Latest news with #Karnataka-based
India Today
06-06-2025
- India Today
ED attaches assets of ex-Karnataka co-operative bank chief, wife in Rs 63-crore scam
The Enforcement Directorate on Friday said it has attached assets worth about Rs 14 crore of the former chairman of a Karnataka-based cooperative bank and his wife as part of an alleged Rs 63 crore worth gold loan scam linked money laundering Manjunatha Gowda was arrested by the federal probe agency in April after the agency carried out raids in the former chairman of the Shimoga district co-operative central bank headquartered in Shivamogga is currently lodged in jail under judicial custody. Immovable and movable properties having present market value worth Rs 13.91 crore belonging to Gowda and his wife have been attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in an investigation related to a gold loan scam at the city branch of the cooperative bank, the ED said in a money-laundering case stems from a complaint and chargesheet filed by the Karnataka Police where it was alleged that B Shobha, a former branch manager of the said bank, in conspiracy with other co-accused "diverted" bank funds worth Rs 62.77 modus operandi, as per the police, involved opening "fraudulent" gold loan accounts without the knowledge of the individual account holders, utilising fake, fabricated and forged ED probe found that "large-scale misappropriation of funds took place at the Shimoga district co-operative central bank, city branch which was orchestrated primarily by the branch manager B Shobha on the instructions of R M Manjunatha Gowda".The agency alleged the "proceeds of crime" generated by B Sobha in conspiracy with other co-accused were "laundered" and "handed-over" to "acquired" various movable and immovable properties from the alleged illegal funds and as per a chargesheet filed by the Lokayukta Police, he was also found to be in possession of assets "disproportionate" to his known sources of income, the ED claimed.
Time of India
06-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
COMEDK UGET 2025 results out at comedk.org; online counselling from June 9
COMEDK UGET 2025 results: The Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) has officially declared the results of the Undergraduate Entrance Test (UGET) 2025. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The announcement marks a key milestone for over a lakh students aspiring to secure engineering seats across participating institutions in India. The entrance exam, conducted on May 10 and May 25, 2025, saw the participation of 1,13,111 candidates out of 1,31,937 applicants. Among those who appeared, 37,715 were from Karnataka and 75,396 from other states. Rank cards are now available from 2:00 PM on June 7, 2025, through the candidate login on the COMEDK website ( Two-phase examination conducted across 179 cities This year's UGET was conducted at 248 centres across 179 cities in India. However, due to disruptions arising from 'Operation Sindoor', COMEDK was unable to conduct all three sessions of the test in 13 centres and the third session in an additional 11 centres. To ensure fairness, the exam was rescheduled for affected candidates and held again on May 25, 2025. Provisional Answer Keys were released on May 28, 2025, and 69 candidates submitted challenges. These objections were reviewed by an Expert Committee, and the Final Answer Keys were published on June 4, 2025. Given that the examination was held in three different sessions, percentile scores were used to standardise candidate performance and determine final ranks. Karnataka students among top performers As part of its annual reporting, COMEDK released an analysis of candidate performance based on percentile rankings. The data reveals the following: • 11,412 candidates scored within the 90th to 100th percentile, of whom 3,330 are from Karnataka. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now • 11,446 candidates scored within the 80th to 90th percentile, including 3,050 from Karnataka. • 11,723 candidates scored within the 70th to 80th percentile, with 3,296 being Karnataka-based. Notably, 4 of the top 10 rank holders are from Karnataka. The state also accounts for 55 of the top 100 candidates, reflecting a strong regional performance. Rank and score cards on June 7; online counselling to begin soon Rank and score cards will be available for download in the candidate login section from 2:00 PM on June 7, 2025. Counselling will be conducted entirely online, as in previous years. The counselling registration and document upload process will open at 4:00 PM on June 9, 2025, and will remain active until 2:00 PM on June 18, 2025. Candidates must upload the required documents for verification by the expert panel through their applicant login. Detailed counselling guidelines and seat matrix will be notified on the official COMEDK website in due course. How to check COMEDK UGET 2025 results on Candidates can access their rank cards by following these steps: Step 1: Visit the official COMEDK website at Step 2: Click on the 'Applicant Login' option on the homepage. Step 3: Enter your application number and password to access your dashboard. Step 4: Click on the link to view or download your rank/score card. Step 5: Save the PDF of your rank card for future reference and counselling. It is advisable to cross-verify all personal and academic information listed on the scorecard before proceeding to the counselling phase. Counselling document upload and registration window Candidates should note the following key dates: • Rank/Score Card Availability: From 2:00 PM, June 7, 2025 • Start of Counselling Registration & Document Upload: From 4:00 PM, June 9, 2025 • Last Date for Counselling Registration & Document Upload: 2:00 PM, June 18, 2025 The official COMEDK counselling document, including step-by-step instructions for seat selection and choice filling, will be released soon. All applicants are encouraged to monitor regularly for updates.
