PM's Mann ki Baat call syncs with Karnataka plans for India's 1st toy cluster

News Network
August 31, 2020

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Bengaluru, Aug 31: Spurred by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'vocal for local' call in his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio programme on Sunday, Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said the country's first toy making cluster would be built at Koppal in the state's northwest region.

"In line with Modi's vision of 'vocal for local', Koppal will be India's first toy making cluster in a 400-acre special economic zone, with Rs 5,000-crore investment to create 40,000 jobs over the next 5 years," Yediyurappa said after the Prime Minister's address in his radio programme that is broadcast on the last Sunday of every month.

Koppal is about 350km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state.

Asserting that India had the talent and ability to become the world's toy hub, Modi called upon startups to work towards harnessing the potential while being vocal about local toys.

Noting that India's share in the global toy industry was very small, the Prime Minister said it was not fair to have such a small share and all have to work towards improving it.

"The global toy industry is worth Rs 7 lakh crore. I have been thinking how can India become a toy production hub, as toys can be used to build minds. Even poet Laureate Rabindranath Tagore spoke about the importance of toys," the PM recalled.

Modi, however, referred to the world famous Channapatna toys from the state's Ramanagara district, about 60km southwest of Bengaluru towards Mysuru, while pitching India to become the global toy hub.

"Toy clusters are coming up across the country with skilled artisans who have expertise in making good toys. Some parts of the country like Channapatna in Ramanagaram in Karnataka, Kondapalli in Krishna (Andhra Pradesh), Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu, Dhubri in Assam, and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh are developing as toy clusters," Modi said in his 30-minute talk in Hindi.

Referring to his discussions with the Children University at Gandhinagar in Gujarat and the ministries of education, women and child development and micro, small and medium enterprises, the PM said he was thinking how to make new toys available to the children and how India could become a global hub for toy production.

"Toys not only augment activity, but also give flight to our aspirations. Toys, not only entertain, but also build the mind and foster intent too," asserted Modi.

Using ivory-wood, rosewood or sandalwood, Channapatna toys are made by traditional craft, which is protected as a geographical indication under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the state government.

Toy-making at Channapatna dates back to the reign of Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan in the 18th century when he invited artisans from Persia to train the locals in making wooden toys.

State-run Karnataka Handicrafts Development Corporation provides assistance to the artisans with marketing efforts to promote and market the toys across the country and overseas.

aceKarnataka has a legacy of toy making. The state is focusing on building a strong toy manufacturing industry by providing the required ingredients," said State Industries Principal Secretary Gaurav Gupta here on August 25.

Addressing top toy executives in a virtual meeting, Gupta said the state was making efforts to build a world-classAclusterAfor all investors.

As part of the toy manufacturing push, the state government is inviting domestic and international toy makers to the proposed toy cluster at Koppal.

According to estimates, Karnataka is the third largestAtoysAmarket in the country, with a value of $159 million and accounts for 9 per cent of the national market.

Growing at a CAGR of 18 per cent, the state's toy market is projected to touch $310 million by 2023.

"Toy manufacturing in Karnataka is getting a renewed push after Modi's call that the Indian toy market had potential to bring about a transformative change in the industry by promoting 'Vocal for Local' under AatmaNirbhar Bharat campaign," said Gupta on the occasion.

Karnataka offers world class machine tools infrastructure, favourable labour laws for toy manufacturers with subsidies to facilitate investments.

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News Network
September 24,2024

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The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah against Governor Thawarchand Gehlot's decision to sanction the complaint and investigation against him in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case.

Justice M Nagaprasanna said the facts narrated in the petition would undoubtedly require an investigation.

The court has also said that the Governor's order approving sanction to investigate against Siddaramaiah under section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act does not suffer from application of mind, instead has abundance of application of mind.

Meanwhile, the court rejected the request made by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi to stay the order of the court. The court has vacated the interim order passed on August 19. In the interim order the trial court was directed not to take any precipitative action against Siddaramaiah. On August 17, Governor had approved sanction under section 17 A  of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 218 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita ( BNSS), citing three applications.

The court said the private complainants were justified in registering the complaint and seeking approval from the governor.

Insofar as private complainants seeking sanction under section 17A, the court said the provision nowhere requires only a police officer to seek sanction from a competent authority. The court further said it is in fact the duty of the private complainants to seek such approval.

