Karnataka First

Marking a significant achievement for the Scheduled Tribe community, K Sneha Kundapur from Ulthoor, Thekatte, has become the first girl from the region’s ST community to successfully complete both MBBS and MD degrees.

Sneha, the eldest daughter of V Ganesh and Jayshree Shedgeri, has carved an inspiring path through dedication and academic excellence. She completed her early schooling at Ankola Nirmala Hrudaya School and Holy Rosary School, Kundapur, before moving to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Hebri. She pursued her Pre-University education at Alvas, Moodbidri.

Sneha completed her MBBS at A J Institute of Medical Sciences, Mangaluru, and later pursued further medical studies at a medical college in New Delhi. After completing her one-year service at PHC Kota, she continued her postgraduate studies and successfully completed her MD from a reputed medical college in New Delhi.

Her achievement has brought pride to her family, community and the region, standing as a motivating example for young students, especially girls from marginalised backgrounds, to aspire toward higher education and professional excellence.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

Summary

Two students and an educator from India were announced among 15 finalists from across the globe competing for the World Education Medals 2025.

The winner of each of the three medals will be announced next month and honoured at the Education Leaders Forum in London.

Two students and an educator from India were on Thursday announced among 15 finalists from across the globe competing for the World Education Medals 2025. Raul John Aju, a 16-year-old student from Kerala who founded AIrealm Technologies Pvt Ltd, and Bengaluru student Ashwat Prasanna who founded EyeSight are among the five shortlisted in the medal’s “Students” category.

Vineeta Garg, Head of IT at a Delhi school, is named among the five finalists for the World Education Medal in the “Educators” category.

“With changemakers like Raul John Aju, Ashwat Prasanna, and Vineeta Garg, I am confident we are moving in a positive direction for the future,” said Mayank Dhingra, Director and Global Head of Education Business and Strategy at HP – the IT company behind the medals. “Their innovative efforts demonstrate a promising path forward for education, ensuring it evolves to meet the needs of future generations,” he said. The World Education Medals were founded by HP to spotlight the innovative work of those using artificial intelligence (AI) to transform education and close learning gaps.

source/content: telegraphindia.com/edugraph (headline edited)

The centre operates as a multidisciplinary hub, bringing together clinicians, data scientists, and AI researchers.

The Translational AI for Networked Universal Healthcare (TANUH) Foundation has been established at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru as a dedicated AI Centre of Excellence in Healthcare to advance AI-driven healthcare innovation at scale in the country.

This has been established in line with the government of India’s vision of ‘Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India’, and the Ministry of Education has set up four Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI-CoEs), each hosted by a premier academic institution in India, including IISc.

IISc informed that the TANUH AI-CoE is a Section 8 not-for-profit company that focuses on developing and deploying scalable AI solutions for the effective management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the point of care.

The centre operates as a multidisciplinary hub, bringing together clinicians, data scientists, and AI researchers.

Nine faculty members from IISc, spanning digital health, machine learning, and public health, anchor the centre’s research programmes. TANUH’s core team, comprising executives, engineers, programme managers, and research staff, with significant industry experience, enables the translation of health-AI technologies from the lab to the population scale.

TANUH’s goal is to design and deploy tools for early detection, risk prediction, monitoring and personalised solutions across high-burden conditions such as oral cancer, breast cancer, retinal diseases, diabetes, and mental health.

These tools will help frontline health workers, improve primary and hospital care, and include human decision-making to make sure that the care is safe and effective. The solutions are designed to be used directly where patients are treated, follow responsible AI standards, and are created and tested together with doctors and researchers at top national institutions like AIIMS, New Delhi.

“We are excited to establish TANUH, an AI Centre of Excellence in Healthcare. This multidisciplinary centre will deliver scalable AI solutions for NCDs like oral and breast cancer, exemplified by our award-winning Aarogya Aarohan app. TANUH aligns well with the ‘Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India’ vision, and seeks to enable accessible healthcare across the country,” said Professor G. Rangarajan, Director, IISc and Chair, Board of Directors, TANUH.

