Undeterred, state rolls out red carpet to corporate world again

An upbeat Karnataka government is hosting the second edition of the global investors meet (GIM) on June 7 and June 8 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre , despite an implementation ratio of a dismal 1.1 per cent of the total investments committed in the first edition of the GIM held on June 3 and June 4, 2010. In a candid admission to the captains of Indian industry on May 10, 2012, state chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda said: “Thirty one projects of the 389 proposals have been implemented so far with an investment of Rs 4,300 crore, while 289 projects with Rs 3.12 lakh crore are in various stages of their implementation.” The government had signed MoUs with 389 companies involving an investment of Rs 3.89 lakh crore in June 2010.

About 55 proposals were in the iron and steel sector and none has materialised. With the steel industry and mining sector mired in scams and legal battles over the last two years after the Supreme Court banned mining of iron ore in the state, investment proposals worth Rs 2.56 lakh crore from global and Indian firms for setting up steel plants and power projects failed to materialise.

“We are doing our best to ensure these projects are executed in the next two years to create jobs and contribute to the socio-economic development of the state,” an unfazed Murugesh R Nirani, minister for large and medium industries, said. Among the 55 global and Indian firms that signed agreements with the state government on June 3 and June 4, 2010, amid much fanfare, were the world’s largest steel maker ArcelorMittal, Posco of South Korea, Surya Vijayanagar Steel Ltd, Bhushan Steel Ltd and Brahmani Industries Karnataka Ltd of the jailed former state minister G Janardhana Reddy, NMDC, Tata Metaliks, Hazira Steel among others. However, the government is now hopeful of exceeding its own target of attracting Rs 5 lakh crore investments this time. The state government, led by Sadananda Gowda has left no stone unturned to woo investors to the state.

Putting the ignoring the simmering political crisis in the ruling BJP government, which completed four years in office on May 30, 2012, the chief minister and industries minister have once again rolled out the red carpet for the global investors. They have made all out efforts to showcase State as an investor-friendly destination in the country in industrial and technology sectors, besides the infrastructure sector spanning power, airports, ports, urban transport, road and rail connectivity. The state high level clearance committee headed by the CM has already cleared 31 projects worth over Rs 1,46,656 crore that will create jobs for about 300,000 people in sectors spanning cement, energy, aerospace, IT, electronics and infrastructure. “The mission of this event is to attract over Rs 5 lakh crore investment, create at least one million jobs and double State Gross Domestic Product by 2020 from the present Rs 5 lakh crore,” Sadananda Gowda said.

Unlike in GIM 2010 when the focus was on the steel and mining sectors, the state industry department has identified 14 sectors, including ICT, electronics, aerospace and defence, automobiles, textiles, pharma and health, power, agro-tech and food processing and tourism and hospitality for GIM 2012, with an employment potential for about one million people. Besides existing investors such as Tatas, Birlas, JSW group, GVK Reddy group, Toyota Kirloskar and Ascendas, about 80 Fortune 500 firms, including Reliance group have evinced interest in investing in the state in growth-oriented sectors, Nirani claimed.

In the run-up to the event, the state government conducted road shows in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad and in Dubai, Singapore and Japan. It was aimed at showcasing its investor-friendly policies with special packages to be doled out case-by-case for attracting investments in specific industries with huge scope for job creation and exports.

As part of the event, the state government is also holding a three-day ‘GIM Expo’ at the BIEC venue, which kicked off on Wednesday to showcase its strengths, infrastructure facilities, pro-active industrial policies, incentives, human capital, land bank and natural resources.