Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa has said development is inevitable although industrial and economic development will certainly bring about change in nature's equilibrium. The world needs to strike a balance between development and impact on the environment.
He stated this in his address at the plenary session on “Sustaining a shrinking planet,” at the World Economic Forum meet being held at Tianjin in China on Tuesday.
The session focused on the key issues of land and water conservation. Karnataka was the only State and Mr. Yeddyurappa the only Chief Minister from India to have been invited to address it.
Mr. Yeddyurappa said all the countries need to redefine their policies on land use, water, energy, food, employment and development. “All of us have to put our brains and efforts together for conservation of scarce resources, maintenance of bio-diversity, protection of forests, recycling of waste and tapping of renewable energy sources. We need to understand and reap the benefits from the vast potential of nature to recreate and recycle itself. However, we have failed to harvest nature's potential in a sustainable manner. This is the biggest challenge before us,” he said.
The Chief Minister referred to the pioneering efforts in Karnataka, including promotion of green energy through a Special Renewable Energy Policy, promotion of organic farming, scientific irrigation and dry land cultivation, increasing green cover, protecting ecologically sensitive mountain ranges and animal sanctuaries, encouragement for green and energy efficient technologies, scientific management of solid waste and recycling.
In an effort to seek investments in Karnataka, Mr. Yeddyurappa said: “My State offers immense opportunities for investment in different sectors such as food processing, aerospace, automobile, IT & BT, textile, infrastructure, power and tourism. Our State has many advantages which will enable you to get assured returns on your investments. With more than 1,500 technical institutions and over 100 R&D institutions, Karnataka is known for its highly skilled human resource and cutting-edge technology industries. There are already more than 700 MNCs reaping benefits in our State. It is a matter of pride that one new global company moves into Karnataka every week.”
Dinner meet
On Monday, the Chief Minister held a dinner meeting with more than 140 CEOs of leading global companies and highlighted the investment opportunities in Karnataka and the initiatives taken by the State government to facilitate new investments in various sectors.
Andre Schnider, Managing Director of World Economic Forum; Kris Gopalakrishnan, Managing Director, Infosys; Hari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman and Managing Director, Jubilant Bhartia Group; Jiang Hong of Sino Steel; Trung T. Doan of SemiLEDs Corporation; and Sridhar of Bloom Energy participated in the event.
