Breaking the norm of investors’ meets being held in Bengaluru, Friday will see Hubballi hosting a meet with the objective of attracting investments to tier-2 and tier-3 cities in northern districts of Karnataka.
In an interview with The Hindu, Minister for Large and Medium Industries and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar spoke about ‘Invest Karnataka, Hubballi Conference’, scheduled be inaugurated by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on February 14, and the government’s new approach towards industrial development outside the State capital.
Why the meet in Hubballi?
Most events related to investors including global investors meet are being held in Bengaluru. This is an event to introduce and showcase North Karnataka to the investors and the scope it has for investments in various fields. The event is not just limited to Hubballi or Dharwad but to the entire northern districts of Karnataka.
Previous attempts to get investments to the region have failed. What is new now?
The obvious reason is that we were not well-equipped and lacked basic infrastructure and air connectivity. Now, the investment climate has changed. While Hubballi and Belagavi are well connected by air to important destinations in the country, Kalaburagi and Bidar are on the air map. Earlier, investors had many reasons to reject our invitation. But now, they have more reasons to invest here than look at other cities. We are making an all-out effort.
How prepared are you now?
I went to Mumbai and Hyderabad along with Union Minister Pralhad Joshi, who too has taken personal interest in getting investors to the region. There is a positive response to the event after our efforts. Moreover, land is not an issue now as the State has created a land bank of sorts through land acquisition.
There is a complaint that one has to go to Bengaluru each time for clearance of proposals. Is there a move to set up a Regional Development Authority to deal with investment proposals?
We are bringing about certain changes in the forthcoming industrial policy with focus on developing tier-2 and tier-3 cities. There is a dire need to develop other regions and ensure they grow independently. To facilitate this, the new industrial policy will have requisite changes. Consultations have been made and it is almost through. The policy will usher in industrial development in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
What are the focus areas?
We are mainly focusing on the FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) sector this time and plan to develop a FMCG cluster. There is a positive response particularly from those operating from Guwahati. I visited Guwahati and many entrepreneurs are interested in coming to this region. But, we are also looking at investment in textile, solar power, electric vehicles, and other sectors.
Will old proposals that did not take off, particularly with regard to IT investments, be revived?
They did not take off due to lack of proper coordination particularly from Urban Development Department. After this government came into power, those pending issues have been tackled and while framing the industrial policy, UD officials too were roped in to sort out pending issues and facilitate industrial development. After this event, I will personally follow up those investment proposal.