Hans India
04-06-2025
- General
- Hans India
Veera Ratna Foundation to support families of fallen soldiers
Vijayawada: Brigadier V Venkat Reddy, Director of the State Sainik Welfare Department, said here on Tuesday that inspired by the sacrifice of a military Colonel in Karnataka who died in the line of duty, the Veera Ratna Foundation has been established to support the families of fallen soldiers. State Sainik Welfare Department in collaboration with the Karnataka-based Veera Ratna Foundation jointly organised an awareness programme aimed at empowering 'Veera Naaris' here. Addressing the Veera Naaris, Brigadier Venkat Reddy stated that the programme's objective was to raise awareness among these families, who have lost loved ones in the service of the nation. He commended the State government's decision to increase financial assistance for families of fallen soldiers from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. He also mentioned that efforts were underway to provide 300 square yards of house plots, along with either 2.5 acres of wet land or five acres of dry land. Furthermore, opportunities are being created for Veera Naaris aged between 25 and 35 to join as women police officers. Archana Chakravarthy, CEO of Veera Ratna Foundation, shared that their foundation currently provides services to Veera Naari families in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat, with aspirations to expand nationwide. She expressed happiness at the Sainik Welfare Department's invitation to extend their services to Andhra Pradesh. She reiterated the foundation's commitment to supporting the children of fallen soldiers with their education, health and other needs. The foundation also aims to provide training in various skills and professions to help these women achieve financial and mental stability. The foundation also plans to present 'Sainik Memorial Awards' in the schools where the martyred soldiers studied, with the awards being handed over by the Veera Naaris themselves. Additional Director of the Sainik Welfare Department Shiv Prasad, the district officials, Veera Ratna Foundation staff and families of soldiers who sacrificed their lives at the borders, from various districts also participated.
India Today
01-06-2025
- Health
- India Today
In tiger territory, LPG and toilet emerge as big lifesavers
"I feel much safer now. Because of an LPG connection and a toilet at home, we aren't encountering tigers or other wild animals these days in the jungle," says Pavithra S of Asthuru village in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar from Soolekobe village says an LPG connection has reduced her trips to the forest for firewood and, thereby, risks of encounters with wild animals. "Earlier, I made 10 trips a month to the forest for firewood. Now it's just one or two trips," the 30-year-old villager and Sooleke are villages inside the Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary. Both Pavithra and Govindamma have benefited from the LPG connection provided by Holematthi Nature Foundation, a Karnataka-based Maharashtra's Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, toilets under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) have helped bring down incidents of man-animal conflict and casualties, say experts. Experts believe the same is unfolding in Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand's Corbett Tiger Reserve and other wildlife forest officials, conservationists and wildlife experts tell India Today Digital how an LPG connection and a toilet at home have helped bring down deaths in attacks by wild animals, even as the overall toll of tiger attacks has increased in India, corresponding with the rising tiger population in the country. Under the Ujjwala scheme, the government provides free connection and subsidised LPG they narrate is how two centrally sponsored schemes – the LPG-providing Ujjwala Yojana and the toilet-building Swachh Bharat Mission – are scripting a success story in faraway forest there is a lack of government data, say experts, there is anecdotal evidence in government, acknowledging the impact, has ordered the construction of toilets on priority in villages within eco-sensitive zones in was after a request from wildlife biologist and conservationist Sanjay Gubbi, whose Holematthi Nature Foundation has over the years witnessed how LPG connections and toilets have helped save focus on toilets and LPG to dissuade villagers from venturing into secluded areas of forests is nothing new for foresters, and there have been state-specific projects as well. However, the Ujjwala and Swachh Bharat schemes seem to be turning out to be pan-India is indeed a silver has seen a spurt in deaths due to tiger attacks, especially since has been an alarming spike in May with 24 people dying in tiger attacks, against 16 lives lost in the same period in IN TIGERS AND TIGER-HUMAN CONFLICTS IN INDIAIndia has 3,682 tigers in the wild, which is 70% of the world's wild tiger population, according to the tiger estimation of 2022. The country has added 1,456 tigers since in itself is a turnaround poaching and habitat loss left tigers on the brink of extinction in India, which led Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to launch Project Tiger in 1973. India had just 1,800 tigers Tiger became a roaring on that, India, in 2010, set a target of doubling its tiger population by 2022, which it achieved by 2018 – with 4 years to