The new industrial policy to be announced shortly would focus on providing more facilities and incentives to encourage members of the backward sections to take up industrial activities and push the industrial hubs to the two-tier cities, Minister for Medium and Heavy Industries Jagadish Shettar has said.
Speaking after inaugurating the Valmiki Jayanti programme organised by the district administration in association with the Department of Social Welfare on the Karnatak Vidyavardhak Sangha premises here on Sunday, Mr. Shettar said that the existing industrial policy for 2014-19 would expire in the month of November and the process of drafting the new industrial policy is under progress. The government is likely to announce the new industrial policy in November or December. “I will make all efforts to see that the new measures are announced and more scope is provided to encourage and support the members of the backward and downtrodden communities to take up industrial activities and attain economic empowerment,” he said.
Further, he stated that the new industrial policy would focus on decentralisation of industrial hubs to ensure balanced industrial growth all across the State. Over the years, all major and important industries have come up only in and around Bengaluru. Concentration of industries at one particular place is not advisable considering the future and inclusive growth. The need of the hour is to boost industrial and economic activities in small cities. Therefore, the new industrial policy would have provisions to encourage and support setting up of industries in different parts of the State, especially in two-tier cities such as Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Bagalkot and Vijayapura to create large-scale employment opportunities in those areas and prevent migration to bigger cities, he added.
Stating that economic empowerment plays a key role in bringing in social transformation and amelioration of the downtrodden communities, Mr. Shettar said that the government was committed to achieving the cause of helping backward communities to gain economic empowerment. With this view in mind, the government, over the years, has made several provisions to boost economic activities among the backward communities. The government gives priority to backward and downtrodden communities in allocation of land for industrial and commercial activities, subsidies for new industrial units, industrial credit and other such measures. Members of these communities should make use of the government schemes and come up in life, he said.
Referring to the life and works of the Sage Valmiki, Mr. Shettar said that his entire life, especially how he had transformed himself from a hunter into a great man of letters and spiritual master by sheer perseverance and hard work, should be an inspiration for all. What Valmiki has accomplished in life, perhaps has no parallel in history. Moreover, no other work than the Valmiki Ramayana has made such a profound impact on the minds and hearts of the people across the nation. The previous BJP Government in the State had taken a decision to celebrate Valmiki Jayanti as a government programme to apprise the present day generation of his life and works, he said.
Skill development
Union Parliamentary Affairs and Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the Union government has made special provisions for the welfare of the Scheduled Tribes communities. There is a provision to set up skill development centres exclusively for the STs communities and the State Industrial Department is being consulted to set up one such centre here.
The Centre has set up Ekalavya model residential schools to help children of STs communities have access to modern education. So far, 284 such schools have been set up across the nation, including some in the State. This apart, there are special scholarship programmes for higher education and the members of the STs communities should try to shape a good career by taking benefits of these schemes, he said.
The former Minister and MLA Basavaraj S. Horatti said that great persons like Valmiki are not confined to one particular community but they need to be venerated by all and their life values should be emulated by each and every person. It is indeed not a small achievement to write 24,000 verses of the Ramayana on palm leaves using peacock feather as pen, he said.
Bharati Neergeri of Kushtagi delivered a special talk on the life and works of Valmiki and their influence on the Indian life. Deputy Commissioner M. Deepa, Superintendent of Police Kishore Babu, Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Zuber, Manjunath Dollin of the Department of Information and Public Relations and others were present.
