No Covid effect: Karnataka still tops in investment

BENGALURU:Karnataka ranks first in the country in drawing investment proposals amid the hardship caused by the pandemic, Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Jagadish Shettar said.According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as many as 95 investment proposals were registered in the State, amounting to Rs 1,54,937 crore, making Karnataka the first in the country in terms of investment proposals.

He was speaking after inaugurating a webinar on ‘Procurement of Cheaper Electricity for Industries through Open Access in Karnataka’ organised by ASSOCHAM here on Tuesday. “The  State High-Level Committee and the State High-Level Single Window Clearance Committee have approved 410 new projects. These proposals will bring in an investment of Rs 82,015 crore and are expected to create 2,27,147 jobs,” he said.

The minister said it is evident that efforts are being made to make Karnataka an industry-friendly state. “Karnataka is self-reliant in power supply, and electricity demand is increasing for sectors like electric vehicles and data centres. There are ample opportunities for improvement in the state’s energy sector. We are studying the use of electricity in the industrial sector,” he added.

“The state is working with Escoms and have identified issues like cross-subsidy surcharge and wheeling charges. At present, we rely on grids for uninterrupted power supply and this is not possible due to technical problems. The problem could be overcome by building a new battery storage facility near the grids,” he said.Principal secretary of the Industries and Commerce department Gaurav Gupta, Industries Commissioner Gunjan Krishna and others participated in the webinar.