Class 8 student from Karnataka dies in Jubail road accident

Bengaluru: Chevron, a global leader in providing energy solutions, on Saturday announced an investment of Rs 8,300 crore to set up its Engineering and Innovation Centre of Excellence here.

The investment was announced during a high-profile meeting attended by the Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development, M B Patil and others.

"Karnataka has been consistently leading the way in promoting economic growth and development. The collaboration between the state government and Chevron company in implementing this Rs 8,300 crore investment is a clear indication of the significant progress in engineering and innovation in Karnataka. The state government is committed to promoting innovation, economic growth and job creation," he said.

Akshay Sahni, Country Head of Chevron India, shared the company's vision for the new centre and said, "It will provide an opportunity for India's exceptional talent to work with the resources and expertise of our global network to provide affordable, reliable clean energy."

According to a statement shared by the Minister's office, the centre will hire 600 engineers by 2025 in engineering and digital services to accelerate energy system technology innovations. The state has taken exemplary steps to promote technological progress through progressive policies that have created an enabling environment for innovation.

The minister noted that Bengaluru is already home to more than 500 Global Competence Centres (GCCs) and accounts for more than 30 per cent of India's GCCs, including finance, healthcare, retail, manufacturing and other sectors.

Chevron Centre of Excellence (ENGINE) will create significant employment opportunities for local professionals. It will allow them to respond to the challenge of meeting current global energy demands and contribute to the production of clean, low-carbon fuels in the future, the statement said.

Patil explained the Chevron team that will be operating here will execute complex global operations and energy projects in collaboration with international stakeholders.

"The establishment of the Chevron Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru will be in line with the Government of Karnataka's priorities for technology, innovation and skill development. This investment reflects the importance of Karnataka as an important destination for global companies," it stated. 

Sri Taralabalu branch mutt pontiff, Panditaradhya Shivacharya Swamiji, highlighted the shared spiritual values between Lingayat and Islam, emphasizing the potential for unity and mutual understanding between the two faiths.

Speaking at a program on the Quran organized by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind at Ta Ra Su Rangamandir, Swamiji reflected on the common ground that exists between these spiritual traditions. He noted that while Lingayat and Islam are distinct religions, they share several profound principles.

Swamiji explained that the Lingayat tradition advocates for the worship of one supreme God through Istalinga puja, and similarly, Islam, as taught by Prophet Muhammad, emphasizes the oneness of God and discourages idol worship, urging believers to connect solely with Allah.

He further remarked that throughout history, many have promoted the belief in one God, known by many names, yet societal barriers still persist. 

Swamiji called for the dismantling of these barriers, urging communities to foster love, mutual respect, and understanding. He encouraged all rational thinkers to promote harmony by breaking down walls of division and embracing one another in a spirit of brotherhood. 

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Friday suggested a slew of measures to be adopted to ensure the safety and security of doctors working in hospitals across the state.

A meeting chaired by Minister for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil discussed safety measures for doctors, nurses and hospital staff.

Members of the doctors’ association were asked to draft a document so that the Department of Medical Education can prepare a standard advisory.

After the recent rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, which has shocked the entire nation, the safety profile for the working doctors has once again been reviewed, the Director of Medical Education Dr Shobha Rathod said.

“On the instructions of our minister, we have held a meeting with all the directors of the government institutes and the super specialty hospitals to identify the gaps in the safety profile for our working doctors,” she told PTI.

According to DME, there are 71 medical colleges including 22 government medical colleges under the Department of Medical Education. Apart from them, there are nursing and paramedical institutes in the state.

During the meet, the department also reviewed the safety lapses.

Following the Nirbhaya advisory, the department has been insisting that there are no dark corridors anywhere and all the places should be well lit, Rathod said adding that CCTV cameras should be installed in most of the areas.

“The security personnel are the ones who can walk anywhere with the consent in all the areas of the institute, so whether we have a good background check of all these people whom we take under security and housekeeping, that was one issue.”

All the institutes have the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) committees, which can also suggest a precautionary measure so that if there is any such incident then an alert can be sounded.

Rathod said the POSH committees have been regularly conducting meeting to make sure that there are no incidents of harassment of women.

The department is also using Artificial Intelligence for the safety of each doctor.

Self-defence training of the doctors and counseling of medical professionals regarding their stress levels were also discussed, she explained.

“We are also encouraging pink boxes so that in case of unbiased complaints, the administration can look into it,” Dr Rathod said.

“Introducing of ‘code white’ system. - If there is something called a code white, which we have already seen, it being worked out in our Indian Institute of nephro-urology, that will make all of them alert, how quickly we can be alerted if there is an untoward incident which is happening,” she added.