BENGALURU: The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) celebrated its founder’s day on Tuesday, conferring the Sir M Visvesvaraya Award upon Kirloskar Systems chairperson and managing director Geetanjali Vikram Kirloskar. This marks the second time a woman was chosen as the awardee since the award’s inception in 1999, following Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
“I am happy that it’s a woman entrepreneur winning the award this year. This transition of the FKCCI, alongside Uma Reddy being its first woman president, is a step in the right direction. If only there is gender parity in labour, India’s GDP will grow by 20%,” said Chief Secretary to the Government of Karnataka Shalini Rajneesh.
“Under CM DK Shivakumar and Deputy CM Dr G Parameshwara’s guidance, we have created a roadmap for increasing export potentials to USD 20,000 million. The biggest potential is in engineering goods, followed by electronics, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and more,” she said.
The Chief Secretary noted that the state government is taking active steps to ensure engineering curricula across the state runs in tandem with the demands of the industry. “M Visvesvaraya led the industrial foundation in the state. As I reach the one-year mark as its president, I note that we have a lot more to do,” added FKCCI president Uma Reddy.