‘Completely unwarranted comment’: Congress warns Zameer Ahmed Khan

News Network

July 26, 2022

Bengaluru, July 26: With the Congress warning him for his politically sensitive statements, party leader and MLA B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan on Tuesday said he has only got to know about it through the media, as he is travelling, and will look into to it once back in Bengaluru.

Reminding about "Lakshman Rekha" of the party's discipline and ideology, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, in a letter to Khan, has said that his recent public remarks are completely unwarranted and in poor taste.

"I have not received any notice, I have seen it in the media, it is not a notice, it is a letter...I haven't received any so far, as I'm travelling. Without looking at it, I can't react. I'm in Davangere, will be travelling to Chitradurga later, once I go to Bengaluru, let me see," Khan told reporters.

To a question that KPCC President D K Shivakumar is not reacting to anything regarding him, he said, "He is the President, big man, what is there to react (about me)."

Khan's recent claims about Muslims outnumbering Vokkaligas in Karnataka has stirred a controversy, with it taking the shape of "community politics." Khan had made this claim, while reacting to party's state President D K Shivakumar's attempt to consolidate the Vokkaliga community. In fact a survey conducted when Siddaramaiah was the chief minister had revealed that Muslims outnumbered both Lingayats and Vokkaligas in Karnataka.

Shivakumar, who is a Vokkaliga, had recently called on the community, which forms a major vote bank in the old Mysuru or Southern Karnataka region, to support his Chief Ministerial bid. Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah, have been engaged in a political one-upmanship for months now, as both are Chief Ministerial aspirants.

Surjewala in his letter has said, "Unwarranted and uncharitable comments help no one except to create avoidable controversies and bitterness. Regrettably, your inessential public statements have ended up creating unnecessary fault lines." He said no Congress leader should make remarks that go against the party's "foundational ideology" of "inherent inclusiveness away from the divisions of caste and religion."

Reacting to the AICC letter to Khan, Shivakumar said, "I have seen about it through the media, I have got the information. He (Surjewala) will take whatever action has to be taken against whoever is concerned."

Khan has been openly making statements projecting Siddaramaiah as the next Chief Minister, in the event of the party coming to power after the 2023 Assembly polls. Though Siddaramaiah has been maintaining that the party's newly elected legislators and high command will decide on who will be the Chief Minister, Khan has been openly making statements in favour of his leader, ignoring warnings of disciplinary action, leaving the party virtually divided.

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RuTAGe smart village centres in DK, Udupi to being technology closer to rural communities

News Network

January 20,2026

Mangaluru: In a major step towards strengthening rural innovation, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India is supporting the establishment of RuTAGe Smart Village Centres (RSVCs) across the country through collaborations with academic institutions, civil society organisations and philanthropic partners.

As part of this national initiative, Nitte (Deemed to be University) will set up the first RSVCs in the region at Nitte GP in Udupi district and at the Nitte Health Centre, Sevanjali Trust, Farangipete, in Dakshina Kannada district. The centres will be inaugurated on January 21. In South India, the programme is being implemented by the Section Infin-8 Foundation (SI-8).

Speaking to reporters on Monday, SI-8 founder-director Vishwas US said experts from Nitte University and SI-8 would work closely with farmers, students, youth and local entrepreneurs to adapt and deploy technologies tailored to local needs.

Project head Prof Iddya Karunasagar, representing Nitte DU, said the RSVCs at Nitte and Farangipete would serve as demonstration hubs for a wide range of agriculture, energy, skill-development and assistive technologies. These include solar dryers for fruits, vegetables and crops; soil-testing solutions; power weeders and women-friendly farm tools; wind-powered devices for rural artisans; grain storage systems; grass-cutting and tree-climbing equipment; and liquid fertiliser production using cowshed waste.

SI-8 CEO Aravind C Kumar said the centres would also provide access to digital and knowledge-based platforms such as ISRO applications, government scheme portals, market linkage tools and gamified learning resources, along with assistive technologies for persons with visual impairments.

Highlighting the broader impact of the initiative, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof Ajay Kumar Sood said it demonstrated how applied research could bridge the rural–urban divide and help create self-reliant, technology-enabled villages.

The initiative has been made possible through philanthropic support from Dr NC Murthy of ACM Business Solutions, LLC, USA. Dr Sapna Poti, Director (Strategic Alliances) at the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, said the long-term objective is to build self-sufficient, technology-driven communities capable of generating sustainable livelihoods on their own.

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Why Mangaluru Could Become India’s Next Offshore Wind Energy Hub

News Network

February 3,2026

Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta has urged the Centre to give high priority to offshore wind energy generation along the Mangaluru coast, citing its strategic importance to India’s green energy and port-led development goals.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha under Rule 377, Chowta said studies by the National Institute of Oceanography have identified the Mangaluru coastline as part of India’s promising offshore wind ‘Zone-2’, covering nearly 6,490 sq km. He noted that the region’s relatively low exposure to cyclones and earthquakes makes it suitable for long-term offshore wind projects and called for its development as a dedicated offshore wind energy zone.

Highlighting the role of New Mangalore Port, Chowta said its modern infrastructure, multiple berths and heavy cargo-handling capacity position it well as a logistics hub for transporting and assembling large wind energy equipment.

He also pointed to the presence of major industrial units such as MRPL, OMPL, UPCL and the Mangaluru SEZ, which could serve as direct buyers of green power through power purchase agreements, improving project viability and speeding up execution.

With Karnataka’s peak power demand crossing 18,000 MW in early 2025, Chowta stressed the need to diversify renewable energy sources. He added that offshore wind projects in the Arabian Sea are strategically safer compared to the cyclone-prone Bay of Bengal.

Calling the project vital to India’s target of 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030, Chowta urged the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to initiate resource assessments, pilot projects and stakeholder consultations at the earliest.

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