Britain looks beyond Bangalore for biz 'gold' in tier II cities

Britain looks beyond Bangalore for biz 'gold' in tier II cities

BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bangalore September 04, 2009, 0:12 IST

The tier II cities’ story continues to thrive. The British government sees them as ‘lands’ of opportunities. Britain is keen on getting investors from Britain to look at tier II cities in the Karnataka and facilitate this has opened a British Deputy Commission in Bangalore.

The new centre would cover a whole range of British government activity in the State, including business, trade and investment and science and technology, British Deputy High Commissioner here, Richard Hyde, said. The deputy high commission will not issue visas, but will only facilitate relationships in science, BT and technology.

Hyde said the British High Commission has had a presence here for 15 years, establishing the British Trade Office in 1994 and developing a strong commercial relationship.

As part of the efforts to understand the tier II cities in the state, UK deputy high commissioner Richard Hyde has visited the smaller cities like Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum among other cities to understand them and check out the investor-friendliness of the cities. The huge number of engineers produced in the state is a big draw, said an official from the high commission.

Meanwhile, officials from the high commission said that the Indo-UK bilateral trade which was around Pound 10 billion in 2008, may see a decline this year, because of the global slowdown. Hyde said, “It’s been a difficult year. In the present market environment, anything is an achievement. But we want to increase the trade,” Hyde said.

Karnataka tops IT export charts, with tier-II cities revenue touching Rs 2,423 crore

Karnataka tops IT export charts, with tier- II cities revenue touching Rs 2,423 crore

2 Sep 2009, 1044 hrs IST, ET Bureau

BANGALORE: Karnataka extended its lead as the country’s top destination for software exports by registering around 23% annual growth and achieving Rs 74,929 crore worth of IT and ITES exports during year ended March 2009.

“We have not fallen behind... and we are expecting exports of Rs 100,000 crore by the end of this fiscal,” said, state IT & BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu. On a comparative basis, IT and BPO exports from the country for FY09 stood at Rs 2,22,360 crore recording a Yo-Y growth of 21%. Though, other competing states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have recorded marginally higher growth rates than Karnataka, their base have been comparatively smaller.

The share of Karnataka in the national exports stood at 34%. The FY09 fiscal also saw 84 new units registering with the STPI. “There is enough interest in the new units locating in the designated zones with many of them opting for the special economic zone (SEZ) scheme,” said R Rajalakshmi, director, STPI.

The exports from the SEZ have also seen a very rapid growth touching Rs 4,554 crore for FY09, reflecting a Y-o-Y growth of 250%. The number of people employed by the industry in Karnataka stood at 5.54 lakh in FY09 as against 5.2 lakh in FY08.

However, the hardware exports from Karnataka dipped by 6.8% on a Y-o-Y basis to touch revenue of Rs 2,889 crore for FY09. The performance of the tier-II cities namely Mysore, Mangalore and Hubli on a combined basis has been 45% with revenue touching Rs 2,423 crore.

Nrupatunga all set to beckon picnickers

Nrupatunga all set to beckon picnickers

Vincent D'Souza, TNN 31 August 2009, 10:21pm IST

HUBLI: It's time to make some changes in your weekly schedule now. For, the picturesque Nrupatunga Hill - standing tall on the north-eastern fringes of the commercial city - is getting spruced up to provide a perfect destination for lovelorn souls, children, joggers and sightseers.

The 15-acre sprawling hilltop has been landscaped with inter-locking tiled pathway flanked by flower and ornamental plants, green turf and attractive streetlights.

A wooden-like cement fencing alongside the pathway, chirping of birds nesting on trees, dummies of animals and birds, colourful butterflies, artificial waterfall and fountains give a wild touch to the garden. The presence of century-old Syed Hazrat Shah Khadri dargah and Revu Mata Temple in one corner of the hill give religious touch. The children's park, rock gardens and canteen make it an ideal picnic spot.

The entrance is marked by a huge gate flanked by red wall with artificial tree lowering on top of the gate. A circular ticket counter is coming up near the entrance. Visitors can rest on the benches placed all over the garden. Attractive dustbins will help the garden to be litter-free.

The hillock provides a panoramic view of KSCA cricket stadium in Rajnagar, BVB College, Naveen Hotel, KIMS campus, Gangubai Hangal Music Academy, Hubli APMC, Hubli Airport and Unkal Lake which are miles away.

C V Manjunath of Dharwad Nirmiti Kendra, who is in charge of the development works there, said 95% of the works have been completed and the park will be open to visitors in a week's time.

He said an entry fee of Rs 10 or 15 will be collected from the visitors for the upkeep of the only picnic spot in the city. He said the monthly maintenance cost of the park, involving power, gardening, and security runs up to Rs 1.50 lakh.

Tata Motors assures Karnataka it is in race for second Nano plant

Tata Motors assures Karnataka it is in race for second Nano plant

Business Standard September 01, 2009, 1:04 IST

Bangalore: Karnataka may have narrowly lost the race for housing Tata Motors’ Nano car plant but that is not stopping the southern state from nursing ambitions of winning the second round of the same race. It was late last year when Tata Motors announced that it would set up the first plant for producing the Rs 1-lakh car at Gujarat’s Sanand rather than Karnataka’s Dharwad, among other places.

Now, if all goes well, Karnataka will get a chance to play host to Tata Motors’ proposed second Nano car plant in South India. The state government has been assured by the company that Dharwad will be a preferred choice for the company’s plans to expand its Nano manufacturing capacity into South India.

The state government, in turn, has assured the company that it will provide the required land as well as tax concessions, similar to those offered by the Gujarat government, for setting up the second Nano car plant, Karnataka minister for medium and large industries Murugesh R Nirani said.

“When Tata Motors initially came to inspect Dharwad, we had offered them 600 acres within 24 hours and had assured another 400 acres in three months. But the company chose to go to Gujarat for reasons best known to them. However, they have told us, for expansion of their Nano car capacity, they will consider Dharwad and we have promised them all possible help,” he told Business Standard.

Nirani added the state government recently acquired 2,500 acres at Dharwad, adjacent to the existing Tata Motors’ bus plant, where the company had intended to set up the Nano plant. Tata Motors had indicated a requirement of around 1,000 acres.

“We have already discussed this with the company’s higher officials. They have plans to set up one more plant in South India for producing the Nano car and they want to do it in Dharwad because it is closer to Pune, where they have a major presence. Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has invited us for further talks in this regard and we will soon meet him,” Nirani said.

Tata is currently manufacturing the Nano at their plant in Pantnagar. Its dedicated Nano car plant will be operational at Sanand in Gujarat by early 2010.

At Dharwad, Tata Motors currently operates two plants to manufacture construction equipment under the Telcon brand name. It also produces buses in a joint venture with Brazil’s Marcopolo. So far, it has acquired 600 acres and employs around 3,500 workers in both the plants. The company has invested close to Rs 500 crore in its bus plant, which started commercial production in January this year.

In addition to Tata’s Nano car plant, the state government is also in talks with Korea’s car maker Hyundai Motors and the domestic utility vehicle major, Mahindra and Mahindra, for locating their new plants in Karnataka.

Recently, the state government approved an additional investment proposal of Rs 800 crore by Toyota Kirloskar Motors at Bidadi, near Bangalore. The government is also planning to hold a special meeting with the automobile industry very soon in Bangalore, as a precursor to its forthcoming global investors’ meet scheduled to be held in January 2010, Nirani added.