Bengaluru, Aug 11: Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting would offer scholarships for higher education to girls from economically weaker families in the three southern state of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the company said on Saturday.

"About 900 girls from the three states will be given 3-year Santoor women's scholarship, with Rs 24,000 for each of them per annum to do under-graduation," said the city-based privately-held company in a statement.

Santoor is the leading brand name of Wipro's toilet soap.

The company initiated the annual programme in 2016 in collaboration with Wipro Cares to financially support underprivileged girls for completing under-graduation.

The scholarship will be used for tuition fees and expenses incidental to education.

In the last two years, 1,800 young women benefited from the scholarship to become graduates.

"Girls who pass 12th class from a state-run school or college and secure admission in a recognized degree course will quality for the scholarship," said the statement.

Students can apply for the scholarship on www.santoorscholarships.com till September 15 or in state-run colleges across the three states.

"The scholarship is an attempt to empower women to change their life and the world. Enrollment ratio of women pursuing higher education in the country is low and many give up higher study due to lack of financial support," said Wipro Consumer Care Chief Executive Anil Chugh in the statement.

About 60 per cent of the scholarship is earmarked to encourage students to study humanities, liberal arts and sciences.

About 50 per cent of the scholarships are reserved for applicants from the backward districts in the three southern states.

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Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.

Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.

On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.

Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”

Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”

Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.

In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.

The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.

Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.

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