25 ROOFTOP RESTAURANTS TO ENJOY BANGALORE

25 ROOFTOP RESTAURANTS TO ENJOY BANGALORE'S WEATHER
April 5, 2016

Rooftop restaurant visits in Delhi and Mumbai become second-string as the scorching summer heat takes over. While both the national and commercial capital observe hot evenings during the month of April and May, temperatures in Bangalore take a dip as the sun sets. Humidity remains absent from the garden city of India, making it the perfect time to pay these spectacular rooftop restaurants a visit.

So, if you are lucky enough to be living in Bangalore, check out these picturesque rooftop restaurants you must visit to enjoy the pleasant weather Bangalore experiences.

Barleyz


If you are looking for a place that serves good food, plays great music and has a great ambiance, Barleyz is your best bet. Whether you are interested in a buffet or are simply craving for a well prepared thin crust pizza, Barleyz has it all. Did we tell you, it’s a great place for first dates!

Azure, Vivanta by Taj



A romantic setting and mouthwatering food accompanied by excellent service is what makes Azure class apart. Not only is the food good, but the presentation also speaks a thousand words. Go ahead give it a try.

The Table Blue



If a rooftop restaurant experience at a reasonable rate is on your mind, you have to pay The Table Blue a visit. The tables as the name suggests are blue; an added attraction is the cycle placed on a brick wall. When was the last time you saw something this cool?

Blue Ginger, Taj West End



For the ones who are in for a Vietnamese experience both food and ambiance wise, look no further than Blue Ginger. Surrounded by a water body and lush greenery, Blue Ginger is a must visit. Did you know that Blue Ginger is India’s first Vietnamese restaurant?

Tippler- On the Roof



Are you one of those who instantly fell in love with Russia the moment you read a Leo Tolstoy book? If the answer is yes, Tippler-On the Roof has to be on your list. The menu includes food items like Vodka platter, Russian omelette, and Chicken Stragonoff. Enough said, make sure you visit.

The Tao Terraces



For an incredible experience and a taste of Pan Asian delights in one roof, make sure you visit the Tao Terraces. Enjoy a candlelight dinner amidst a beautiful setting with your significant other. Time to celebrate love the Asian way!

Vapour Pub and Brewery



What sounds better than enjoying a freshly brewed wheat beer with some friends on a Friday evening? Make sure you sit on the terrace for the spectacular views. And if you happen to be a sports freak, they have a big screen which always showcases the big games!
Peppermill Bistro



Know that place where you go for a quick snack or coffee with a friend and wish time stops? Peppermill Bistro is just the place. The white decors and the beautiful lighting will leave you awestruck. Make sure you try their shakes.

High Ultra Lounge


Oh, the view! High Ultra Lounge’s view from 430 feet above the ground has to take your breath away. Another spectacular place to enjoy Pan-Asian delicacies. Make sure you do try their Banoffee Pie, Vietnamese Spring Rolls and, of course, the Thai Green Curry.

Bierre Republic



Ever wished to eat food at a pirate’s den? Well, your wish is Bierre Republic’s command. The pirate themed rooftop ambiance will blow your mind. The freshly brewed wheat beer is another added advantage. Do not miss the Coconut Shrimp Skewers and the Barbeque Chicken Pizza.

The Fatty Bao



If you are craving for the good old momos with a glass of beer, head to The Fatty Bao. The food is mouthwatering and the rooftop ambiance is an added attraction. Oh, and if you love pandas, just take a peek at their walls and be surprised.

Persian Terrace, Sheraton



If you are looking forward to spend some quality time with your loved one amidst a beautiful ambiance, Persian Terrace is the place to be. And, kebabs, don’t forget to order some kebabs as well, you will not be disappointed.

Skyye



Who wouldn’t want to enjoy a few cocktails and some food on the 16th floor of UB City? A breathtaking view, great music and good food. You’ve just found the best place to unwind and party hard without a care in the world.

Bang, The Ritz-Carlton



Great food, fantastic ambiance and satisfactory service, what more can you ask for? While this place may seem a tad bit overpriced, the experience will blow your mind. Make sure you do try the Mutual Life here (Keep guessing what is this thing).

