Karnataka First

Fifteen members of the informal birding group, ‘Kudla Birders,’ recorded 73 bird species during an outing to the wetlands of Manjalpaade and Bondel in Mangaluru on Sunday.

The bird count was organised as part of the Karnataka Rajyotsava Bird Count 2026, a State-wide citizen-science initiative organised by Bird Count India, said a release.

The morning’s sightings were documented through an e-Bird checklist. Notable species included the Grey-headed Bulbul and Malabar Flameback, both endemic to the Western Ghats, along with the Western Marsh Harrier, Changeable Hawk-Eagle and Black-throated Munia.

Deepika Prasad, M. Vivek and Rohit S. Rao of Kudla Birders coordinated the outing. The walk was led by Mr. Rao, who has been observing the birdlife of the Manjalpaade area for more than 40 years.

Mr. Rao said that Mangaluru had several small pockets of natural habitat, such as Manjalpaade, which supported a surprising variety of birds and other wildlife. “Many of these spaces are increasingly coming under pressure from urbanisation, trespassing and littering, making greater public awareness and collective efforts to protect them essential,” he said.

Through its participation in the State-wide count, Kudla Birders hopes to encourage wider public interest in birdwatching while highlighting the ecological importance of Mangaluru’s urban forest patches and wetlands and the need to conserve them for future generations.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Adding a distinctive touch of Kannada pride to its iconic watch collection, Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) Limited unveiled four new series of ‘HMT Kannadiga’ watches at a special event held at HMT Grounds in Jalahalli on Sunday, marking Kannada Rajyotsava.

Union steel and heavy industries minister H D Kumaraswamy launched the specially designed watches that are intended to celebrate Karnataka’s language, culture and identity.

Priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 4,500, the new collection is expected to be available across HMT watch showrooms.

The minister described the watches as products offering international standards of quality at affordable prices. “These are top-class watches of international standard quality at affordable prices,” he said.

The launch programme also featured a musical evening by renowned music director Arjun Janya.

The latest collection follows the overwhelming response to HMT’s special Independence Day watch collection launched in August this year. The company’s six limited-edition models, priced between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000, were sold out in a single day in Bengaluru, generating sales of more than Rs 35 lac.

HMT chairman and managing director N Ramesh Kumar had confirmed that all 1,750 watches manufactured for the special collection had been sold out. Thousands of customers had queued outside the company’s three Bengaluru outlets, with the queue at one point stretching more than 2.5 km, according to Kumaraswamy.

“The affection and goodwill that people continue to have for HMT is deeply encouraging. In particular, young people are showing tremendous enthusiasm for HMT watches,” the minister had said.

Kumaraswamy had also described the response as an encouraging sign for the government’s efforts to revive the public sector watchmaker, which once enjoyed an iconic place in India’s watch industry.

The minister had said the Centre was working towards reviving HMT’s manufacturing operations, adding that a high-level committee headed by former NITI Aayog member V K Saraswat had examined the company’s revival prospects and submitted its recommendations.

The latest Kannadiga collection marks another effort by HMT to reconnect with customers by combining its heritage with Karnataka’s cultural identity.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

World Amateur Golff Championship-2026

Johor: 

City’s Sonam Chugh, representing India, emerged as the Gross Ladies Champion at the World Amateur Golf Championship (WAGC) 2026, that concluded at Johor in Malaysia yesterday.

Sonam finished with an impressive overall score of 22 over par to win the championship.  

The gruelling 90-hole championship was played over five days across five different golf courses courses.

Sonam is also the Committee Member of Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Golf Club (JWGC), Mysuru

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Sports / October 31st, 2026

The state government has announced the list of recipients for the prestigious Kannada Rajyotsava Award for the year 2026. A total of 71 achievers who have rendered notable service in various fields have been selected for this year’s Rajyotsava Award.

