Ahead of Assembly polls in 2018 , Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sought the help of Indian diplomats to bring more FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) to State. Addressing a two day interaction meeting with the Indian ambassadors and High Commissioners to seven countries in Bengaluru on Thursday he said the State was seeking FDI to promote its port with Tadadi Port on the West Coast being very strategic for Karnataka and it had been working towards developing this on a Public Private Partnership basis.
Similarly, the State was taking up projects to improve rail connectivity with equity participation from State Government and railway projects on PPP mode. He also sought the help of the diplomats to bring higher quantum of FDI into sectors like infrastructure, industry clusters, ports and railways.
He said that India's economy has picked up great pace in the last 10 years after liberalisation and globalisation and this has also led to high growth of Indian States. Chief Minister reiterated that Karnataka has consistently ranked amongst the top States of the country since 1991 and over the years the State has been regarded as being the most technology friendly and forward thinking States in India.
He said that since last couple of years, Karnataka ranks third in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) across all States. We have also been ranked as one of the most attractive States for investment. last year, Gross Domestic Product of Karnataka grew at seven per cent to reach US$ 120 Billion.
"we have focused on create large scale employment by promoting industrial growth, moving industry to all parts of the State including the most backward regions and focus on improving on the socio-economic health of all the residents in the State including the most disadvantaged", he added.
Karnataka's export is 48 per cent against a national average of 24 per cent. Karnataka's share in all India exports stands at 13 per cent and it accounts for 40 per cent of all software exports from the country.
"We have a thriving NRI Forum in Karnataka which constantly interacts with our diaspora in all parts of the world. In fact, during the recently concluded 'Invest Karnataka 2016' in February, we had an excellent NRI session which deliberated on connecting our diaspora back to their roots," he added.
He said "We have focused on three key elements: Create large scale employment by promoting industrial growth, moving industry to all parts of the state including the most backward regions of the state and focus on improving on the socio-economic health of all the residents."
J S Mukul, Ambassador of India to Netherlands, SanjivKohli, High Commissioner of India to New Zeland, Nandini Singla, Ambassador-designate of India to Portugal, Ruchi Ghanashyam, High Commissioner of India to South Africa and Kingdom of lesotho, Radhika l lokesh, Ambassador of India to Ireland, Vikram K Doraiswamy, Ambassador of India to Korea, Gaurav Shrestha, High Commissioner of India to Mozambique are taking part in the two day Interaction Meeting.