BENGALURU: Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil on Friday said that Karnataka attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth $12,939 million during the last financial year, ranking second among Indian states. He said the state must make effective use of the Union government’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with 38 countries to achieve the goal of building a $1 trillion economy.
Patil was speaking after inaugurating a state-level workshop on ‘Leveraging the Benefits of Free Trade Agreements’ organised by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in association with the Visvesvaraya Trade Promotion Centre (VTPC), and the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).
“The Union government recently signed FTAs with 38 countries, including the UAE, Australia, the UK, Oman, the European Union and New Zealand. An agreement with the US is also expected to be finalised shortly,”
Patil said, adding that these agreements would help boost the country’s GDP and open up significant export opportunities for Karnataka in sectors such as electronics and electrical products, agriculture and food products, textiles and readymade garments, marine products, engineering goods, pharmaceuticals and herbal products.
Stating that Karnataka has formulated effective policies for sectors such as IT/BT, start-ups, aerospace, electric vehicles, textiles, green energy and semiconductors, the minister said the state ranks fourth in the country in merchandise exports, while a majority of investment commitments are being translated into actual projects.
“Karnataka accounts for 40% of the country’s total software and services exports. Global companies such as Foxconn, Lam Research, Applied Materials and Tata Advanced Systems have invested in the state, creating significant opportunities for local suppliers as well. We must now leverage FTAs to expand our access to international markets,” he said.
More than 200 entrepreneurs, exporters and officials from district industries centres participated in the workshop.