Removed red tape, laid out red carpet for investors: PM at K’taka meet

Delivering inaugural address at the three-day Global Investors’ Meet, Invest Karnataka 2022, in Bengaluru via video conferencing, the Prime Minister said in the times of a “global crisis”, India was being called a “bright spot” by economic experts and analysts across the globe and the world has huge expectations from the country.

“It is important to remember where we started this journey. Our country was struggling with a crisis at the policy level 9-10 years ago,” Modi said. “To bring the country out of this situation, there was a need to change our approach. Instead of pushing investors in into a web of red tape, we created at atmosphere of red carpet for investment.”

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government rationalised things rather than making new laws that may lead to more consfusion, he said. “Instead of running the business ourselves, we prepared the ground for business so that other people can come forward,” Modi said. “Instead of entangling youngsters in rules, we gave them opportunities to bring out their capabilities.”

More than 1,500 outdated laws were removed to improve the ease of doing business and around 40,000 “unwanted” compliance clauses were also done away with to bring in more investments, he added.

The PM further said that even at the time of global economic uncertainty the whole world is confident that the Indian economy’s fundamentals are strong. Despite the impact of Covid-19 pandemic and war (in Ukraine), the whole world is looking at India with a huge expectation, he added.

“This is the time of market fluctuation, but the expectation of 130 crore (1.3 billion) Indians is a guarantee of our domestic market’s strength,” he said. “This may be the time of global crisis, but experts across the world, analysts and those with knowledge of the economy, are calling India a bright spot.”

Pitching Karnataka as the destination for investors during the three-day event, Modi said the state also has the power of “double engine” (referring to the same party in the government at both the state and Centre). “This is why Karnataka is consistently one of the top rankers in ease of doing business and is one of the top states attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” he said, adding that about 400 of the fortune 500 companies are in Karnataka.

“More than 40 of the 100 plus unicorns in India are in Karnataka,” he said. “Karnataka is not only challenging other Indian states, but some of countries as well.”

He said that whenever “there is a talk about talent and technology, the name that first appears in the mind is – Brand Bengaluru”.

Karnataka governor Thawaarchand Gehlot, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi and Rajeev Chandrasekhar were among those present at the inauguration of the three-day event.

Speaking on the occasion, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said careful planning, targeted facilitation, fiscal prudence and understanding of the strength of the Indian economy have helped the Modi government make India an “island of calm amid challenging global developments”.

Sitharaman, who is a Rajya Sabha member from the state, batted for investments in Karnataka, calling the state “a leader in many sectors”.

“First in renewable energy, because 63% of all our installed capacity lies in renewable energy. First in electrical maintenance, innovation, home to about seven plus auto Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) – more than seven of them are here and 50-plus auto component manufacturers are here,” she said, while lauding the BJP-led state government.

“That is the pro-active nature of this government being led by chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and it is at that speed, which gives confidence to the investors,” the minister added.

Bommai said such as large investors’ meet was happening for the first time anywhere in the country since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

“In Karnataka, along with the recovery of Covid, the recovery of the economy is there to see. We are the largest FDI-attracted state,” he said. “Karnataka is not only a place with a better ecosystem but we are a forward-looking policy state.”

The three-day programme will witness over 80 speaker sessions and several business exhibitions with participation from at least 300 exhibitors, officials said. This edition of the Global Investors’ Meet is being held under the theme “Build for the World” reflecting on the role Karnataka aims to play in the global supply chain, officials added.

The Karnataka government on Wednesday signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth ₹5.20 lakh crore during the inaugural day of the Global Investors Meet, said a statement from the state government.

Seven companies invested ₹2.9 lakh crore in the Manufacturing – Green Hydrogen and Derivatives sector. “The investors in this sector were ACME ( ₹51,865 crore), ReNew and ABC (both ₹50,000 crore each), Avaada ( ₹45,000 crore) and JSW ( ₹43,470 crore), among others,” the statement said.

MoUs worth ₹1.29 lakh crore were signed under the Renewable Energy sector, with Vedanta assuring ₹80,000 crore investment.

Under the “Manufacturing – Sunrise” sector, the Karnataka government signed agreements worth ₹47,475 crore with seven companies. “The companies that signed these agreements are involved in developing electronic system design and manufacturing,” said the statement.

While MoUs worth ₹25,024 crore were signed with six companies in the core manufacturing sectors such as mining, iron, steel and cement, MoUs worth ₹22,906 crore were signed with nine companies under the e-mobility, aerospace and defence categories, among others. Similarly, MoUs worth ₹4,705 crore were signed with companies related to FMCG, sugar, biofuel and optical systems industries, it added