Hubballi: To set right the regional imbalance in Karnataka, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is pitching for investments and jobs in the southern state’s northwest region, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar said on Wednesday.
“We are showcasing the immense potential of the state’s northwest region for investments and employment in thousands for balanced growth in the state,” Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar told reporters here ahead of the ‘Invest Karnataka @ Hubballi’ on Friday.
The region has been progressive over the years as an erstwhile Bombay Province before the re-organisation of the states on linguistic basis in the mid-1950s.
Stressing on the need to de-congest Bengaluru industrially and ensure uniform development of the other regions in the state, Shettar said the state government would offer a slew of incentives and single-window clearance for investors to set up their operations in cities and towns across Karnataka.
“As cities and towns across the state have abundant natural and human resources to meet the needs of the manufacturing, services and agriculture sectors, we are inviting investments beyond Bengaluru, which is saturated and stressed out in terms of infrastructure support,” asserted Shettar.
The day-long meet will have power-point presentations on the infrastructure facilities and human resources at Hubballi, Dharwad, Belagavi, Haveri, Vijayapura and Kalaburagi in the state’s northern region.
To be flagged off by state Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, the roadshow will be addressed by Union Ministers from the state D.V. Sadananda Gowda (Chemiclas and Fertilisers), Prahlad Joshi (Coal and Mines) and Suresh Angadi (Railways).
“We have invited about 1,000 industrialists and investors to participate in the meet and sign agreements for setting up new facilities or expand their operations in the region for creating direct and indirect employment and contribute to the socio-economic growth of the state,” reiterated Shettar.
Claiming that Hinduja and Tata groups have shown interest in investing in the region, Shettar, who is a legislator from Hubballi, said the state government would set up a cluster for the FMCG sector at Hubballi as the region has abundant raw materials for making fast-moving consumer goods, with road, rail and air connectivity and infrastructure support, including logistics.
“We also held meetings with Godrej group, Jyoti Labs and other companies to set up their manufacturing facilities to serve the markets in the region,” the minister pointed.
The state government has also invited Chinese firms to set up production plants to roll out electric two-wheelers and cars for hard-selling in the region.
The state government has also 2,500-acres of land bank in Kadechur industrial area in Yadagir in the northern region of the state for setting up manufacturing and agro-processing units in food parks.
