Bengaluru / The New Indian Express
BENGALURU: Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath on Tuesday said the need now is for the government and allied organisations to move away from funding start-ups in research and development (R&D) and deep tech. Instead, they should become buyers and the private sector should fund more in startups for R&D. There is also a need to focus and improve upon industry-based R&D. The government presently purchases Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth products from the startups that it fu
BENGALURU: Minor Irrigation, Science and Technology Minister N S Boseraju on Tuesday said the blueprint for the proposed Quantum City to be established at Hesaraghatta near Bengaluru will be officially unveiled on Wednesday. Speaking at the Smart Bio Awards ceremony at the summit, he said with an allocation of Rs 1,000 crore, the Karnataka Quantum Mission aims to position the state as the quantum capital of Asia. To this end, Karnataka is establishing Indias first Quantum City. In addition, the
BENGALURU: Amid heightened efforts to improve Bengalurus infrastructure and draw investments from across the globe, Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday urged people not to criticise the government, but to be patient and cooperate in development. Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the 28th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025, he said, We know your problem and we are working on it. Rs 1.5 lakh crore is being invested to improve the
BENGALURU: Infosys co-founder and Axilor Chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan called upon all industries and entrepreneurs to move from being implementers of others ideas and become inventors. During a session -- India Futurises: From Leap-frogging to Pole-vaulting -- at the Bengaluru Tech Summit on Tuesday, he said, There are new spaces in quantum AI, where nobody is a leader yet and thats the space where we can move. Karnataka has the largest talent base in the country when it comes to technology. He
BENGALURU: Officials of the Bengaluru East City Corporation have sealed 14 paying guest accommodations (PGs) for violating rules and regulations under the GBA Act, 2024. East corporation Commissioner DS Ramesh told the TNIE that he had ordered the corporations health officials to launch a special drive against PGs operating without the mandatory business licence from November 10-15. Ramesh said Additional Commissioner (Development) Lokhande Snehal Sudhakar supervised the special drive by a team
BELAGAVI: Three people died and another is in critical condition after sleeping in a closed room with a lit charcoal stove meant to keep them warm during the severe cold spell gripping the city. The tragedy, which occurred late Monday night in Aman Nagar, came to light only on Tuesday evening when family members went to check on them. Police suspect that smoke accumulation and oxygen depletion inside the tightly shut room led to suffocation, though the exact cause of death will be known after po
BENGALURU: Police arrested a 62-year-old man on Tuesday for allegedly sending a hoax bomb threat email to the BMRCL claiming he would blow up a Metro station. The Wilson Garden police said that around 11.25 pm on November 13, the official BMRCL e-mail ID received a bomb threat from rajivsettyptp@gmail.com. The e-mail claimed a metro station would be bombed if BMRCL employees continued to harass the senders ex-wife. The e-mail read If ever I come to know that your Metro employees are mentally tor
BENGALURU: The Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested 19 people, including 14 foreign nationals, and seized 2.804 kg of MDMA crystals and 2.1 kg of hydro-ganja worth about Rs 7.7 crore. The raids were conducted in the limits of Varthur, Mahadevapura, Hebbagodi, KG Nagar and Suddagunte Palya police stations. A motorcycle and seven mobile phones were also recovered. Among the 14 foreign nationals, two are women, and 11 have been arrested for overstaying in the country. In S
BENGALURU: Hundreds of animal rights activists, rescuers, dog feeders and volunteers staged a protest on Tuesday against the Supreme Court order directing the relocation of stray dogs from hospitals, educational institutions, railway stations, bus stands and other public places. Animal rights activist Arun Prasad said, The SC is in conflict with its own rules. The law clearly says that the Animal Birth Control (ABC) and Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) rules will govern the treatment of stre
BENGALURU: The Kengeri police have arrested five men, including a rowdy-sheeter, for allegedly threatening people and robbing four mobile phones and a two-wheeler near Global City (formerly Global Village Tech Park) in Rajarajeshwari Nagar between 12 am and 1 am on Tuesday. A total of five cases have been registered against them. The accused have been identified as Vignesh R (29), a resident of Sai Layout and a rowdy-sheeter at the Chandra Layout Police Station who was released from prison about
