Sunny Deol offers to settle dues for his Mumbai bungalow: BoB
Mumbai, Aug 21: Facing prospects of his bungalow in Mumbai being auctioned to recover unpaid loans, Bollywood actor Sunny Deol has offered to settle all outstanding dues, prompting state-owned lender Bank of Baroda to drop auction proceedings for the property.
The lender issued a statement on Monday, saying that Deol has offered to settle the dues, hours after it withdraw the public notice to auction the villa owned by the actor and sitting BJP Member of Parliament, citing technical reasons, a move that was questioned by Congress.
"In the meantime, the borrower has approached the bank for settling the dues as per the sale notice published on August 20, wherein the borrower/guarantors were notified that they are entitled to redeem the securities by paying the outstanding dues/costs/charges and expenses at any time before the sale is conducted," the bank said.
Bank of Baroda said the auction notice was withdrawn after the borrower agreed to settle dues as well as due to certain technical reasons.
Explaining the technical reasons, the second largest public sector lender said the total dues did not specify the exact quantum of dues to be recovered. Also, the sale notice was based on a symbolic possession of the property as per Rule 8(6) of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules 2002.
The bank said, an application to the chief metropolitan magistrate sent on August 1, 2023 seeking physical possession of the property is pending. "Since the unit is running as conveyed to us by the borrower, sale/action will be initiated as per the provisions of the Sarfaesi Act, once the physical possession is taken."
Accordingly, the sale notice is withdrawn as per the normal industry practice followed in other cases as well, the lender said in a fresh statement.
In a public notice on Sunday, Bank of Baroda had said it would e-auction 'Sunny Villa' in the Juhu area of the city on September 25.
However, in a corrigendum issued on Monday, the bank said the e-auction notice published on August 20 stands withdrawn due to technical reasons.
The Gurdaspur MP, whose latest movie Gadar 2 is a box office success having already grossed over Rs 300 crore since the release last week, has been in default on a Rs 55.99 crore loan from the bank, interest and penalty, since December 2022.
As per Sunday's notice, the bank, which has attached the property, had fixed the reserve price for the auction at Rs 51.43 crore and an earnest money deposit of Rs 5.14 crore.
Apart from Sunny Villa, the 599.44-square metre property also houses Sunny Sounds, which is owned by the Deols, and is the corporate guarantor to the loan, while Sunny's actor-politician father Dharmendra is the personal guarantor of the debt, according to the auction notice.
The notice had further said the Deols had the option of clearing the dues of the bank to prevent the auction under the provisions of the Sarfaesi Act 2002.
Deol has been representing the Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab since 2019 when he won the election with a landslide margin against Congress' Sunil Jhakar. The seat for long was represented by another actor Vinod Khanna from BJP.
The matter sparked a political row with opposition Congress raising questions about the Bank of Baroda withdrawing the e-auction notice for the Juhu bungalow.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Yesterday afternoon the nation got to know that Bank of Baroda had put up the Juhu residence of BJP MP Sunny Deol for e-auction since he has not paid up Rs 56 crore owed to the Bank. This morning, in less than 24 hours, the nation has got to know that the Bank of Baroda has withdrawn the auction notice due to 'technical reasons'."
"Wonder who triggered these 'technical reasons'?" he asked.
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Karnataka offers extensive incentives in its proposed IT policy
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka has proposed a new Information Technology Policy for 2025–2030, offering extensive financial and non-financial incentives aimed at accelerating investments, strengthening innovation and expanding the state's tech footprint beyond Bengaluru.
The Karnataka Cabinet gave its nod to the policy 2025–2030 with an outlay of Rs 445.50 crore on Thursday after the Finance Department accorded its approval.
The policy introduces 16 incentives across five enabler categories, nine of which are entirely new, with a distinctive push to support companies setting up or expanding in emerging cities.
Alongside financial support, the government is also offering labour-law relaxations, round-the-clock operational permissions and industry-ready human capital programmes to make Karnataka a globally competitive 'AI-native' destination.
According to the policy, units located outside Bengaluru will gain access to a wide suite of benefits, including research and development and IP creation incentives, internship reimbursements, talent relocation support and recruitment assistance.
The benefits also include EPF reimbursement, faculty development support, rental assistance, certification subsidies, electricity tariff rebates, property tax reimbursement, telecom infrastructure support, and assistance for events and conferences.
Bengaluru Urban will receive a focused set of six research and development and talent-oriented incentives, while Indian Global Capability Centres (GCCs) operating in the state will be brought under the incentive net.
Incentive caps and eligibility thresholds have been raised, and the policy prioritises growth-focused investments for both new and expanding units.
Beyond incentives, the government focuses on infrastructure and innovation interventions.
A flagship proposal in the policy is the creation of Techniverse -- integrated, technology-enabled enclaves developed through a public-private partnership model inside future Global Innovation Districts.
These campuses will offer plug-and-play facilities, artificial intelligence and machine learning and cybersecurity labs, advanced testbeds, experience centres, and disaster-resistant command centres.
There will also be a Statewide Digital Hub Grid and a Global Test Bed Infrastructure Network, linking public and private research and development, and innovation facilities across Karnataka.
The government has proposed a Women Global Tech Missions Fellowship for 1,000 mid-career women technologists, an IT Talent Return Programme to absorb experienced professionals returning from abroad, and broad-based skill and faculty development reimbursements.
Shared corporate transport routes in Bengaluru and tier-two cities will be designed with Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation and other transport entities to support worker mobility.
The government said the policy is the outcome of an extensive research and consultation process involving TCS, Infosys, Wipro, IBM, HCL, Tech Mahindra, Cognizant, HP, Google, Accenture and NASSCOM, along with sector experts and stakeholder groups.
It estimates an outlay of Rs 967.12 crore over five years, comprising Rs 754.62 crore for incentives and Rs 212.50 crore for interventions such as Techniverse campuses, digital grid development, global outreach missions and talent programmes.
