Dist admin inks MoU with NITK to form civic think tank consortium
Mangaluru: In a move that signals a new era of participative governance and institutionally anchored innovation, the Dakshina Kannada (DK) district administration formally entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK) Surathkal, on Tuesday.This collaboration aims to integrate the intellectual and technical capacities of academic institutions into the district's development strategy, setting the foundation for a long-term, structured partnership between governance and knowledge ecosystems. The MoU marks the first formal step towards establishing a consortium of local institutions as a civic think tank, supporting the district administration through research, design, and youth-led interventions, said deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan.The MoU aligns with the broader vision of the district administration to ideate and pilot innovative initiatives to effectively involve talented citizens in developing solutions with a positive societal impact. It stands as a symbolic representation of the administration's continued efforts to partner with universities, an approach already initiated through its flagship programme Solve4DK, which engaged students from five regional institutions. These students developed practical solutions addressing waste management, traffic systems and other civic challenges by working closely with the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) and the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) developed by the Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL), he said."A dedicated platform will soon be launched to invite all regional institutions to contribute innovative solutions and products for challenges sourced from various departments. These initiatives will be supported and mentored, with a focus on nurturing them into pilot-ready implementations, and eventually, socially driven startups. Institutions benefit through impactful, applied research, while students gain the opportunity to work on real-world challenges, helping them acquire key competencies for a meaningful career," the DC said.The partnership will operate a biannual engagement model, aligning academic calendars with the district's development priorities, said Prof B Ravi, director, NITK. "This collaboration leverages research and innovation to benefit Mangaluru. We look forward to working with MCC to create impactful solutions," he said.He said that students will come out with solutions to various problems in solid waste management, traffic management, infrastructure, healthcare, and other civic issues by engaging themselves through the platform.DK ZP CEO Anandh K, MCC commissioner Ravichandra Naik and MSCL MD Raju K were present.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
25-05-2025
- The Hindu
MCC questioned for levying property tax at twice the standard rate for building bylaw violations
The current practice of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) imposing property tax at twice the standard rate for building bylaw violations has come under criticism. Former mayor Sandesh Swamy has stated that imposition of property tax at twice the standard rate in cases where there is a violation of the building bylaw was not legally tenable. He has written to the MCC stating that double taxation can be levied on owners who have constructed residential or commercial buildings in violation of approved plans only for the first year. 'From the second year onward, only the regular prescribed tax should be collected,' Mr. Sandesh Swamy said, terming the current practice of officials of levying tax at double the rate for every year as wrong. 'Officials must take seriously the State gazette notification that came into effect in 2024, which amended the Karnataka Municipalities Acts of 1964 and 1976,' he said. The MCC also came in for flak for imposing additional burden on property owners who pay taxes regularly and said there were many government buildings within the MCC limits and no property tax was being levied on them. 'The MCC should initiate measures to regularly collect taxes from government offices as this would increase the municipality's revenue,' said Mr. Sandesh Swamy. On the need to increase revenue generated through property tax, the former mayor said there were tens of thousands of commercial establishments in Mysuru including shops and business fronts of which only about 17,000 have obtained trade licences. The MCC revenue could be further augmented if a drive was conducted to issue trade licence to every business establishment in the city, he added. Though the MCC was providing civic amenities to many revenue layouts in the city, it was not collecting property tax, Mr. Sandesh Swamy said, underlining the imperatives of widening the tax net and bringing all revenue layouts under it to mobilise additional resources. Incidentally, the MCC budget for 2025-26 expects ₹252.60 crore to be collected by way of property tax.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Time of India
Panel to decide fee, maintenance for new indoor stadium
Mangaluru: With chief minister Siddaramaiah dedicating the new state-of-the-art indoor stadium at Urwa in the city, the department of youth empowerment and sports is awaiting a nod from the state to take over the facility from Mangaluru Smart City Limited (MSCL). The indoor stadium, which meets national standards and specifically designed for badminton and kabaddi, was developed on 1.1 acres belonging to the department of youth empowerment and sports at a cost of Rs 36 crore by the MSCL. The foundation for the 1,300sqft sports complex with four floors was laid on November 2, 2021. According to officials, it may take at least a few weeks to make the new indoor stadium fully functional. Pradeep D'Souza, deputy director of the youth empowerment and sports department said that the process of handing over the stadium is under way. "A stadium committee headed by the deputy commissioner will prepare an action plan regarding future maintenance after the handover process. The MSCL has already given a letter requesting the department of youth empowerment and sports to take over the stadium. A final clearance from the department is expected soon," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Once the stadium is taken over, the department can either manage it directly by collecting necessary fees and rentals from the commercial outlets, or it can also be managed on an outsourced basis. However, a final decision in this regard will have to be taken by the govt through the department, he said. There are five exclusive courts for badminton on the third floor. Meanwhile, the ground floor has six badminton courts, which include three interchangeable kabaddi courts. While the stadium has space to park 60 four-wheelers and 100 two-wheelers, the building also has 34 commercial outlets for the purpose of generating income to meet its maintenance cost. Besides badminton and kabaddi courts, the complex also has space for an administrative office, separate washrooms and changing rooms for men and women, locker rooms, lifts, a gymnasium, dormitory facility, and cafeteria. While the first floor has a seating capacity of 400 for spectators, the same number of people can be accommodated on the fourth floor, D'Souza said.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Time of India
Few autonomous colleges may offer UG with apprenticeship
Mumbai: The state govt's plan to launch apprenticeship embedded degree programmes (AEDP) from next month may not find many takers among autonomous colleges , at least not this year. Despite a series of meetings, many colleges are apprehensive about hastily rolling out the initiative—which integrates apprenticeship training into the academic curriculum—without adequate preparation. Many principals said admissions have already commenced and offering a new programme or converting an existing one into AEDP will disturb their entire schedule. A principal pointed out that they are looking to convert one of the existing programmes into AEDP, but it will not be possible to do it this year. "The teaching staff are not available during the vacation. We may have to rearrange the credit structure a bit to accommodate apprenticeship. Above all, colleges will have to sign an MoU with the industry, which cannot be done at the 11th hour. Govt has been holding regular talks and workshops for colleges, but admissions have already commenced. " Another principal said their college doesn't have the physical infrastructure for a new programme. "We are just settling into the National Education Policy (NEP) framework and having a new programme with a slightly modified credit framework can't be rushed into this year. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Đăng ký Undo We still don't have classrooms to accommodate students when they go to the fourth year as degree programmes were only for three years before NEP," said the principal, adding that they already have the BVoc programme that is similar to AEDP. A principal said they are starting a new skill course this year, but it is not aligned with AEDP and they have not promoted it as an AEDP course. While many colleges TOI spoke to said it would be difficult for them to start the programmes this year, Madhav Rajwade, principal of Sathaye College, said they already had an MoU with Sector Skill Council in logistics and supply chain management last year but could not launch the programme then and are ready to go ahead with it this year. Mulund College of Commerce (MCC) had enrolled about 20 students as it started late. Course coordinator Alpa Katira said students have to clear at least one skill course certification every semester. While the govt resolution was released only this year, six colleges/universities started AEDP in 2024 and MCC was the only college under Mumbai University to do so. A senior govt official said a lot of progress is being made and follow-ups are being undertaken with all universities to ramp up action. Asked about colleges' fears over the delay, the official said they would look into it.