MYSURU: In a bid to address rising human-wildlife conflict, forest officials have begun installing a chain-link mesh barrier along a 13-km stretch in the Nagarahole Tiger reserve area of Mysurus HD Kote taluk. The barrier is currently being constructed as a trial, and if the experiment proves successful, its height will be raised by an additional 10 feet, according to forest officials. The initiative comes amid growing concern over wildlife particularly large mammals straying beyond forest bound
Death is a topic many approach with denial. But writer and journalist Jerry Pinto who won the Best Book on Cinema Award at the 54th National Film Awards has spent nearly two years doing something most people avoid: listening to stories about illness, pain, caregiving and the inevitable death. His new book, A Good Life (699, Juggernaut), is the result of this long, emotionally demanding journey into the world of palliative care in India. Through conversations with patients, caregivers, doctors, n
With lyrics that bared heartbreak, anguish, and loneliness set to music that straddles rock, metal, electronic and pop, Linkin Parks songs including hits like 'Numb', 'In the End', and 'Somewhere we Belong', shook the walls of an entire generation of teenagers growing up in the 2000s and 2010s. Indian fans have long waited for the moment that came true over the weekend: confirmation that the popular band wouldnt just headline Lollapalooza in Mumbai but perform a full fledged concert right here i
BENGALURU: Following the high alert issued after the Delhi blast , Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel at Kempegowda International Airport averted a knife attack late on Sunday night. On November 16, around 11:59 pm, a man later identified as Sohail Ahmed was seen running toward two taxi drivers with a machete near the arrival lane of Terminal 1. Assistant Sub Inspector/Executive (ASI/Exe) Sunil Kumar, along with two on-duty CISF personnel, on noticing the incident, quickly interv
BENGALURU: The traffic police along with the public had to restrain a man by tying his hands and legs with a plastic wire before taking him to the police station after he created ruckus by standing on top of a cab in the middle of the International Airport Road near Mehkri Circle on Monday noon. The man, identified as Santosh, also assaulted a few drivers and the traffic police who tried to calm him. He was also assaulted by a few drivers. Movement of traffic was affected for some time. Santoshs
BENGALURU: Three people, including a 35-year-old home alone woman, have been murdered in separate cases at Bommanahalli, Chikkajala and Byadarahalli police limits. The home alone woman, who worked in a garment factory, was found dead with her throat slit at her rented house at Hongasandra in Bommanahalli police limits on Sunday night. Pramoda, the victim, hailed from Sirsi in Uttara Kannada. She lived alone after separating from her husband Suresh and two children. Two suspects have been taken i
BENGALURU: The historic Kadalekai Parishe was inaugurated by Muzrai Minister Ramalinga Reddy in the presence of Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and Basavanagudi MLA Ravi Subramanya on Monday. Basavanagudis streets were packed with large crowds as hundreds of stalls opened, marking a vibrant start to the traditional groundnut fair. One of Bengalurus oldest and most visited cultural festivals, the Parishe began with the ceremonial offering of groundnuts at the Dodda Basavanna (Big Bull) and Dodda
BENGALURU: Services on Namma Metros Yellow Line were delayed on Monday morning after a group of people deliberately obstructed the departure of the first train at RV Road station. The 6 am train left only at 6.35 am, causing a cascading delay across the line. The group were questioning why Yellow Line operations start at 6 am while the Green and Purple lines start at 5 am. Having reached by the Green Line, they were forced to wait for a considerable time for the Yellow Line service to begin. Acc
BENGALURU: Bengaluru South City Corporation Commissioner KN Ramesh on Monday launched a 20-day drive against illegal commercial activities in residential areas. The move comes in the backdrop of the Karnataka High Court, based on writ petitions (3676/2008 and 43472-43474/2011), issued guidelines restricting commercial activities in residential/semi-residential areas in all roads less than 40 feet wide. The process of verification of licences of authorised and unauthorised commercial enterprises
BENGALURU: Following the Supreme Court direction on relocation of stray dogs from hospitals, educational institutions, playgrounds and other public places, Commissioners of all five city corporations under Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) have written to institutions and officials concerned to list out places where stray dogs are found, the number of dogs, measures taken like fencing and barricades, and nodal officers appointed. Once all these are in place, the city corporations will hasten the
