Ease of doing business in Karnataka affirmed but more needs to be done: Industry players

Bengaluru: Day one at Invest Karnataka, hosted in the country’s tech capital saw its share of exuberance from prospective investors, though it was balanced with some suggestions on what more needs to happen to build on the ease of doing business, human capital and talent pool, the state boasts. 

“A lot of work needs to be done on infrastructure, which the Government of Karnataka is committed to,” pointed out Parth Jindal, Managing Director of JSW Cement, his company having committed to a Rs 1 lakh crore investment in the state.

Others too brought up their expectations going forward, consistency and clarity emerging as key requirements. Businesses look at policies before starting to invest, so there is more inter-dialogue needed there, suggested Daisy Chittilapilly, President, Cisco India and SAARC. 

She said that it is necessary to have certainty around incentives, subsidies, period of time of availability, and what happens when they are removed.

While funding opportunities abound, funding to smaller companies continues to be a challenge, pointed out Burjis Godrej, Executive Director, Godrej Agrovet.

From the automotive point of view, Santosh Iyer, MD, Mercedes-Benz India, mentioned that while road taxes waived off for decarbonised vehicles are welcome, waivers are not consistent, for example, from state to state.

Commitment to invests were, however, unwavering. “We have done an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, happening real time. We are focusing on expansions and upskilling,” said N Venu, MD and CEO, India and South Asia, Hitachi Energy. 

AI boom: Tread with caution

We are in a honeymoon phase in the AI boom, according to Rami Ahola, Partner and Global Industry Leader, Industrial Manufacturing, IBM Consulting. Everyone is experimenting, but the aim is to use the smallest possible job that gets the job done, he said.

The reason behind this as the preferred strategy: AI's humongous energy usage. 

Chittilapilly pointed out that the data centre power that the world is consuming right now is the entire power generation of Japan.

Still, she said that this is only a nascent stage with a focus on training. But, the value of AI is inferencing, which doesn't need as much power as large language models. 

Inferencing is the next step, declared Chittilapilly, reiterating a focus on green technology.

Chip making cannot be indigenised

Most attendees at the meet were convinced that it is impossible for any country in the world to be self-reliant when it comes to semiconductor industry.

Nonetheless, India has to become a critical part of the global supply chain. For this, we need some level of indigenisation for this, said Jitendra Chaddah, MD, India Country Head, and VP of Global Fab Engineering Services.

Industrialists highlighted why this is important not only from an electronics strategy point of view, but also from a security perspective.

Developing an outsized seat at the global table for even one segment in semiconductors would be highly beneficial for India in security matters, stated Santhosh Kumar, President and Managing Director, Texas Instruments India.

Others talked of the need for more state funding and support.