BENGALURU: The State Cabinet on Thursday approved an increase in quota for religious minorities from 10 per cent to 15 per cent in various housing schemes implemented by the housing department of the government in urban and rural areas across the state. Soon after the decision, the BJP accused the government of continuing with appeasement of the Muslim community. The Centre has given instructions to note the shortage of housing for minorities. Our government has increased the reservation keeping

BENGALURU: In the wake of public backlash over the June 4 Bengaluru stampede that claimed the lives of 11 people, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday proposed bringing the Karnataka Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering) Bill, 2025. According to the proposed bill, once passed in the Karnataka legislature and becoming an Act, whoever does not obey the orders of the police or violates the provisions of the Act or rules shall be punished with imprisonment for a term tha

BENGALURU: The Cabinet on Thursday proposed the Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2025, to prohibit misinformation and fake news in the state. The bill will be tabled at the next cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil informed. As per the draft bill, fake news includes combinations of misquotes or false and/or inaccurate report of ones statement. Editing audio or video clips which result in distortion of facts and/or the context; purely or jurid

BENGALURU: IN a relief to Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday stayed the order issued by the State Government constituting the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the dispute over the ownership of certain parcels of land owned by him at Kethaganahalli in Ramanagara and also the summons issued by the SIT to him. Hearing the petition filed by the JDS leader challenging the legality of the order constituting the SIT and also the su

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge have decided to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, respectively, seeking an explanation as to why the Union Government denied permission to Priyank to travel to the US to attend the Bio International Convention in Boston and the Design Automation Conference in San Francisco. Priyank said that his absence from the platform will have an impact on the states IT sector. If the mini

BENGALURU: Around 15,000 new beneficiaries are being added to the Gruha Lakshmi scheme every month, said Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar on Thursday. Under the scheme, the state government gives Rs 2,000 to the women heads of beneficiary households a month. Adding around 15,000 new beneficiaries every month is likely to be a big burden on the government as that would require additional funding for the scheme. Of the five guarantees, Gruha Lakshmi gets more fund allocation as

BENGALURU: Labour Minister Santosh Lad on Thursday said the proposed amendment to increase working hours will not alter the maximum weekly working hours, which will remain capped at 48 hours. This is in full compliance with the standards set by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and foundational domestic laws. There is no violation of any international convention or standard, he stated. In a statement issued to media, Lad said the current provision under Section 7 is a 9-hour workday. T

BENGALURU: Although the State Government has embarked on afforestation exercises across Karnataka, the states first soil health report for forests released on Thursday indicates that its soil lacks necessary levels of nutrients. This makes it imperative to first understand the health of the soil and refer to its health card before choosing the species to be planted as part of afforestation. With the report coming as an eye-opener, it will be studied in detail before continuing with the afforesta

MANGALURU: In a major milestone for Indias energy infrastructure, the countrys largest underground LPG storage cavern -- with a capacity of 80,000 metric tonnes -- has been completed at Bala in Mangaluru. Developed by the Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), the facility is a significant step toward strengthening Indias strategic petroleum reserves. This is only the second underground LPG storage cavern in the country and holds critical i

BELAGAVI: The transfer of government officials in Belagavi district has once again sparked political unrest. A fresh controversy has emerged following reports that several transfer decisions were made without the knowledge or consent of District Minister Satish Jarkiholi. According to sources, Jarkiholi, considered a close aide of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has expressed dissatisfaction over the recent transfer process. While he had previously raised concerns privately, this time he is said to

BELAGAVI: In a deeply tragic incident stemming from domestic strife, a woman allegedly pushed her three young children into a farm pond before dying by suicide in Baradanahalli village of Kurugodu taluk, Ballari district. The deceased have been identified as Siddamma (30) and her children Abhigna (8), Avani (6), and Arya (4). The family hails from Belagavi. Siddamma had travelled to Ballari along with her husband Kumar and their three children to herd sheep, as they did every summer. For the pas

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that his government will fill 35,000 vacant posts in a phased manner in the power distribution sector. The CM also said that the posts of 532 civic workers in the department will be made permanent. Speaking at a programme organised to celebrate the platinum jubilee of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) in Bengaluru on Wednesday, the CM said that the government will study the demands raised by the employees and will address the

BENGALURU: The energy department is looking at utilising Artificial Intelligence (AI) to bring in professionalism in operations and management of electricity distribution to improve Karnatakas power sector. Energy Minister KJ George told the media on Wednesday that the department will use AI in future, but asserted there will be no job cuts. AI will help only to a certain extent, he said. Officials said AI will help in better skill management, and to control financial and power losses. AI is alr

BENGALURU: The Congress in Karnataka has accused the Union Government of political bias after state Rural Development and IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge was denied clearance by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for an official trip to the United States. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president DK Shivakumar expressed his displeasure, drawing parallels with his own experience. Even during my tenure as the power minister, my applications for foreign visits were often blocked by the Exter

