The first global vaccine for the prevention of dengue, the outbreak-prone fatal viral disease, is in the final stages of development.

From the sky, the Garden City of Bangalore now looks more smoggy compared to other mega cities in the subcontinent, thanks to rising levels of tiny soot particles in the atmosphere from vehicle and

Karnataka will build a gas-powered plant at Bidadi near Bangalore to meet the ever-increasing demand for power by the corporate giants.

The 1,400 Mw combined gas cycle plant will have four units of 350 Mw each. Sourcing for the gas is under finalisation. The project is estimated to cost Rs 3,750 crore. Energy minister Shobha Karandlaje, on Thursday told reporters at Dharwad, this gas power plant would be exclusively for Bangalore city. Of the power produced in the state, 45 per cent is being utilised by the people in Bangalore.

A study by the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC) has revealed that there are increased prospects for agribusiness and corporates to enter the horticulture sector if contract farming is promoted in the State.

The study, carried out by Pramod Kumar, professor and head, Agriculture Development and Rural Transformation Centre, ISEC, assessed the impact of the National Horticultural Mission (NHM) in Karnataka.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has fixed the capacity of Reliance Gas Transportation Infrastructure Ltd’s (RGTIL) East-West gas pipeline at 85 million standard cubic meters per day.

East-West pipeline, which ferries gas from Reliance Industries’ eastern offshore KG-D6 fields from its landfall point at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Bharuch in Gujarat, has been in operation since April 1, 2009.

The slow pace of laying of the inter-state pipeline, and the delays in signing up for marketing tie-ups for the sale of natural gas is likely to delay the commissioning of the Petronet LNG Terminal at Puthuvype near here.

The project was earlier scheduled to be completed by the year-end and later re-scheduled to next January. But the inordinate delay in marketing arrangements and in the pipeline work on Kochi-Mangalore and Kochi-Bangalore stretches now face serious concerns not only on the commissioning, but even the viability of the Rs 4,300 crore project. The terminal is ready to receive LNG by January, 2013. Phase II of the 900 km GAIL pipeline to Mangalore and Bangalore which involves an investment of Rs 3,400 crore is badly held up, said top officials of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT), GAIL and Petronet LNG

The Karnataka High Court on Friday warned the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that it could issue orders for superseding the elected representatives on the city council if a dispute betwe

Poor response to offer of sites to farmers

The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) will hold camps at villages where lands have been acquired for the formation of Arkavathy Layout to facilitate the process of claiming compensation. The move comes in the wake of lukewarm response to the offer of giving developed sites in exchange for the land acquired.

On a day when the Supreme Court directed the Union and State governments to provide basic infrastructure, including drinking water and toilets, in all schools within six months, a survey conducted among parents (low-income group) in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore said that “toilets remain the single-most commonly voiced concern for girl students and their parents across India among the lower-income group.”

The secondary data of survey added that only 44 per cent schools covered by the Right to Education Act have separate, functioning girls’ toilets. In the rest, girls either need to risk embarrassment and run to nearby fields, or run back home to use the toilet.