure’ category, state planning commission vice-chairman BJ Puttaswamy said he was yet to look into this parameter. “I have asked the departments concerned to meet me by Monday,” he said.