Flipkart seeks better infra to invest more in Karnataka

Bengaluru, June 30: India's leading e-tailer Flipkart has sought better infrastructure and ease of doing business to invest more in Karnataka for expanding its operations, Industries Minister R.V. Deshpande said on Wednesday.

"They (flipkart) did talk about fresh investments in the state and are looking for our support, especially better infrastructure and favourable regulatory framework for e-commerce segment," Deshpande told reporters after an informal meeting with Flipkart co-founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal at his home office here.

Admitting inadequate infrastructure was a cause for concern to all stakeholders, especially in the e-commerce space where supply chain and logistics were critical for e-tailing operations, Deshpande told the Bansals that the state government was addressing the issue to overcome its bottlenecks.

"On infrastructure, we understand that nothing can be done immediately, as it takes time due to constraints in early execution, as many agencies are involved in the projects" the minister asserted.

Advising the Bansals to interact more with his counterparts in the e-commerce segment and revert, the minister said the government was investing in building elevated corridors, Bengaluru Metro Second Phase and other amenities to expand infrastructure, speed-up vehicular movement and decongest the city roads.

"We are addressing the issues (roads, flyovers, ring roads) to ensure people do not get delayed and doing our best to meet the expectation of the e-commerce sector," Deshpande asserted.

Noting that without investments, no state could grow, the senior minister said the state government was doing everything to create conducive atmosphere for leveraging the city's best eco-system for the sunrise e-commerce industry.

Though registered in Singapore, flipkart is headquartered in this tech hub since 2007.

Asserting that Flipkart was seeing very good growth across categories, Sachin said the company was exploring different revenue streams, as e-commerce in India was still at two percent of shopping across the country.

"For instance, mobile phone has gone beyond other categories from penetration viewpoint. We are exploring opportunities to improve our operations and focus on execution than worry about mark downs, as flipkart is not the only company to be marked down in the e-commerce space," Sachin told reporters on the occasion.

The co-founders are also looking at mentoring leaders and developing partnership for the company to overcome headwinds, especially financial cycles.

"The Internet sector is going through down cycle, which doesn't last forever," Sachin added.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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