Hinting at considering the revival of POSCO steel plant project in the State, Minister for Heavy Industries R.V. Deshpande has said that he would look into the project once he takes over his new portfolio.
Speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of laying the foundation stone for a government polytechnic at Zalki village in Indi taluk of the district on Tuesday, he said that he would decide on the project after studying the details.
It may be noted that POSCO which was planning to establish a steel plant in Gadag district, withdrew the project following stiff resistance from the farmers who were not ready to offer land for the plant. It is now reported that the same farmers have now changed their mind and want the government to bring back the project.
Refuting the allegations that Hero Motorcorp chose to shift from Karnataka to Andhra Pradesh as it did not get support from the government here, Mr. Deshpande said that despite being assured of all facilities, the company decided to relocate its plant.
“The government cannot be blamed for the decision of the company to relocate. The government was ready to offer all facilities, yet the company decided to shift. In such a case, government cannot do much,” he stated.
To a question, he said that his primary focus after becoming Heavy Industries Minister would be to attract more investments in the industrial sector.
It may be noted that the government plans to hold a Global Investors’ Meet in November to attract investment in the State for various industries.
KSOU
Mr. Deshpande, who is yet to officially relinquish the Ministry of Higher Education, said that he would speak to Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani to consider the degree course of Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) for giving jobs to aspirants through KPSC.
It may be noted that several persons who have completed graduation from KSOU and were hoping to get jobs through KPSC, were denied the interview after the University Grant Commission derecognised all degree courses conducted by KSOU.
The KPSC said that since the courses itself have been derecognised, the qualification was not valid as per the norms.
Earlier, speaking at the function, Mr. Deshpande said that in order to make the students of higher education sector compete at the global level, the Congress government adopted modern technology in education. High-end technology such as Edusat, cloud technology, tele education and virtual education had been introduced by the government.
Regretting that only around 24 per cent of the State’s students complete higher education, Mr. Deshpande said that his government’s objective was to increase this number.
“To meet this objective, it is important that the parents must encourage their children to study. Without their cooperation, it is impossible to achieve the target,” he said.
Congress MLA of Indi taluk, Yeshwantraigouda Patil, who was present, thanked Mr. Deshpande for granting Rs. 8.5 crore for constructing a polytechnic and degree college in his constituency.
District in-charge Minister, M.B. Patil and MLC, Arun Shahapur, also spoke.
