By IANS,
Bangalore : Karnataka is set to unveil a new industrial policy in April to attract a whopping Rs.5 trillion investment in the manufacturing sector in the coming decade to spur rapid growth, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Monday.
“Our new industry policy targets Rs.5 trillion (Rs.5,000 billion) investments and creation of 1.5 million jobs in the manufacturing sector, with a view to making the state one of the top three investment destinations in the country,” Siddaramaiah said at a trade event here.
Addressing about 1,000 delegates from 45 countries at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) partnership summit, he said the state government has set up a manufacturing task force for specific interventions to drive growth in the industrial sector.
“The policy aims to ensure that the manufacturing sector contributes 25 percent to the state gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, an additional 10.5 million jobs and an inclusive growth across the state,” he said at the inaugural session of the three-day flagship event of India Inc.
In this context, the chief minister said his government is setting up the first National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) spread across 12,500 acres of land at Tumkur, about 70 km from Bangalore.
The government also proposes to establish three more NIMZs at Bidar and Gulbarga in the state’s northern region and at Kolar, about 100 km from here.
“The new industrial policy will give impetus to NIMZs, development of industrial infrastructure, promotion of entrepreneurship, skill upgradation with attractive packages and incentives to the micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSME) sector and flag the state as a brand at international fora,” Siddaramaiah said.
Assuring India Inc and global investors of providing world class infrastructure, the chief minister said the state government would triple investment in infrastructure to nine percent from 3.2 percent of the SGDP during the current (12th) five-year plan period.
“We have identified a potential of Rs.19,065 crore for investments in infrastructure across the state. We are also committed to develop urban infrastructure through public-private partnerships to ensure the state’s economy grows rapidly with a ripple effect on other sectors,” he said.
As part of the infrastructure development, the state government is setting up the Chennai-Bangalore-Chitradurga industrial corridor with financial aid from the central government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Bangalore-Mumbai economic corridor with Britain as its investment partner.
“The state offers multiple investment opportunities across industry verticals and value chain spanning manufacturing and services sectors to realise our vision to achieve balanced growth through a long-term development plan. Our target is to achieve an ambitious nine percent growth in SGDP in the coming years and 12 percent industrial growth,” Siddaramaiah said.
Noting that the state government had formed a joint task force with CII to attract investments over the next five years, the chief minister said the state was keen to capitalise on its natural resources to become a leader in the country’s economic growth story.
“Collaboration with the private sector is a cornerstone of our policy framework and attracting overseas investments our top priority. Inputs from CII helped us in drafting an aerospace policy to accelerate growth in the sun rise sector,” he said.
Asserting that the state was working to sustain an environment conducive to risk-taking and long-term investments, the chief minister said Karnataka was ranked fourth in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI).
“The World Bank investment climate index ranked our state first for a healthy business climate and in attracting global investments,” he added.