Bengaluru, Feb 12: State Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge on Monday said that the Karnataka government would provide all support to the US government for starting a consulate in Bengaluru.

Speaking to delegates of the US Trade mission here, the minister pointed out that a huge number of students and IT employees from Bengaluru visit the US on a regular basis and requested the US government to set up a consulate in the city to facilitate their visa and other formalities.

Sharath Bachegowda, Chairman of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) who was also present at the event, reiterated the minister's stand.

"We will extend our full support to the US government for starting a consulate in Bengaluru. It will help the IT and ITES industries, techies and students in Karnataka who are now forced to travel to Chennai and Hyderabad for their visa applications," Bachegowda said.

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The minister was speaking to delegates of the US Trade Mission to Karnataka and South India who are visiting major tier-1 and tier-2 south Indian cities from February 12 to 20. More than 15 wellknown schools from the US are part of the trade mission.

"The delegates of the Trade Mission will seek to connect US education institutions with Indian higher education institutions and students to advance mutually beneficial collaborations," Kharge said.

The US Trade Mission to Karnataka and South India will also explore multiple avenues of cooperation between the US and India in advancing technology innovation in manufacturing and other allied sectors. It will also work towards building a long-term partnership between the US and Indian businesses, according to a statement issued by the minister's office.

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ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.

The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.

Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.