Visionary statesman and engineer Sir M. Visvesvaraya once told the citizens of the State to either 'industrialise or perish’. An inspired Karnataka became one of the pioneers of industrialisation in the early 20th century. There has been no looking back since then.
The State has earned the monikers knowledge hub, Silicon City and start-up capital. Today, the industry sector contributes around 23% to the State's GDP. Acting as a catalyst for change has been the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), which was established by Sir Visvesvaraya and pre-dates FICCI and ASSOCHAM.
In 100 years of its existence, the FKCCI has shifted focus from trading to large industries to small and micro enterprises, and remains an important facilitator of business in the State.
Launched on May 8, 1916 as the Mysore Chamber of Commerce, it was envisioned as a platform to bring trading communities together and ensure ‘ease of doing business’.
Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the erstwhile king of the princely state of Mysore, offered land adjoining the State Bank of Mysore on K.G. Road for the industry body.
W.C. Rose, who was the first manager of the State Bank of Mysore, served as the first president of the Chamber from 1916 till 1920. The Chamber grew into prominence and public eye in 1935 when it submitted a memorandum demanding amendment in the Indian Companies Act, 1913.
To keep members abreast of changes in policy and laws governing industries, it started publishing a journal called Mysore Commerce, comprising a detailed market report and bulletin.
In 1974, the name was changed to FKCCI. It has hosted former prime minister Indira Gandhi, former Presidents V.V. Giri, Shankar Dayal Sharma and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
In all these years, the Chamber has been a beehive of economic activity. “Today, we have 3,000 direct members and over 2.5 lakh indirect members. We represent small and large SMEs, small and large trading companies and professionals, including Chartered Accountants. We work with 28 local district chambers of commerce,” said M.C. Ramesh, the president of the chamber.
Calling the late 80s as the turning point, Valliappa C., who served as the president of the Chambers in 1988-89, said until that point the body was working mostly with traders. “This was the time when industries starting gaining importance and attached themselves to the Chamber.”
Though the Chamber has large scale industries as members, most of them are not active. The focus today has shifted to MSMEs and SMEs.
Evolution of business in 100 years
While getting financial assistance was the biggest challenge in the early ’70s and ’80s, today it is availability of land and rising labour costs that FKCCI members have to deal with.
“The labour cost has increased by over 50 per cent in the State. In neighbouring Tamil Nadu and other States, labour is cheaper by 40 per cent. This can result in labour-oriented industry moving away from the State. We have been holding multiple talks with government representatives on this issue. Another challenge is frequent changes in policy and business scenario,” said Mr. Ramesh.
Its short term focus now is on enabling smooth migration of industries to the GST system and helping them go digital. “Any Chamber can only be relevant as long as it changes with the changing times. We have also evolved and will continue to do so,” he added.
