Karnataka: Special Investment Promotion Task Force holds first meeeting

Bengaluru: The Special Investment Promotion Task Force, constituted by the Karnataka government with the objective of attracting investments following changes in the global economy due to COVID-19 pandemic, held its first meeting on Wednesday and discussed showcasing state’s strengths to the global investor community.

In the meeting, senior government officers led by the Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar brainstormed with leading MNCs and trade body representatives on showcasing Karnataka’s strengths to the global investor community and attracting new investments, an official release said.

It said the task force members were apprised of the recent reforms and relief measures introduced by the state government to benefit industries recently, such as land reforms, waiver and deferral of utility charges, among others. They were also informed about several additional measures currently in the pipeline for further improvement of the business environment in the state, it added.

The task force was constituted on May 11 to woo “disenchanted” multinational companies looking to shift their manufacturing bases mainly from China.

According to the government, it would identify sectors in which Karnataka can attract investment due to relocation from other countries post COVID-19, formulate special incentive package and “facilitations” which need to be provided to attract these investments.

The panel has nominees or representatives from trade promotion organisations of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, as also US, French, Singapore and German companies, among others. Participants in the meeting appreciated governments efforts towards managing the pandemic in the state and improving the business environment in the post-coronavirus scenario, the release said.

Sharing their views, the industry representatives provided several constructive inputs on attracting investments to the State. These included reaching out to foreign MSMEs in a structured manner, collation of a list of leading firms across different sectors and geographies, and leveraging the expatriate presence in the state to reach out to international investors.

The task force resolved to meet at regular intervals going forward. Along with top state government officials, JETRO, KOTRA, USISPF, AMCHAM, IFCCI, IGCC, Enterprise Singapore, IESA, Bosch, Texas Instruments, and Wistron, were some of the international trade bodies and industries represented at the meeting today.