BENGALURU: The state governments abrupt decision to shift the cabinet meeting venue from Nandi Hills to Vidhana Soudha has triggered speculation whether it was because of pressure from Shashwatha Neeravari Horata Samithi, a farmers organisation, which has launched a struggle for water for irrigation and other purposes in drought-hit districts such as Kolar, Chikkaballapura and Bengaluru Rural. The cabinet meeting, which was to be held at Nandi Hills on June 19, will now be held at Vidhana Soudha

BENGALURU: Chikkaballapura MP Dr K Sudhakar of the BJP has lashed out at the Karnataka government for shifting the Cabinet meeting back to Bengaluru from Nandi Hills . He said that three districts in the plainsBengaluru Rural, Kolar and Chikkaballapuraare missing from Congress map and sarcastically added that, according to the party, these three districts are part of other states. There were expectations from people that the cabinet meeting would discuss the implementation of many projects, incl

BENGALURU: Having completed the formalities to appoint district presidents to strengthen the party in every district, the Karnataka BJP is gearing up for a series of elections coming up in the next few months. They also directed the party rank and file to work with an eye on Assembly polls in 2028. On Wednesday, district presidents were called to the BJP office where party state president BY Vijayendra and other senior leaders handed over their official letters. Senior leaders will groom them to

BENGALURU: The Karnataka governments proposal to increase work hours for private firms from the existing nine hours to 10 hours a day is facing stiff opposition from employees of private firms, including the IT/ITeS employees association. They have threatened to stage protests and approach the courts. State labour department officials led by Labour Secretary Rohini Sindhuri interacted with various labour organisations as there is a proposal to bring an amendment to the Karnataka Shops and Commer

GOKARNA (UTTARA KANNADA): Sergei Grablevesky was a Russian soldier. He died in the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine on April 26 but his path to salvation ran through distant Gokarna. On Wednesday, priest Prashanth Hiregange performed the last rites of Grablevesky at Gokarna. With a picture of Grablevesky in the foreground, the priest performed Narayana Bali, a fire ceremony aimed to liberate the soul and allow it to reach its ultimate destination, and Pinda Daan, which includes offering ba

BENGALURU: After multiple delays and rescheduling of dates, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday said the most anticipated Axiom-4 space mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will launch on June 22. Taking to X, ISRO announced the new date after Indian scientists held discussions with their counterparts from Poland and Hungary. These two countries have sent an astronaut each on the 14-day manned mission to the ISS, along with Indias Gaganyatri Group Captain Shubh

BENGALURU: Our only intention is to make India a Vishwa Guru, and when this is achieved, there will be world peace says, Sri Sankara Vijayendra Saraswathi Swami, the 70th Shankaracharya of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham. In a freewheeling interview with TNIE, the Kanchi seer, who was camping in Bengaluru, spoke at length on multiple things, including freeing temples from government control, language issue and more youths getting into spirituality. Can you tell us about Kanchi Kamakoti Peethams Dhar

NEW DELHI: The Karnataka government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court it would ensure law and order and provide security to all stakeholders if actor Kamal Haasans film Thug Life is released in the state. The assurance came in a detailed affidavit submitted in response to the courts directive a day earlier. In the event the producers of the film decide to release the movie in the State of Karnataka, the state government is duty bound and will give protection and security for such release and f

BENGALURU: A coordination meeting between officers of the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) Banking Securities Fraud Investigation Zone, the Department of Financial Services (Ministry of Finance) and chief vigilance officers of public sector banks was held in Bengaluru on Tuesday. During the day-long meeting, all pending matters pertaining to ongoing investigation and prosecution of bank fraud cases being handled by the CBI were discussed and several issues were sorted out. The coordination

BENGALURU: The preliminary investigation by the Karnataka Lokayukta police into the case involving certain IPS officers has made a startling revelation that the dismissed head constable G Ningappa had allegedly invested crores of rupees in 438 bitcoins. Ningappa was arrested by the Lokayukta police for allegedly extorting government officials by blackmailing about possible raids against them after obtaining information from his sources within Karnataka Lokayukta. After tracing the total investme

BENGALURU: A 30-year-old woman has filed a complaint against her live-in partner for blackmailing her with her private videos. The victim, a married woman, is separated from her husband due to suspected domestic violence. After she moved to the city in search of a job, she met the accused and became close with him as he helped her get a job as a receptionist. The accused, who is also married, convinced her to divorce her husband and started living with the victim as live-in partners at a rented

MANGALURU: Hundreds of Kannadigas working in Israel are living in fear with the conflict between Tel Aviv and Tehran escalating with each passing day. The situation now is more intense than the Israel-Hamas conflict a few months ago, according to many Mangaloreans living there. We are really feeling unsafe. During the Israel-Hamas conflict, we did not feel so threatened. But now, its raining missiles day and night, Roshan Veigas from Kulshekar in Mangaluru, who works as a caregiver in Tel Aviv,