TANUH has already launched Aarogya Aarohan, an application developed by the CoE’s Oral Cancer Screening team, in collaboration with AIIMS, ARTPARK, Biocon Foundation, BITS Pilani (Goa), KLE Society’s Institute of Dental Sciences, Triveous, and other clinical and industrial partners, with guidance from the Oral Cancer Task Force.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

As AI models become more complex and data centre investment surges globally, having in-house chip design capabilities is crucial, Nitesh Banga, Chief Executive Officer of Virtusa, said.

Virtusa Corporation, a Massachusetts-based product and platform engineering services firm, has on Wednesday announced the acquisition of SmartSoC Solutions, a firm which offers Semiconductor engineering, integrated circuit (IC) design services and automotive solutions. It did not disclose the size of the deal.

Bengaluru firm SmartSoC Solutions has over 1,400 engineers with expertise in VLSI, physical design and embedded software.

According to a company communique, this acquisition marks a pivotal moment for Virtusa and will immediately expand its industry portfolio to include the high-growth semiconductor sector and completing its full-stack, end-to-end service capabilities, spanning the entire digital technology ecosystem from the chip to the network, cloud, and application layer. 

The integration of SmartSoC, with its deep expertise in silicon design, verification, and embedded systems engineering, would position Virtusa to capitalise on the secular demand for advanced silicon driven by global digital transformation, it further said.

The acquisition would also establish Virtusa’s semiconductor engineering footprint in India, in addition to strengthening its global delivery capabilities by integrating SmartSoC’s engineering presence across Bengaluru, Hubballi and Hyderabad.

Nitesh Banga, Chief Executive Officer of Virtusa, said “The acquisition of SmartSoC is transformational for Virtusa. It immediately establishes us as a key player in the high-growth semiconductor engineering space, completing our vision for a full-stack offering that can serve clients from the foundational silicon layer all the way through to the customer application.’’

The existing leadership team, led by Chief Executive Officer Bharath Desareddy, would remain unchanged and continue to oversee all delivery programs and client engagements. All current project structures, contractual commitments and service agreements would continue as they are, as per the communique.

Bharath Desareddy, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SmartSoC Solutions, said, “Joining forces with Virtusa is an incredible opportunity for the SmartSoC team and our customers.’’

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday unveiled the world’s second-largest Khadi national flag on the steps of Suvarna Soudha, marking a significant moment of patriotic celebration in Karnataka.

The massive tricolour, crafted as a tribute to the nation’s unity and Khadi heritage, drew widespread admiration as it unfurled against the imposing backdrop of the state’s legislative complex.

The flag was sponsored and created by Vinod Kumar Revappa Bamanna and his family from Kamalapur in Kalaburagi district, reflecting their personal commitment to promoting national pride and the legacy of Khadi.

The ceremony was attended by several senior state leaders, including Assembly Speaker U T Khader, deputy chief minister D K Shivakumar, law and parliamentary affairs minister H K Patil, deputy speaker Rudrappa Lamani, government chief whip (Legislative Council) Saleem Ahmed, government chief whip (Legislative Assembly) Ashok Pattan, and chief secretary Dr Shalini Rajneesh, along with numerous MLAs and top officials.

Hundreds of citizens gathered to witness the unveiling, which quickly evolved into a moment of collective pride. The sight of the giant flag billowing over Suvarna Soudha created a striking visual, marking the occasion as a memorable milestone in the state’s ongoing tribute to India’s national symbols.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

 Karnataka has emerged as a potential hotspot for two of the world’s most valuable resources — gold and lithium — after significant deposits of both minerals were discovered in the forest belts of Koppal and Raichur. But despite the scale of the findings, extraction has ground to a halt due to the sites falling within protected forest zones, creating a growing standoff between the mines and geology department and the forest department.

