400 schools, colleges, universities destroyed by Israel in Gaza in 100 days; 4,368 students killed

Coastal Digest is thrilled to announce its official association as a Media Partner for the Bengaluru Skill Summit 2025. This flagship event by the Government of Karnataka’s Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood (SDEL) is set to be the largest, most influential platform dedicated to crafting India's future-ready workforce.

From November 4th to 6th, the Summit will bring together the top minds in policy, industry, and academia to co-design strategies that will future-proof the state's talent for the next decade.

Why This Summit Matters: Workforce 2030

The world of work is rapidly changing due to AI, green technologies, and Industry 4.0. This summit is Karnataka's proactive response, focusing on Scale, Systems, and Synergy to ensure its youth are equipped with globally competitive skills, moving beyond traditional education models.

As your trusted news partner, Coastal Digest will be providing comprehensive coverage, bringing you direct access to the policy shifts, innovative models, and key announcements that will shape employment and entrepreneurial opportunities across the region.

Key Highlights & Essential Information
This is your opportunity to connect directly with the forces driving Karnataka's economic and talent strategy.

Participants:    3,000+ Delegates 
Speakers:    100+ Visionary Leaders and Policymakers
Exhibitors:    100+ Showcasing cutting-edge Skilling Technologies

Focus: Emerging Skills (AI, Green Jobs), Innovation, Global Mobility, and Inclusive Skilling

•    Inaugural Ceremony (By Invite Only): 4 November 2025

•    Summit Open to All: 5–6 November 2025 (Two full days of sessions and exhibition)

•    Venue: The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru

Coastal Digest encourages all stakeholders—students, entrepreneurs, educators, and working professionals—to attend and be part of this massive movement for skill development!

Don't miss the chance to engage, network, and gain insights that will define the future of careers in India's technology and knowledge capital. 

Also Read: Future-Ready Karnataka: Bengaluru Skill Summit 2025 to Address Workforce 2030 Challenges

Bengaluru, Nov 10: The Directorate of Census Operations, Karnataka, has launched a door-to-door pre-census trial exercise today (November 10) ahead of the national Census 2027, to test digital systems and field processes before the full-scale enumeration.

The trial is being carried out in three select locations across the state to identify areas needing improvement in logistics, data collection, and digital implementation. These include 46 villages in Supa, Joida taluk (Uttara Kannada district); 27 villages in Gundlupet taluk (Chamarajanagar district); and JP Ward in Bengaluru North City Corporation.

The upcoming Census 2027 will be conducted in two stages — the first between April and September 2026 (with states free to choose their exact 30-day window), and the second between February and March 2027.

Organised by the Directorate of Census Operations / Citizen Registration under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the census will, for the first time, combine physical and digital data collection, along with a self-enumeration option that allows citizens to submit details online.

A pilot run held from November 1–7, 2025, covered around 1,100 households across selected areas.

Explaining the need for the trial, Aswini Kumar, Deputy Director, Directorate of Census Operations, Karnataka, told The New Sunday Express that while the 2010 census was conducted entirely through physical forms, the 2027 edition marks a major shift to digital data entry.

“This time, the census is both physical and digital. To ensure a smooth process, we’re conducting trial runs,” Kumar said. “We’re aware that some regions like Gundlupet and Joida have poor internet connectivity due to forest cover, while Bengaluru poses a different challenge with a highly mobile population and higher digital literacy. Hence, different approaches are being tested.”

The Directorate has finalised a 34-question schedule, covering topics such as fertility, employment, caste, housing, and other demographic details.

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has again made provocative remarks suggesting that Muslims in the state becoming more prosperous could signal the “surrender of the Assamese people” — a statement widely criticised as divisive and communal.

Addressing a press conference after a cabinet meeting, Sarma claimed that alongside demographic changes, Assam was witnessing an “economic shift,” with Muslims allegedly becoming wealthier. He further implied that this shift represented the beginning of “the Assamese people’s surrender.”

Citing data from 2001 to 2011, Sarma said the Hindu population growth rate was falling while the Muslim population continued to rise. “In every block of Assam, the growth of the Hindu population is coming down and the Muslim population is increasing,” he said.

The chief minister went on to link the issue to property ownership, asserting that land sales from Hindus to Muslims were disproportionately high. “We are seeing that the sale of land from Hindus to Muslims is very high, while the vice versa is less,” Sarma said, adding that such transactions are now scrutinised under a directive issued last year requiring government permission.

While claiming that his government has “no problem” with Assamese or indigenous Muslims, Sarma continued to frame economic mobility among Muslims as a threat to Assamese identity. “So far, we were thinking that only the numbers have risen, but now we see that even the wealth pattern has changed,” he said.

Critics say Sarma’s repeated references to religion in matters of demography and economy reflect a deliberate attempt to polarise communities and deepen mistrust. His comments equating Muslim prosperity with “surrender” of the Assamese people, they argue, expose the communal undercurrent in the state’s political discourse.

The chief minister said he would hold another press conference soon to “elaborate” on the matter.