Bricklane



If you are looking for a place to take someone on a date, Bricklane is where you should be at. The ambiance is spectacular and the food is incredible as well. Make sure you try the fish tikka and the jerk chicken.

Loveshack



A small but amazing restaurant nestled in Domlur, Loveshack is a must visit. If your Goa is being cancelled for some reason, visit Loveshack for a Goan beach shack experience. Make sure you try their bacon wrapped prawns.

The Sky Lounge



If you are looking for a not so costly place which also has the perfect ambiance, The Sky Lounge is your best bet. The bamboo fence gives it a unique feel. The service is excellent and the food is mouthwatering.

News Café



Here’s some news for you, News Café has some of the best cocktails in town. If you happen to be a hookah lover, you will love this place. The rooftop setting, good music and good food, well you must visit at least once.

The Humming Tree



An open air setting with great music makes The Humming Tree one of a kind. Chicken Wings, Chilli Basil Chicken, Beef and Humus burger, are some of the musts here. Did you know this place is quite popular for many live music gigs?

Om Made Café



A typical rooftop café where you would preferably go either during the evening hours when the sun is about to set or on a starry night. The music is good and if you are an Italian food lover, you’ve just found gold. Make sure you try the Flat Bread, and Croque Monsieur.

The Black Pearl



Another pirate themed setting which will take you back to the Pirate of the Caribbean days. The interiors look like a pirate ship and the rooftop setting makes it even more amazing. Do not forget to get a tonne of pictures clicked with the pirate hats.

Fenny’s Lounge and Kitchen



If you need a break from the concrete jungle Bangalore has become, Fenny’s is to the rescue. While the food served here is great, it’s the ambiance that steals the show. Make sure to check out the beautiful bottle decoration.

Puma Social Club



If you are looking for a place with a great ambiance and good food, look no further than Puma Social Club. Make sure you try the Chicken Nachos and the Jalapeno Cheese balls. Try visiting the place during the evening.

Bangalore Brew Works



A private dining area, poolside ambiance, rooftop setting, city view and a separate smoking area; you name it and the place has it. Do try their pizzas and pasta, you will certainly not be disappointed.

The 13th Floor



If you are looking for a romantic evening with your significant other, visit the 13th floor. The portions are large; ambiance is jaw dropping and the music makes everything better. Do try the son in law eggs, maharaja meat platter and mojitos.

http://www.skymetweather.com/content/lifestyle-and-culture/25-rooftop-restaurants-to-enjoy-bangalores-weather/

More than 90% of Bengaluru's lakes are polluted or encroached

More than 90% of Bengaluru's lakes are polluted or encroached
A study by the Indian Institute of Science explains the reasons for the city's dying water bodies.

India has had very little to celebrate on World Wetlands Day this year as it has lost its wetlands at an alarming rate of 38% in just a decade (1991-2001). Additionally, there continues to be a regulatory vacuum around wetlands, because of which they continue to be ungoverned and unprotected.

Nowhere is it more apparent than in the city of Bengaluru, once famous for its beautiful lakes created by Kempe Gowdas and the Wodeyars of Mysore and then the British. 

The wetlands in the city are now dying a slow death thanks to rapid growth and urbanisation resulting in encroachment and discharge of sewage and industrial effluents.

Most lakes in the Bengaluru region were constructed in the 16th century by damming the natural valley systems by constructing bunds. They met the drinking water, irrigation and fishing needs of the community and were known to have a positive impact on the ecology and microclimate of the city. 

They not only help by replenishing the groundwater resources in the vicinity, but also prevented flooding, treated wastewater, arrested sediment loads and functioned as a productive ecosystem.

Current situation

A recent study on lakes titled "Wetlands: Treasures of Bangalore (Abused, Polluted, Encroached and Vanishing)" conducted by a team of researchers headed by Professor Ramachandra TV from the Energy and Wetlands Research Group, Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore surveyed 105 lakes in the city. 

