KARNATAKA LAYS RED CARPET FOR GLOBAL INVESTORS
Enthused by the enormous success of the previous GIM in 2010, Government of Karnataka has taken a slew of proactive steps to attract and retain investments across several sectors into the state. Having embarked on a massive promotional campaign encompassing industry outreach within and outside the country, Karnataka is set to attract huge investments into the state at the GIM 2012. The spinoff will include the creation of over 10 lakh jobs apart from achieving overall economic growth in the state.
GIM 2012 will be a platform for Karnataka to showcase its strengths, its proactive policies, *progressive stance and initiatives taken to improve governance and investor friendly climate. *The event aims to bring together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers all under one roof. Apart from exhibitions and sectoral seminars, one-to-one meetings, B2B meetings and B2G meetings have also been organised as part of the global summit.
At the B-B meetings held in The Hotel Oberoi in New Delhi, 14 Indian companies and 6 Foreign firms met with the government and initiated dialogues on investment in Karnataka. The event was organised in association with CII and Ernst & Young as the knowledge partner. The Chief Minister held a breakfast meeting and had fruitful discussions with a delegation from AMCHAM which consisted of 30 companies from the United States.
Speaking to investors in New Delhi over the last two days Mr.D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka called on the International Business Community to cash in on the opportunity to invest in Karnataka, the country’s most investor friendly state. Emphasizing that Karnataka was far beyond other states in the country in attracting Global investment; Mr Gowda said that the Government had made concerted efforts to introduce a number of investor friendly steps to bolster Global investments into the state.
Attributing Karnataka’s success to the state’s focus on industrialisation over the last four years, Mr.Gowda highlighted the various initiatives taken by GOK in enhancing the State’s infrastructure, incentives available for industries and the numerous advantages of investing in Karnataka. While beckoning more National and International companies to set up businesses in Karnataka, he assured potential investors of the Government’s tacit support for all their ventures.
The Chief Minister encouraged investors to look beyond Bangalore at Tier II cities in the state as they were well equipped to offer the best infrastructure and other requisite amenities. He added that the Government is committed to providing a special package for investors looking at regions outside Bangalore.
Mr Murugesh R Nirani, Hon’ble Minister for Large and Medium Industries, GOK, said that over the last three years, the Government has released 11 policies in relation to industries covering Agri Business, Wine, Semi Conductor, SEZ, Textile, Mineral, Tourism, IT & ITES and Biotech. The most recent was the Animation policy that was released yesterday in Bangalore.
Mr. Raj Kumar Khatri, Infrastructure Secretary said that one of the priority areas for Karnataka has been infrastructure development and in line with this, the state has commenced integrated development of large identified corridors for intensive economic growth and infrastructure creation. The state will shortly introduce an infrastructure bill to facilitate, regulate, and mitigate risk in infrastructure projects. The purpose of this bill is to provide a legal framework for infrastructure development through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and to enhance confidence in potential investors, he added.
Mr. K. Jothiramalingam, Principal Secretary. Commerce and Industries, Government of Karnataka focused on the potential sectors for investment in the state. He also highlighted the incentives and concessions available for investments. Commenting on the state’s ability to offer Global companies a favourable investment climate, Mr.Ramalingam said that investor confidence could easily be gauged by the resounding success of GIM 2010 which generated investment commitments worth Rs. 3.92 lakh crore. The summit saw the participation of over 7,000 delegates and 2,000 companies from 21 countries and 21 States. He stated that nearly 62 per cent of the MoUs signed during GIM-2010 were in various stages of implementation while 36 units had taken off. Another 36 were in various stages of implementation and 250 units were in the pipeline.
On the Aerospace front, the Government plans to develop an aerospace park near Devanahalli in Bangalore with an outlay of 950 acres of land in which 250 acres would be SEZ. Karnataka will come out with an aerospace policy shortly.
Karnataka’s rapid growth has facilitated a huge potential and demand in the Energy sector. The state is the 3^rd largest generator through Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in India and has the highest wind energy potential at 11531 MW. An additional 4200 MW is planned by 2014 through renewable sources of energy.
While GIM 2010 largely attracted corporations from the steel, cement and power sectors, theGlobal Investors Meet 2012 will focus on more sectors like Energy, Urban Infrastructure, Transport Infrastructure, Engineering, Tourism, Chemicals and Petro Chemicals, Biotechnology, Education, Information Technology, Tourism, Mines & Minerals, Textiles & Apparels and Agro Food Processing. The Government is laying substantial impetus on attracting companies from the medium and small segments (MSMEs).
The GIM Expo planned at the BIEC also seeks to showcase the top 20 industry and service sectors. Over 10,000 business visitors comprising top management will have the opportunity of interacting and networking with business leaders and policy makers apart from engaging in B-B meetings and focussed conferences and tracks addressed by experts. This will be a boost to economic development in Karnataka.
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