Karnataka delegation in US to promote investments and tourism
Sunday, 08.31.2008, 10:48pm (GMT-7)
India Post News Service
NEW YORK: A high level delegation representing the newly formed BJP-led government in the southern Indian state of Karnataka visited the US Aug 24-31 to highlight their new industrial policy 2008-2013, in a bid to promote the state as a hotspot destination in India for investment and tourism.
The delegation held business talks with US State officials, senators, investors, venture capitalists, business heads and investment bankers, as also representatives of the travel industry.At a luncheon meet organized at the Indian Consulate in New York, Aug 27, Karnataka's minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries Murugesh Nirani gave a detailed presentation on the investor-friendly policies of his government, and the rapid growth of the state beyond its capital city of Bangalore."The World Bank certified Karnataka as the No.2 to do business in India and Bangalore (the state capital) as No.1 for the best quality human resources.
Karnataka has the capacity to build quality manpower," Nirani said. "The State is among the fastest growing in India contributing about 5.5% to the national GDP."Nirani stated that the new government was in the process of drafting a new investor policy under the 'Suvarna Karnataka' program, which aims at a sector-wise development of the entire state.The minister conceded that his government has realized the urgency of focusing on infrastructure.
They also aim to provide 24/7 uninterrupted power supply to all of Karnataka.The minister invited potential investors to participate in the Global Investors' Meet 2009, which offers an opportunity for industrialists and entrepreneurs to explore avenues for setting up business ventures in Karantaka.Sudhakar Rao, Chief Secretary to Government of Karnataka gave the gathering a glimpse into what was "new" in the state today.
"What is new in the state today is that we have a new government," Rao said. "And the most salient feature of the new government which took over three months back is that it is a single party majority government unlike the past governments which have been formed by a coalition of parties. So, now we hope to have a stable government."Rao said Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa's vision was to prioritizing agriculture and social security, while restoring Karnataka as the leader of industry. "Governance issues will no longer be a bottleneck to progress and growth," Rao added. "The Chief Minister will personally be monitoring initiatives.
There is a clear and palpable sense that the new government is giving a strong backing for infrastructure projects."Rao said that the capital city of Bangalore has grown at a rate never anticipate. However, there are other Tier II and Tier III cities like Mysore, Mangalore, Hubli, Dharwad, which have also grown to offer equally golden opportunities for investment. "Please come to Karnataka," Rao told potential investors. "But look beyond Bangalore to the other cities too.
"Earlier on Aug 26, some of the delegation members led by the state Minister for Tourism & Infrastructure Janardhana Reddy, made an elaborate presentation on Karnataka as a new emerging hotspot for US travelers, at the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan.During the road-show in New York, Karanataka unveiled its latest product offering, The Golden chariot, which is an ultra-luxury train that connects the major heritage locations of Karnataka including Hampi, Mysore and Bangalore, besides a side-trip to the coastal state of Goa. Reddy said, The United States is a prime source market for Karnataka, and we are launching an aggressive marketing campaign to consolidate ourselves in the market.
"Currently over a hundred thousand US tourists visit Karmataka out of a total of 600,000 international visitors. "While Bangalore, our capital city is a known international tourism brand, we are delighted to find increasing inflows into our other major sub-destinations such as Mysore, which is today a heritage city, the hill stations of Coorg which is famed as the 'Scotland of India' as well as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Hampi and Pattadakar," Reddy added."Heritage and eco-tourism are our main thrust areas.
Hampi, which is known as the world's largest open-air museum due to the wide variety of heritage monuments, temples, and sculptures in one area, is today, as big a draw as any in India. Interestingly, in the temples of Hampi, which are over 700 years old, prayers and rituals are still held today as they were in ancient times," he said.Due to the increasing tourist traffic, an airport has been opened near Hampi with direct commercial flights from Bangalore.
The ultra-modern new international airport at Bangalore, developed as a joint venture with Zurich Airport and Siemens will play a major part in the development of Karnataka as a destination, with British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Air India and others connecting Bangalore directly to key global capitals," said Viswanatha Reddy, Director of Tourism.
SRIREKHA N. CHAKRAVARTY