Here is the list of award winners by major fields:

Folk (Janapada)

1. Davalsab Attar, Koppal

2. Gauramma, Chamarajanagar

3. Pandappa Devalappa Lamani, Gadag

4. A. R. Satyanarayana, Bengaluru South

5. Eranna Rudrakshi, Raichur

6. Shivalingappa M, Koppal

7. Suresh Ramachandra Joshi, Vijayapura

Music

8. Dr. C. A. Sridhar, Mysuru

9. Dr. A. Narayana Swamy, Hassan

10. Sri B. Murali, Bengaluru

Rural Dance

11. Dr. Satyanarayana Raju, Bengaluru Urban

Cinema / Television

12. Venkataramana Babajee, Dharwad

13. Ashok, Bengaluru Rural

14. K. S. Ravindranath, Bengaluru Urban

Yakshagana

15. Gopala Ganiga, Udupi

Bayalata

16. Huligamma, Ballari

Theatre

17. D. Kempanna Bin Late Dyavappa, Bengaluru Rural

18. K. Jayalakshmi Patil, Dharwad

19. G. D. Thimmayya, Chitradurga

20. K. R. Sumathi, Mysuru

21. H. V. Puttaveerappa, Bengaluru South

22. Honnanayak, Mysuru

Sculpture

23. G. V. Hamsananda Acharya, Vijayanagara

24. Kadappa Parashurama Gadivaddar, Belagavi

Painting

25. C. B. Somashetty, Bidar

Handicrafts

26. Shantabai, Bidar

Agriculture

27. H. K. Sreeranthu, Bengaluru South

28. B. A. Channappagowda, Bengaluru Urban

Environment

29. Dr. Swami Anand R., Mysuru

Science – Technology

30. Prof. Rajasab A. H., Kalaburagi

31. Dr. Rajashekhara Murthy, (Canada)

Media

32. D. Umapathi, Chitradurga

33. M. P. Susheela, Bengaluru Urban

Media / Photography

34. Vishwanath Suvarna, Dakshina Kannada

Others

35. Rukminibai Nagappa Vashthar, Bagalkot

36. D. S. Chowgule, Belagavi

37. Belluru Shankara Narayana Dwarakanath, Bengaluru Urban

38. Ravipraveen Noronha, Bengaluru Urban

39. M. R. Jaishankar, Chikkamagaluru

40. Prasad Bidappa, Kodagu

41. Vasappa Yallappa Kusagoor, Haveri

Architecture

42. B. P. Aaradhya, Bengaluru South

Social Service

43. Dr. Annadaneeshwara Mahashivayogi, Gadag

44. Basavaraju, Mandya

45. Kagodu Thimmappa, Shivamogga

46. Dr. S. M. Eli, Davanagere

47. Dr. G. S. Chandrashekar (Adarsha Charitable Trust), Uttara Kannada

48. Dr. Shivananda Mahaswami, Kalaburagi

49. Krishnegowda Bin Venkatarayappa, Chikkaballapura

50. A. C. Bhandary (A. B. Tulu Okoota), Dakshina Kannada

51. Guramma Hampayya Sankinamath, Bagalkote

Medical

52. Dr. Vijayendra Honnourappa, Bengaluru Urban

53. Dr. Sujatha Mallikarjuna Jali, Belagavi Administration

54. Teresa Bhattacharya, Bengaluru Urban

55. Dr. K. S. Somashekar, New Delhi

Engineering

56. Dr. K. N. Venkata Krishna Rao, Chikkaballapura

Literature

57. Dr. Indira Hegde, Dakshina Kannada

58. Veerahanuman, Raichur

59. Prof. Narayana Ghatta, Tumakuru

60. C. Maheshwarappa Chatnalli, Chikkamagaluru

61. Dr. Karigowda Beechanahalli, Tumakuru

62. Dr. Siddarama Honkal, Yadgir

Education

63. Fr. Joseph (Vice-Chancellor, Christ University), Bengaluru Urban

64. Shantappa Dashavantha, Vijayapura

65. Sangeeta N. Kattimani, Kalaburagi

66. Dr. N. S. Rangaraju, Mysuru

Judiciary

67. B. V. Acharya, Udupi Non-Resident (Overseas/Other states)

68. Ramesh Gowda (Former President, AKKA America)

Sports

69. A. V. Ravi, Kolar

70. Dr. A. B. Subbaiah, Kodagu

71. N. Girish, Bengaluru Urban

source/content: english.varthabharati.in (headline edited)

Bengaluru-based planetary infrastructure company Pixxel has established Pixxel Federal, a U.S. subsidiary that will deliver advanced Earth observation technologies, satellite mission systems, and geospatial intelligence capabilities to federal customers across civilian, defence, and intelligence agencies.

