Mamata launches three intercity Express trains

Mamata launches three intercity Express trains

TNN 9 December 2009, 02:43am IST

BANGALORE: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee brought a bagful of gifts for

Karnataka's passengers.

On Tuesday, she flagged off three major intercity expresses here -- Bangalore-Shimoga Intercity Express, Yeshwantpur-Mysore Express and Yeshwantpur-Solapur Golgumbaz Tri-weekly Express. She inaugurated the renovated Tumkur and Dharmapuri stations and introduced the solid-state interlocking system at Bangalore City station.

And the icing on the cake was a surprise -- a Duronto (non-stop superfast express) from Bangalore to Howrah to be introduced soon.

Promises galore

During the holiday season, 2,872 special trains will be introduced for students to go home and 4,326 additional coaches to manage the holiday rush.

She announced four extensions for towns not connected properly. Bangalore - Hubli Intercity Express will go to Dharwad, Tirupati-Mysore Express will connect Chamarajanagar and will be announced shortly, Yeshwantpur-Mangalore Express will connect Kannur and Mumbai-Karwar, a Konkan railway train, will connect Mangalore.

Mamata, seemingly impressed by the scenic beauty of Karnataka, said "Bangalore is the air-conditioned city, very environment friendly and clean. I like Bangalore very much and am delighted to be here." Mamata said three new trains which were part of the budget have been announced, but three to four more are still left to be implemented. About 21 stations are currently being developed by South Western Railway. These include Hubli, Yelahanka, Hindupur, Hassan, Tiptur, Vasco da Gama, Belgaum, Dharwad and Ranebennur.

"We have a responsibility towards students. They should go home during their holidays, which are as short as 15 days. All the 2,872 trains are especially for them and will reduce the holiday rush," she added. Karnataka shares the maximum cost for speedy completion of projects, which sometimes goes up to 75% of the project budget, and appreciated the state for this.

Automobile hub

The Automobile Hub Association proposed 10 automobile hubs in the country, one of them already launched in Howrah on railway land. "Nine more will be built on railway land. Two can be in Bangalore and Mangalore. They have agreed to this," said Mamata.

PPP model

"The port, the coal belt and the industrial belt need to be connected. It is helpful for the masses and the industry," Mamata said. Karnataka will do a feasibility study and submit the proposal by January 2010, according to chief minister, B S Yedyurappa who was present at the event.

Mamata said that she was open to rail connectivity between Kolkata and Bangladesh because as neighbours they are close and have many similarities. However, the proposal needs to be developed and scrutinized.

ArcelorMittal plans steel plant in state

ArcelorMittal plans steel plant in state

TNN 28 November 2009, 05:12am IST

BANGALORE: The world’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal shortlisted five districts in northern Karnataka for its proposed steel plant involving an investment of Rs 30,000 crore.

The project will require 4,000 acres of land. The state has steel zones in Bijapur, Bagalkot, Koppal, Dharwad and Bellary, and the plant is proposed to be located in one of them. If finalized, the project will be one of the largest in the state. ArcelorMittal chief executive Vijay Bhatnagar told mediapersons, “We have shortlisted some sites after a survey. We’ll get into details now.’’

A team of ArcelorMittal officials met chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and industries minister Murugesh Nirani here on Friday. Yeddyurappa said ArcelorMittal came forward to set up a steel plant and trading activities in the state. The proposal, he said, is to invest around Rs 30,000 crore in the first phase to establish a 6 million tonne per annum integrated steel plant and a captive 750 MW power plant.

The projects are expected to generate employment for 10,000 people, said Bhatnagar, also CEO of ArcelorMittal China operations.

In a separate release, company chairman L N Mittal was quoted as saying, “Our team had a constructive and positive meeting in response to an invitation from the Karnataka government. Karnataka is one of the most progressive states in India and therefore is an ideal place to build a world-class steel plant.

Britain looks beyond Bangalore for biz 'gold' in tier II cities

Britain looks beyond Bangalore for biz 'gold' in tier II cities

BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bangalore September 04, 2009, 0:12 IST

The tier II cities’ story continues to thrive. The British government sees them as ‘lands’ of opportunities. Britain is keen on getting investors from Britain to look at tier II cities in the Karnataka and facilitate this has opened a British Deputy Commission in Bangalore.

The new centre would cover a whole range of British government activity in the State, including business, trade and investment and science and technology, British Deputy High Commissioner here, Richard Hyde, said. The deputy high commission will not issue visas, but will only facilitate relationships in science, BT and technology.

Hyde said the British High Commission has had a presence here for 15 years, establishing the British Trade Office in 1994 and developing a strong commercial relationship.

As part of the efforts to understand the tier II cities in the state, UK deputy high commissioner Richard Hyde has visited the smaller cities like Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum among other cities to understand them and check out the investor-friendliness of the cities. The huge number of engineers produced in the state is a big draw, said an official from the high commission.

Meanwhile, officials from the high commission said that the Indo-UK bilateral trade which was around Pound 10 billion in 2008, may see a decline this year, because of the global slowdown. Hyde said, “It’s been a difficult year. In the present market environment, anything is an achievement. But we want to increase the trade,” Hyde said.

Karnataka tops IT export charts, with tier-II cities revenue touching Rs 2,423 crore

Karnataka tops IT export charts, with tier- II cities revenue touching Rs 2,423 crore

2 Sep 2009, 1044 hrs IST, ET Bureau

BANGALORE: Karnataka extended its lead as the country’s top destination for software exports by registering around 23% annual growth and achieving Rs 74,929 crore worth of IT and ITES exports during year ended March 2009.

“We have not fallen behind... and we are expecting exports of Rs 100,000 crore by the end of this fiscal,” said, state IT & BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu. On a comparative basis, IT and BPO exports from the country for FY09 stood at Rs 2,22,360 crore recording a Yo-Y growth of 21%. Though, other competing states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have recorded marginally higher growth rates than Karnataka, their base have been comparatively smaller.

The share of Karnataka in the national exports stood at 34%. The FY09 fiscal also saw 84 new units registering with the STPI. “There is enough interest in the new units locating in the designated zones with many of them opting for the special economic zone (SEZ) scheme,” said R Rajalakshmi, director, STPI.

The exports from the SEZ have also seen a very rapid growth touching Rs 4,554 crore for FY09, reflecting a Y-o-Y growth of 250%. The number of people employed by the industry in Karnataka stood at 5.54 lakh in FY09 as against 5.2 lakh in FY08.

However, the hardware exports from Karnataka dipped by 6.8% on a Y-o-Y basis to touch revenue of Rs 2,889 crore for FY09. The performance of the tier-II cities namely Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli on a combined basis has been 45% with revenue touching Rs 2,423 crore.