Industrial corridors expected to fast-track growth in Karnataka

 Taking into account the importance of the manufacturing sector, Karnataka is chalking out a course correction with its industrial corridors and other manufacturing sector-related infrastructure development initiatives.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Creating Engines for Karnataka Industrial Corridor’, organised as part of the 37th annual general meeting here on Friday, KSIIDC Chairman and Managing Director V P Baligar said that the industrial corridor will accelerate growth and bring industrialisation in the state.

“Government of India has an ambitious plan to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP from the current 15 per cent to 25 per cent. Taking this into account, we are giving primacy to the Chennai-Bangalore-Mumbai corridor. The main objectives of the corridor are to cut down slowing growth, poor infrastructure, clear bottlenecks in doing business, decrease unemployment and enhancing employability of students,” he said.

The corridor will create 100 million new jobs by setting up large and medium industries. ICRA Limited E
xecutive Vice-President and Regional Head - South and East Jayanta Chatterjee said that the corridor will serve many growth targets in the areas of like transport, energy, telecom, employment, connectivity, lowering of cost efficiency and regional development. He emphasised on the merits of PPP models.

“Other countries which started the concept of developing corridors three decades ago have reaped huge benefits, but it is still not too late for India. But efforts should be put to make this happen”, he added

Counsellor and Consul, Embassy of Japan in India, and Head of the Bangalore consultate, Nobuaki Yamamoto, said, “Till today, 71 Japanese companies are in Bangalore investing Rs 9,000 crore in Karnataka. About $174 million will be incurred over the next 20 years on this corridor.”

British Deputy High Commission Bangalore Ian Felton said that the UK and Indian governments have engaged in discussions upto the feasibility study.

“The idea of this corridor is to go further than just boosting specific commercial clusters by also targeting investment in socio-economic support networks such as housing, education, skills training and healthcare,” Felton said. Ministers in both countries support BMEC as a flagship partnership and discussions so far with the Centre and the state governments of Karnataka and Maharashtra have demonstrated a shared desire to work together, he said.

Felton said that UK companies have a clear role to play in the areas of low carbon/sustainable development and helping to make the corridor a liveable space.

Felton noted that Greg Barker, the UK Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, recently told a gathering of business leaders that the next major opportunity for growth came from the Bangalore-Mumbai Economic Corridor, on which a feasibility study is currently under way.