Assocham's five point growth agenda for State

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has submitted a representation to all political parties in the State in fray for polls suggesting a five-point growth agenda for Karnataka.

This has been given to parties to aid in their manifesto and to give pointers to the next government in the State to plan their programmes. The five-point agenda includes programmes for political stability, growth in infrastructure, tourism, agriculture and information technology services.

Releasing the paper ‘Suggestions for Election Manifesto of Political Parties in Karnataka’ here on Friday, based on which the representation was given to the parties, Assocham Southern Regional Council co-chairman J Crasta said the next government in the State cannot neglect the small and medium enterprises (SME). If the government wants to achieve economic progress in the State, progress of SMEs is an imperative.

“Majority of multi national companies in Karnataka that started with a glory are now managing to merely keep themselves afloat. This is the result of not focusing on the industrial sector by the government,” he said. In the Rs 1.17-crore budget announced by the present Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, only Rs 30 crore has been kept aside for industrial growth. “How can you expect the private sector to give back to the state if the government does not want to invest in their infrastructure?” Crasta asked. He added that there are 25 lakh families who are employed in the SME sector and the government cannot overlook their welfare.

The paper suggested the government to give a fillip to small and medium food processing units, ensure ease of land acquisition for setting up industries, strengthen traditional handloom and textile industry and to set up export oriented SEZs.

Among other suggestions made are strengthening rural infrastructure, community farming, improving IT infrastructure by actively taking supply chain initiatives and encouraging hardware manufacturers and service providers. Establishing Export Processing Zones (EPZs) and logistic support to exporters will also give a boost to the market, it pointed out.