Earlier, The High Court had completed its hearing in the case on September 12, and reserved its orders. It had also directed a special court in Bengaluru to defer further proceedings and not to take any precipitative action against the Chief Minister.

The case pertains to allegations that compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife B M Parvathi in an upmarket area in Mysuru that had higher property value as compared to the location of her land that had been "acquired" by MUDA.

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News Network
September 16,2024

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The Israeli regime is recruiting African asylum seekers to kill Palestinians in the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in exchange for permanent residency status, according to a report.

The report, ran by the Israeli paper Haaretz on Sunday, revealed that the project is conducted in an organized manner, with the guidance of military establishment legal advisers.  

In Gaza, the death toll passes 41,200 with close to 100,000 more injured in almost a year since the Israeli regime forces launched their genocidal war. However, the continued violence is prompting some Jewish Israelis to leave the occupied Palestinian land.

To make up for the loss, Tel Aviv is offering the incentive of permanent residency status to asylum seekers who agree to join the Israeli regime forces ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Haaretz has learned that some people have expressed objections to the practice, arguing that it exploits people who have fled their countries due to war. However, according to those sources, these voices have been silenced.

“This is a very problematic matter,” one source was quoted as saying by Haaretz.

According to the report, there are currently some 30,000 African asylum seekers living in the occupied territories, most of them young men. Around 3,500 are Sudanese citizens with temporary status granted by the court because the regime has not processed and ruled on their applications.

Unnamed sources who spoke with Haaretz also revealed that while there were some inquiries about granting status to asylum seekers who assisted in the genocidal war in Gaza, none were actually given status.

Haaretz also learned that the Interior Ministry explored the possibility of drafting the children of asylum seekers, who were educated in schools in the occupied territories, into the Israeli military.

In the past, the regime allowed the children of foreign workers to serve in the military in exchange for granting status to their immediate family members.

African refugees, who came to the occupied territories seeking asylum, were previously kept in internment camps and deported without their own consent.

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News Network
September 28,2024

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Bengaluru, Sep 28: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing charges against arrested Karnataka BJP MLA N. Munirathna Naidu, including allegations of rape, honey-trapping, and other offences, on Saturday conducted raids at his residence and 15 other locations across the city.

Sources confirmed that the raids were taking place at his Vyalikaval residence and other properties owned by the BJP MLA. The operation is being conducted by the SIT under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) led by ACP Kavitha.

The team is examining documents, electronic devices, and other materials related to the rape and honey-trapping case. The SIT is being supported by experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), with Superintendent of Police (SP) Sowmya Latha also participating in the search and inspection at Munirathna’s Vyalikaval residence.

According to sources, the raids were triggered by information provided by the victim, who alleged that Munirathna recorded footage of sexual assaults and used it to blackmail politicians and public servants, including IAS and IPS officers.

The victim reportedly revealed that she was used to entrap the woman who had lodged a rape case against a senior IFS officer. She was allegedly instructed to frame the rape victim in a drug peddling case.

The complainant told police that she was tasked with capturing compromising videos of the rape victim who had filed the case against the IFS officer. She claimed that, after several failed attempts to obtain the videos, the victim was drugged with sleeping pills, and obscene footage was recorded without her consent. Later, the IFS officer was bailed out from the charges.

Furthermore, the complainant has accused MLA Munirathna of raping her at his office within the state legislature, in his official vehicle, and at his godown. She has alleged that he recorded videos of these assaults.

Police sources also revealed that the victim in the MLA's case provided details of a plot involving sending HIV-infected women to Munirathna's targets in an attempt to ruin them politically and personally. She also disclosed the names of several politicians whom she had entrapped through honey-trapping.

The woman further claimed that Munirathna had threatened to have her son kidnapped and killed if she refused to comply with his demands. According to her, the MLA had a well-organised team dedicated to carrying out these honey-trapping operations, and she provided details about his close associates and relatives involved in the scheme.

Munirathna, who was in judicial custody following his arrest in the rape and honey-trap case, has now been taken into the custody of the SIT.

The MLA was transferred from Bengaluru Central Jail to the CID office on the night of September 24. The BJP legislator, however, has denied all the allegations, claiming they are false.

Karnataka Congress leader D.K. Suresh had alleged that Munirathna was trying to infect his adversaries with HIV and that the government should investigate the matter.

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