President of the Karnataka Chapter of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Soumitra Bhattacharya has said the government cannot be blamed for the slowdown of the manufacturing sector in the State.
Speaking to The Hindu , he said that although there were several things that the State government could do, it was necessary for the industry also to get its act together.
Speaking on the sidelines of the CII’s two-day annual conference on manufacturing, Mr. Bhattacharya said 10 per cent to 20 per cent of the “live” projects, for which land, water, power and other amenities had been provided, had not commenced.
The CII, which released a 10-point agenda on improving the investment climate in the State, observed that the growth of the manufacturing sector had been declining since 2010–11. Mr. Bhattacharya said the government, industry bodies and the industry itself must cooperate to promote manufacturing activity in the State.
He said the government could concentrate on two issues — development of focused industrial clusters and increase in the ease of doing business by ensuring a transparent single-window system of clearances.
Maheshwar Rao, Commissioner for Industrial Development, said the government was working towards a system that would ensure clearance of projects by the State high-level committee. Although this can significantly speed up projects, the fact remains that many of the project proposals, including those that were cleared at the global investor meets, are not comprehensive in terms of details to ensure fast-track clearance. This implies that a slothful government is not the only reason for projects taking long to fructify, he said.