BENGALURU: A nine-year-old boy died inside a brick factory while attempting to drive an electric three-wheeler. The factory is located near Attibele, on the city outskirts. The boys father works in the factory and the family lived in the labour shed on the premises. An electric vehicle was provided to the employees to transport bricks. The boy, while playing in the vehicle, switched on the engine and turned on the accelerator. Unable to control it, he rammed a tipper lorry parked in an open spac
BENGALURU: A city civil and sessions court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to two persons accused of cheating former chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda of nearly Rs 3 lakh in September. Sriu Tenzin Pelyon, 32, of Himachal Pradesh and Yeshi Chodon, 31, from Odisha, directors of Lhakar Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Domlur, Bengaluru North, had applied for anticipatory bail. Considering the objections filed by the prosecution, Judge Gangappa Irappa Patil, 52nd Additional City Civil and Sessions Cou
BENGALURU: Bengalurus crumbling roads have sparked a fierce face-off -- not between the ruling and opposition parties, but between elected representatives and citys contractors. From Shivajinagar to Rajajinagar to Yeshwanthpur, MLAs are venting frustration, alleging that contractors are holding the city hostage with delays, inefficiency and unresponsiveness. Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad accused the contractor handling the Narayan Pillai Street whitetopping work of abandoning the project for ne
Not good for my mental health! Period! Its the kind of blunt honesty that defines Gen Z, a generation unafraid to call out what drains them. Today, the conversation around mental health has stepped out of the shadows, becoming clearer and far more compassionate. And among the voices helping shape this shift is facilitator, educator and bestselling author Aparna Piramal, whose work urges people to look inward with the same fearlessness. She recently spoke at Manotsava and the Bengaluru launch of
After watching Anushka Sharma in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil or Alia Bhatt in Dear Zindagi headphones on and vibing in a crowded disco party, did you ever wish to be like them and become fully immersed in your own music world while soaking in the energy of a crowd? An emerging trend in the city is making this dream a reality, offering music lovers a novel way to enjoy live performances. Unlike typical club nights or concerts where speakers blast tunes for everyone to hear, silent discos provide wireless
BENGALURU: A 25-year-old woman was allegedly sexually harassed and robbed of her mobile phone by an unidentified person while she was out walking her dog here on November 7 night, police said on Monday. The incident occurred around 10.30 pm on November 7, when she was walking her dog in Upakar Layout here, they said. According to the FIR, the man approached her asking if he could pet her dog and initiated a conversation. When she tried to leave, the man suddenly touched her inappropriately. Afte
BENGALURU: The Annapoorneshwari Nagar police have booked two people for allegedly cheating a 51-year-old man of Rs 50 lakh after promising to secure a Rs 5 crore Chief Ministers Special Grant. The accused have been identified as Harish and Sandeep. According to the complaint filed by Venkatesh Babu, a resident of Nagarabhavi, Harish visited his house in October 2024, claiming he had close links with Sandeep, whom he introduced as a close aide of the governments Principal Secretary. Harish allege
BENGALURU: In an attempted robbery early Saturday morning, a farmer returning from the Krishi Mela at GKVK was threatened with a machete and robbed of Rs 100 near Yeswanthpur Railway Station in the RMC Yard police limits. Videos of the incident went viral, with many netizens criticising the citys law-and-order situation and questioning the effectiveness of night patrolling. Police said three men on a scooter were attempting to rob pedestrians by threatening them with a machete around 3.15 am. On
BENGALURU: The four-day Krishi Mela concluded at the GKVK campus on Sunday, registering a total footfall of around 54 lakh and revenue of Rs 4.77 crore. Organised by the University of Agricultural Sciences, the stalls, exhibitions and demonstrations at the event attracted farmers, agriculture enthusiasts, students and the general public. The final day featured a farmer-to-farmer discussion on Indigenous Breeds and Agricultural Practices. During the valedictory ceremony, the Dr MH Marigowda Natio
BENGALURU: The three-day simultaneous surprise visit by Lokayukta teams to the 34 state-run hostels in Bengaluru city pointed out how the state authorities are insensitive to the issues of girls, privacy in particular. In a classic instance, in the Post-Matric Backwards Classes Girls Hostel run by the Backwards Classes department at Laggere, there is no privacy since the girls have no rooms to change their clothes and keep their things. The state is paying a rent of Rs 2.30 lakh every month for
