Minister for Large and Medium Industries Jagadish Shettar said on Sunday that the government would focus on industrial development in tier II and III cities in the State, including Mysuru.
Speaking to mediapersons here, Mr. Shettar said that Bengaluru was saturated now and it was imperative to disperse industries to the rest of Karnataka. He said it was in this connection that an investors’ meeting was conducted in Hubballi-Dharwad for the north Karnataka region. The response to the meeting was good, he added.
Among tier II cities, he said Mysuru was important and had scope for growth. “Given its proximity to Bengaluru, the city’s industrial growth should have been rapid, but it failed to take off for various reasons,” Mr. Shettar said. “There will be an outreach programme to drum up support for investment in Mysuru and other cities.”
The Minister also said the government was serious about dispersing industries to the rest of the State and has held several meetings with stakeholders and investors. A meeting was held in Mumbai in which the country’s top industrialists participated, and it transpired that a majority had no awareness about cities other than Bengaluru in Karnataka,” Mr. Shettar said. “We highlighted the potential of Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Vijayapura etc., and the investors were surprised as they knew only about Bengaluru. Mysuru is only synonymous with Dasara and culture in their perception,” he said.
Referring to his visit to Davos, Switzerland, with the Chief Minister, he said the outcome was encouraging and he had meetings with 50 investors and industrialists who were keen to come to Karnataka. “They expressed certain inhibitions, and these issues are being resolved now,” said Mr. Shettar.
He also said the next global investors’ meeting in Bengaluru would be held from November 3 to 5, and the expectation was that stakeholders and investors would see beyond Bengaluru. Later in the day, participating in a private programme, he said the government was pro-business, but it did not mean that all investors were from abroad. “There are a sizeable number of investors with deep pockets in the State we are are encouraging.”