Karnataka PSI scam: 12 candidates held for bribing middlemen; hunt on for 10 more candidates

News Network

May 1, 2022

Bengaluru, May 1: The Karnataka Police have arrested 12 candidates in connection with the Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) recruitment scandal, police said on Sunday. The scandal has created ripples in the state political circles.

According to police, the sleuths were preparing to arrest 10 more candidates, who had taken their exams and given bribes for their selection to middlemen.

The police have arrested more than 30 persons, including BJP leader from Kalaburagi district Divya Hagaragi. The police have also detained Congress leaders in connection with the case.

The 12 accused candidates were arrested by the Malleshwaram police in Bengaluru following the complaint by the Deputy Superintendent of Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The police have taken custody of the accused candidates for 10 days. They had given their exams in different exam centers in Bengaluru. Their role was detected during the investigation and anomalies were found in their answer sheets.

The Karnataka government has announced reexams for 545 PSI posts following the scandal. The exams were held for these posts on October 3, 2021. The government has also ordered comprehensive analysis of answer sheets of all candidates.

As many as 54,041 candidates appeared for exams. The results were announced this January.

Later, the allegations surfaced that candidates who gave very poor performance in descriptive writing got maximum marks in Paper 2. However, the police department and the Home Minister denied any irregularities in the PSI exams.

One of the candidates filed an RTI application seeking information on OMR sheets of one of the candidates. Though the application was rejected, the OMR sheet of the candidate appeared in public domain. Police sources said that Veeresh, the candidate, had attended only 21 questions in paper 2 but got 100 marks. He was given 7th rank.

Congress MLA Priyank Kharge had alleged that more than 300 of the 545 candidates had paid Rs 70 to 80 lakh bribe to officials and ministers to become PSI. Ruling BJP has challenged him to produce evidence before CID.

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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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