It found that only four seemed to be in a good condition while 25 lakes were in a very bad state, fully covered with macrophytes or dumped with solid or liquid wastes and with little or no water.


“We have been working on monitoring the state of the lakes since 1997 and the impacts of urbanisation of the lakes”, said Professor Ramachandra. “We decided to undertake this detailed study following the increasing reports of fish deaths in the lakes and we were requested by people to monitor and explore the situation.”

The physiochemical characteristics of 80 lakes of three different valleys namely Hebbal, Vrushabahavthi and Koramanagala-Challaghatta were monitored during all the seasons for a period of 24 months.Encroached and polluted lakes of Bangalore (Source: Ramachandra TV et al)

The study found that:
98% of the lakes were encroached by mafia.
90% of the lakes were sewage-fed due to sustained flow of untreated sewage and industrial effluents, dumping of solid wastes and building debris.

Water quality analysis of 80 lakes found that almost half of the lakes were highly polluted.

None of the lakes had water that was fit for drinking according to standards set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

79% lakes fell under Class E category classified by CPCB as suitable for irrigation, industrial cooling or controlled waste disposal.

29% lakes could be classified under Class E and D as suitable for fish culture and wildlife propagation.

Only one lake, Mylasandra 1 and 2, fell under Class A that was found to be suitable for drinking purposes according to the CPCB classification.

The lakes in the Koramanagala-Challaghatta valleys were the most polluted as compared to those in the Hebbal, Vrushabahavthi valley.

Fish deaths were reported in Sankey, Lalbaugh, Jakkur and Munnekolala lakes.

Foam formation was seen in lakes such as Bellandur, Maragondanahalli, Rampura, Sarakki and Varthur.
Fire was reported in Bellandur lake.

The report argues that the main reasons for this state of the wetlands are a lack of:

• sense of belonging among all the stakeholders
• sincerity and poor decision making from the bureaucracy
• governance and poor implementation of regulatory norms
• coordination between the many para state agencies who were custodians of the lakes leading to their poor maintainence

“If local people, non government organisations, bureaucrats, regulators, come together and decide to bring about a difference with utmost sincerity, the situation will definitely change. 

Right to live with clean water and environment is for everyone, not only the influential. If it will be possible to send this report to higher authorities and make them aware that they need to be more accountable, then I think the study has served its purpose," said Professor Ramachandra.

The report ends by making some recommendations for conservation and sustainable management of wetlands such as lakes in the cities:

• The need for good governance systems in place with a single agency with statutory and financial autonomy to act as the custodian of lakes for maintenance and action against polluters.
• The need for conducting capacity studies in cities before implementing any new projects to understand the extent of urbanisation that has already happened and the impact of this on the local ecology and biodiversity such as water bodies and vegetation.
• Documentation of biodiversity in the areas.
• Adopting a holistic and integrated approach to conserving and managing lakes.
• Effective judicial systems for speedy disposal of conflicts related to encroachment.
• Better access to information for the public through digitisation of land records and availability of this georeferenced data with query-based information systems.
• Measures to clean and protect lakes
• Removal of encroachments from lakes, lake water beds and storm water drains, regular cleaning of lakes.
• Proper measures such as fencing to protect lakes and prevent solid waste from going into lakes.
• Demarcation of boundaries of water bodies such as lakes and mapping of the water bodies.
• Preparation of management plans for individual water bodies.
• Valuation of goods and services provided by water bodies.
• Restoration of linkages between water bodies.
• Prevention of pollution of lakes by only letting in treated sewage.
• Implementation of rainwater harvesting principles to maintain and recharge water bodies.
• Better regulatory mechanisms such as the following:
• To make landgrabbing a cognisable, non-bailable offence.
• Implementation of the "polluter pay principle".
• Ban on construction activities in valley zones.
• Restriction of diversion of the lakes for any other purposes.
• Decentralised treatment of sewage and solid waste, and restriction for entry of untreated sewage into the lakes. Management and restoration of already polluted lakes.
• Encouraging involvement of local communities: Decentralised management of lakes through involvement of local communities in the formation of local lake committees.
• Encouraging environmental education and awareness buildingthrough schools, colleges, citizen groups and other public forums and encouraging interdisciplinary research on ecosystem conservation and management.

