COVID-19 cases cross 700-mark in K'taka, govt says future of lockdown in people's hands
Bengaluru: Total number of COVID-19 infections have crossed 700-mark in Karnataka, where 12 new positive cases including a fatality were reported, taking the toll in the state to 30, as the government said on Thursday that future of the lockdown was in the hands of the people.
"It is important that this lockdown-3 is successful.
As many economic activities related to agriculture, industries have been allowed during the ongoing lockdown, it is upto the people to help control coronavirus as well as ensure the financial development," state Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said if the people could make sure that lockdown-3 was successful, there would no need for it to continue.
"If lockdown-3 does not yield results according to our expectations, it will be inevitable for the state and central governments to take different measures," Bommai, who is also the member of state's COVID-19 task force said.
He also appealed to the people to make the third lockdown successful by following government directives.
According to health department bulletin, as of 5:00 PM on May 7, cumulatively 705 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, it includes 30 deaths and 366 discharges.
It said, out of 308 active cases, 302 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 6 are in ICU.
Twelve patients who have recovered were discharged on Thursday.
A 55-year-old woman from Davanagere became the 30th COVID-19 related fatality in the state.
The deceased woman was a known case of diabetes and hypertension, she was admitted with complaint of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and was on ventilator, the department said.
She died today at designated hospital in Davanagere, it said.
Twelve new cases reported include three from Davangere, indulging the deceased patient; also three each from Kalaburagi and Badami (Bagalkote), and one each from Hirebagewadi in Belagavi district, Bengaluru urban and Dharwad.
While seven cases are contacts of patients earlier tested positive, four are with history of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and one is a SARI case.
Eight among 12 new cases are women and four are men.
Contact tracing has been initiated and is in progress for all the cases, the department said.
From across the state most number of infections have been reported in Bengaluru urban with 156 cases, followed by Mysuru 88 and Belagavi 72.
Out of total 366 patients discharged so far, maximum 81 are from Mysuru, 77 from Bengaluru urban, thirty four from Belagavi.
A total of 93,535 samples were tested so far, out of which 4,758 were tested on Thursday alone.
So far 87,756 samples have reported as negative, and out of them 4,700 were reported negative on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa directed commercial tax department officials to take strict measures to control tax leakages, with economic activities restarting in the state after easing of COVID-19 induced lockdown.
He asked officials to initiate action against those using fake E-Way Bill, misuse of time given for movement of freight, CMO in a release said.
The state government wrote to nine states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, seeking their coordination in receiving the labourers who are stranded in the state, after receiving flak from various sections for cancelling trains for transporting migrant workers.
State Revenue Department Principal Secretary N Manjunath Prasad has written to the nodal officers of nine states (Bihar, Jharkhand, UP, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, MP, Rajasthan, Odisha) seeking to receive the migrant labourers.
With documents showing that consent has been received to run one special train to Bihar and MP everyday from May 8-15, sources said, first train is likely to depart to these states on Friday.
Responding to a query in this connection, Minister Suresh Kumar, who is government spokesperson for COVID-19 related developments said, basically labourers at the construction sites would be ones who are eligible for this.
"Their list based on Aadhar card details are available at the police station, so it is clear, and there is information of those who are eager to go, so based on that, once train schedules are prepared they will be transported from construction sites to railway stations," he said.
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Aditya Birla Group-led consortium acquires RCB for USD 1.78 billion
Bengaluru (PTI): A consortium led by the Aditya Birla Group (ABG) on Tuesday acquired 100 percent equity stake in IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a whopping USD 1.78 billion (approximately Rs 16,706 crore) from its current owner the United Spirits Limited.
Other parties involved in the group are -- Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE, a firm of which Viral Patel is the CEO, Bolt Ventures, owned by American investor David Blitzer, and media conglomerate Times of India.
“United Spirits Limited, pursuant to the meeting of its Board of Directors, today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements for the sale of the 100 percent equity stake held in its wholly owned subsidiary Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) to a consortium,” the USL said in a statement.
“The consortium comprises Aditya Birla Group (ABG), The Times of India Group (Times), Bolt Ventures (Bolt), and Blackstone’s perpetual private equity strategy, BXPE (Blackstone) for a total consideration of INR 166.6 bn in an all cash transaction,” the statement added.
The transaction includes RCB's men’s and women’s (WPL) teams.
“RCSPL owns and operates Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchises that participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL).
“Upon completion of this transaction, the consortium will, through its ownership of RCSPL, acquire the rights to own and operate the IPL and WPL franchise,” said the USL.
The announcement also concluded the strategic review of RCSPL that was initiated by USL on November 5, 2025.
The United Spirits Limited is a subsidiary of UK-Diageo, and they were keen to move away from RCB as the team was not central to their business plans.
Commenting on the transaction, Praveen Someshwar, MD & CEO, USL, said: “This transaction marks an important milestone for USL as we sharpen focus on our core beverage alcohol business to unlock its true potential. RCB has grown into the most prominent and commercially successful franchise in the IPL and WPL.
“We are excited for the future of RCB under the stewardship of the new owner. As Sports enters a new phase of growth in India & globally, we believe this is in the best interest of the franchise and our stakeholders.”
Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group, said, “Over the past 2 decades, the IPL has morphed to become a global sporting powerhouse that has changed the face of Indian cricket creating enormous value for India.
“RCB, as one of the most compelling franchises in modern sport, offers the Aditya Birla Group a distinctive platform to extend its legacy of institution-building into the arena of global sport.”
As per the sale agreement, Aryaman Vikram Birla, ABG’s director, will be the chairman of RCB while Satyan Gajwani of Times of India will be his deputy.
Aryaman Birla, said: “It is a privilege to come together in this partnership to shape the next phase of growth for RCB. This partnership brings together a deep understanding of sports, media and consumer businesses.
“Together, we will continue to Play Bold -- on the pitch, in the community, and for the fans who make RCB what it is.”
Gajwani, Chairman, Times Internet Limited, said: “RCB is the reigning champion and the most popular brand in the IPL. We will build RCB into a global sporting institution, while remaining rooted in Bengaluru and Karnataka and its incredible fanbase.”
Blitzer hoped to build on RCB’s recent success.
“RCB has a world-class fanbase, and the IPL is one of the great growth stories in global sport. Having invested in clubs and leagues around the world, I believe the opportunity at RCB stands out.
We look forward to working alongside our partners and the BCCI to build on the franchise’s championship success,” he said.
Patel praised the RCB as one of the strongest sporting brands in the world.
“We are excited to invest in RCB, building on Blackstone’s long-standing commitment to India. RCB stands out as one of the most popular sports franchises in the world with a powerful brand, a loyal fan base, and multiple avenues for growth,” he added.
However, formalities such as ratification from the BCCI, IPL Governing Council, its WPL counterpart and the Competition Commission of India are still pending.
Earlier, IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals was acquired by US-based Kal Somani-led consortium for USD 1.63 billion (approx Rs 15,290 crore),
The Somani-led consortium includes Rob Walton from the Walmart family and Hamp family (Ford motor company).
Somani is an Arizona-based tech entrepreneur who has founded IntraEdge (technology services and solutions), Truyo.Ai (data privacy rights and AI governance) and Academian (edtech services).
The other contenders to buy the team, which won the inaugural trophy in 2008, were the Times Internet-led consortium, the Aditya Birla Group and the Mittal family led by ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal.
