MYSURU: Minister for Higher Education, IT & BT, Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, on Friday said that there was no dearth of land for industries in Karnataka. Speaking after inaugurating the office of the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) at Hebbal Industrial Area in Mysuru, he said the State Government is in a position to ensure that the availability of land is more than the demand so as to attract investors.
He said that investors should apprise the government of their needs so that the latter can acquire and provide developed land for industries through the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board. Setting aside apprehensions expressed by Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha over lack of land for expansion of the Mysuru airport and other projects, Narayan said, “There is no need to worry for land. Just ask how much you want and where you want.”
Additional Chief Secretary to the IT and BT department, Dr E V Ramana Reddy, who is also the Additional Chief Secretary to the Industries Department, has set up an agenda to attract industries and investments, he said. “Land should not be a problem as Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani is also keen on encouraging IT and BT sectors,” he added.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aim to make India a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2025, Narayan said that Karnataka’s contribution will likely be $300-350 billion and $150 billion will be from IT exports alone. “Mysuru and other clusters like Hubballi and Mangaluru are expected to contribute more than 5% to the overall tech economy by 2030. In order to strengthen the digital economy, the government will focus on improving connectivity even in remote parts of the state, providing 24x7 electricity and reducing the rural-urban divide by establishing the needed infrastructure,” he added.
He said that KDEM aims to attract investments in IT/ITeS sectors, including the agro-sector, and to create 10 lakh jobs by 2025. It works to achieve the target by focusing on five verticals of IT products and services, innovation and startups, electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM), ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ and ‘Talent Accelerator’.
Narayan said that the Covid-19 pandemic has given scope for a shift in investment from physical to virtual infrastructure. “Though there is a need for highways and rail networks, the need of the hour is broadband as the government has not only gone to the doorsteps of people, but to their fingertips,” he added.
Emphasising on the need for quality education and skills to train human resources, he said that the new National Education Policy will help bring equality in education and will benefit the have-nots.
The state’s telecom policy will ensure that people across the state have access to better broadband and other Internet services, he added. On the occasion, he also rolled out ‘Beyond Bengaluru 100-days plan’ and an exclusive #FutureDigitalJobs@Mysuru initiative that aims to enable 2,000 fresh graduates in Karnataka to be industry-ready and provide them with job opportunities in the private sector in the next two months.
‘NEP is student-centric’
Ashwath Narayan has assured to bring in more reforms in higher education. Speaking after launching the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 at the University of Mysore on Friday, he said, “The student-centric policy aims to nurture creativity, innovation, critical thinking and logical reasoning, besides making students aware of the rich heritage of our country.”
‘State tops in startups’
Additional Chief Secretary to the IT and BT Department, Dr
E V Ramana Reddy has said Karnataka stands first in the country in having the highest number of startups and also in innovation index. He said that the State Government has sanctioned D2 crore to eight startups in Mysuru, besides setting up eight centres of excellence across Karnataka.