BENGALURU: Bengaluru South City Commissioner (BSCC) Ramesh KN, who took part in a footpath walk in and around Jayanagar 4th and 5th Blocks, organised by Project Walkaluru in association with BSCC on Sunday, found obstacles at 22 spots on the footpaths. At ten spots, he found footpaths occupied by construction material and instructed building owners to immediately clear it. He found footpaths not repaired in five spots, and at two places, they were encroached by shops. He also found cars parked o
BENGALURU: Despite the ban, smoking in public places continues unabated. Though the Greater Bengaluru Authoritys (GBA) tobacco control cell has almost doubled its enforcement drives under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (COTPA) Act compared to previous years, the scenario on the ground continues as if there is no ban. Right from residential streets to main roads and from bus stops to markets, citizens complained that there is no check on smoking in public. Every day, from morning till
BENGALURU: The streets and bylanes of Basavanagudi are all set to come alive with stalls and decorative lights as the historic Kadalekai Parishe (groundnut fair) will kick off on Monday. The fair will be plastic-free this year, and organisers expect heavy footfall as numerous cultural programmes have been lined up for the Parishe which has been extended for five days from the usual two. As per tradition, farmers from across Karnataka and neighbouring states have arrived with their first groundnu
BENGALURU: Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) Chairman PM Narendra Swamy on Sunday said that nearly 90% of Bengalurus Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) are not functioning, calling it one of the citys biggest environmental failures, which requires immediate attention. He said a multi-agency joint action team is being formed to restore the plants and curb pollution. Narendra Swamy, who is also Malavalli MLA, said the board has sought chief minister Siddaramaiahs intervention. I have alr
While stereotypes may dictate that girls and womens friendships are tinged with envy, competitiveness, or superficiality, those of us who actually have them would vouch for those friends who have stuck through failures and heartbreaks, and been the supportive light we desperately needed. 25-year-old Rhythm Verma, having grown up in all-girls schools and colleges, has had plenty of those, and with the intention of spreading this joy, started Scarlet Social Club, a woman-only space. In a city like
Mahima Nagaraju Just two weeks ago, the India womens cricket team brought home the World Cup trophy in a groundbreaking moment. With the buzz from the win starting to settle, another group of women cricketers may just jolt us awake soon the India blind womens cricket team playing in the first-ever blind womens T20 World Cup. After winning their first two matches in Delhi and third in Bengaluru, the team defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets, qualifying for the semi-finals. We must definitely bring hom
BENGALURU: The minimum temperatures across Karnataka have started to dip, indicating that the onset of winter is just around the corner. Bidar recorded the lowest minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius on November 14. According to the IMD, this was the lowest recorded temperature in the plains of the state so far. That is not all. IMD has also issued a severe cold wave alert for most parts of the state, particularly north interior Karnataka, for the next two days. Bengaluru City recorded a mi
MYSURU: In a proactive effort to address the rising man-tiger conflict in villages bordering the Bandipur and Nagarahole Tiger Reserves, forest officials have adopted a unique strategy inspired by communities in the Sundarbans in West Bengal, where people wear face masks on the back of their heads to deter tiger attacks. The forest department has now begun distributing such masks to forest-fringe villages. The initiative follows a series of recent tiger attacks in which three farmers were killed
BENGALURU: Renowned historian Ramachandra Guha has criticised the reintroduction of cheetahs in India under Project Cheetah, particularly the initiative underway in Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh. It is a disaster. It is a financial scandal and a highly risky project. It was the 70th birthday gift of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to himself. Experts had advised that the money instead be utilised for strengthening and relocating the Asiatic Lion, but that was not done, he said. He added that t
BENGALURU: The Special Cell of the Cyber Command, along with the Cyber Crime Police Station (CCPS), Whitefield Division, has busted a fraudulent software firm that allegedly cheated US citizens by impersonating Microsoft technical support staff. During the raid, 21 employees involved in the scam were secured and arrested. The operation began on Friday night and concluded at 11 am on Saturday. Acting on a court-issued search warrant, officers raided MUSK Communications, located in Sigma Soft Tech