The mines and geology department, which is conducting exploration at 65 locations statewide along with the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and private agencies, said the gold concentration found in Koppal’s Amrapur block is among the richest ever recorded in India.

“In a rare occurrence, we found 12–14 grams of gold per tonne in the Amrapur block,” The New Indian Express quoted department officials as saying. “Typically, gold exploration yields about 2–3 grams per tonne. Even Hutti Gold Mines averages only around 2–2.5 grams. But Amrapur lies inside a protected forest patch, and we cannot move forward without clearance,” the official said.

The department is also excited about what could become India’s most promising lithium resource. Officers said lithium deposits identified at Amareshwara in Raichur represent only the second confirmed lithium occurrence in the country after the Jammu and Kashmir Valley discovery.

“Here too, the forest clearance has not come through. If allowed, Karnataka could become the first state in India to begin lithium extraction,” an official said.

The findings were discussed at a detailed board meeting in November 2025 involving state and central agencies. Exploration of rare metals takes place in four stages: reconnaissance, pitting and fencing in the first two phases, followed by drilling up to 500 meters and preliminary mining in the final stages. In Koppal and Raichur, only the first two phases have been completed.

While large gold deposits were first identified in 2020 and lithium in 2023, no drilling has been conducted so far. Officials say the delay is not just bureaucratic. “Our ground staff are under constant threat — from those wanting to illegally exploit the mineral wealth and from groups trying to obstruct the study. Their safety is a major concern,” a department source said.

Forest department officials, meanwhile, said they are facing continuous pressure to grant clearances. Proposals submitted to the department include lithium extraction in the Lingsugur reserve forest and gold mining in the Amrapur reserve forest in Kushtagi. But officials remain firm.

“We cannot open virgin protected forests for mining,” a senior forest officer said. “Forests are ecological wealth — once damaged, they cannot be restored. The pressure is increasing every year, but we cannot compromise on core environmental safeguards.”

The mines and geology department reiterated that exploration is continuing in non-forest regions across the state, covering 6,73,660 hectares and targeting a wide range of minerals including platinum group metals, bauxite, copper, cobalt, nickel, chromite, vanadium, uranium, diamonds and rare earth elements such as kyanite and xenotime.

Even so, the richest finds — the high-yield gold seam and the rare lithium deposit — remain locked beneath Karnataka’s protected forests, leaving the state at the centre of an intensifying debate over conservation versus resource extraction.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

These figures are of relevance now because the 16th Finance Commission, tasked with deciding the devolution formula for the period 2026-31, last month submitted its recommendations to the government.

Seven States contribute a higher share in total tax collections in the country than their share in what they get back from the Centre as devolution, an analysis of data shared by the government in Parliament shows.

The data shared by the Ministry of Finance to the Rajya Sabha in a reply shows that Uttar Pradesh accounted for 4.6% of the total tax collected in the country between 2020-21 and 2024-25, but received 15.8% of the taxes shared by the Centre during this period. 

An analysis by The Hindu shows that while Uttar Pradesh had the highest positive difference, where the share in devolution exceeded the share in taxes collected, Maharashtra had the biggest negative difference, where the share in taxes collected exceeded the share in devolution.

Maharashtra contributed 36.1% of total revenue but received 6.65% of the Centre’s tax devolution in the period 2020-21 and 2024-25. 

Uneven Distribution

The difference between a State’s share in devolution and its share in total tax collections.

Negative values mean the share in collections exceed share in devolutions. Values in percentage points.

Source: Ministry of Finance reply in the Rajya Sabha

These figures are of particular relevance now because the Sixteenth Finance Commission, tasked with deciding the devolution formula for the period 2026-31, last month submitted its recommendations to the government. That is, a new devolution formula will come into effect from April 1, 2026.

The Centre clarified that the amount of devolution that each State has so far received has been in line with the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission. 

