Bengaluru: Union of Finance Arun Jaitley on Monday said Karnataka should grow at least two to three percent ahead of national growth to ensure its ability in terms of economically leading India become a reality.
In his inaugural address at Make in India Conference in Karnataka, Arun Jaitley said Karnataka has been an innovative and has progressive population and a progressive set of policies. “I have been attending economic summits organized here. I have seen a steady growth in the economic activity in the state. Karnataka has led in many ways. It was the first state which became an educational hub in India. There was thought that providing higher education, especially higher education, was the only prerogative of government. State had limitations in terms of resources. Karnataka has invited non-governmental organizations to enter educational segment by providing a conducive atmosphere and infrastructure. Karanataka became the first state which became a hub for many educational institutions. This model has succeeded in producing some of the best minds,’’ Jaitley said.
Congratulating Karnataka for actively taking part in realizing GST a reality, the union finance minister said there would be lot of revenue once the GST is implemented. “We have to be ready for contingency plan as par as surplus revenue is concerned. We have select areas of investment. We have to invest in rural areas and agriculture because these are the areas where inequalities are and these are the areas that have potential for purchasing power,’’ the union minister said.
Earlier speaking the function, Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar said three locations were shortlisted for setting up a urea plant in North Karnataka with an investment of Rs 6,000 crore.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the state government has already created start-up inculbators in Bengaluru and a fund of funds to provide capital to start-ups. “We will now have an annual hackathon event inviting innovative ideas in manufacturing. We will shortlist and select five start-up ideas and provide up to five seats free of cost in the incubators for a period of two years. I am happy to announce that we will set aside a seed fund of Rs five crore to fund these start-ups, besides providing one acre of land in select industrial areas at a subsidized cost,’’ the chief minister said.
He said the state government would institute a cash award for the best manufacturing company in the state. “This will be announced along with Kannada Rajyotsava awards on November 1 each year starting 2017,’’ he said.
Emphasising the need for reconsidering some regulations to give a boost to manufacturing sector through Make in India, he said the country intends to increase the share of manufacturing in gross domestic product (GDP) to about 25 per cent by 2025. “Therefore, it is only fair that existing incentives and concessions are made available to manufacturing sector up to 2025. I request Union Finance Minister to reconsider his decision on the sunset clause for Special Economic Zones and extend it till 2025.
