BENGALURU: The Karnataka delegation led by Industries Minister MB Patil on Tuesday held discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials regarding Karnataka’s strategic position in leveraging the “China + 1” strategy.
Patil and senior officers from the department are in the US on a business promotion visit. A statement issued by the minister’s office said top officials of the IMF, including its Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, attended the meeting in which they analysed the broader Indian growth narrative. They also deliberated on decongesting Bengaluru to support increased investments.
Patil stressed the necessity of strategies to anticipate and address skilled labour force imbalances. Potential partnerships for leveraging blockchain technology to address certain e-governance or municipal challenges would be explored, he said.
In a meeting with global aircraft major Boeing, the Minister emphasised exploring potential investments in logistics centres, passenger-to-freight conversions, and pilot and crew training centres near Karnataka airports, the statement said.
They also held discussions with the members of GE Healthcare on identifying potential collaboration opportunities in upskilling of workforce in AI/ML which is likely to play a critical role in the next decade. The delegation met representatives of GE Vernova and exchanged ideas on exploring the potential for component manufacturing in Karnataka.