Karnataka Current affairs - Free PDF Download -

Karnataka Digital Economy Mission

Karnataka Digital Economy Mission

In July 2020, the Karnataka cabinet cleared the formation of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission.
Objective:
- To boost more than 7000 start-ups, e-commerce, and other gig economy companies in the State.
Key features:
- KDEM is being launched under Sec 8 of the Companies Act, 2013.
- Under the mission, the Karnataka Government will hold 49% of shares of the companies and the rest 51% by the industries and other stake holders.
- Note: Earlier, e-commerce, startups and other gig economic companies were operating under “Technology Mission” where 3-4 government agencies were involved.

Karnataka Digital Economy Mission

Invest Karnataka
- The Karnataka govt had launched “Invest Karnataka” in 2016 a company led by private sector.
- The company has been active in promoting the State globally and is efficiently run jointly by the industry as private partners and the government.
- Of the nine directors of the company, six are from the industry.
- The Industries Minister is the Chairman of Invest Karnataka.
- Karnataka became the first State to form a company under Sec 8 which is led by industrialists.

Nekar Samman Yojane

In July 2020, Karnataka govt launched a scheme for the weaver’s community known as ‘Nekar Samman Yojane’, which means Weaver Samman Yojana.
Features:
- Silk, cotton, woolen and other handloom weavers in the state of Karnataka have to register themselves at the Seva Sindhu portal.
- Under the scheme, the state government is transferring Rs 2000 of financial support to all weavers in the state registered with the Seva Sindhu portal.
- 40,634 handloom weavers have already registered themselves under the Seva Sindhu portal.
- As per the 4^thAll India Handloom Census, there are 54,789 handloom weavers registered in the state of Karnataka.

Skill Connect Forum

Karnataka government has launched a portal called “Skill Connect Forum”.
The portal seeks to connect job seekers with employers on a common platform. It also provides job seekers information on available jobs.
The portal will bridge the gap between job seekers and the employers.
- Individuals in need of jobs can register on the “Skill Connect Forum” portal by uploading their details such as qualification, skill sets and other details.
- Employers in need of people will also register on the portal which will match the requirement and availability.

Micro Mitra

The Karnataka Bank rolled out a new product titled “KBL Micro Mitra” for the Micro entrepreneurs.
Under the newly launched product, the Micro manufacturing and service enterprises will be offered a financial assistance of up to Rs 10 lakhs.
This financial assistance would be provided either for working capital or for investment purposes.
- There is a simplified procedure and low rate of interest to avail this.
KBL Micro Mitra would be available for the Micro entrepreneurs across India through all the branches of Karnataka Bank.

Monkey park in Karnataka

In an attempt to avoid human-animal conflict and solve the monkey menace on farmers’ land, the Karnataka government has decided to develop a monkey park.
The monkey park will be the first such in the state and will be set up on 100 acres of land at the Nagavalli forest in Hosanagara taluk, Shivamogga district.
Many wildlife activists have opposed idea. Environmentalists say instead of park, conserve the forest instead..!!
- Note: Already a similar kind of park set up in Himachal Pradesh has not yielded desired results.

Meghasandesha

Karnataka has launched “Meghasandesha” App for real time information & ‘Varunamitra’ portal for real-time information on weather.
Developed by:
- Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre(KSNDMC), in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science(IISc) under the project ‘Urban Flood Model’(UFM) for the city.
The project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI)
The app and web portal helps people & civic agencies to tackle rain related issues.

Meghasandesha & Varunamitra

Megha Sandesha
- It is a bilingual app provides data on 3 main modules
  - Live weather
  - Weather forecast
  - Safe routes
- The app also has an emergency tab will help to connect with BBMP emergency control rooms.

Varunamitra

It is a dedicated web portal which aims to leverage technology driven solutions to manage and mitigate the Urban Flood & will also provide details on flood vulnerable areas in each zone

107th Indian Science Congress

The 107th Indian Science Congress (ISC) was held in University of Agricultural Sciences in Bengaluru in January 2020.
PM Modi gave the motto of “Innovate, Patent, Produce and Prosper” to the young scientists in the country
Theme: “Science and Technology: Rural Development
- The five-day summit saw participation of several policymakers, scientists, academians, inventors and politicians from across the world.
- The 107th Indian Science Congress focussed on the farmers who introduced innovations in agriculture.
- The previous (2019) session 106th edition was held at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, Punjab.