the tiger population has increased, jungles have forest cover in India reduced by 92,989 sq km between 2011 and 2021, of which 46,707.11 sq km was lost inside Reserve Forest Areas, according to the Forest Survey of India. Between 2014 and 2024, tiger attacks in India resulted in 621 human deaths, with Maharashtra accounting for the majority of these fatalities. (Image: Getty) With the carrying capacity of forests exceeded, and human activities extending deep inside jungles, the incidents of human-tiger conflicts have seen a big rise. What has made matters worse is the condition of corridors, which connect wildlife habitats and have turned reserves into tiger high tiger density in these fragmented spaces could also be leading to fights among the animals over territory and prey base, forcing out some big cats into fringe areas that see more human to central government data, more than 600 people were killed in tiger attacks in the country between 2014 and 2024, an average of 60 deaths annually. Deaths increased after 2022, correlating with a growing tiger TOILETS ARE SAVING LIVES FROM TIGERS IN TADOBA, CORBETT AND PILIBHITShalik Jogwe, a conservationist and tour operator, from Maharashtra's Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, says that tiger attacks on people, especially women, have gone down since 2015 after the Swachh Bharat toilet scheme was implemented."Women in forest villages used to choose secluded spots to relieve themselves, which saw early morning attacks by tigers," says attacks can be prevented if tigers stay inside jungles and people can be kept away from tiger territory. That is what mitigation efforts are directed Tadoba-based conservationist counts four main reasons behind human-wildlife conflict in forest areas — farming, cattle grazing, minor forest produce (MFP) collection and open defecation."In Tadoba, entire villages would go to relieve themselves in the open earlier. Now, all houses have toilets," says non-timber forest produce collection for sale is a seasonal affair, venturing inside the jungle for firewood and open defecation was a year-round problem, he and ecotourism expert Imran Khan says that both toilets and LPG connections are likely to have helped reduce man-wildlife conflicts in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh by reducing the movement of locals into tiger habitats."Ninety-five percent of the conflicts take place within tiger habitats, which extend all the way into the periphery of the villages. Movement of villagers into high-tiger-density habitats either in Corbett Tiger Reserve or Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is the major cause of man-animal conflict," says Khan. A resident of a village inside MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka's Chamarajanagar district with her free LPG hotplate and cylinder. A resident of one such village said the LPG connection had reduced the number of trips she had to make deep inside the forest for firewood. (Credit: Holematthi Nature Foundation) advertisementDECADES-OLD KNOWLEDGE IMPLEMENTED NOWThat toilets and alternatives to firewood can help reduce human-wildlife conflict isn't a recent Bhartari, a veteran wildlife expert and former Principal Chief Conservator of Forests of Uttarakhand, says, "Toilets have been a priority for interventions since Uttarakhand's statehood."He says the allocation of four percent of the budget in the community tourism plan for Agora village in Uttarkashi district in 2005 emerged as the most beneficial investment a decade later."Toilets play a crucial role in addressing human-wildlife conflicts in specific locations. However, they are just one component of a broader strategy," says strategies, the expert says, include regularly clearing bushes along pathways, eliminating invasive species in village areas, ensuring adequate outdoor lighting, and proper disposal of food a state with high tiger numbers and tiger-attack deaths, has worked for a decade to reduce forest dependency in villages within and around protected areas. Jitendra Ramgaonkar, the Chief Conservator of Forests (wildlife) of Chandrapur, where the Tadoba Tiger Reserve is located, cites Maharashtra's Shyamaprasad Mukherji Jan Van Yojana, which offers Rs 25 lakh grants to forest villages to reduce reliance on forests for livelihood, firewood, or defecation."There has been a big reduction in incidents and deaths where people going to collect firewood or to defecate were attacked by tigers and leopards since the scheme was started in 2015. This is despite a three-time increase in tiger numbers," Ramgaonkar tells India Today HAVE BROUGHT BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES AMONG TRIBALSDoddathayamma, a 40-year-old from Jayammanadoddi village in Chamarajnagar district, says earlier she would frequently hear of fatal attacks by animals, especially by elephants. Such news, she says, has become rare since villagers got LPG connections and Sanjay Gubbi of NGO Holematthi, which works with villagers like Doddathayamma, says there is a lack of nationwide data on these issues."However, at the sites where we work, we have scientifically documented an 85% decrease in per capita firewood usage after alternative energy sources were provided," Gubbi tells India Today forester Jitendra Ramgaonkar says toilets and the safety attached to them have brought about a behavioural change in people."Tribal people who earlier used to go to forests to defecate