“The U.S. government market represents a significant opportunity for Pixxel as we expand our capabilities beyond hyperspectral imaging into advanced sensing technologies, software, and satellite systems,” said Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO of Pixxel.

He added that Pixxel’s work with NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) has given it a strong foundation, and Pixxel Federal will enable the company to work more closely with federal agencies, understand their mission requirements, and deliver solutions tailored to their needs.

“This is an important step in building Pixxel’s long-term presence in the U.S. market,” he said.

Pixxel Federal will draw on the company’s growing portfolio of hyperspectral satellites, Earth intelligence software, and satellite mission systems to support a broad range of government missions.

Pixxel said that by identifying materials through their unique spectral signatures, hyperspectral imaging can reveal details that conventional imagery may miss.

Applications include camouflage detection, terrain characterisation, and identification of activities of interest for defence and intelligence missions, as well as critical mineral and rare earth element detection, environmental monitoring, and agriculture.

Pixxel Federal also plans to establish an office in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area to work more closely with government customers and partners.

The latest announcement follows Pixxel’s $100 million Series C funding round, co-led by Temasek and Seraphim, which brought its total funding to $195 million.

It said that the investment is supporting the company’s broader expansion across advanced sensing technologies, software, satellite systems, and manufacturing capabilities, as it scales its operations and presence in international markets.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Academic Chandan Gowda’s Longing for an Elsewhere unpacks the ideas which shaped princely Mysore’s ideas of development.

In the story of India’s colonisation, Karnataka, then the princely state of Mysore, has a unique position. Restored to the throne in 1881, the Wadiyars had freedom to rule the land as they saw fit. Mysore became the first state to have a representative assembly, took on infrastructural projects and garnered praise from leaders for being a model state. But, what motivated this desire which predated Nehruvian planning by decades? Chandan Gowda’s latest Longing for an Elsewhere (Oxford University Press; ₹1,595), traces it to colonial ideas of backwardness that Mysore’s elite bought into. Excerpts:

Why were you interested in tracing the ideas of development that influenced the princely state of Mysore?

After Mysore was restored as a semi-autonomous state in 1881, the Maharaja and his Dewans showed interest in industrial development. The book shows where they got their ideas from. German economist Friedrich List argued that less-industrialised nations like Germany required a protectionist state to build their economies and Indian thinkers like MG Ranade and RC Dutt, who were inspired by him, inspired the Mysore state.

I try to theorise why the modern Indian state saw itself as a developmental state. There is nothing natural about any state accepting that it needs to develop. The British introduced a notion of evolutionary history in which Europe had progressed through industrialisation, while non-Western societies were perceived to be behind because they were rural, religious and technologically backward. Many educated Indians accepted this, but believed they need not remain permanently behind.

Princely states have also been insufficiently studied. The kind of British oppression seen in Calcutta, Madras and Bombay presidencies was absent in Mysore. Local society was shielded from the everyday colonial violence, which shaped how its political and literary cultures evolved.

What does the case study on the Bhadravati Iron Works (BIW) Project reveal about attitudes towards development at the time?

Mysore invested massively on the project. Wherever steel was manufactured, large supplies of charcoal were needed, but there are no deposits in Bhadravati, so a forest is burned down for it. Mysore kept the factory going despite losses because it was a symbolic asset. State guests were taken there on visits and it was seen as civilising local people by inculcating habits of an industrial society. When Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar visited, he saw Birmingham in Bhadravati. Products made here were displayed at exhibitions in England and this iron was reportedly seen as superior to Swedish iron, assuring us that Mysore was doing well. Today, if a rocket doesn’t take off, we feel insulted because we’ve internalised a vision of a global audience finding us lacking.

How were Mysoreans responding to this new wave of industrialisation?