BENGALURU: A row has erupted again over the state-owned Nandini and Gujarat-based Amul milk brands. It has come to light that BMRCL has signed a memorandum with the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd to set up Amul kiosks at ten major Metro stations in Bengaluru. It is taking a political turn with opposition party members slamming the state government for not initiating steps to set up the state-owned Karnataka Milk Federation kiosks to sell Nandini products. In its house journal

BENGALURU: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday hit out at the BJP for seeking his resignation over the stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, which claimed 11 lives. Siddaramaiah asked the BJP to first release a list of its leaders who resigned owing responsibility after similar incidents in the past, including the recent Ahmedabad plane crash , collapse of a pedestrian suspension bridge in Morbi, Gujarat, and the stampede during the Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh. The i

BENGALURU: BJP MP Lahar Singh Siroya has said that the Congress government in the state should drop its plan to conduct a new caste survey and wait for the Union Governments census data. After discarding the survey conducted 10 years ago by spending nearly Rs 200 crore, the ruling Congress has decided to hold the new survey, he said. Apart from wasting public money, the new survey will lead to chaos. There will be two data -- one from old and another from the new survey. People may raise objecti

GADAG: Mr Siddaramaiah should take note of thishis governments guarantee schemes are becoming a burden on mutts, according to a controversial claim made by Shirahatti Fakireshwar mutts Dingaleshwar seer. The reason? More people are visiting mutts since bus facilities are free, and now mutts have to feed hundreds of devotees. And to lighten the burden, the seer has made a pitch to the government seeking more funds for Veereshwara Punyashrama, run by his mutt. In his speech, the seer said the numb

BENGALURU: The Opposition BJP blamed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar for the stampede during the Royal Challengers Bengalurus (RCBs) IPL victory celebrations in Bengaluru on June 4 and demanded their resignation. The Karnataka BJP leaders on Tuesday staged a protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru demanding Siddaramaiah and Shivakumars resignation. Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra said that 11 people died due to the State Governments failure as the victory c

KALABURAGI: Medical Education Minister Dr Sharanaprakash Patil, who represents Sedam constituency of Kalaburagi, told students who have scored good marks in NEET, and dream of becoming doctors, not to fall into the fraudulent net of middlemen under any circumstances. He advised aspirants who have scored good marks in NEET not to fall into the trap in their anxiety to get a seat in a good medical college. Patil said there are brokers who promise to get seats in famous colleges, saying they have c

BENGALURU: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has summoned former Congress MP DK Suresh in a case related to conwoman Aishwarya Gowda, who has swindled many posing as his sister. The summons sparked a political storm, with senior Congress leaders accusing the central agency of operating with political motives ahead of key electoral battles. Suresh said he will appear before ED on Monday. I had no business dealings with Aishwarya Gowda. I dont even know why they have summoned me, he said. Health

BENGALURU: The Centre is said to have denied clearance for Karnataka IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharges visit to the United States to attend the ongoing Boston Bio 2025 convention in Boston, and other official events. Kharge, who is currently in Paris on an official visit, said he will speak about the issue and seek an explanation from the Union government after returning to India. Im holding back on making any public statements for now. Once Im back in Bengaluru, I will seek a clear explanation fro

JOIDA/ HALIYAL: Joida, situated in the periphery of Kali Tiger Reserve and considered the second greenest area in the country with 83% forest cover, is aiming to become the first organic taluk in Karnataka. Farmers in Joida, the least populated taluk in Uttara Kannada district, have already adopted a zero-fertilizer policy. Among species native to Joida are paddy, sugarcane and honey. Farmers here use mostly green manure in cultivation. On Tuesday, Minister for Agriculture Cheuvarayaswamy, in a

BALLARI: The Maharashtra police, with the help of their counterparts in Ballari, arrested a 25 year-old man in Sandur town for keeping obscene photographs and videos of over 13,000 women and blackmailing them with the threat of putting up the images on social media. After a girl filed a police complaint in Mumbai about someone trying to blackmail her using a fake social media account, the Maharashtra cyber police started the investigation. After gathering technical evidence and tracing the locat

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order that is likely to bring relief to roadside trees whose roots and bases are buried under mounds of concrete. It directed all government bodies and individuals to maintain a 1-metre radius around trees as a no-concrete zone, and to immediately remove concrete poured around roadside trees. The bases of most of the trees are covered with concrete or interlocking pavers, which affects their health and due to which, incidents of tree fall