BENGALURU: The former live-in partner of a 34-year-old Kannada film actress was arrested on Saturday for allegedly stalking and harassing her. He was detained at Kempegowda International Airport after arriving from Sri Lanka. The accused, Aravind Venkatesh Reddy (43), is a film producer, real estate builder, and construction company owner. The actress has acted in nine films and also participated in the Kannada Bigg Boss reality show. Police said the two met in 2021 when Reddy invited her as a g
BENGALURU: Noting that the decision to appoint a politician as chairman would always result in compounding the miseries of the government company or public sector undertaking, its workmen and would result in detriment to the public interest, the Karnataka High Court dismissed the petition filed by one Nagarajappa (80) from Mandya, questioning the entrustment of enquiry against him to the Upa Lokayukta by the state government to examine the financial irregularities during his tenure as chairman o
BENGALURU: The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited is set to initiate criminal cases against those who burn garbage. Karee Gowda, Chief Executive Officer, BSWML, said the agency will empower engineers, marshals, and Junior Health Inspectors to book criminal cases now onwards. Burning garbage causes air pollution. Garbage after segregation is sent to processing plant where it is burned to generate power. We will encourage people to share videos of people burning garbage, said Gowda. As a fir
BENGALURU: All India Students Association (AISA), FridaysForFuture - Karnataka and a few other organisations organised a flash protest inside Lalbagh on Saturday, opposing the proposed 17km tunnel project between Silk Board and Hebbal. Altogether 20 students and activists participated in the demonstration, where they raised concerns about the project being pushed despite expert warnings, environmental risks and the absence of a transparent public consultation. Financially, the project prioritise
MANGALURU: A At first glance, Vijaya may appear to be just another watchman at the gates of St Aloysius (Deemed to be University). But behind that uniform is a man of unshakeable passion for theatre. Hailing from Hanekal near Bengaluru, Vijayas tryst with theatre began when he was nine years old. Growing up in a modest household, he had few material possessions but an imagination that knew no bounds. It all started when my mother noticed my interest in drama, recalls Vijaya. There was a drama pr
BENGALURU: While most people might have stopped taking interest in communicating or even educating children in Kannada, and prefer English in Karnataka, a group of people living in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, have decided to teach Kannada to children of Kannadiga parents who have migrated to Dubai for work. The purpose of starting Kannada classes for kids living in Dubai is an interesting story. Uday Kiran, a member of Kannada Mitraru in Dubai, told TNIE, Kannada Paatashale started in Dub
BENGALURU: Padma Shri awardee and environment ambassador Saalumarada Thimmakka was laid to rest with full state honours at Kalagrama on Jnanabharathi campus of the Bangalore University on Saturday. Thimmakka set an example for the world by conserving the environment by planting hundreds of trees long before the Environmental Protection Act was enforced and the impact of ecological destruction on human life became a global topic of debate. Her mortal remains were kept for public viewing at Ravind
BENGALURU: The School Cinema International Film Festival (SCIFF)-2025 got under way at the Delhi Public School, Bengaluru South, on Thursday, marking the start of the eighth edition of Indias largest childrens film festival. Running from November 14 to 30, the festival will screen over 100 films in more than 20 Indian and foreign languages, reaching 40,000 government schools and over 1,000 private schools nationwide. The Bengaluru preview event saw more than 350 students attending screenings and
BENGALURU: The Artificial Intelligence for Integrated Mobility at the Indian Institute of Science (AIM@IISc) on Friday released the Urban Vision Hackathon (UVH-26) datasets and models for Indian urban traffic with the aim to improve it. The large-scale traffic image datasets comprise 26,646 high-resolution traffic images from Bengalurus Safe City project. The information includes vehicular details that has been curated through the hackathon by engaging over 560 student volunteers under a crowdso
BENGALURU: The urban development department has published a draft notification on Greater Bengaluru Area (Advertisement) Rules 2025 on Thursday, which deals with renewal and rejection of requests for advertisements, and approval of display of mobile vehicular advertisements and others in the five city municipal corporations falling under the GBA. The draft rules also state that advertisement of Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited shall be in conformity with the respective city corporation.

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