K’taka sees opportunity for collaboration in various sectors, CM tells Consular Generals

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Wednesday told Consular Generals of various countries that the state sees the opportunity for collaboration in digital economy, aerospace and defence, energy, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa addressed Consular Generals of various countries on Wednesday and discussed the opportunities to attract trade and investments to the state.

The meeting touched upon numerous business opportunities and investments that are available for foreign investors in Karnataka, and the Chief Minister held talks with Consular Generals and detailed on the immense opportunities IT, ITES services, machine tooling, manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, defence, energy and engineering design among others, an official release said.

“The state has secured the highest FDI among all Indian states in the April-June 2020 quarter, with FDI of over Rs 10,000 crore. Moreover, Karnataka has attracted 50 per cent of the investment proposals in India, amounting to Rs 1.1 lakh crores between January to May this year, Yediyurappa was quoted as saying in an official release.

The state has also taken a slew of policy reforms in the last six months to attract investments and develop tier-II cities such as Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, he said, the critical policy reforms are procurement of land, labour and amendment of Karnataka Industrial (Facilitation) Act, that allows any approved project to start without any downstream approvals.

“We are actively working on Industrial Corridors. Tumakuru, which is just 70 km away from Bengaluru, is going to be one of the largest Industrial Townships in the entire country with 10,000 acres of the planned area. We will be pleased to provide infrastructure for your companies as well, to make it easy for them to invest in Karnataka,” he added.

Consul-generals of Spain, Poland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Rwanda, and others were present at the meeting that was also attended by top state government officials.

Saying that the state is taking cautious steps to reboot the economy and support economic activities in the state and the recent 2019 NITI Aayog 2019 Innovation Index has Karnataka at the top, Yediyurappa said, this has been possible due to the availability of quality human resources, reputed higher educational institutions, and a significant thrust on research and development aided by a proactive administration and conducive investment climate.

Keeping the investor-centric approach, our government has launched the New Industrial Policy 2020-2025, to build a prosperous Karnataka and create large-scale employment opportunities.

The state is committed to bringing ease to regulatory compliance for businesses, he added.