107th Indian Science Congress

Indian Science Congress
- The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British Chemists: Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P.S. MacMahon.
- The first meeting of the Congress was held from January 15-17, 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.

107th Indian Science Congress

I-STEM portal launch
- During the inauguration of the 107th Indian Science Congress, PM Modi also launched the Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM) Portal.
- The portal has been designed to be the gateway for researchers to locate a specific type of facility they require to conduct their research and development work in India.

Arasalu railway station – A museum

Karnataka govt inaugurated two lifts at Shivamogga Railway station along with new passenger amenities at new Arasalu station.
The old station has been dedicated to much awaited ‘Malgudi Museum’.
The old station building at Arasalu had featured extensively in the popular television serial ‘Malgudi Days’.
The museum pays tribute to the show and features toy trains, bogies, fountains and collections of photographs taken at the time of shooting and that of writer RK Narayan.

Kambala

Srinivasa Gowda was running in a traditional Indian sport called ‘kambala’- an annual event where a man, called the ‘kambala jockey’, has to keep up with two buffaloes, who pull him towards the finish line.
The animals are trained for the sport and the 28-year-old Gowda actually ran 142.5 metres, not just 100, in 13.62 seconds, which when back-calculated, equates to 100m run in around 9.55 seconds, which is 0.03 seconds faster than Usain Bolt’s record time of 9.58 seconds.

Janasevaka scheme

Karnataka govt has started Janasevaka scheme to provide doorstep government services .
Under the scheme, the govt has launched an exclusive number (080-44554455), a website (janasevaka.karnataka.gov.in) and mobile application.
The scheme offers to provide health card, ration card, marriage registration certificate, identity card, etc. at the door steps.
A Jan Sevak is appointed to deliver the services under the scheme. The Jan Sevak will reach the residence of the citizen, collect required documents and deliver the service at his door step.
The Cost of the service is Rs 115. This amount does not include the cost of documentation.
The scheme is to be implemented in Bengaluru. Depending on the work load, it is to be extended to the rest of Karnataka.

Suranga Bawadi

Suranga Bawadi, an integral part of the ancient Karez system of supplying water through subterranean tunnels built during Adil Shahi era in Vijayapura.
A New York-based non-governmental organisation has included it in the World Monument Watch list for 2020 along with 24 other monuments from across the world.

Karez System

Karez is a water harnessing technology in which groundwater is brought to the surface by a tunnels.
In this system, no mechanical pump or lift is used. Gravity alone brings the water from the underground source.
The technology originated in Persia/Iran.

Apthamitra

The Karnataka Govt launched “Apthamitra” mobile application and helpline to fight COVID-19.
The application aims at providing medical guidance and advice on COVID-19.
When a person has symptoms of COVID-19, he or she can call to the helpline number of “Apthamitra”. They will be advised by a team of medical experts based on the symptoms.
Apthamitra is a two-tier system.
- In the first tier the application is manned by AYUSH professionals, nurses or student volunteers.
- In the second tier, the app is managed by MBBS professionals, volunteer doctors and AYUSH doctors.

Corona Watch

The Karnataka government has developed a Corona Watch app.
It has options for use by the general public and some other options for exclusive use by the officials.
It allows the general public to view spots visited by COVID-19 patients and hence avoid visiting them.
It also has information on the location of nearby medical facilities.
For the officials, it enables the tracking of quarantined patients.

Zero – Cov

A team of researchers from NITSurathkal have developed a cost-effective disinfectant chamber.
It is named Zero-Cov, the chamber is made out of an old refrigerator and uses UV radiation with a wavelength of 254 nanometres.
It can destroy or inactivate all surface contamination — bacteria and viruses up to 99.9 %, including Covid-19 coronavirus.

Pranavayu

A programme named “Pranavayu” has been launched by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, Karnataka.
The programme has been launched by city corporation to create awareness on the need to self examine the respiratory health for Bengaluru citizens.
Programme is an effort to assist people with low oxygen level in their blood to get themselves examined early before their infection becomes fatal.