CII initiates nine focused tracks to transform South India by 2047
New office of CII inaugurated in Mangaluru
Mangaluru-(Press Release): The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has declared that, in alignment with its national theme, the CII Southern Region branch will focus this year on key enablers of growth that will propel economic growth of the southern states and will also set the tone to transition South India@75 to South India@100.
Speaking to reporters in the city on Saturday, Kamal Bali, Chairman of CII Southern Region, and President and Managing Director of Volvo Group India, said that the transition to South India@100 will be undertaken with the theme 'Transformation through Competitiveness, Growth, Sustainability, Trust & Globalisation' for the year 2023-24.
Highlighting the theme, Bali said, "We have nine tracks of focus or theme enablers. They are People and Culture Rejuvenation, Holistic Sustainability and ESG, Tech Adoption and Digital Transformation, Embracing Energy Transition, Innovation and Startup Ecosystems, Manufacturing Excellence, Industry 4.0, International Linkages, MSMEs, Membership Engagement and Brand Building and Sectoral Promotion."
Detailing the action points under the category of competitiveness, he said, "CII will work closely with the state government in bringing state-level policies on Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, as these are very important in realizing the economic goals and vision of the southern states. CII would also set up a state-level task force on Digital Transformation to support industries in their digitalization initiatives. This is primarily to make CII member companies be ready for Industry 4.0."
He added that CII will be handholding 2,000 MSMEs, which will be serviced and sensitized on various elements of competitiveness in collaboration with the CII Centres of Excellence.
The Chairman further said, "On the Growth front, CII would give special focus on state-level industrial policies and sectoral policies in areas like Start-ups, AI, Exports & Logistics, Food Processing & Clean Energy."
N M P Jeyesh, Regional Director, CII Southern Region, was also present at the Press Meet.
The CII Southern Region opened its office in Mangaluru on Saturday, as a major step towards expanding its services in South India. The office was inaugurated by Bali, in the presence of Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, Chairman, CII Karnataka; Praveen Kumar Kalbhavi, Chairman, CII Mangaluru District, and other senior office bearers and members of Karnataka.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Bali said that, with the opening of new office in Mangaluru, CII’s office network in South India had increased to 17, including three in Karnataka. CII would now extend its services to members and other stakeholders with specific interventions for the development of MSMEs. Mangaluru, being a vibrant tier-II city, has huge potential to contribute to the growth of Karnataka, he opined.
Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan said that an office in Mangaluru was a long dream of members in Karnataka and with their support it had become a reality. With the expansion of its network in Karnataka, the CII would be able to service its members at the grass-root level.
The opening of the office in Manguluru would support in the industrialization and economic growth of the district, he added.
Praveen Kumar Kalbavi said, "The Mangaluru office will strengthen CII’s presence in tier-II cities in Karnataka and offer specific services to industry members in sectors like exports, food processing, manufacturing besides active engagement with academia and MSMEs in the district. The Mangaluru office will play a catalytic role in the transformation of the region as an economic power house of Karnataka."
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2019 mud attack on engineer: Maharashtra court sentences BJP minister Nitesh Rane to one-month jail
Mumbai (PTI): A court in Sindhudurg on Monday convicted Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane in a 2019 case of pouring mud on an NHAI engineer when he was in opposition, and sentenced him to one-month imprisonment, noting that lawmakers are not supposed to take the law into their hands.
Later, the court suspended Rane's sentence, allowing him time to appeal before a higher court, while acquitting 29 other accused in the case.
"Even though Rane's intention was to raise a voice against the poor quality of work and inconvenience faced by the people, he was not supposed to humiliate or insult a public servant in public," additional sessions court judge V S Deshmukh stated.
"If such incidents continue to occur, public servants would not be able to discharge their duties with dignity," the judge noted.
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Calling the act "abuse of power", the court held that "it is the demand of time to curb such tendency".
Rane, a son of former Union minister Narayan Rane, was among 30 people charged under various offences, including rioting, assault to deter a public servant, and criminal conspiracy. He was in Congress when the incident occurred.
All the accused, including Nitesh Rane, were acquitted of these offences, as the court found insufficient evidence to support most of these claims.
However, the court found Nitesh Rane guilty of an offence under section 504 (intentional insult meant to provoke a breach of public peace) and sentenced him to one month's jail.
Rane, then a Congress MLA, had called the Sub-Divisional Engineer of the National Highway Authority, Prakash Shedekar, to a bridge over the Gad river in Kankavli on July 4, 2019, for inspecting the work to widen the Mumbai-Goa Highway.
According to the prosecution, Nitesh Rane and his followers, frustrated by the poor quality of the roadwork and waterlogging, confronted the engineer. They poured muddy water on Shedekar and forced him to walk through slush in public.
The court, after perusing the evidence on record, noted that the informant (victim) was holding a high post in the National Highway Authority.
"Despite that, he was made to walk through the muddy water in public. It would have certainly humiliated and insulted him," the court remarked.
The judge held that Rane compelling Shedekar to walk through the muddy water "was nothing but an intentional insult to the informant," and provocation which will cause him to break the public peace.
