BENGALURU: A high-powered meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Vidhana Soudha pledged to make Karnataka the country’s most investor-friendly destination, slashing red tape and enforcing strict accountability among officials.
At an investment promotion and facilitation meeting, Siddaramaiah directed all departments to cut back ‘approval timelines’ for industries, including land-use conversion and No Objection Certificates (NOC), warning that “unnecessary delays will not be tolerated”. A detailed proposal on reducing clearance timelines has been sought. Siddaramaiah said that despite Karnataka attracting a record Rs 10.27 lakh crore by way of investment commitments at the Global Investors’ Meet earlier this year, bureaucratic slowdowns continue to hamper implementation.
“Nearly 60 per cent of these investments are already under execution, but we must move faster,” he said. Another Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth of proposals are reportedly at various stages of approval. Highlighting frequent delays in approvals from the Pollution Control Board and Fire department, the CM ordered that rules be revised to expedite clearances. “Departments must act in coordination to provide industries with essential infrastructure -- roads, water and power -- without bottlenecks,” he emphasised.
Calling Karnataka a “progressive and investment-ready” state, Siddaramaiah cautioned officials against hiding behind excuses such as Supreme Court restrictions. “The same court applies to all states. If others can move ahead, so can we,” he said.
Minister Priyank Kharge echoed the urgency, urging officials to act decisively. He noted that Karnataka, despite having only 37 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) compared to Tamil Nadu’s 51, contributes a competitive 8.2 per cent to the national SEZ output -- proof of the state’s industrial strength.
The CM also announced plans to amend laws and policies to strengthen Karnataka’s “industry-first” ecosystem, including promoting green energy for industrial power supply and integrating all services under the single-window clearance system. Currently, 29 services remain outside the unified system, which the CM ordered be brought under it.
The Karnataka State High-Level Clearance Committee on Friday approved 13 investment proposals with a total outlay of Rs 27,607.26 crore. The projects are expected to generate 8,704 direct jobs.
A statement from Industries Minister MB Patil informed that the approvals include 11 new investment proposals and two additional investment proposals. According to Patil, the new proposals involve an investment of Rs 27,228.51 crore, while the expansion proposals account for Rs 378.75 crore.
The new investment proposals include, Vayu Assets Private Limited: Rs 1,251 crore (1,912 jobs); Tejas Networks Limited: Rs 542.19 crore (1,312 jobs); Reliance Consumer Products Limited: Rs 1,622 crore (1,200 jobs); JSW JFE Electrical Steel Private Limited: Rs 7,102 crore (900 jobs); HSS Textile Private Limited: Rs 740 crore (800 jobs); SFX India Mfg. Private Limited: Rs 9,298 crore (806 jobs); Schneider Electric IT Business India Private Limited: Rs 1,520.75 crore (550 jobs); Toyota Industries Engine India Private Limited: Rs 1,330 crore (550 jobs); JSW Steel Limited: Rs 1,300.57 crore (271 jobs); Grasim Industries Limited: Rs 1,386 crore (203 jobs); QPIAI India Private Limited: Rs 1,136 crore (200 jobs).
The additional investment proposals are from Embassy Industrial Park (Rs 80 crore) and Balaji Wafers Private Limited (Rs 298.75 crore), totalling Rs 378.75 crore. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Energy Minister KJ George, IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge, Higher Education Minister Dr MC Sudhakar, and Labour Minister Santosh Lad attended the meeting.
