Centre to fund project reports for intelligent transport system - Hubli Included

Source: The Hindu

The Union Urban Development Ministry will fund 80 per cent of the cost of preparing master plan/ detailed project report for intelligent transport system (ITS) in important cities across the country, including those in Karnataka.

A senior Ministry official announced this at the concluding session of a seminar on ITS jointly organised by UDD, governments of Japan and Karnataka here on Friday. Karnataka was keen on implementing ITS initially in three cities — Mysore, Bangalore and Hubli-Dharwad.

“Let the experience in these cities be pilot projects as Karnataka has been the role model for other,” the official said.

The seminar was attended by many big names in the field of electronics from Japan, which is keen on implementing ITS in India, particularly the southern States.

Addressing these companies, the official said that low-cost technology is abundantly available to develop ITS. “If you are keen on implementing ITS in India, you should deploy low-cost technology. The companies will not lose anything because the volumes of deployment are very high,” he said.

At the same time, the companies should explore to make the best utilisation of the existing infrastructure such as mobile telephone network, he suggested.

Also, the companies should be prepared to set up manufacturing units in India by creating Indian subsidiaries, as the country is keen on developing indigenous technology as well as creation of employment.

On the role of Japan International Cooperation Agency, which has been funding various projects in India, he urged the agency to fund certain pilot projects of ITS in India, to test the proof of concept.

The agency may fund preparation of detailed project reports and support the national architecture for ITS which is being developed by UDD. The next phase of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which may be launched this year, will include funding ITS.

Commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), Karnataka, V. Manjula, said that a few initiatives of ITS are being adopted in the State, including B-TRAC in Bangalore and the World Bank-funded ITS in Mysore. She said that integration of information and communication technology with the transport infrastructure, vehicles and users, will help people to make more informed travel choices even as it helps improve traffic flow.

Throughout the day, representatives from Japanese companies Nippon Koei, ITS Japan, Zero-Sum Wireless Solutions, East Nippon Expressway Company, Toshiba, Hitachi, Nagoya Electric Worksco, Mitsubushi Heavy Industries and Toyota Tshusho Electronics made presentations on different aspects of ITS.

Yasuhiro Okumura from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Taro Okawa from JICA were present.

Bus Rapid System gets Govt nod - Hubli-Dharwad included

Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/171140/bus-rapid-system-gets-govt.html

The State Cabinet on Thursday approved the scheme for introducing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system proposed in the recent budget with a nominal outlay of Rs 25 crore.

Aimed at offering seamless travel through on dedicated bus lanes, there are proposals of introducing the system in Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli and Dharwad. Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Higher Education Minister V S Acharya said a 30-km corridor between Silk Board Junction and Hebbal has been identified in Bangalore for introducing BRT at an estimated cost of Rs 550 crore. Similarly, the Mysore BRT will have corridors totalling 160 km at an estimated cost of Rs 1,173 crore, while the Hubli-Dharwad corridors will stretch for 31 km. Unhindered movement Stating that these dedicated bus lanes will be constructed for unhindered movement of buses, Acharya said the State might utilise funds from the Jawharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for parts of the projects in Bangalore and Mysore. The detailed project report (DPR) for the corridor in Bangalore is ready, he said, adding: “But it is going through some modification.” The DPR for the Mysore project is under review. In Hubli and Dharwad, they said, the DPR is in the process of being prepared. “Roads are being widened in Hubli and Dharwad, and the BRT corridor will be part of this project –– with four lanes dedicated for the BRT,” he said, adding that DPR for Hubli-Dharwad was being prepared. Further, he said the Centre (Urban Development Department) has given approval in principle for the project and the same, after the completion of procedures, could be submitted to avail assistance from the World Bank, through its sustainable urban transport development scheme.

Karnataka approves new IT & Electronic hardware policy - Electronic Hardware park in Hubli-Dharwad

Source: The Hindu

The Karnataka Government today approved the new IT and Electronic Hardware policies to further boost the growth of these sectors, which account for 20 per cent of the state’s Gross Domestic Product.

The new IT Policy 2011 envisages promotion of the information technology industries and innovative parks in Tier II and III cities, Minister for Higher Education V S Acharya told reporters after a cabinet meeting that approved the development.

Karnataka, considered as the IT hub of the country, has achieved Rs 75,000 crore worth exports in software this year, Acharya said.

The government also approved the Karnataka Electronics Hardware Policy and earmarked Rs 25 crore as budgetary allocation for its implementation.

Acharya said the state plans to develop four Electronic Hardware parks in the clusters of Bangalore—Tumkur, Shimoga— Hassan, Hubli—Dharwad and Mysore—Nanjangud.

About 500 to 1,000 acres of land has been identified for the establishment of each of the parks, the minister said.

In a major policy decision, the cabinet decided to withdraw tax exemption granted to tertiary sector activities in the Export Oriented SEZ located in the city.

The tax concession will now be available only to units that are engaged in production of export oriented products, Acharya said.

[Hubli-Dharwad] Recruitment

Source: The Hindu


International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, will organise a recruitment drive for an MNC at its Hubli-Dharwad centre on October 8. The drive is for posts in IT Infrastructure Management Services and candidates with engineer-ing degree and B.Tech. can participate. For details, call 08366510530. — Staff Correspondent

[Hubli] Send an SMS, get LPG at your doorstep

Source: Times of India



HUBLI: In what can be termed a revolution in LPG supply, Bharat Gas has decided to allow SMS booking for customers in Hubli-Dharwad.

This comes as a great relief for customers, who need not wait for a month to get their supply of gas from distributors. All they have to do is thumb out an SMS to their dealer, and it will be delivered within 24 or 36 hours.

The Union petroleum minister had instructed all gas dealers in the country to introduce SMS booking system for the benefit of customers a few months ago, to make the system of supplying LPG a hassle-free process. Bharat Gas was the first to respond, and adopt the system in the twin cities.

Earlier, they had to wait for a month -- with the mandatory 20-day interim period -- and would get their gas cylinder only after a week of booking. There were also complaints from customers of delay on the part of dealers in supplying LPG.

To avail of this facility, customers need to fill out a form with details of name, gas supply number and mobile number, issued by dealers for registration. Once registered for this service, they just need to send an SMS to the numbers given by the respective dealers.

Those customers living within a 5-km radius of the dealer will get LPG within 24 hours after sending an SMS, while those staying beyond this radius will get it within 36 hours.

Speaking to The Times of India, Raju Kurtkoti, Bharat Gas distributor, Desai and Co, said: "We have introduced this system for the first time for our customers, as per the instruction of the Union petroleum minister."

"We also have manual booking facility for those who don't have mobiles or who are not able to send SMS. It is only to provide better service to customers that we introduced SMS facility. We will also keep an eye on the people if they tried to misuse this system to get LPG gas even before completion of the minimum 21 days. This service is completely free of cost," he added.