Business
‘Centre Decided To Hike Bengaluru Metro Prices’: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Passes The Buck Onto BJP Government Amid Outrage
Amid outrage and protests over a recent hike in metro fares in IT capital Bengaluru, the Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah has issued a clarification on the matter.
CM Issues Clarification
In a post on his official X account, the state CM said, “Clarifying the facts on Bengaluru Metro fare hike.”
He went to attribute the rise in fares to the central government in Delhi, and said, “The fare revision was decided by a Union Government-appointed committee, and BMRCL is legally bound to implement it. The Karnataka Government had no role in this decision.”
The CM also added, “BJP must stop misleading the people and take responsibility for its actions.”
The CM’s clarfictaions highlighted the following points
Since 2017, metro fares were not revised, and BMRCL itself wrote to the Union Government requesting a revision.
If the Karnataka Government had the power to decide fares, why did BMRCL write to the Centre instead of the State Government?
Responding to BMRCL’s letter, the Union Government constituted a Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) under Justice R. Tharani (Retd.), former Madras High Court judge. This committee included representatives from both the Union and State Governments.
The Union Government directed the committee, which began functioning on September 16, 2024, with a three-month deadline.
The committee consulted BMRCL officials, visited Delhi and Chennai Metro authorities, studied operations, and analysed fare structures.
The post also said, “Except for the Delhi Metro, the initial phase fares in all other states were determined by the respective state metro corporations. However, fare revisions are now decided by a committee appointed by the Union Government. As per Section 37 of the Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act, metro corporations (in this case, BMRCL) are legally bound to implement the fare recommendations made by this committee.”
What Are These New Fare Hikes?
The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the body that runs the 2-line metro system (Green Line and Purple Line), has revised the fees, which will result in a 40-50 per cent hike in fare.
Post the revision, the maximum fare has shot up from the previous Rs 60 to the new Rs 90. Here, it is to be noted, that the minimum fare will continue to remain at Rs 10.
In addition, the minimum balance required on smart cards has also been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 90.
What’s Reaction So Far?
This move has irked Bengalurians, many of whom have attributed its hike as side effect of the freebies of the governmental schemes of the incumbent Congress government of Karnataka. This has only made public transport in the IT hub more exorbitant, as the recent comes at the back of 15 per cent hike in bus fares in the city.
Opposition leaders have reacted staunchly to this new development. The city MP (Bangalore South constituency) Tejasvi Surya took the matter up in the ongoing budget session of the parliament.
Surya shared a post on X, in which he said, “At the Zero Hour in Parliament today, I spoke on how the hike in Metro Prices is affecting the middle class in Bengaluru.
Highlighted how this fare hike has led to a 100% increase in the short-distance commute across several metro stations in Bengaluru, making Bengaluru Metro the most expensive metro network & defeating the purpose of creating a sustainable public transport solution for the city.
Urged the concerned authorities to review the anomalies in the fare structure and rationalize the ticket prices to make it more affordable for the common man.”
Although the CM has issues a supposed clarification, no decision on any rollback of the revised fares have been made.
Business
Sensex, Nifty open sharply lower amid negative global cues

Mumbai, Nov 7: The Indian benchmark indices opened with notable losses on Friday, amid weak global cues and FII selling.
As of 9.25 am, Sensex was down 532 points, or 0.64 per cent, at 82,778 and Nifty dipped 162 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 25,347.
The broadcap indices outperformed benchmarks in terms of losses, with the Nifty Midcap 100 down 0.89 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 losing 1.26 per cent.
SBI Life Insurance, Trent, Apollo Hospitals, ICICI Bank were among the major gainers in the Nifty Pack, while losers included TCS, Titan Company, Tata Consumer and Shriram Finance.
Nifty Consumer Durables was the biggest sectoral loser, down 1.38 per cent. All the sectoral indices were trading in the red, with IT, auto and realty slipping over 1 per cent.
Analysts said that huge shorting by FIIs are overpowering the DII and investor buying in the market. The success of the FII strategy of sustained selling in India and moving money to cheaper markets has emboldened them to continue the strategy and continue shorting the market, they added.
“Short covering can lead to trend reversal but there are no immediate triggers for that in sight. FII selling has reduced the prices of fairly valued large caps particularly in banking and pharmaceuticals where growth prospects continue to be bright,” said Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Limited.
India Inc’s second-quarter FY26 earnings, however, showed a stronger-than-anticipated performance with a 14 percent year-on-year earnings rise by companies in key sectors, especially midcaps.
The US markets ended in the red zone overnight, as Nasdaq dipped 1.9 per cent, the S&P 500 declined 1.12 per cent, and the Dow lost 0.84 per cent.
Asian markets also slipped into losses tracking the selloff in US stocks amid concerns over expensive valuations of artificial intelligence companies.
Most of the Asian markets were trading in red during the morning session. While China’s Shanghai index lost 0.17 per cent, and Shenzhen dipped 0.17 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei lost 2.16 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.98 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 2.57 per cent.
On the Thursday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 3,263 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of equities worth Rs 5,284 crore.
Business
India’s solar module manufacturing capacity set to touch 165 GW by March 2027

