ENARADA,Bangalore, July 5, 2013:
“The State of Karnataka has positioned itself as an ideal investment destination in the country. And I would be happy to take all of CII’s suggestions to continue to make this state a preferred location for new industries” said Chief Minister Mr Siddaramaiah, while delivering his special address at the CII National Council Meeting held here today.
“In our quest to making Karnataka the ideal destination for investment and to address the contemporary needs of industry sector, the State Government has brought various sector wise policies to facilitate investment into these sectors”, he said.
The State has been in the forefront in bringing new policies and we were the first in the country to bring policies like Aerospace policy, Animation and Gaming Policy and so on, the Chief Minister added.
MSME sector plays an important role, with its contribution of over 45% in the overall industrial output and 40% of Exports. To achieve the growth envisaged in the National manufacturing policy, we require a targeted approach to promote both the large and MSME sectors, to reach a growth rate of about 12%. In this direction, Government of Karnataka had proposed establishment of a National Investment Manufacturing Zone, as envisaged in the National Manufacturing Policy.
The Chief Minister said that the Government of India has granted approval to establish National Investment Manufacturing Zone in about 12000 acres near Tumkur. The State Government is also trying to get approval for 2 more NIMZs at Gulbarga and Kolar.
Similarly, the Government of Karnataka is establishing ITIR (Information Technology Investment Region) near Devanahalli in about 10,000 acres to give further boost to growth of IT sector in the State, Mr Siddaramaiah further added.
Mr Siddaramaiah said that the State Government would pursue initiatives relating to Cluster approaches in Karnataka, especially in districts like Belgaum, Dharwad, Hubli and Mysore. The Chief Minister also acknowledged CII recommendation to establish a Passport Seva Kendra at Mysore and said that this initiative would give further fillip to economic development of Mysore and its surrounding areas.
The Chief Minister said that Government of Karnataka will be the Host State for the next CII Partnership Summit scheduled to be held in January 2014 in Bangalore.
Earlier, in his welcome address, Mr S Gopalakrishnan, President, CII said, “The State of Karnataka has benefited from the execution of several key projects. Based on our recommendations, we are happy that the Government has acknowledged them and are executing several of our recommendations. Growth in the state is dependent on a favourable investment climate, and in this regard, I am glad that the Government is closely working with CII and has targeted the Industry and services sector for greater focus”.
