Karnataka to get new ministry for Non-resident Kannadigas: Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwara
Bengaluru: Karnataka Home Minister Dr. G Parameshwara has declared that a separate ministry will be started by the state government to deal with the needs of Non-resident Kannadigas, similar to the move taken recently by the Kerala government.
Addressing a group of more than 15 such Non-resident Kannadigas, who were visiting the state capital on being specially invited by Speaker UT Khader, the Home Minister said on Wednesday that he also welcomed the move by the Speaker to permit the group, under the guidance of Dr. Arathi Krishna, Vice-President of the Non-resident Indians' Commission, to watch the discussions of issues concerning Non-resident Kannadigas during the Zero Hour of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
"Kerala has taken a positive step in its attempt to respond to the needs of Non-resident Indians (NRI) by setting up a new ministry. Our government would like to follow on the steps of the Kerala government by trying to support Kannadigas living outside Karnataka. The Congress had stated in the election manifesto last year that if we came to power we will start a new ministry for NRIs. Extending the idea, we now wish to support Kannadigas living outside the state too," Parameshwara explained.
He added that, while the governments start ministries for the support of NRIs, many beneficiaries of the programs under the ministry express their desire to invest in various fields in Karnataka, with a hope to help their motherland develop.
The Speaker UT Khader, commenting on the starting of the new ministry, said, "Non-resident Kannadigas have been trying to spread awareness about the beauty of their motherland wherever they live. They have also been involving themselves in various activities to serve the people here, including trying to find employment for thousands of Kannadigas, with their earnings from abroad. When Non-resident Kannadigas continue to contribute to the development of both, our state and our nation, we certainly should consider it our duty to help solve the problems they face."
Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao, who spoke on the occasion, said, "Many natives of coastal Karnataka, who are employed abroad, contribute to the progress of the state. Protecting the interests of such people is important as it also brings us investment."
Arvind Bellad, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, attributed the increase in pride among NRIs regarding their motherland to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ministers MB Patil and Priyank Kharge, MLA NA Haris and other senior political leaders spoke on the contributions of NRIs over the decades.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