http://scroll.in/article/804967/more-than-90-of-bengalurus-lakes-are-polluted-or-encroached

City’s air is filled with microbes making us sick

It’s airborne! City’s air is filled with microbes making us sick
By Niranjan Kaggere, Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Sep 14, 2015, 04.00 AM IST




Four types of bacteria in Bengaluru's air have become hyperactive and are triggering respiratory tract disorders among its residents; IISc wages war on dreaded dengue

Why are people falling sick in Bengaluru often these days? Have the immunity levels of Bengalureans dropped drastically? Are pollutants getting more dangerous by the day? Are new strains of virus or bacteria fast multiplying in the city? These are the questions that are being asked by medical experts and researchers in recent times.

While the brainstorming continues, a city-based environmental scientist has come up with a worrisome finding: Four types of bacteria (Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Enterococcus and Salmonella typomerium) have become hyperactive in the city's air and are triggering fever and respiratory tract disorders among residents. The scientist Sivasakthivel S has set out to record the bacteria and fungi (bioaerosol) levels in the city. He submitted his findings to Bangalore University as part of his doctoral thesis titled—'Microbial diversity in ambient air associated with seasonal meteorological parameters' for which he was awarded a PhD last week.

Sivasakthivel told Bangalore Mirror that his objective was to study what kind of pathogenic bacteria and fungi are present in Bengaluru's air. "The bioaerosol level was compared with seasonal aspects like temperature and relative humidity to assess how these climatic aspects foster the growth of bioaerosols in air," he said.

Sivasakthivel's research spanning four years from 2009 to 2013 was conducted under the guidance of Prof N Nandini, chairperson, Environment Science department of Bangalore University.

Landfills and polluted lakes breed pathogens
As part of the study, Sivasakthivel drew samples of bioaerosols from the air in and around the landfill areas at Mandur, Bellandur Lake and Byramangala Lake in Bengaluru urban limits from 6 am to 6 pm. 

While the samples around Mandur and other landfills revealed the presence of three different pathogens, samples around Bellandur area attested to the presence of Salmonella typomerium.

"Gradual decomposition at landfills had triggered these aerosols. Adding to woes, modern chemicals like biomedical and chemical waste comprising expired drugs, syringes, perfumes, toothpastes and blood bags further induced antibiotic resistant or drug-resistant characters in all the bacterial pathogens," Sivasakthivel explained.

Nandini said, "Rapid urbanisation has made people cultivate a throwaway culture instead of a recycle and reuse one. This has resulted in a huge pile of garbage all around and unattended garbage due to fermentation resulting in the birth of bacterial aerosols that are taking toll on human health. The infection is high during the pre-monsoon (first rains) when it washes down all the aerosols in the air to the ground. If you get wet in first rains or consume food or fruit exposed to air, bacteria will get into you, affecting the immunity." 

Besides landfills, polluted lakes too generate aerosols which get into air due to wind activity. "Raw sewerage carries pathogens into water bodies. Bacterial pathogen Salmonella typomerium was found in air up to 100 m above the Bellandur Lake. This causes typhoid and diarrhea," Sivasakthivel explained.

City's climate good for pathogens too
While filthy landfills and polluted water bodies emitted bioaerosols, the climatic conditions in Bengaluru helped these pathogens further spread. Sivasakthivel compared the aerosol data with seasonal climatic variations that included temperature and relative humidity. "Both the temperature and relative humidity support the growth of these pathogens in air. 

Temperature in Bengaluru has increased by 0.08 degree centigrade as against the global 0.06 degree centigrade in the last four decades. This is the result of increased greenhouse gas emissions from various sectors. Untimely rains and summers have changed the climatic pattern. This has become conducive for pathogens," said Nandini.

Treat solid waste carefully
Working on the mitigation measures, the researchers opined that the only way to tackle the emission of bioaerosols was to switch over to activities like reuse and recycling. "People have to be thoroughly educated on garbage disposal. One must avoid dumping of waste in an open site. Even if it is thrown, it has to be cleared and treated scientifically. 

