By IANS,
Bangalore : The two-month-old Congress government in Karnataka is framing a new industrial policy to attract investments in manufacturing and services sectors and position the southern state as a preferred destination for new industries, said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah here.
“We are framing a new industrial policy that will be unveiled in January 2014. We look forward to suggestions from the industry in drafting the policy,” he said at a meeting with captains of industry here Friday.
The chief minister hoped that the ‘Karnataka Investment Climate Report’ being prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) would help the state government in drawing a policy road map to attract investments in growth sectors.
The state government has set up a joint task force with CII and other industry associations as members to promote manufacturing across the state, especially in the proposed Bangalore-Chennai and Bangalore-Mumbai industrial corridors, which will be set up under the public-private partnership.
“We look forward to the active participation of the CII in the GIM 2014 summit, as it did in the previous edition of GIM in June 2012,” Siddaramaiah told about 100 top executives of India Inc. at its second executive council meeting here.
The chief minister also assured the industry representatives that the state government would give top priority on infrastructure development in Bangalore, cities and towns across the state.
“Our focus will be on projects like Bangalore Metro rail, ports and better road connectivity. I will ensure that we optimise the use of resources and speed up projects like the flyover to the Bangalore international airport and signal-free corridors across the city,” Siddaramaiah asserted.
Clarifying his government’s stand on land acquisition for industries, the chief minister said no fertile (agriculture) land would be acquired and the available land would be used optimally.
“My policy is to ensure no speculation on land and impact of acquisition on land losers should be minimal. There should be a balance between agricultural and industrial use of land,” Siddaramaiah reiterated.
The state government has set up e-Udyami (industry) portal to provide single window clearance for investment proposals and online monitoring of projects from execution to commissioning.
The chief minister also said the state government would host the CII partnership summit in January 2014.