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

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: BJP leader and Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje on Saturday alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar have lood on their hands, as she held them directly responsible and demanded their resignation in connection with the June 4 stampede that killed 11 people. Demanding a probe by a sitting High Court judge for the truth to come out, she slammed the state government for suspending Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda and four other senior polic

BENGALURU/NEW DELHI: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy marked a new chapter in New Delhi with a housewarming ceremony at his new quarters on Kushak Road on Monday morning. He was joined by his father former PM HD Deve Gowda, his son JDS Youth Wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy and the extended family. Though the invite list was largely limited to close family, it was far from low-key. Union Minister V Somanna, once a loyal Janata Dal hand, made an appearance. Union min

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday held that the Hare Krishna temple in Bengaluru belongs to the ISKCON Society in the city. The top court allowed the plea of ISKCON Bangalore challenging a Karnataka High Court order that ruled in favour of ISKCON Mumbai over control of the iconic Hare Krishna temple and educational complex in Bengaluru. A bench comprising Justices A S Oka and Augustine George Masih delivered the verdict. ISKCON Bangalore had moved the top court on June 2, 2011 challenging t

NEW DELHI: Singer Sonu Nigam, who is currently facing an FIR for allegedly offending the sentiments of Kannadigas during a recent concert in Bengaluru, has stated that he was hreatened by a small group of boys to sing in Kannada at the event. He also urged people ot to generalise or hold the entire community responsible for the actions of a few. An FIR was registered at the Avalahalli Police Station in Bengaluru on Saturday against the popular playback singer for reportedly retorting, Kannada.

MANGALURU: The Mangaluru City Police have registered three separate cases for the circulation of fake and inflammatory content on social media, allegedly shared to incite unrest following the recent mob lynching incident in Kudupu. Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal said false and misleading information related to the murder of a daily wage labourer near Kudupu has been found circulating on social media. With the intent to create unrest and disrupt communal harmony, certain indivi

BENGALURU: A case was registered on Wednesday against the BJP IT Cell in Karnataka over an alleged derogatory social media post linking Rahul Gandhi's foreign trip to the Pahalgam terror attack , said police. The post was later deleted. The complaint was filed by C M Dhananjaya, Chairman of the Legal and Human Rights Unit of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. In his complaint, Dhananjaya said the post was intended to link Rahul Gandhi's foreign visit to the brutal attack in Pahalgam on Tu

BENGALURU : The Pahalgam killings was a planned attack by Pakistan sponsored terrorists. It is a leaf out of Pakistan army chief Asim Munirs recent speech in which he described Kashmir as the jugular vein of Pakistan. The timing of the Pahalgam attack cannot be a matter of sheer coincidence. It was timed around the visit of US Vice President JD Vance, author of Poles Apart: The Military & Democracy in India and Pakistan, Aditya Sondhi told this newspaper. He further said the messaging behind the

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU : Shakti Dubey has topped the civil services examination 2024, with Harshita Goyal and Dongre Archit Parag getting the second and third ranks, respectively, according to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The results were declared on Tuesday. Topper Dubey holds a B.Sc degree in Biochemistry from the University of Allahabad. Two doctors from Karnataka are among the top 50 rank-holders. More than 30 candidates from Karnataka have cleared the exams. While 29-year-old Dr