Captains of Indian industry have lauded the B S Yeddyurappa-led government's latest initiative for organising a global investors' meet to put the state back in reckoning as the most-preferred investment destination in India, but cast doubts over the fulfillment of tall promises made by the latter.
Karnataka, ranked seventh in terms of industrial investment, aims at a place among the top three states in the next few years. The GIM, which starts tomorrow, would be attended by over 2,500 CEOs from across the globe. Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, will be the chief guest.
The state government would sign 400 memoranda of understandings (MoUs) with investors. Some of the big companies that would sign MoUs are ArcelorMittal, Birla Cement, Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Shell Technology India Pvt Ltd, Lafarge India Pvt Ltd, Infosys, Wipro, Bhushan Steel, Jindal Steel, Surya Global Steel, Zuari Fertilisers & Chemicals Ltd, GAIL and Re Logistics Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.
Industry leaders said the state government had created a reasonably good climate for investing, but there was certainly more scope for improvement in many areas. The policy framework should be sustainable and the government should try to cut red-tapism and fast-track the investment proposals to keep up good work, they said.
"The atmosphere is conducive to make investment in Karnataka right now, but the state government needs to keep its promises and deliver them on a time-bound manner," said Mrityunjaya Singh, managing director, Volvo India.
K R Girish, senior partner, KPMG, said, "The government has created positive vibes. The first BJP-led government in the state under the leadership of B S Yeddyurappa has showed that industries are welcome in Karnataka once again, unlike the previous governments. However, they need to monitor the implementation of these projects and the bureaucrats should take ownership in realising the investments."
While most industrialists praised the government for organising the GIM in Bangalore, they also raised doubts over the implementation of these big-ticket investment proposals, due to various bottlenecks and lack of infrastructure.
According to them, the poor availability of quality power may hamper the implementation of projects, if the state fails to take some remedial measures immediately. Shekar Vishwanathan, deputy managing director, Toyota Kirloskar Motors Ltd, said, "There is no doubt that the time is right for making investments in Karnataka, but there is a need to ensure supply of quality power to industries. The slogan of the state should be 'Move over Beijing, Bangalore is here'."
He, however, said there were lot of gaps, which the government should plug immediately to ensure industrial development. "The government can do a lot by ensuring supply of quality power to industries. The proposed industrial corridor between Chennai and Mumbai via Bangalore should be taken up on a priority basis to realise investments into the state."
According to Raaj Kumar, chief executive officer, GMR Energy Ltd, the industrial climate in Karnataka is reasonably good, but there is certainly scope for improvement. The government should be even more proactive and show willingness to listen to the problems of the investors and solve them.
The Confederation of Indian Industry said the real challenge for the state government was to absorb the investments by giving speedy clearances to many big-ticket investment proposals. "The government, both ministers and bureaucrats, need to work closely with industry bodies like CII and make them partners in progress. They need to keep the momentum going," Aroon Raman, chairman, CII Karnataka Chapter, said.
Image: B S Yeddyurappa
