Bangalore Chamber of Industry & Commerce Unveils Roadmap to Make Karnataka a Preferred Investment Destination
The 43rd AGM of Bangalore Chamber of Industries and Commerce held on 7th August elected T.R. Parasuraman, President and Whole Time Director of Toyota Industries Engine as its new President for the year 2020-21. Mr. K R Sekar Partner Deloitte Haskins and Sells LLP has been elected as the Senior Vice President. Mr. Devesh Agarwal, Joint Managing Director, Jesons Technologies Pvt. Ltd. shared some of the extra ordinary achievements of BCIC such as signing of strategic MOUs with Tourism and Hospitality sector skill council, capital goods sector skill council, launch of CEO forum and emerging star awards for startup’s and various deliberations with national and international trade bodies and the tremendous response received from all the stake holders.
Mr. T.R. Parasuraman in his opening remarks, appreciated the big support the chamber received from the Government of Karnataka in the initiatives of the chambers to support the industries during the COVID-19 crisis. He also mentioned that BCIC will further work hand in hand with the Government and all the stake holders while actively taking forward this year’s theme of BCIC “Namma Karnataka a Gateway to Future India“. Taking charge of BCIC at a very crucial stage, T.R. Parasuraman said that team BCIC will work very closely with the government, and all the stake holders or a common purpose to accelerate the growth of industries in the state to maximize the value for all the stakeholders.
Vikram Kirloskar, CMD, Kirloskar Systems Ltd, Vice Chairman, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd. & immediate past president, CII delivered a power packed key note outlying the key factors to be addressed to achieve competitiveness in global manufacturing .While economies of scale is critical to achieve cost competitiveness, he cited the vehicle production in India stood at 4 million when compared to China volume of 25 million, the product quality at source to achieve zero defect, right skilled, 100% delivery, sustainable supply chain supported by cost competitive infrastructure and sufficient skilled Human Resource at the minimal cost are the basic foundation for achieving global competitiveness. He further emphasized the significance of corporate governance and mutual trust among the Government, corporates and society to promote sustainable competitiveness.
The chief guest of the event Shri. Jagadish Shettar, in his vibrant speech which motivated the captains of the industry, appreciated the theme set by BCIC and assured the full Government support to take it forward. The minister outlined the key initiatives the government has taken such as land reforms act for industries to buy the land directly from the farmers and clearance within 30 days, the new industry policy 2020-25 that aims to attract 5 lac crores worth investments over the next 5 years and create about 2 million jobs to help mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 crisis. He further iterated that this new policy will help Karnataka emerge as a global leader in advanced manufacturing, research and development, innovation and creativity to foster a an inclusive and sustainable development of the state The new policy also adopts a production turnover based incentive system instead of tax based incentives a first such initiative in the nation the minister said.
The Minister mentioned that to assure a rewarding journey for investors, Government will extend support and cooperation for promoting the ease of doing business and in this regard BCIC has also been the brand ambassador for Karnataka in creating awareness with the business community.
Another salient feature of the 43rd AGM was the launch of three important white papers namely, “Karnataka the most preferred destination for future investment” a feasibility study report by Mr. Roman Shetty, President, Consulting, Deloitte, the feasibility study of the second airport for Karnataka in Ramanagara by Mr. Devesh Agarwal and the analysis of Aatmanirbhar Bharat by Mr. K.R.Sekar.
The principal secretary to industry and commerce, Government of Karnataka in his special address appreciated the initiatives of BCIC and has assured to extend all support in its future initiatives to promote trade and industry in the state. Mr. Gaurav Guptha explained the salient features of the new industrial policy such as turnover based incentives, development of infrastructure and ease of doing business initiatives, the new land reforms for industries to reduce the lead times significantly. He further said that to promote rapid investment in the state.
“It is time for us to identify companies that are in the field of electronic manufacturing, pharma, toys, air conditioning and others in collaboration with Invest India and the Government of India. We need to further collaborate with industry leaders and thought leaders in working on these initiatives and we are optimistic that in these difficult times we need to use this opportunity to drive investments and open to joint venture partners. I strongly recommend that the BCIC identifies companies that are ready to jointly invest together with countries from Korea, France, Germany and others,” he said. “Recently, we were able to sign more than 27 crore investments in the state of Karnataka in recent months and we are sure that more will follow.“
Mr. Romal Shetty in his impressive and passionate presentation said that Karnataka has tremendous potential to grow the business community, but if a state has to become an attractive destination, we need to ensure other areas need to be developed as well. With over 15,000 acres of place available at Vijayapura, Ballari, Dharwad, Shivamogga, Hassan Ramnagara and others, industries such as auto , textiles, pharmaceutical, machinery and equipment (including electrical), food processing, electronics and hardware, Electric vehicle cluster and more, there is great scope for growth. Other than land bank, he further emphasized the key factors such as availability of clean renewable power at a competitive cost, development industrial plug and play parks, product focused industrial clusters away from Bangalore in other districts such as Mysore, Hassan, Tumkur, Bellary, Gulbarga etc., adequate logistics infrastructure, skilled manpower, attractive incentives, availability of required resources at a competitive cost will be crucial to garner the competitive edge over the other states. It is very important to decongest Bangalore and spread the industrialization to the other districts as it is very surprising challenge to see that Bangalore is contributing to nearly 87% of the state economy.
Mr. K R Sekar in his Aatmanirbhar analysis explained the key advantages while pointing out some of the challenges and has proposed suitable countermeasures to overcome.
Mr. Devesh Agarwal emphasized the strong need for the second airport given the huge increase in the no of passengers and loss of potential opportunities and in his report he had analyzed the various possible options and challenges in finally proposing Ramanagara as a strategic location.
The minister appreciated all the three presentations and assured to review with the government at all levels to take it forward. All the three reports will be posted in the BCIC web site for easy reference. The event ended with a vote of thanks by the incoming President Mr. T.R.Parasuraman.
