Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Sunday Karnataka has been a preferred destination for investment attracting fourth largest foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country.
Welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi to 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the Chief Minister said that the state has the privilege of being a knowledge hub of Asia with 201 engineering colleges, 114 medical colleges and institutions, 50 universities and 13 international schools apart from more than 400 multi-national companies having their world-class high-end research and development centres. “The World Economic Forum has identified Karnataka among the top four innovation hubs in the world. The report published by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in August revealed that Karnataka stands first in attracting investment. The state is also considered as the fastest growing market in the country,’’ the Chief Minister said.
Siddaramaiah mentioned that Karnataka has been ranked first for its healthy business climate and attracting investments by the World Bank’s Investment Climate Index and that the Quality of Living Survey Worldwide Rankings-2011 adjudged Bengaluru as the best Indian city to live in. “From the time our Government assumed office till now nearly 800 Projects to the tune of Rs 2.29 Lakh crore investment have been approved. These have the potential to create employment opportunities for about 5.79 lakh people. Projects worth Rs 80,000 crore are in the pipeline. Our Startup Eco System is amongst the top three in the world. As many as 160 new Startups in the areas of Information Technology and IT-enabled Services (IT and ITeS), electronics, semi-conductor, design and manufacturing (ESDM), animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) and bio-technology (BT) have been registered in Karnataka Bio-Technology and Information Technology Services (K-BITS) in the last one year,’’ he said.
He said that realizing the need for forging a symbiotic relationship between Karnataka and its Diaspora, it has set up Non-Resident Indian Forum in Karnataka, which has been playing a pivotal role in strengthening linkages between Karnataka Diaspora and several organizations spread across the globe, besides motivating them to bring in investments to the State. “I am glad to share with you that we have announced the NRI Policy of Karnataka, just two days ago, with a vision to play a catalytic role in achieving sustainable linkages between the State, Non-Resident Kannadigas and Non-Resident Indians across the globe, so that, a progressive, prosperous, robust and vibrant Karnataka is built,’’ he said.
Commenting on the molestation incidents in Bengaluru during New Year celebrations, he said the recent unpleasant incidents in Bengaluru concerning assaults on women have been viewed very seriously. “Our Government is committed to bring to book the perpetrators of these kinds of heinous crimes. Ensuring safety and protecting the dignity of women remains our top most priority. Effective steps are being taken to increase the rate of conviction in such cases,’’ he said.
He said that he would like to draw the kind attention of the Prime Minister to the resolutions passed in the Global Convention of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) held in Bengaluru on January 6, seeking extension of time till December 30, 2017 for NRIs and PIO to exchange and or deposit high denomination specified bank notes in Reserve Bank of India or State Bank of India.