People, particularly motorists, must move around with masks. Besides, raw sewerage must be restricted from entering water bodies and it should be let in only after proper scientific treatment," suggested Nandini.



The culprits
* Streptococcus causes upper respiratory tract infection with sore throat, intense fever and dry cough* Staphylococcus causes allergic rhinitis (hay fever), running nose and headaches * Enterococcus causes dry cough, infection of nasal throat and upper respiratory system infection * Salmonella typomerium causes typhoid and diarrhea

Toxic bird poop
"Pigeon and poultry dropping and fallen feathers are rich sources of Faecal coliform that largely originates in the intestines of warm-blooded animals," said Sivasakthivel. Faecal coliform are known to cause ear infections, dysentery, typhoid, bacterial gastroenteritis and hepatitis A.

WHAT ARE BIOAEROSOLS?
Bioaerosols are airborne particles containing microorganisms of varying sizes released by living organisms. The cellular components of these organisms may contain virus, bacteria, fungal spores, plant pollen and other allergens.

Bangalore startup offers affordable, furnished residences

Bangalore startup offers affordable, furnished residences
By Chandralekha Mukerji, ET Bureau | 9 Sep, 2015, 04.19PM IST

BENGALURU: Although officially a non-metro, Bengaluru is perceived to be `the city to be in' if you are an IT executive or an upcoming entrepreneur. It appeals to the young and the upwardly moving. However, the city with year-round pleasant weather is rather cold towards tenants, especially those who are single. Most house owners demand a minimum of 10 month's security deposit.

Nestaway .com, a startup based in the city is trying to fill this gap. A market place for rented accommodation, they aim to provide affordable and fully-furnished shared homes for as low as `6,000 per month with only two months' rent as security deposit.

For the tenant

If you are looking for a shared accommodation in a good locality, NestAway homes are a steal not only in terms of cost but convenience. There are studio apartment options too, in case you do not want flat-mates and are looking for more privacy .

All you have to do is register yourself at their website, which has a catalogue of properties up for rent categorized on the basis of locality and gender. If you like a house you can schedule a visit according to your convenience. Booking is done online as well.

In terms of cost, not just low deposits, these are fully-furnished flats with beds with mattresses, sofa sets, wardrobes, TV with DTH connection, internet connection, geyser, air conditioner and a fully equipped kitchen with gas, fridge, microwave, cookware and even crockery. You can practically just walk in with your suitcase.

NestAway homes also have shorter rent agreements. Most house owners would want you to sign an agreement of at least 11 months, which can be a problem in a shared accommodation where all members might not have same plan.

NestAway contracts are not only for six months, but in case a member leaves midway , it is the company's responsibility to find a replacement. For the party moving out before six months, there is a penalty of a month worth of rent. "This is to discourage very short-term engagements and make the owners feel more comfortable.But it's flexible as the owner always has the discretion of waiving it off," says Amarendra Sahu, Co-founder, NestAway.com. The penalty is also waived if you are moving to another NestAway home in a different city or locality. "For such cases we even offer you free of cost relocation," says Sahu. Apart from Bengaluru, the company has properties in Gurgaon and has soft launched in Pune and Hyderabad.

For the owners

It is equally hassle-free for the house owner.All you have to do is list your property and quote a price. Everything else--from showing the property to tenants, closing agreements, rent collection to exit inspection--is taken care of by NestAway . Regular maintenance and repairs are also the company's responsibility . The company guarantees break-free occupancy . "For any damage, we provide them a third party damage insurance of up to Re 1 crore that covers both the structure and content," says Sahu.NestAway charges a monthly commission, around 15 per cent of the rent paid.

Safety Ensured

House is the single largest possession for the owners and security is major issue. "In fact, uncertainty and hesitation of owners towards renting their homes to singles was one of the biggest operational challenge the company faced," says Sahu. For tenants, sharing a flat with complete strangers may be scary. The company therefore, vets both parties as well as organized face-to-face meeting, if required. The tenant as well as the owner's documents needs to be uploaded online which is available for inspection to both.