BENGALURU: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday appealed to Kannada activists to abide by the Supreme Court order, which directed the state government to ensure the screening of the Kamal Haasan-starrer movie 'Thug Life'. Kannada activists have been up in arms against the screening of the movie after the 70-year-old actor's comments about Kannada language sparked a major controversy. They staged protests, lodged police complaint and warned film theatres not to screen the mov

MANGALURU: National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed its Director General (Investigation) to conduct an enquiry into BJP leaders' allegations over Dakshina Kannada police harassing the Hindutva workers during late-night police visits. The Commission has asked to submit a report within two weeks. In his complaint to the NHRC, BJP MLA from Mangaluru City North Constituency, Dr. Bharath Shetty Y, alleged harassment and unconstitutional surveillance of several law-abiding citizens, social

HUBBALLI: A woman has been detained here for allegedly burning her son's hands, legs, and neck using a hot iron rod as punishment for being aughty, police said on Tuesday. Anusha Hulimara has been detained by the police and an investigation has been initiated. The incident occurred in Tippu Nagar, fourth Cross, in Old Hubballi town on Monday, they said. According to police sources, the accused reportedly became furious with her child's behaviour and resorted to the brutal punishment. Hulimara a

BENGALURU: Lokayukta police searched the house of their former Superintendent of Police (Bengaluru City Division-1) Srinath M Joshi, following the lead obtained in the ongoing investigation against dismissed head constable G Ningappa from Chitradurga district. Ningappa was arrested for allegedly collecting crores of rupees from several state government officials by leaking information of possible raids against them, after obtaining information from his sources within the Karnataka Lokayukta. Dur

BENGALURU: Despite the Karnataka High Court ban on bike taxis, a few were seen operating on Monday. Officials from the transport department said they are implementing the ban and seized 103 vehicles in operation. Transport officials who started the crackdown on Monday morning, said they were seizing vehicles operating illegally, slapping fines ranging from Rs 5,000-10,000. Bangalore West Regional Transport Office booked the most cases at 16, followed by KR Puram RTO at 13, and 12 by Bangalore Ea

BENGALURU: Contrary to the expectations of industry and institutions, of a revival in traditional engineering courses, several colleges in Karnataka have approached the Higher Education Department seeking either a reduction in seats or complete closure of mechanical and civil engineering courses. Instead, institutions are pushing to increase intake for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) programmes, officials told TNIE. This year, admissions to the mechanical branch were antic

BELAGAVI: AMID the buzz of a possible cabinet reshuffle in Karnataka, PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi on Monday said that he would be content retaining his current position, emphasising that political decisions lie in the hands of the Congress high command. Our leaders recently met high command leaders. I dont know what discussions took place. Reshuffling or expanding the cabinet is entirely their prerogative. We are just members of the cabinet and that the party top brass takes the call on reshuf

BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court refused to quash criminal proceedings against Surya Sareen, the then president and CEO of Akon Inc, USA, based on the charge sheet filed by the CBI against Sareen for allegedly cheating Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) by supplying faulty radio frequency generators. The case is of a global tender and the successful tenderer allegedly cheated the DRDO. Therefore, there has been some delay in

BENGALURU/CHIKKABALLAPURA : Following the rising tensions between Iran and Israel, the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Forum in Bengaluru wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday, requesting urgent action to bring back nine Karnataka students from Iran. According to officials, eight students from Alipur in Gauribidanur taluk and one from Bengaluru are stranded in Iran. They had gone there for higher education. The students from Gauribidanur are Habeeb Raza, Shabbir Ali, Ilhan Ali, Irfan Hyd

DAVANGERE: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday claimed that his governments upcoming socio-educational and caste survey is different from the Union Governments caste enumeration. Addressing the media in Davanagere, the CM said that he has no objection to the Centre carrying out a caste census. Siddaramaiah said that his governments caste census is driven by the imperative of social justice and will help in creating an equal society. He added that the Centre has not clarified whether

BENGALURU: In a move aimed at bringing uniformity and transparency to state-run health assurance schemes, the Karnataka government has reconstituted an expert committee to recommend standard package rates for medical services offered at participating establishments. The committees primary task will be to evaluate healthcare costs and recommend uniform rates to be applied across public and private hospitals under government-supported insurance and assurance schemes. The effort is expected to redu

BENGALURU: With excessive pre-monsoon rain and good southwest monsoon showers, there has been a substantial increase in the groundwater table across the state, besides improved water quality. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) stated that this year, 28 districts witnessed large excess rainfall between March and May (pre-monsoon ), while one district recorded excess rainfall and only two districts received normal rainfall. The state normally gets 117 mm of rain during

BENGALURU: Despite the Congress government in the state finding itself on a sticky wicket some BJP leaders feel they have not been able to corner the government. With the monsoon session of the Assembly likely to start from July 14, the BJP is preparing to raise the recent stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives during the RCB victory celebrations, new caste census and many more issues. The Congress government that has completed two years a few weeks ago is facing internal b