PM Modi hails ‘Brand Bengaluru’ at Invest Karnataka 2022 Summit

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded ‘Brand Bengaluru’ as he virtually inaugurated the Invest Karnataka 2022 Summit on Wednesday.

“It is the place where there is both tradition and technology, along with a unique confluence of nature and culture. When we talk of talent and technology, the first thing that comes to mind is the Brand Bengaluru, which has now been established worldwide”, Modi said during his virtually held inaugural address of the Invest Karnataka 2022 Summit.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal speaking at the GIM.

Invest Karnataka 2022 Summit, which is a three-day Global Investors Meeting, having more than 80 speaker sessions, aims at attracting prospective investors and setting up a development agenda for the next decade.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaking at the GIM.

In his address, PM Modi praised the efforts of the youth who are making attempts to help the country move forward. “The youth of India have created more than 100 unicorns here and, in the last eight years, they have successfully launched more than 80,000 new startups”, Modi said.

He further remarked that investment in India means investment for inclusion, democracy, world, and a better and cleaner-safer planet.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi addressing the gathering at the Invest Karnataka event.

He said that India has eased the investments by rationalising the laws instead of making them more stringent. “We’ve freed our investors from red tape and given them a red carpet of opportunities. We encouraged them in various sectors that were earlier closed to private investments — such as defence, drones, space and geospatial mapping,” the PM said, adding that the New India now focuses on bold reforms, big infrastructure and the best talent in the country.

Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot addressing the gathering.

“Although it is a time of global crisis, economists and experts across the world are describing India as a bright spot. We continue to work on our fundamentals to strengthen the economy. The signed free trade deals give the world a glimpse of our preparedness”, he added.

Speakers at the programme include some of the top industry leaders including Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sajjan Jindal and Vikram Kirloskar among others. Along with this, a number of business exhibitions with more than 300 exhibitors, and country sessions will run parallel. The global scale of the event is expected to give Karnataka an opportunity to showcase its culture to the world as well.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at the Global Investors Meet.

The country sessions will each be hosted by the partner countries — France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Korea, Japan, and Australia — which will bring in high-level ministerial and industrial delegations from their respective countries. The global scale of the event is also expected to give Karnataka an opportunity to showcase its culture to the world.

Dignitaries on the dais during the inauguration of the GIM.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s government expects investments of over Rs 5 lakh crore. “We are expecting over Rs 5 lakh crore investment and the State High level Committee has already given clearance for investment of over Rs 2.8 lakh crore. This is our commitment to our investors and we are going to distribute the certificate of investment tomorrow. We will sign an agreement with new investors and give all the clearances in the next few days. The state of Karnataka is making a big leap in the industrial sector and it will be evident in tomorrow’s meet,” the CM said on Tuesday after inspecting the arrangements for the three-day meet at Palace Ground.

Bommai had said that most of the investors have shown interest for investment beyond Bengaluru, and new industries are coming up at Ramanagara, Hubballi-Dharwad, Ballari, Kalaburagi and Mysuru. (ANI)