The Mysore Representative Assembly’s members criticised the BIW but never the need for an iron plant in the first place. Author Shivaram Karanth wrote an account of it, but it is a neutral description. The English romantic poets, who inspired early 20th-century Kannada poets, were harsh critics of industrialisation because it had torn apart the social fabric. Believing in the integrity of the Mysore planners, Kannada literary figures, however, did not sufficiently engage with their vision of development. The rulers of Mysore, who had travelled in the West, didn’t see the dark side of capitalism. Canadian agricultural officer James Coleman and German horticulturist Krumbiegel cautioned against going the American-European way because they had caused social misery, but nobody listened.

In what ways does this history of developmental thought still influence our policies?

Our desire to be seen as arriving in the world is a direct consequence of having been shamed by colonial accusations of backwardness and of seeking to restore lost honour by pursuing a Western vision of development. In the popular imagination, development is often symbolised by fast highways, consumer goods or high-rise buildings. The government projects a $5 trillion economy and everyone thinks it is fantastic. But no one asks: Will gains be equitable? What is the ecological impact? We need to rethink our idea of development because it destroys community life and local ecologies.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Bengaluru / by Mahima Nagaraju / October 28th, 2026

20th Asian Schools Chess Championships-2026

Rajeswari Aiyappan, a 7th std. student of Amrita Vidyalaya, Bogadi, Mysuru, has won four medals (2 gold and 2 silver) for India at the 20th Asian Schools Chess Championships-2026, held in Tula, Russia, from Oct. 1 to 11.

Competing in the Girls Under-11 category, Rajeswari clinched the individual gold medal in the Standard Championship, scoring an impressive 7 points out of 9 rounds, with six wins, two draws and one loss.

Gold Medal and WCM Title

Rajeswari’s gold-medal-winning performance earned her the prestigious Women Candidate Master (WCM) title, marking a significant milestone in her chess career.

Making India proud: Rajeswari Aiyappan seen with former President of International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich.

Four Medals for India

Rajeswari delivered an exceptional performance across individual and team events, contributing to India’s success at the Championship. Her medal tally includes: Gold in Girls Under-11 Standard Championship (Individual); Gold in Girls Rapid Team Championship; Silver in Girls Standard Team Championship and Silver in Girls Blitz Team Championship.

Rajeswari is the daughter of V.R. Aiyappan and P. Mangayarkarasi, residents of Mysuru. Karnataka State Chess Association has congratulated Rajeswari on winning the title and medals.

source/content: starofmysore.com (headline edited)

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a subsidiary of ONGC, has been adjudged winner in two categories — “Best Indigenously Developed Technology” and “Best Innovation in Refinery” — under the Innovation Awards 2025–26, instituted by the Centre for High Technology (CHT), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India.

The awards were presented at the 29th Energy Technology & Innovation Meet (ETM-2026) held on October 27 at ATI–ONGC, Goa, recognising outstanding technological achievements among India’s petroleum refineries.

• Best Indigenously Developed Technology: KARVE IBB – Indigenous active pharma intermediate process technology for the manufacture of isobutyl benzene, marking MRPL’s advancement into high-value pharmaceutical intermediates through indigenous technology.
• Best Innovation in Refinery: REVEAL™ FCC – Indigenous closed-loop real-time optimiser, demonstrating MRPL’s capabilities in digital innovation and real-time refinery process optimisation.

The awardees were selected by a distinguished committee chaired by Dr G D Yadav, chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC).

The awards were received by an MRPL delegation led by managing director Mundkur Shyamprasad Kamath, director (refinery) Nanda Kumar Velayudhan Pillai, executive director (refinery) N Anandha Kumar, GGM (maintenance) H C Sathyanarayana, GGM (TS) Sudheer Pai M, and chief managers of the Innovation Centre Karthick R and S Nirmal Ganesh.

Significantly, this marks the fifth consecutive instance of MRPL receiving national recognition for innovation at premier Government of India platforms, including the Energy Technology Meet and India Energy Week.

These achievements reinforce MRPL’s position as an innovation-driven, future-ready refinery, committed to indigenous technology development, operational excellence and the Government of India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)