Bangalore's Long History

Bangalore's Long History

BC(-) Stone Age implements, Roman coins & burial grounds unearthed.
850 AD 'Bengalooru' appears on Mauryan empire milestone
1015 Chola Empire takes over City
1120 Veera Ballala II calls it 'Benda Kalooru' or 'Town of Boiled
Beans' (after a poor woman feeds him beans in the forest)
1537 Kempe Gowda I designs City as it exists today. (KG II builds
the 4 towers)
1638 Shahaji Bhonsle (Shivaji's father) captures City for Adil
Shah who gifts it to him
1640 Shivaji marries Bangalore girl
1687 Aurangzeb's army captures City
1690 Sells it to the Wodeyars for 3 lakhs!
1759 Wodeyar gifts it to Hyder Ali who builds Lal Bagh
1791 Cornwallis defeats Tipu but returns City to him
1799 Tipu dies. City returned to Wodeyar
1800 Bangalore GPO opened
1809 Cantonment established
1812 St. Mark's Cathedral built
1831 British take-over administration
1853 Sunday declared weekly holiday
1859 1st train steams out of City
1864 Sankey builds Cubbon Park
1867 Attara Kacheri built
1887 Bangalore Palace built
1898 The great plague. (Another plague-the 1st telephone rings)
1903 1st motor car pollutes city
1905 India's 1st electric bulb lit in Bangalore City MARKET
1909 Indian Institute of Science built
1940 1st flight Bangalore/Bombay
1948 Deccan Herald launched
1954 Vidhana Soudha built


1791-bangalore map

'Bangalore is 2nd-largest IT cluster after Silicon Valley'

'Bangalore is 2nd-largest IT cluster after Silicon Valley' Bangalore is the second-largest IT cluster in the world after Silicon Valley, says Srivatsa Krishna, secretary - IT, Biotech, e-governance Karnataka government, implying that the comparison with Hyderabad is unwarranted. In a bid to justify his point further, he says: "Hyderabad took eight years to fructify MoU with Google." Moreover, he adds that Bangalore now is also the start-up capital of India for sure. Below is the verbatim transcript of Srivatsa Krishna's interview with CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan Q: Google, Amazon and Uber, Hyderabad says we are now India's IT capital, what do you have to say? A: This year we have done almost 36-38 percent of India's software exports from one state - Karnataka, and most of it is from Bangalore. Competition - add the next two together, they don't reach up to even half of us. So, facts speak differently. The Google story is an MoU which I am told was signed 6-8 years ago and got fructified now. So, if it takes you eight years to fructify then they have something to worry about. Secondly, the recent study done says today Bangalore is the second-largest IT cluster on the planet after Silicon Valley and by 2020 with 2 million direct IT jobs, 6 million indirect jobs and Rs 4 lakh crore exports at 40 percent of India's exports, we will be the single-largest IT cluster on the planet. Uber was in conversation with us, Amazon already has a fulfilment centre here, they also have a fulfilment centre there. Fact of the matter is everyone first comes to Bangalore and then goes elsewhere. Google is already here. Q: So, what are you going to do now to try and prevent people from looking at other states because every state government is rolling out the red carpet to investors at this point in time, it is good but in this sort of competitive federal structure what are you going to do and we have seen several iterations as far as your IT policy is concerned. What more can we expect to keep investors here and to bring new investments in? A: Firstly the i4 policy which was launched about a year and half back has just attracted what is considered to be the single-largest tech Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) ever in the country. Exxon Mobil which has announced its IT services centre, business support centre in Bangalore, it is their first business support centre in India and we are also talking about an R&D hub and a technology hub which should bring in even more investment. We are also in dialogue with a top Fortune company which I can't tell you the name, a fortune top two or three company which will bring in USD 1 billion of investment and we are hopeful of closing it come fall. This apart, let me answer the other part of the question on start-ups. We are today the unquestioned start-up capital of the country. Three fourths of India's start ups get incubated here and we have begun, we have pioneered what is called the start-up warehouse in partnership with National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and the states you speak about all of them have cut-paste copied it into their states. We have now gone ahead and have done the next gen start-up warehouse 50,000 square feet India's first internet of things lab, first mobile design lab and for the first time we are doing India's first mobile apps incubator with Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and it will be in partnership with Google and others. Q: Let me now shift to e-governance. The government has just launched this massive Digital India initiative. As far as the state government is concerned you have already been significantly ahead of what other states are doing as far as e-governance is concerned. What kind of contracts are we likely to see you give out? What can we expect more on the e-governance platform front? A: Tow things - we launched Karnataka Mobile One. The President of India came down to Bangalore on December 8 and lunched it. First time ever that Apple has approved an app from any government in India on the iStore and it is on the Google Play store, it has got a 4 on 5 rating. We are doing about a lakh hits and downloads per day with no advertising. So, now it is a platform, it is not a government system. It is a platform where we encourage young start-ups to come and try out their ideas. We have a lot of new start-ups companies offering services and it is the only platform where you can do something unique. For instance if you want to pay your income tax you can do it only on Mobile One in the country. Remember it is a federal service, the income tax is something you pay to the government of India but it is a state government called Karnataka which enabled it and made it happen. Secondly, e-procurement where we are the unquestioned leaders. We do about USD 12-15 billion worth of transactions every year on the e-procurement platform which is considered to be by far the best in the country. Ministry of commerce of government of India called us recently and has declared it as the best practise, various states have come to us for adapting it. We are the only one again with end to end contract management and catalogue management. There are some other areas where we are not the leaders and we are trying to get there and get our act together there as well. You mentioned about state governments coming up with incentives, can they replicate Bangalore's deep talent ecosystem? Can they replicate Bangalore's eco-system for start-ups and the conducive environment, can they replicate the weather and can they replicate a proactive government led by our chief minister who welcomes industry.

