Karnataka has the potential to outdo the country’s GDP growth rate by 2 to 3 per cent, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the three-day ‘Invest Karnataka 2016’ at the Palace Grounds here, Mr. Jaitley said Karnataka had vast potential in terms of human resource, the presence of a number of prestigious institutions, and large manufacturing industries. “Karnataka has the capacity to grow 2 to 3 per cent ahead of India,” he said, and added, “We need to exploit the opportunities available and contribute to the growth of the country as a whole.”
Commending Karnataka for its various initiatives, he observed that India completely stood out despite global crisis that other countries faced and maintained its resilience. “Unpredictability and volatility have become the new global norm. In these circumstances, it is extremely important for India to emerge and emerge out of the crisis even stronger,” he said.
The Finance Minister said India was “relatively un-impacted” by some of the factors that had caused the global crisis. “Lower prices of oil and metal commodities substantially suit us. It indirectly impacts us because it shrinks our exports; it makes our markets more volatile, currency more volatile. But compared to the rest of the world, we are still on a much higher and stabler footing,” he said.
However, India still had challenges in areas such as improving on private sector investments and investments in rural areas and agriculture, Mr. Jaitley said.
The Minister said, “While looking down the tunnel over the next two to three years, it is still not clear which way the global situation will be moving.” While looking back at 2001, 2008 and 2015 global crises, India could take some satisfaction in the fact that the country displayed a considerable amount of resilience during those times. Since the 2008 crisis, the global economy had not been able to pick up momentum, with some country or the other facing problems, he said.
Noting that States were competing with each other to woo investors, he said competitive federalism would lead to realisation of vision and it was a positive signal for the country’s future. It would allow investors to analyse advantages in their favour and decide about their investments. The States that have good governance, clean administration, and stable politics would ultimately become primary destination for investors, he said.
***********
Major investments announced at the inaugural function
Infrastructure:
Union Ministry of Highways to add 4,000 km of national highway in the State
Investment of Rs. 60,000 crore for road development in Karnataka before December 2016
In 2017, an additional Rs. 40,000 crore investment for national highways
Rs. 200 crore for port development
Agriculture:
A 1.3-million tonne capacity urea plant planned in north Karnataka
Subsidy of Rs. 1,500 per tonne of compost produced by organic farmers
Research and Development:
Rs. 87-crore R&D centre of the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology in Bengaluru
Proposed centre of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group to set up Dhirubhai Ambani Centre for Technology and Innovation in Aerospace by employing 1,500 engineers in Bengaluru
Information technology:
Fourth Infosys development centre, at Hubli
Wipro IT Business plans campus with 25,000 employees in the State
Corporate investments:
Aditya Birla Group to invest additional Rs. 2,000 crore in the near future in telecom, apparel and retail businesses
JSW commits Rs. 35,000 crore within five years in Karnataka
Robert Bosch plans investment of Rs. 1,000 crore in 2016
Adani Group plans Rs. 11,500 crore investment in Udupi Power Corporation Ltd.
******
Arun Jaitley,UnionFinance Minister: One of the best things that happened to Karnataka over the last two to three decades was that even at the age of regulated economy, some wisdom dawned and we decided to leave the IT sector alone. Since we left the IT sector alone, free from any government interference, it prospered. It became, in fact, a face of India’s growth potential.
*****
Ratan Tata,chairman emeritus of Tata Sons: Karnataka has always been and will remain at the centre of IT, biotechnology, and electronics, aircraft and aerospace industrial sectors.
*****
Anil Ambani, chairman, Reliance Group: Bengaluru is the spiritual city of innovations.
****
Sajjan Jindal, chairman of JSW Group: I am speaking from my personal experience. There is no better place to invest other than Karnataka.
*****
Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro: Karnataka is a very hospitable and progressive State. A major expansion in Wipro will provide additional employment to 25,000 people.
