Bengaluru: Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani informed the Legislative Assembly on Friday March 18 that 21 of the state’s 40 Special Economic Zones (SEZ) are operational in State.
In a written response to a question from Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda, Nirani said that 11 of the 21 operating SEZs are in and around Bengaluru.
The Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) has acquired 5,632 acres of land for the development of 40 SEZ. On 3,435 acres of land, the 21 operational SEZs house 280 units employ 2.34 lakh people.
Nirani said that Manyata Embassy Business Park, which is located on 66 acres of Bengaluru’s outer ring road, is the largest SEZ in terms of employment, with 71,983 people employed on its premises. Pritech Park (36 acres) in Bellandur is the next largest SEZ, employing 50,388 people. The Information Technology Park Ltd. (474 acres) in Whitefield has 23,685 people.
“SEZs are also in Udupi, Hassan, Mangaluru, Shivamogga, Mysuru (L&T), Dharwad, and Dakshina Kannada (both Infosys). The state government is willing to provide any industrialist wanting to set up shop in Karnataka with all basic infrastructure, including land, within 24 hours,” he added.
Nirani further explained that the government has agreed to set aside 1,000 acres in each district for comprehensive industrial development, with an additional 100 acres set aside at the taluk level. He also said that the government is committed to ensuring that locals are employed in any of the state’s industrial zones and will ensure that the Sarojini Mahishi report, which proposes reserving up to 70 per cent of jobs for locals, is implemented.
Karnataka has cleared 1,166 investment projects worth Rs. 1.42 lakh crore between 2018-19 and February 2022, said Nirani. He was giving written response to Shantinagar MLA N. A. Haris. Over 4.51 lakh employment will be created as a result of these projects, he added.
Despite the pandemic, Karnataka has attracted 561 projects worth Rs. 42,714 Crore in the financial year 2021-22 (till February), promising 1.27 lakh jobs. This is more than the 161 projects worth Rs. 16,508 Crore and 1.24 lakh employment that were announced in 2018-19, he remarked.