Mumbai, Nov 6: India’s solar photovoltaic module manufacturing capacity is projected to increase to over 165 GW by March 2027 — up from approximately 109 GW currently, a report said on Thursday.
The strong government support in the form of the approved list of models and manufacturers (ALMM), basic customs duty on imported cells and modules, and the production-linked incentive scheme drove the growth, the report from ratings agency ICRA said.
The report forecasts annual solar capacity installations at 45–50 gigawatt direct current (GWdc), while annual module production is expected to reach 60–65 GW, and this discrepancy may lead to a supply surplus, potentially prompting consolidation among smaller and pure-play module players.
The ALMM List-II for cells, effective June 2026, has encouraged OEMs to increase cell manufacturing to approximately 100 GW by December 2027, up from the current 17.9 GW listed under ALMM, the report noted.
Further, the recent imposition of US tariffs have redirected the supply from the export market to the domestic market, it noted.
However, the report anticipated that the vertically integrated manufacturers will benefit over the long term due to greater control over the supply chain.
Ankit Jain, Vice President and Co-Group Head-Corporate Ratings, ICRA, said that operating profitability for domestic solar OEMs at 25 per cent in FY25 is likely to moderate due to competitive pressures and overcapacity build-up.
As the ALMM requirement for solar cells is effective from June 2026, a significant scale-up in the cell manufacturing capacity along with its stabilisation in a timely manner remains critical in the near term, he added.
Dependence on China for wafers, ingots poses significant risks for the industry’s transition, given China’s dominance in global supply and the potential geopolitical restrictions for backward integration, the report noted.
Business
Centre throws open booth bookings for startups in ‘Waves Bazaar’ at IFFI Goa 2025

New Delhi, Nov 6: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced the opening of bookings for WaveX booths, the exclusive startup showcase zone in Waves Bazaar at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa 2025, according to an official statement issued on Thursday.
The initiative aims to provide a platform for emerging startups in the AVGC-XR (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality) and entertainment sectors to connect with global industry leaders, investors, and production studios.
Scheduled from November 20-24 2025, ‘WAVES Bazar’ will be located in the vicinity of Film Bazaar, the prime networking hub of IFFI known for its dynamic participation from filmmakers, producers, and media professionals from across the world.
Each booth will be available at a nominal cost of Rs. 30,000 per stall on sharing basis. The facilities being provided to participating startups include two delegate passes, lunch and high tea, evening networking opportunity and direct visibility among global film, media and tech professionals, the statement said.
“Interested startups can register at wavex.wavesbazaar.com. Limited stalls are available, and allocation will be on a first-come, first-served basis,” the statement added.
WaveX is a national startup accelerator and incubation initiative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting dedicated to nurturing innovation and entrepreneurship in the AVGC-XR and media-tech ecosystem.
Through collaborations with leading academic, industry, and incubation networks, WaveX empowers creators and startups to scale their ventures, contributing to India’s growing creative economy.
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of Asia’s most significant film festivals, celebrating excellence in world cinema and serving as a meeting ground for filmmakers, artists, and cine enthusiasts. Held annually in Goa, IFFI attracts participation from across the global film fraternity and acts as a catalyst for creative collaboration and opportunities.
The 56th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is set to take place from 20th to 28th November 2025 in Panaji, Goa, the statement added.
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