JOIN USCM hard sells Tier II cities at China meet
In a bid to promote the IT sector development beyond Bangalore, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah invited Singapore business space solution firm, Ascendas, to explore Tier II cities in Karnataka.
During his meeting with the representatives of the company at its IT park in Dalian, the chief minister tried to hard sell Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad, Mangalore and Gulbarga by emphasising their potential.
The government has taken all steps to provide necessary infrastructure in these cities, including air connectivity, he added.
Siddaramaiah was in Dalian, China, to take part in the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet from September 11 to 13. He had led a 21-member delegation from Karnataka.
The chief minister used the opportunity to woo investors to the State.
He made it a point to extend invitation to the prospective investors to take part in the Global Investors' Meet likely to be organised next year in Bangalore.
Ascendas specialises in master planning, developing, managing and marketing IT parks, industrial and logistics parks, business parks, science parks, hi-tech facilities, office and retail space for a host of industries, according to an official release.
Rural infrastructure
The chief minister also invited US-based Cargill Inc to invest in rural infrastructure development, especially in food processing and services. Cargill, which is an international producer and marketer of food, agriculture, financial and industrial products, has already taken up a Rs 480-crore project to set up a starch-manufacturing unit in Davangere.
Besides, the chief minister’s delegation focused on the auto component sector and renewable energy in the last three days.
It invited a host of companies in these sectors to explore Karnataka.
According to sources, number of companies whom the delegation tried to woo raised the issue of infrastructure inadequacy and bureaucratic hurdles for investors in India.
The company representatives sought to know the steps the State is planning to take to create an investment-friendly atmosphere.
Principal Secretary to Industries and Commerce department M N Vidyashankar said the delegation had showcased Karnataka as an attractive investment destination and a large number of big-ticket companies had responded positively to investing in the State.
Siddu flaunts ‘Anna Bhagya’ at WEF
Siddaramaiah flaunted his pet scheme, Anna Bhagya (rice at Re 1 per kg) at the World Economic Forum (WEF) and said the topic of food security was close to his heart.
Participating in a plenary session on ‘Food Security Imperative’, he said that he explained the scheme in detail at the forum. He also said milk was also being supplied to the poor children by his government with an aim to providing nutrition.
He claimed that the Anna Bhagya scheme had helped the poor people to spend a portion of their income on their essential needs like education.