Karnataka cabinet approves cloud seeding programme
Bengaluru, May 27: The Karnataka cabinet Monday approved a cloud seeding programme, to be implemented in June, following reports that there would be deficit rainfall in the state.
Rural Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda told reporters here that his department has called a tender for two years for cloud seeding at a cost of Rs 88 crore.
The cabinet approved the proposal for Rs 93 crore, as the bidder quoted Rs 91 crore, he said, adding the amount also includes Rs two crore lump sum grant for the department.
Gowda had recently said cloud-seeding would be taken up by the end of June.
Among other cabinet decisions taken Monday were to promulgate an ordinance to 'protect' gazetted officers, who will face demotion or lose their jobs, as their recruitment process in 1998 by the Karnataka Public Service Commission was found to be irregular.
The move comes as at least 25 officers with 20 years service will lose their jobs when a High Court order on the matter is implemented.
Gowda said the cabinet decided to seek a detailed project report from RITES to set up a "no-frills" airport at Hassan by the state government, which would set up a Joint Venture company with Airports Authority of India for the purpose
The cabinet decided to include NOTA in nagar sabha (Corporation) elections, a provision which was not there till now, Gowda said.
It also decided to issue an ordinance to implement a long standing demand to create a separate university for Raichur district, currently under the ambit of Kalburgi University, Gowda said.
The University would cover Raichur and Yadgir districts, he said.
Gowda said JSW steels in Ballari was given 3,660 acres in 2005-06 on the basis of lease-cum-sale to set up plant and infrastructure for employees. As per the agreement the lease had to be converted to sale after 10 years, which the cabinet approved Monday, he said.
He also said any difference in the amount that the company needs to pay would be collected.
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Single higher education regulator bill tabled in LS; Oppn flags ‘centralisation,' JPC likely
New Delhi: A bill to set up a 13-member body to regulate institutions of higher education was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan introduced the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which seeks to establish an overarching higher education commission along with three councils for regulation, accreditation, and ensuring academic standards for universities and higher education institutions in India.
Meanwhile, the move drew strong opposition, with members warning that it could weaken institutional autonomy and result in excessive centralisation of higher education in India.
The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, earlier known as the Higher Education Council of India (HECI) Bill, has been introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The proposed legislation seeks to merge three existing regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), into a single unified body called the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan.
At present, the UGC regulates non-technical higher education institutions, the AICTE oversees technical education, and the NCTE governs teacher education in India.
Under the proposed framework, the new commission will function through three separate councils responsible for regulation, accreditation, and the maintenance of academic standards across universities and higher education institutions in the country.
According to the Bill, the present challenges faced by higher educational institutions due to the multiplicity of regulators having non-harmonised regulatory approval protocols will be done away with.
The higher education commission, which will be headed by a chairperson appointed by the President of India, will cover all central universities and colleges under it, institutes of national importance functioning under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Education, including IITs, NITs, IISc, IISERs, IIMs, and IIITs.
At present, IITs and IIMs are not regulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Government to refer bill to JPC; Oppn slams it
The government has expressed its willingness to refer it to a joint committee after several members of the Lok Sabha expressed strong opposition to the Bill, stating that they were not given time to study its provisions.
Responding to the opposition, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government intends to refer the Bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.
Congress Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari warned that the Bill could result in “excessive centralisation” of higher education. He argued that the proposed law violates the constitutional division of legislative powers between the Union and the states.
According to him, the Bill goes beyond setting academic standards and intrudes into areas such as administration, affiliation, and the establishment and closure of university campuses. These matters, he said, fall under Entry 25 of the Concurrent List and Entry 32 of the State List, which cover the incorporation and regulation of state universities.
Tewari further stated that the Bill suffers from “excessive delegation of legislative power” to the proposed commission. He pointed out that crucial aspects such as accreditation frameworks, degree-granting powers, penalties, institutional autonomy, and even the supersession of institutions are left to be decided through rules, regulations, and executive directions. He argued that this amounts to a violation of established constitutional principles governing delegated legislation.
Under the Bill, the regulatory council will have the power to impose heavy penalties on higher education institutions for violating provisions of the Act or related rules. Penalties range from ₹10 lakh to ₹75 lakh for repeated violations, while establishing an institution without approval from the commission or the state government could attract a fine of up to ₹2 crore.
Concerns were also raised by members from southern states over the Hindi nomenclature of the Bill. N.K. Premachandran, an MP from the Revolutionary Socialist Party representing Kollam in Kerala, said even the name of the Bill was difficult to pronounce.
He pointed out that under Article 348 of the Constitution, the text of any Bill introduced in Parliament must be in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
DMK MP T.M. Selvaganapathy also criticised the government for naming laws and schemes only in Hindi. He said the Constitution clearly mandates that the nomenclature of a Bill should be in English so that citizens across the country can understand its intent.
Congress MP S. Jothimani from Tamil Nadu’s Karur constituency described the Bill as another attempt to impose Hindi and termed it “an attack on federalism.”
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