Karnataka to establish 200-acre Semiconductor Park in new KWIN city
Bengaluru (PTI): Recognising the growing importance of advanced industrial sectors, the Karnataka government will establish a 200-acre semiconductor park in the upcoming KWIN (Knowledge, Wellbeing, and Innovation) city near here, Minister for Large and Medium Industries M B Patil said on Tuesday.
The park will be fully equipped with all necessary infrastructure and facilities required by companies in this domain and will serve as a major innovation hub for the semiconductor industry at both the national and state levels.
The Minister made the announcement at the inaugural session of the three-day Bengaluru Tech Summit, which began at the Bengaluru International Exhibition Centre.
"The Department of Large and Medium Industries has prioritised attracting investments from leading technology companies and major anchor investors. The government aims to channel such investments into various industrial segments, including drones, semiconductor devices, and solar energy. At the same time, the State is also giving serious attention to Industry 5.0 and other modern industrial models," Patil said.
According to the minister, for industries to grow and for Karnataka to remain a preferred destination of investors, a strong research and development ecosystem is essential.
Karnataka is home to over 800 R&D centres, more than 100 chip-design firms, and 18,300 start-ups.
"These centres are engaged in advanced fields such as artificial intelligence, deep tech, quantum computing, and space-tech. Of the 5,000 acres earmarked for the proposed KWIN City, ample space will be reserved for R&D facilities, supported by a well-developed ecosystem."
"We have also demarcated a dedicated Semiconductor Park of 200 acres with all facilities – this will act as the centre of all semiconductor innovation in the state and soon, the country," he added.
Noting that several technology companies in the state are actively working in AI, ML (machine learning), quantum technologies, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable innovation, the Minister said to encourage such enterprises, the state government has allocated Rs 600 crore.
Karnataka is determined to retain its leadership in both deep science and frontier technologies. In this direction, a Centre of Excellence for AI and Quantum Computing is being planned in Dharwad, he said, adding that industries are also collaborating with educational institutions in areas such as biotechnology and cyber security.
The State has adopted forward-looking policies in ESDM (Electronics System Design & Manufacturing), transportation systems, biotechnology, and start-up promotion, Patil said adding Karnataka is also working closely with countries such as Japan, the United States, Germany, and Singapore.
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NEET-UG: 2 more held, role of several NTA officers under scanner; CBI focussing on source of leak
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has arrested two more persons in connection with the NEET (UG) paper-leak case, with the role of several officers of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and other organisations, who had access to the printing press where the papers were printed, coming under the scanner, officials said on Thursday.
The agency has arrested Dhananjay Lokhanda from Ahilyanagar and Manisha Waghmare from Pune and conducted searches at 14 locations across the country in the last 24 hours, they said.
The CBI is focussing on identifying the source of the leak that has caused massive disappointment to lakhs of aspirants eyeing a seat in undergraduate medical courses, which are allotted after the highly-competitive examination, the officials said.
According to the CBI probe so far, the involvement of public servants in the leak cannot be ruled out.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested three individuals from Jaipur -- Mangilal Biwal, Vikas Biwal and Dinesh Biwal -- along with Yash Yadav from Gurugram and Shubham Khairnar from Nashik.
Khairnar was in touch with Yadav and informed him in April that Mangilal Biwal was ready to pay Rs 10-12 lakh for arranging leaked NEET (UG) 2026 questions for his younger son.
Khairnar allegedly provided 500 to 600 questions from the leaked paper to Yadav, the officials said, adding that the questions could have helped score enough marks to get a seat in a reputed medical college.
Mangilal Biwal allegedly procured the paper from Yadav, who was known to his elder son Vikas Biwal from an NEET coaching in Rajasthan's Sikar. The deal between Mangilal Biwal and Yadav was for Rs 10 lakh, if 150 questions from the question bank matched with those in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper, the officials said.
Mangilal Biwal shared the paper with his son and further distributed it among relatives.
Yadav also told Vikas Biwal to find additional candidates for the questions to recover some of the money that he had spent on getting those, the officials said.
An analysis of digital devices has given the agency incriminating chats, leaked question papers and other digital evidence. The CBI will subject the devices to a forensic examination to get the deleted data, the officials said.
The federal agency has registered an FIR and formed teams to probe the alleged NEET (UG) paper leak that resulted in the cancellation of the exam held on May 3.
The NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted across 551 Indian cities and at 14 overseas centres. Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the test, which was administered by the NTA at centres across the country.
According to the NTA, information regarding alleged malpractice was received on the evening of May 7, four days after the examination was held. The NTA said the inputs were escalated to central agencies the following morning for "independent verification and necessary action".
The Rajasthan Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) has claimed that a "guess paper" for chemistry, allegedly circulated among students ahead of the examination, had approximately 410 questions, including roughly 120 that appeared in the test.
