The background of new ministers – Brief note
Bengaluru: 25 new ministers from Congress and JDS, who took the oath on Wednesday, have been inducted in the cabinet of the Congress-JDS coalition.
At a simple ceremony held at Rajbhavan's glass house on Wednesday at 2:12 pm, Governor Vajubhai Vala observed the oath of the new ministers.
Here is the brief information about the ministers who took the oath today.
HD Ravanna
HD Revanna, the second son of the former prime minister and JDS chief HD Deve Gowda, has been elected from Hollenarasipura Assembly constituency for the fourth time. He has served as Minister of Fertilizer and Public Works, and also the president of Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF).
CS Putharaju
CS Puttaraju is representing the Melukote assembly constituency in Mandya district, and earlier served as MP. He has also served as MLA from Pandawapur constituency but for the first time becoming a minister.
SR Mahesh
S Ramesh, who has been elected as an MLA for the third time from KR Nagar constituency in Mysore district, has sworn in as a minister for the first time in Chief Minister Kumaraswamy's cabinet.
GT Deve Gowda
Mysore district's Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency's representative has previously worked as a minister. He also served as the Chairman of the Karnataka House Board in 2007. Deve Gowda has defeated Siddaramaiah, and he is the senior legislator.
Bandeppa Kashmipur
Bhedappa Kashmepur, a legislator from Bidar district south constituency, had previously served as Agriculture Minister during the Congress-JDS coalition government and lost the 2013 election. This time he is a minister again, and he has vast experience.
Venkatrao Nadagowda
Venkatrao Nadagowda, representing the Sindhnur assembly constituency in Raichur district has been elected as MLA twice but got the ministership for the first time in the Congress-JDS coalition government.
SR Srinivas (Vasu)
SR Srinivas, who represents the Gubbi assembly constituency in Tumkur district, is the senior legislator and becoming minister for the first minister. He made headlines by releasing a CD related to ‘operation Kamala' during the BJP government.
D.C.Thammanna
D.C. Thammanna is representing the Maddur assembly constituency in Mandya district. Thammanna is a senior legislator and becoming the minister for the first time.
MC Managoli
MC Managuli, who represents the Sindhagi assembly constituency in Vijayapur district, has been sworn in as the first minister.
- Mahesh
- Mahesh, the first time MLA from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) from Kollegal constituency in Chamarajanagar district, has taken oath as a minister for the first time.
DK Shivakumar
DKS has been elected legislator from Satnur and Kanakapura constituency in Ramanagara district from 1989 to 2018 for seven times. Shivakumar was a minister in the governments of SM Krishna and Siddaramaiah. He now takes the oath as minister for the third time.
RV Deshpande:
RV Deshpande, who has been elected for the eighth time as MLA from Haliyal Assembly constituency in Uttara Kannada district, was Minister of Industry from 1994 to 2004. He was in Janata Parivar till 1999 and later joined the Congress. Deshpande served as Minister of various departments in the Siddaramaiah Government.
Krishna Byre Gowda:
Krishna Byre Gowda, who has been elected as MLA for the third consecutive term from 2008 to 2018 from Bengaluru's Byatarayanpura constituency, has served as Minister in Siddaramaiah government and now sworn in as minister for the second time.
Rajasekhar Patil:
Raj Shekhar Patil, who has been elected as a legislator for the third consecutive time from Bidar's Humnabad constituency, sworn-in as the minister for the first time.
Shankar:
- Shankar, who has been elected MLA as an independent candidate from the Ranebennur constituency in Haveri district for the first time, has served as the Deputy Mayor of the Bangalore City Corporation earlier. He is now sworn in as a minister.
BZ Zameer Ahmad Khan:
Zamir Ahmed Khan, who was elected for the first time in 2005 in the Chamarajpet constituency's by-polls, has since then won consecutively till 2018, and he is now four-time MLA. For the first time, he had become a minister in the JDS-BJP coalition government in 2006, and now he took oath as minister for the second time.
Ramesh Jarakihili:
Ramesh Jarkiholi, who has been elected legislator for the fourth time from the Gokak assembly constituency in Belgavi district, has served as Minister in the Siddaramaiah government and has now sworn-in for the second time.
Jayamala:
Jayamala, a multilingual actress, was nominated as MLC by the Siddaramaiah government in 2014 whose tenure ends in June 2020. She has now sworn-in as Minister for the first time.
UT Khader:
UT Khader, who has been elected for the fourth consecutive time from the Mangalore assembly constituency in Dakshina Kannada district, has served as a minister in the Siddaramaiah government and has now sworn-in as minister for the second time.
KJ George:
KJ George, who has been elected legislator for the seventh time from Bharati Nagar and Sarvagnanagar constituency in Bengaluru, has previously served as Minister in the governments of Virendra Patil, Bangarappa, SM Krishna and Siddaramaiah. Now he is becoming minister for the fifth time.
Puttarangashetty:
Puttarangeshetty, the third time MLA from the Chamarajanagar constituency of Chamarajanagar district, is the only representative of most backward and lowest minority community in the state Uppara Community. He is becoming minister for the first time.
Priyank Kharge:
Priyank Kharge, who has been elected legislator for the second time from Chittapura assembly constituency in Kalaburgi district, is the son of Loka Sabha Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. He has served as a minister in the Siddaramaiah government and is now sworn-in for the second time.
Venkata Ramanappa:
Venkataramappa, who had won the Pavagada Assembly seat of Tumkur district in 2008 as an independent candidate, had served as the first minister in the Yeddyurappa-led BJP government. He is now sworn-in as minister for the second time after winning assembly polls in 2018.
