Economy

If there is one politician who is most qualified to present a Budget for Karnataka, it is the Chief Minister himself - Siddaramaiah. While he has shown his ability to do the fine balance with not antagonising the public with more taxes, he has played to the gallery as far as keeping multiple vote banks in good humour is concerned. What should the budget aim to do? What are the key measures that should have been dealt with differently in the budget? Creation of more jobs across agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors should be the fundamental objective for the moment.…

Every budget talks about how Bangalore is an important metropolis and how its glory as an IT-BT capital has to be restored. In keeping with the current sentiment, the budget has discussions about garbage, roads, sites and investments. However there is only so much a city can take; so much a city can absorb; a limit to which it can cope. So, the question with every budget is that why are we so Bangalore-centric? Unpack the current Karnataka budget and you have a section dedicated to Bangalore which details out fly-overs, sky-walks, grade separators and garbage management. There is an…

Connectivity to Bangalore will be improved in the coming years, with the government formally announcing the willingness to form Bangalore Suburban Rail Corporation, in the state budget, a few days after the proposal getting formal approval. This has cheered many groups who have been batting for the commuter railway for many years. Other major announcement was the decision to separate ground water wing from the Mines and Geology Department and form a Ground Water Directorate. This looks important in the background of the Right to Water bill proposed to be tabled in the Parliament. “We should not avail loans just…

The new Budget has been announced. For the first Budget with limited time, it is indeed a good one. Our Chief Minister  has said in the introduction that he intends to provide every citizen the bare necessities of life, a house, water in the tap, power, a road to the house, sewage facilities, education for children and safety for people and property. Ultimately this is what every citizen looks forward to and what we have not been able to achieve in the past 65 years. He has stated that he will ensure that taxpayers’ money is well-spent with no wastage,…

Gone are the days when security and surveilence depended on security guards, thanks to the technical advancement. CCTV camera industry is a booming business today, with every shop, showroom, mall, apartment and office complex and hotel investing in electronic modes of security. A small yet significant part of this growing industry in Bangalore is Sadiya Sarwar. Daughter of an automobile engineer and a mother of two, Sadiya started her business in the year 2007. She credits her father for having taught her the ways of this field. “The year I started my company, C2i solutions, the CCTV camera business was…

redBus, the ticket booking business, headquartered in Bengaluru and funded by VCs in this city, is to be acquired by the South Africa-based multinational media group, Nasper, according to some media reports.  Many points are being raised on whether the founders (Phani et. al) and other stakeholders should remain invested instead of exiting. One never knows, what could happen if they wait. Yes, there could be a possibility of a higher exit at a greater value, but there is also a possibility of a value fall. It is for the promoters and other key stakeholders to think through options and take…

A woman sits with her ten-month-old baby. It's lunch time. Even as the hot afternoon sun beats down on her face, she quickly covers the baby with her veil protecting him from the sun. A huge apartment complex is under construction. There are over 12 workers there, not to mention two toddlers of around two years running behind their mother. She has just finished eating and resuming her work. She shouts at them to stop yelling. They don't.Two youngsters aged 16-17 lose their grip over the cement bag they are carrying and it rips apart. There are two more couples,…

Frail women carrying bricks or sand on their head and walking in the heat, sometimes with a small kid tagging along. Men in dusty, faded clothes with dry, rough hands smearing cement on the well-laid bricks or sprinkling water on a building that has just been cemented. This is a pretty common sight in a city like Bangalore that is ever-growing, ever-expanding and constantly in the process of being built or rebuilt. Building construction workers are growing in numbers every day, with constructions going on in any given road at any point in time. Labourers at work in the construction…

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) launched a 1000 rupee silver commemorative coin which was released in July-August 2012 to commemorate of 1000 years of the Brihadeeswarar temple in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Although, the Parliament of India approved a bill in 1975 to mint coins up to denominations of Rs 1000, the government never issued coins worth more than Rs. 150. The 1000 rupee coin was issued to mark a very significant aspect of Indian history. Incidentally, it is the first time that the Mumbai Mint issued the silver coin of Rs. 1000. The coin, weighing 35 gm, contains…

The debate about including IT/ITES industry under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act has been going on for a while. Here is what IT employees think about their work conditions and about the IE Act. Pic: Wikimedia Commons Most employees that Citizen Matters spoke to, opined that the Act will help employees. There was skepticism though, on a government department's interference in the industry and on its ability to actually help employees.While most employees complain about favouritism, overtime without compensation etc., some complain about being affected by serious malpractices. Ravi (name changed), who used to work in Yahoo, the multinational…