The Ministry of Finance also clarified that States’ contributions to central taxes is not a criteria taken into account by the 15th Finance Commission when it came up with its devolution formula for the period 2020-21 to 2025-26. 

“Devolution to States during the last five financial years was based on the inter-se percentage worked out by the 15th Finance Commission on the basis of six criteria — population, area, income distance, demographic performance, forest & ecology and tax & fiscal efforts. Contribution to the Central Exchequer was not adopted by the 15th FC as a criterion,” Minister of State for Finance Panka Chaudhary said in his reply.

The other States with negative differences include Karnataka, whose share in total taxes collected exceeded its share in devolutions by 8.8 percentage points, Haryana (4.3 pps), Gujarat (3.5 pps), Tamil Nadu (2.95 pps), Telangana (1.4 pps) and Goa (0.04 pps).

On the other hand, Bihar’s share in devolution exceeded its contribution to total taxes by 8 pps, Madhya Pradesh’s by 5.5 pps, and Rajasthan by 3.55 pps. 

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The Allegiance International Co. Ltd. of Taiwan will establish an India-Taiwan Industrial Park (ITIP) in Karnataka with an investment of ₹1,000 crore.

The ITIP will house Taiwanese firms that are focused on electronics and semiconductor and contribute to the development of a supply chain ecosystem for components, PCBs, and chip design in the State.

According to the Department of Electronics, IT, BT and Science and Technology, this collaboration will strengthen Karnataka’s position as India’s leading destination for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) and accelerate the growth of the semiconductor ecosystem in the State.

The State government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Allegiance International Co. Ltd as an initial step towards implementing the project. The MoU was signed by Rahul Sharanappa Sankanur, Director, Department of Electronics, IT, BT, and Lawrence Chen, VP, Allegiance Group, in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister for IT and S&T, Priyank Kharge.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, “The ITIP will attract cutting-edge technology and investments, creating opportunities for our youth and strengthening India’s position in the global value chain.”

Mr. Kharge said Karnataka has led India’s technology revolution and continues to dominate in innovation, deep-tech talent, and semiconductor design.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

The Conclave focuses on the theme ‘Amplifying Human Potential with AI & Robotics’

St. Joseph’s University, Bengaluru, and Unfold Consulting will host the 7th Intrapreneurship Conclave on November 20 and 21, at the university’s campus in Bengaluru. 

The Conclave focuses on the theme ‘Amplifying Human Potential with AI & Robotics’.

Day one offers intensive Learning Labs, Masterclasses, and Leadership Lessons led by industry experts, including Maj. Gen. Ravi Murugan (Retd), Suparna Mitra, and leaders from Samsung R&D, Societe Generale, Collins Aerospace, and Brillio. A special round-table, co-led by St. Joseph’s University and Collins Aerospace, will address strengthening intrapreneurial talent in academia.

Day two features keynotes by S. Selva Kumar from Government of Karnataka, and Prahlada Rama Rao, from DRDO, along with debates, idea showcases, and recognition events.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

A prize pool of ₹1.8 lakh was awarded, with top projects to be further supported by industry experts.

BMS Institute of Technology and Management organized REBOOT 2025, a hackathon exclusively for faculty members, with the finale held in Bengaluru on November 22 in the presence of industry mentors and jury members from Unisys, SAP Labs, Samsung Electronics, IBM, Harman International, Oracle, and other leading IT companies. 

Lalithanand Moses, V-P and Managing Director, Unisys India, was the chief guest. He highlighted Unisys’ 16-year association with BMSIT, assuring continued support through hackathons, internships, and mentoring. 

Avirama Sharma, Chairman, BMS Institute of Technology and Management, and Principal Sanjay H.A, emphasized the institution’s commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship.

Over 300 faculty members in 54 teams presented SDG-aligned ideas, evaluated across multiple rounds. A prize pool of ₹1.8 lakh was awarded, with top projects to be further supported by industry experts.  

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)