Minister for Law, Urban Development, Parliamentary Affairs and BWSSB S. Suresh Kumar said on Thursday that “political instability” in the State would not affect the Global Investors Meet, which is to be conducted by the Government in June.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry here, Mr. Suresh Kumar said that the “efficiency” of the State's bureaucracy would ensure continuity in policy irrespective of who held the Chief Minister's position.
About the slow progress of projects cleared during the meet held in Bangalore in 2010, Mr. Suresh Kumar said that the Government expected Rs. 5 lakh crore investments to materialise during the June meet.
“This is not a fanciful figure, it is based on interactions that the Chief Minister has had with industrialists in Mumbai and elsewhere,” he said.
About the tardy progress of mining and steel projects, which accounted for two-thirds of the investment proposals cleared at the 2010 meet, Mr. Suresh Kumar said that the ban on mining has hindered progress of projects.
“We are trying to impress upon the Supreme Court to lift the ban so that industries can develop,” he said.
“More than 90 per cent of the investments at the June meet will be in industries located outside Bangalore,” he said.
Earlier, addressing CII members, Mr. Suresh Kumar said that the Government plans to constitute a task force for the development of medical instrumentation industry in the State.
He said that the Government plans to double the State's Gross State Domestic Product by 2020.
Mr. Suresh Kumar released a report prepared by the CII on Karnataka's competitiveness in comparison to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana.
The report observed that although Karnataka has an advantage over other States in the “knowledge intensive” industries such as IT and IT-enabled services, aerospace, precision manufacturing, it has to ensure an adequate supply of skilled workers to cater to the demand from these industries.
The report identified automotive, food processing, electronics and pharmaceuticals sectors as “emerging” industries in which the State has the potential to register faster growth. It urged the government to attempt a “makeover” that enables the State to take advantage of the opportunities.
