Bangalore, NFAPost: As a tech-savvy and progressive state, Karnataka attracted a whopping Rs 59,350-crore investment proposals from global and national firms at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), held at Davos in Switzerland from May 22-26.
“Karnataka succeeded in attracting investments worth Rs 59,350 crore at the WEF meet in Davos during this week,” state Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on return from Switzerland early Friday.
Terming the visit to the 5-day global summit rewarding, Bommai said among the 6 Indian states that participated in the mega event, Karnataka Pavilion attracted most visitors, including global investors and corporates.
Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana were other states, which vied with Karnataka in attracting investments.
“Extensive discussions were held with global corporate honchos to draw investments to our state. Karnataka is at the forefront in attracting investments and our participation at the summit proved to be a success,” asserted Bommai.
A big-ticket investment came from Haryana-based ReNew Power Ltd, which signed an agreement with the state government at the event to invest Rs 50,000 crore in setting up renewable energy, battery storage and green hydrogen plants across the state over the next 7 years and create direct jobs for about 30,000 people.
The Gurugram-based company will implement its projects in 2 phases, with Rs 11,900 crore in the first phase in 2 years and Rs 37,500 crore in the second phase in 5 years.
Founded in early 2011 by Suman Sinha, the listed firm has executed about 120 wind, solar and hydro power projects in 9 states across the country.
The company became the first renewable energy generator in the country and 10th worldwide in installed capacity.
Another major investment is from Lulu Group International, which inked an agreement to invest Rs 2,000 crore for setting up 4 shopping malls, a hyper market and agri-export oriented food processing units, with potential to create jobs for about 10,000 people.
Founded in 2000 by M A Yusuff Ali from Nattika in Kerala’s Thrissur district, LuLu is headquartered at Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and operates a chain of hypermarkets and retail firms in India and West Asia.
“The proposed investments from ReNew and LuLu are a proof of trust and faith our state enjoys among top corporates the world over,” affirmed Bommai.
The two big investments complement the growth of industrial and energy sectors in the state and create jobs for about 40,000 people.
“Other global/national firms like Jubilant Group, Hitachi Energy, Siemens, AbInbev, Dassault Systems, Nestle, ArcelorMittal, Bharti Enterprises have assured us to invest in the coming years,” the chief minister pointed out.
From Jubilant Group, Jubilant Food Works will set up a centralised kitchen and Jubilant Biosys will build an R&D Centre at Devanahalli in a 10-acre plot near the airport. About 9,000 people will be employed in the subsidiary.
“We have also offered Jubilant incentives to invest in the pharma and FMCG Park, being developed at Dharwad in the state’s northwest region,” said Bommai.
Japanese firm Hitachi Energy has shown interest in setting up electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, renewable energy and digitalisation projects, which has potential to generate about 2,000 direct jobs.
German major Siemens Healthcare plans to invest Rs 1,300 crore for making advanced medical devices for international market. It is also opening a Rs 300-crore medical equipment making unit at Bommasandra in the city this year to cater to the domestic market. The company will create 2,500 jobs. It is also undertaking research and development (R&D) in healthcare to focus on magnetic imaging and diagnostics.
“We have assured the German firm special incentives for setting up advanced manufacturing of medical devices to serve the local market,” said Bommai.
Multinational drink and brewing company Ab InBev intends to set up a non-alcoholic beverages unit at Nanjungud near Mysuru in the state, with an investment of Rs 50 crore.
Global food major Nestle will expand and modernise its Instant Coffee unit at Nanjangud, with an investment of Rs 700 crore.
Two-wheeler major Hero Group has shown interest to set up an EV plant to roll out electric cars. The state government has suggested to the company to invest in the state’s northern region.
“Under the Beyond Bengaluru programme, we have discussed investment opportunities in other cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Mysuru and Tumakuru,” said the Chief Minister.
French software major Dassault Systems has evinced interest to invest in electric vehicles, modern production systems in association with CMTI, industrial training for students in Digital 4.0 technology and Smart City project across the state, with total investments of Rs 300 crore.
Anther French major — Schneider Electric is planning to consolidate its 5-6 facilities at Attibele to a single unit at Jigani in the city’s south-west suburb, with additional capacity to make new models of data centre, UPS and energy-efficient devices, with an investment of Rs 300 crore.
Steel major ArcelorMittal plans to set up a solar-wind hybrid project at an investment of Rs 6,000 crore.
Telecom behemoth Bharti Enterprises plans to set up a mega data centre in the state in addition to its data centres.
“Apart from these top honchos, Adani Group, Dalmia Cement, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, IBM, Ikea Stores, PayPal, Axis Bank have shown interest to invest in diverse sectors across the state,” reiterated Bommai.
Heads of leading multinational corporations (MNCs) and prominent non-resident Indian (NRI) entrepreneurs participated in the meeting Bommai hosted in the Karnataka Pavilion.
India Founder of Indiaspora in the US, M.R. Rangaswami, Chairman of Indorama Corporation in Singapore, Prakash Lohia, Managing Director of Hitachi and Bharat Kaul, chairman of VPS Healthcare in UAE Shamsheer Valayil participated in the event.
“Discussions with these corporate honchos included opportunities for setting up mega textiles park at Bijapur/Kalaburagi in the state’s northern region, production of metro train coaches and pharma units.
The Chief Minister also held deliberations with the head of Isha Foundation Sadguru Vasudev on the state government’s initiatives for conservation of environment and soil fertility./Eom/1,000 words.