despite having toilets at home are now using the toilets after seeing that it is safer and protects them from being attacked by tigers and leopards," he might be crucial in preventing attacks by leopards in Uttarakhand's hill districts like Pauri Garhwal and Singh Bargali, Deputy Director, The Corbett Foundation, says leopards are often drawn to human settlements in search of small livestock and occasionally attack children."Providing proper toilet facilities can play a crucial role in reducing human-leopard conflicts in Uttarakhand," he says. Govindamma (L) of Soolekobe village, who received an LPG connection, and Pavithra S of Asthuru village, who got both an LPG connection and a toilet, say their lives are safer now, after the Karnataka-based NGO helped them. (Images: Holematthi Nature Foundation) WHY VILLAGERS STILL VENTURE DEEP INTO FORESTSIf villagers like Govindamma receive LPG cylinders, why do they still need to go into forests and risk encounters with wild animals?Both Jogwe and Khan, the conservationists from Tadoba and Corbett, say that though LPG connections have helped, the villagers aren't getting the number of refills as there is the question of livelihood through the sale of non-timber forest products like honey and tendu leaves. At times, villagers also collect firewood to sell in the expert Bhartari shares an incident from a meeting in Sankar village of Almora district to explain that there is no magic bullet for the issue of human-animal village meeting was held to extend support to Kamla Devi, who had survived a tiger attack in the neighbouring Jameriya village. Both the villages are in the buffer zone of Corbett Tiger women from the Rachnatmak Mahila Manch stated, "Hum jangle jana chhod denge; hum jangle se ghas lana chhod denge; par ye jo hamari dahleej par guldar aur baagh aa rahe hain, unka hum kya karein?"The villagers said they were willing to stop venturing into the forest, but what do they do about the leopards and tigers that are reaching their doorsteps?"There is no one or simple answer to their question. A greater understanding of the conflict through research, detailed planning, and site-specific actions is necessary to effectively address such situations," says conflict is a species-specific issue in sanctuaries that are all unique in their own way, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Small steps like providing toilets and LPG cylinders help in a big way, but they will need to be supplemented with site-specific action."Tigers have adapted to living with human beings and now, it is high time that humans too learn to live with tigers," says Corbett-based Watch
News18
31-05-2025
- Sport
- News18
IPL 2025 Qualifier 1, PBKS Vs RCB: Head-To-Head, Probable XIs, Weather Forecast
Last Updated: PBKS Vs RCB, IPL 2025 Qualifier 1: Check out all the details of the first qualifier of IPL 2025 between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, slated to be held on Thursday. Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru, IPL 2025 Qualifier 1: Punjab Kings will take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 1st Playoff fixture of the Indian Premier League 2025 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, on Thursday. PBKS and RCB finished 1st and 2nd in the IPL league stage and earned the right to contest the 1st qualifier for a berth in the final of the money-rich T20 franchise league tournament. Both sides are chasing an elusive maiden IPL title and they could hand themselves a huge boost in their quest with a win on Thursday with the victor assured a slot in the summit clash, while the loser of the game will take on the winner of the eliminator match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, who finished 3rd and 4th in the league, for another shot at the summit clash. PBKS vs RCB Head-to-head: Matches: 35 PBKS Wins: 18 RCB Wins: 17 No Result: 0 Mullanpur Weather Report: The Mullanpur wicket, which could prove to be unpredictable, does favour high-run scoring games, while also providing some support to the seamers ad spinners. The ground has witnessed multiple totals in surplus of the two-hundred run mark, while also having helped bowlers, notably during Punjab's defence of 111 runs against KKR in the league phase. Players to watch: Virat Kohli: The RCB talisman, who has been part of the franchise since the inception of the tournament, has led the Karnataka-based side from the front with his astounding batsmanship, which has stood the test of time. The former Indian skipper has managed to tally 602 runs in the ongoing edition of the tournament and would look to add more to his kitty in the remainder of the event. Shreyas Iyer: The Punjab captain, who managed to clinch the IPL title with KKR in the previous campaign, looks to make it two on the bounce, albeit in different colours this time. The stylish batter has notched up 514 runs in the season and will look to supplement his leadership skills with runs off his willow. PBKS Vs RCB Probable Playing XI: Punjab Kings Probable XI: Priyansh Arya, Josh Inglis (Wk), Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Kyle Jamieson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh PBKS' Impact Subs: Prabhsimran Singh Royal Challengers Bengaluru Probable XI: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Rajat Patidar (C), Jitesh Sharma (Wk), Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal First Published: May 28, 2025, 17:32 IST
