Arriving soon: New version of an IT park

Arriving soon: New version of an IT park

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

 

GIVING IT A FILLIP ACROSS THE STATE

Bangalore: The IT City will soon have another IT park, but with a difference.
   The 2,000-acre facility housing IT, BT, hardware, nano and aviation industries, will come up not on a single piece of contiguous land but will be more like a chain of industrial areas linked by good roads. It will be set up under the public private partnership (PPP) mode.

Katta Subramanya Naidu
   IT-BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu told reporters here on Wednesday that such an effort will not only retain industries in Bangalore, but also invite more industries to the city. “We have received several requests for large tracts of land by many industries. This project will fulfil all their needs,’’ Naidu said.
   According to him, the government plans to drop the process of compulsory land acquisition for this park and explore other options. A smaller IT and small and micro industries park will come up in Bangalore on a 25-acre area. Nearly 300 firms have already submitted requests for land in the park. It will be taken up under the PPP model by the staterun electronic industries corporation Keonics.
   The state also plans to set up a 500-acre IT park in Hubli and a 200-acre IT park in Belgaum. The minister has already met representatives of the chambers of commerce and industries from Hubli and Belgaum.
   “IT parks will also come up in other tier-II cities like Shimoga, Gulbarga, Mangalore and Mysore. The state is considering a request by Wipro technologies for a 100-acre land in Mysore for a faculty training university,’’ he said.

Shortage of parking space continues to plague Hubli

Shortage of parking space continues to plague Hubli

Girish Pattanashetti - The Hindu

Several commercial buildings in the city do not have the facility

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Only 294 of 554 commercial complexes in Hubli and Dharwad have parking facility

Plan to construct multi-storeyed parking lots in the preliminary stage

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Callous: Vehicles parked haphazardly on the Dajibanpet Road in Hubli on Sunday.

HUBLI: Parking has been a problem in Hubli for several years and increase in the number of vehicles has only added to it.

“Park as you please” has been the mantra of most vehicle users in the city, as their chances of being penalized for parking vehicles in restricted areas are less.

Earlier, two-wheelers and sometimes even four-wheelers used to be parked on pavements, leaving no space for pedestrians to walk. However, after the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation raised the height of pavements, people have little scope for parking vehicles on them.

It is common to see vehicles parked haphazardly even on busy roads in the city.

Towing vehicles

Although the Hubli-Dharwad Police Commissionerate has towing vehicles, they are used mostly when VVIPs visit the city.

No space

One of the main contributing factors for the worsening of parking problem in the city is the lack of adequate parking space in most of the commercial buildings.

According to officials of the HDMC, there are 554 commercial complexes in the twin cities and only 294 of them have parking facility.

When Ajay Nagabhushan took charge as Commissioner of the HDMC he had said that action would be initiated against owners of the buildings that did not have adequate parking space. However, the HDMC is yet to take steps in this regard.

Several new buildings in the twin cities do not have adequate parking space. As a result, people who come to these buildings are forced to park their vehicles outside.

Sealing drive

In fact, the drive to seal commercial complexes built in violation of building bylaws, during the tenure of the former HDMC Commissioner P. Manivannan, had some effect. Owners of such complexes cleared basements to provide parking space. However, introduction of the Sakram scheme by the State Government in 2007 forced the HDMC officials to stop the sealing drive.

Meanwhile, the HDMC’s plan to construct multi-storeyed parking lots in the twin cities is still in the preliminary stage.

Karnataka needs rail link not district airports

Karnataka needs rail link not district airports

CJ:S Shivakumar, Merinews - August 4th 2008

Where is the need to construct airports at all the district HQ towns when a second railway track between Bangalore and Mysore is yet to materialise? What purpose will me-too airports serve? More useful things can be done with that money.

WITH DROUGHT looming ahead ominously, the Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa has asked his deputy commissioners and zilla panchayat officers to pull their socks up. Rainfall in 100 of the 176 taluks of the state had fallen short by 22 percent. He said the state would face a serious situation if it did not rain in the next few weeks. The State should equip itself to tackle water scarcity and fodder scarcity. He asked his officers to ensure adequate supply of fodder and initiate employment generation activities in their districts to contain migration to urban centres. In case of extreme scarcity, the officers should arrange supply of water through tankers. At the same time, he also warned that districts like Bijapur, Bagalkot and Belgaum might face flash floods if the inflow in Bhima and Krishna rivers rose.

He admitted that fertiliser scarcity continued in the state. Hence, he wanted the officers to distribute the current inventory of fertilisers transparently. The Central government had supplied only 50 percent of the state’s requirement of fertilisers. He further declared that his government would construct airports at all the district headquarters. Towards this end, a sum of Rs 150 crores had already been set aside. The district DCs had been asked to recommend suitable sites for the purpose. Plans have been approved for constructing 12 airports and 10 air strips. New ones would be approved soon. The seven municipal corporations in the state would be allocated Rs 50 crores each by way of development funds. Ring roads would come up in Hubli-Dharwar, Belgaum, Gulbarga, Devanagere, Mysore and Mangalore. He wanted positive results and not excuses from his officers.

