Simplify laws to ensure a corruption-free society'

March 17, 2012

Mangalore, March 17: A corruption free society is reality, if laws are simplified, a habit of law abiding culture is propagated and if children are raised with discipline, believes non-executive chairman of Karnataka Bank Limited Ananthkrishna.

Inaugurating a day-long seminar on “Is corruption free society possible?” organized by the Integral Yoga Satsanga (IYS) and Divyas at Fatima Retreat House at Valencia, he rephrased French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau's famous quote and stressed that 'man is born non-corrupt, but everywhere he sees is corruption.'

He emphasised that there would be more corruption if there were more laws. In present times expertise is measured in terms of finding loopholes in law. Budgets will be presented at the centre and state and there will be talks on how to escape from paying tax, he added.

Citing incidents form his personal experiences, he said law abiders are harassed and law breakers are respected. The habit of law abiding culture should be encouraged. Being non-corrupt is not enough, one must also be morally non-corrput, he said. Students must answer to their conscience and not to others, he said, highlighting the advice given by his father, an upright village accountant, on how one must not work for others but to be true to our conscience. “The system will make you corrupt but resist it by all means”, he said.

Ananthkrishna also called upon elders to stop sulking but to share ideals adopted in their life with youth. Values, ethics always have value in life, he informed and added that elders must encourage youth not to chase money. “The society on their part must not only merely follow the letter of law but intent of law. Teach discipline to your children and learn to live within the framework of law”, he said in his passionate plea to the audience.

Padma Bhushana awardee Dr B M Hegde , retired lecturer Prof Surendra Rao, IYS secretary V L Rego , Fatima Retreat House director Fr Ronnie Prabhu were present.

Tough Nut to crack: Ananthkrishna said on retiring, an incident was enough to spread word on he being a tough nut to crack on the issue of corruption. After a farewell organized in Puttur, he was taken to a local Mahalakshmi temple. To his surprise the priest garlanded him with a gold chain offered by bank's employees. Unhappy with the act, AnanthKrishna removed the chain and dropped it in the temple hundi leaving all stunned.

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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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