German consul-general in Bengaluru Jörn Rohde slammed the State government for being complacent.

All is not well in State, says German diplomat

Umesh M Avvannavar, BENGALURU: July 18, 2015, dhns:

After Bosch, Consul-General Rohde joins chorus

Days after auto component giant Bosch said it was contemplating on moving out of Karnataka for delay in approvals, German consul-general in Bengaluru Jörn Rohde slammed the State government for being complacent.

In a one-to-one conversation with Deccan Herald, Rohde said “not everything is okay with the Karnataka government”and that “there is big room for improvement”.

Rohde spoke on the sidelines of an event organised here by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) where the consul-general announced German-led initiative to support Indian SMEs (small and medium enterprises).

Taking a dig at the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) scheduled for November 23-25, the consul-general said getting existing companies to say this is a great place to invest “would be more convincing than handing out coloured brochures”.

Rohde’s statement comes just a month after Steffen Berns, India head of the €49-billion German giant Bosch, took the lectern at another business chamber-organised event (Bangalore Chambers of Industry and Commerce AGM) to announce that the company was thinking of ditching Karnataka.

Berns had lamented about Bosch facing issues despite its presence in the state for more than 60 years.

On Friday, the consul-general drew an even older connect for Germany, which was not working well.

‘History of association’
“Germany has a long history of association with Karnataka since World War II. But Pune is more dynamic than Bengaluru as far as manufacturing investments are concerned. My strong view I want to make here is this. Ten-years-ago Bengaluru had more German companies than Pune.

The number of German companies here is still growing, but Pune has 300 German companies compared with Bengaluru, which has just 180,”said Rohde.

The consul-general then spoke about Berns comment: “If you remember, Steffen Berns had given a speech a few weeks ago expressing dissatisfaction. I wish to say that not everything is okay with the Karnataka government...there is big room for improvement. But I still feel that Bengaluru is a happening place, there are lots of opportunities here. We should all work together and maybe we can come back to a situation where we were 10 years ago.”

When asked why German companies were opting for Pune, Rohde did not mince words when he said, “There is little bit of complacency in Karnataka. The time taken in Karnataka for approvals is more when compared with Maharashtra or even some other states. Investment decisions are made where parameters are the best. It shows that Pune is more dynamic than Bengaluru.”