Implicit in the CM’s statement is the admission that some parts of the state would be affected by floods while the rest of the state would be affected by drought. But, this has been happening ever since the state came into being on November 1, 1956. So, for over 50 years, the state has been spending considerable sum of money to tackle drought and floods. Has any serious attempt been made by the state government to find a permanent solution to the problem? Is there a permanent solution? Yes, there is and it is a feasible solution, especially if viewed in the backdrop the vast sum of money the government has spent over the past 50-odd years. The government could have integrated the rivers at the state level so water from flooded rivers could be channelled into rivers which run dry. This would have saved the government crores of rupees it has so far spent to rescue people affected by floods; and it would have prevented loss of lives and property; it would also have saved the government the crores of rupees it has so far spent on providing succour to people affected by drought. In the circumstances, if the government argues that it could not take up the task of linking the rivers at the state-level, owing to paucity of resources, it cannot be accepted. River-linking could have been achieved by using only a part of the money the government has so far spent on providing relief to people affected by floods and drought. BSY may be aware of the fact that neighbouring Tamil Nadu has already made a beginning in this direction.

It is unwise too on the part of the Karnataka government to think in terms of constructing airports at all district HQ towns. Even the Bangalore international airport is not complete in all respects as of today, owing to resource crunch, amongst other things. If the state’s leading commercial centre, viz., Bangalore, boasts of an airport of international standard, it is more than enough. What is important is ensuring good train connectivity and road connectivity between Bangalore and other towns in the state to promote commerce and industry.

The sum of Rs 150 crores set aside for the purpose of constructing airports at all district HQ towns can be utilised to ensure this connectivity.

Alternatively, the said sum can be used to hasten the doubling of the Bangalore-Mysore railway track. It is a matter of shame that the two cities, both major tourist centres, do not boast of proper train connectivity even 50 years after the formation of the state. Doubling of the railway track should be completed as early as possible. By constructing airports at all district HQ towns the state government will have something to show against its name only for statistical purposes. Me-too airports will serve no purpose. Nothing will have been achieved in real terms. Let us hope BSY will put the scarce resources to better use.

Karnataka to have Semicon policy very soon

Karnataka to have semicon policy very soon

IT minister highlights various initiatives being adopted and proposed by state government in semicon space at ISA Excite

CIOL - Pradeep Chakraborty

Saturday, July 26, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BANGALORE, INDIA: The government of Karnataka will be announcing a semiconductor policy very soon, according to Katta Subramanya Naidu, the minister for Excise, Information, BWWB, IT and BT, government of Karnataka, while delivering the opening address at the ISA Excite organized by the India Semiconductor Association.

Over the last several years, India has been a destination favoured by almost all leading global semiconductor companies for setting up their development centers for semiconductors and embedded designs.

The size of the Indian semicon design industry is currently $6 billion across VLSI and board design, and embedded software, with the potential to be around $9 billion by 2009.

There are nearly 200 companies and it employs over 130,000 professionals, all over India, with the potential to employ over 180,000 by 2009. The Indian semicon design industry has a CAGR of nearly 22 percent versus the global average of 7-8 percent.

Nearly 90 percent of the VLSI design work is done out of Bangalore alone. Appropriately, the ISA is headquartered in Bangalore, the heart of India's chip industry.

The minister said: "The conducive work environment policies and high-quality talent are the important attractions for both MNCs and Indian companies to set up shop here. We value the contribution of our technology leaders and engineers to build the economy of the state and make it a global leader. Bangalore is next only to Silicon Valley, California, in terms of the work done here."

New centers to be developed

Katta Subramanya Naidu added that in future, the government of Karnataka wants to look at Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli as important centers to be developed. "These are centers of education with high quality and quantity of engineering talent. Our government is working on improving the connectivity to these cities to help attract investment there, as well as the expansion of companies from Bangalore to other towns within Karnataka," he said.
Welcome the ISA initiative to launch Excite, a program for the semiconductor and ecosystem companies, he noted that it was a good platform to understand the technology trends and to collaborate with the right partner.
He said: "Karnataka today is at the crossroads. We have the direction and leadership of Hon'ble chief minister Yeddyruppa. He is extremely committed to the cause of making Karnataka as the most preferred destination for the semiconductor industry and electronics hardware manufacturing. My government would be glad to extend any support for your business plans in the state."

State semicon policy soon
The state government plans to announce a semiconductor policy in the near future. It has also earmarked land for a hardware technology park near the new airport (in Devanahalli).

The government is also thinking in the lines of finishing schools in PPP mode as the semiconductor industry is technology driven, and demands continuous training and re-skilling of the workforce.