NH Shivashankar Reddy:
Sivasankar Reddy, who has been winning the assembly polls from 1999 to 2018, is now fifth time MLA from the Gauribidinur assembly constituency in Chikkaballapur district. For the first time, he is becoming a minister.
Shivanandapatil:
Sivananda Patil, who has been elected MLA for the six consecutive terms since 1994 from Basavana Bhagewadi constituency in Vijayapur district, has sworn in as minister for the first time.
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JioHotstar to invest Rs 4,000 crore for South Indian content push; unveils 25-title slate
Chennai (PTI): Streaming service JioHotstar on Tuesday announced that it will invest Rs 4,000 crore over the next five years to strengthen South India’s creative economy, unveiling a 25-title slate as part of a major push for regional content.
In one of the biggest announcements by an Indian streaming platform for the southern markets, the company showcased its “South Unbound” vision at a high-profile event here.
Sushant Sreeram, Head – SVOD Business & Chief Marketing Officer at JioStar, said the investment forms part of a broader collaboration with the Tamil Nadu government.
“Earlier today, JioHotstar formalised a Letter of Intent with the Government of Tamil Nadu in the presence of the Chief Minister M K Stalin. This outlines a shared commitment to invest in talent, expand infrastructure and build a future-ready creative economy from the South.
"As part of this vision, JioHotstar will invest Rs 4,000 crore to nurture creators, strengthen the production ecosystem and build a pipeline of stories that are ready for India and ready for the world,” he said.
Calling South India the “heartbeat of Indian storytelling”, Sreeram said the investment signalled the platform’s long-term commitment to local creators.
"JioHotstar started as a dream — to build entertainment rooted in India’s storytelling heritage and powered by cutting-edge technology. The resplendent storytelling traditions of the South motivate us to keep championing authentic, rooted narratives while offering greater accessibility and choices for every viewer," he said.
The event was attended by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, veteran actor and MP Kamal Haasan, senior state officials, and leading stars and filmmakers from across the southern industries.
Deputy CM Stalin said the partnership will generate “1,000 direct jobs and 15,000 indirect jobs”.
“Cinema in Tamil Nadu has always been a force for social change. OTT is not replacing cinema; it is expanding it. Today, a filmmaker in Madurai or Salem can upload a story and reach audiences across the world. The cultural and economic impact of this partnership will be massive," he added.
aasan said Indian media and entertainment was undergoing a fundamental transformation driven not by technology alone, but by the audience itself.
“We gather at a moment when India’s media and entertainment is not merely growing, it is transforming. For the first time, this shift is not driven by device or format, but by the audience itself,” he said, adding that storytelling today is “screen agnostic”.
“Regional is becoming the new national, and ethnic the new international. Stories born in Madurai, Malappuram or Machilipatnam are no longer regional cinema; they are national cultural events,” Haasan said, giving the example of movies such as “Kantara”, “Drishyam”, “Baahubali”, “Pushpa” and Tamil hits like “Vikram”.
The event was also attended by Mohanlal, Nagarjuna, Vijay Sethupathi, Priyamani, Aishwarya Rajesh and others -- along with directors Jeethu Joseph and Ahammed Khabeer
The streamer's ambitious content slate, unveiled as part of its “South Unbound” initiative, includes sequels to blockbuster franchises, new long-format shows, films, adaptations, and high-engagement reality formats.
The Tamil slate features a mix of returning favourites and new originals, led by "Bigg Boss Tamil", now hosted by Vijay Sethupathi, and "Good Wife S2", the legal drama starring Priyamani.
The lineup also includes "LBW – Love Beyond Wicket", a relationship drama; the family comedy "Cousins and Kalyanams"; the psychological drama "Resort"; and "Heartbeat S3", which brings back Anumol, Karthik Kumar and Deepa Balu.
Other Tamil offerings include "Lingam", an action-drama; "Love Always", a multigenerational love story; the marquee title "Kaattaan" starring Vijay Sethupathi and Milind Soman; and "Second Love", a non-fiction relationship series.
In Telugu, the platform returns with "Bigg Boss Telugu" hosted by Nagarjuna, alongside new originals such as "Moodu Lantharlu" starring Aishwarya Rajesh; the police procedural "Vikram on Duty"; "Varam", a mystical relationship drama; and the hit comedy-drama "Save The Tigers S3" with Chaitanya Krishna.
The slate further includes "Vishakha", the Telugu adaptation of "Aarya" led by Kajal Aggarwal; the relationship-based non-fiction format "Mad for Each Other"; and the Telugu debut of the iconic adventure franchise "Roadies".
From Malayalam, the platform brings back "Bigg Boss Malayalam" hosted by Mohanlal; "Kerala Crime Files S3" featuring Aju Varghese; the mystery drama "Secret Stories: Roslin"; "Anali", "1000 Babies S2" with Neena Gupta and Rahman; and the hard-hitting drama "Pharma" starring Nivin Pauly.
The Kannada lineup includes "Bigg Boss Kannada" hosted by Kichcha Sudeepa; "Batchmates", a nostalgic friendship drama; and the food-and-humour-based non-fiction series "Comedy Cooks".
Across languages, the platform also announced new films such as "Lucky The Superstar", featuring GV Prakash, Anaswara Rajan and Meghna Sumesh, and "Kenatha Kaanom", positioned as broad-appeal mainstream entertainers.
