Karnataka aims to earn 'electric vehicle capital' tag, to frame policy

The state government will soon come out with “Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Policy” to attract investments in this emerging sector, Industries Minister R V Deshpande announced in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference, Deshpande said the state government is keen to make Karnataka the ‘electric vehicle capital’ and will come out with an investment-friendly policy for the sector.

Niti Aayog had recently unveiled a policy blueprint aimed at electrifying all vehicles in the country by 2032. The planning body, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has recommended lower taxes and loan interest rates on electric vehicles.

Desphande said the state government will cash in on the emerging ecosystem for ‘green cars’ by being the first state to come out with a policy for the sector.

He said that to attract investment in the aerospace sector, the government recently extended subsidies to Bengaluru region too. The State Industrial Policy provides subsidies to industries in tier-2 and 3 cities.

Job generation
The government will give thrust to labour-intensive sectors like toy manufacturing, mobile phones, tablets and electric components to create more jobs in the manufacturing sector. The unemployment rate in Karnataka is 1.4% compared to the national average of 3.7%.

Projects in pipeline
Desphande said the state government recently cleared Oracle India’s Rs 2,438-crore proposal to set up an IT/ITES SEZ at Kadubeensanahalli near Bengaluru. More projects are in the pipeline and the government will clear them after studying their proposals. Some of them include TVS Motors’ two-wheeler plant at Mysuru at a cost of Rs 1,110 crore, IKEA India’s single brand retail home furnishing store near Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 810 crore and Adani Cementation’s green field cement grinding unit at Udupi at a cost of Rs 410 crore.

The government will set up six industrial parks exclusively for women entrepreneurs at Bengaluru Rural, Ballari, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Mysuru and Mangaluru.

In a bid to bring MSMEs and large units on a common platform, a two-day ‘National Vendor Development Programme and Investors’ Meet’ will be organised in Bengaluru from November 23, Deshpande said.

Infosys

Replying to a query, Desphande termed the developments at Infosys as “unfortunate”. “Infosys is the pride of Karnataka and the country. The developments have shattered investors' confidence and share holders confidence,” he said.

62 projects completed

As many as 62 projects of the 1,080 received during Invest Karnataka in 2016 have been completed and 942 proposals are under various stages of implementation, Industries Minister R V Deshpande said.

Desphande said investments of Rs 4,500 crore have poured into the state with Rs 3.34 lakh crore more in the pipeline. As many as 76 projects had to be dropped due to lack of interest on the part of the promoters.