Karnataka attracts Rs 4lakh cr investment proposals during GIM

DHNS/PTI

Bangalore, 04 June 2010: The Karnataka government on Friday said the state has attracted investment proposals worth Rs 4 lakh crore with employment potential of 8.65 lakh persons in the high-profile Global Investors’ Meet (GIM).

".... we have signed a record number (of) 353 MoUs bringing in investment proposals worth Rs four lakh crore. The total employment potential is a record 8.65 lakh," Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told reporters here on Friday evening, as the curtains came down on the two-day GIM.

"This is simply beyond our expectations," he remarked.

He termed the GIM as "unprecedented" and a landmark event in the industrial growth of Karnataka.

By the end of day one Thursday, a total of 208 MoUs were signed with estimated investment of Rs 3.29 lakh crore with bulk of the proposals coming from the iron and steel sector (Rs 2,21,344 crore).

Yeddyurappa said GIM has generated so much of interest that in the last one week the government has received 56 new projects with an envisaged investment of Rs 78,395 crore.

"We are going to consider all these projects in the next high-level committee meeting to be held in this month itself," he said.

Terming the GIM as a "grand success", Yeddyurappa said a cabinet sub-committee, headed by him, has been constituted to sanction additional special incentives on a case-to-case basis, depending on the quantum of investment.

Noting that the Indian banking industry has come forward to extend active support to projects approved during the GIM, he said his Government would enter into MoUs with leading banks to provide financial support and banking services to the approved projects.

Yeddyurappa said the Government has a clear road-map for monitoring of all the MoUs in a time-bound manner. "The implementation of the projects will be reviewed every month by the Chief Secretary. I shall review these projects once in three months," he said.

State officials said GIM saw participation of over 5,000 delegates, including from the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Malaysia, the UAE and France.

The MoUs signed during the mega show included projects of steel majors ArcelorMittal and Posco. Other projects were from diverse sectors such as cement, aerospace, energy, food processing and infrastructure.