Bangalore , May 03,2014 –
Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) organized a Two-day successful event on Karnataka Economic Summit with its basic theme as “Abhivruddhi Karnataka” in December 2013.
Based on the deliberations held at the above Summit, Chamber has come out with its recommendations highlighting on the various policy initiatives in the areas of Governance, Urbanization, Infrastructure and Social Infrastructure which could propel the State into a high growth orbit and to bring inclusive growth in all Sectors of the economy so that the State emerges as a developed one in all parameters.
The Chamber has since submitted its recommendations to all the members of the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly as well as Key Government Officials in the State Government seeking their support in recommending the same to the State Government to implement some of the Policy Recommendations which have been featured in the booklet. A copy of the booklet is being enclosed for your ready reference.
Mr. H V Harish, President, BCIC said that “the two-day Summit identified several deficient areas viz., regional imbalance in the growth which is focused only on Bangalore; inability to develop other urban growth centers; lack of thrust in manufacturing sector; infrastructure deficiency and inadequate steps to address skill deficit and finally on the lack of focus on job creations. What is most worrying is that the State has lost its growth momentum and poverty decline in the state is the lowest compared to any of the other Southern states and this is a cause for worry”.
Mr. A N Chandramouli, Senior Vice President, BCIC mentioned that “it is paramount that the State Government should address issues relating to social infrastructure by creating skill hubs which could serve as a catalyst for both main stream education as well as vocational training.”
The two-day Summit which was attended by thought leaders from industry, academia and Government brainstormed on the following subjects and suggested the following key recommendations:
Governance:
·Develop North Karnataka and other backward regions of the State and provide incentives to industry to invest and foster growth in the region.
·Revive and empower State Planning Commission which can then help plan and prepare a sound economic strategy
Urbanization:
·Look beyond Bangalore and invest in smaller cities of Karnataka
·Improved financing of urban local bodies by strengthening the infrastructure of its delivery mechanism
Infrastructure:
·Develop a strong PPP model focused on delivering quality infrastructure rapidly at the lowest cost to the user rather than maximizing returns to the Government .
·Key issues in land management related to illegal encroachments, land acquisition, land use, clear titles etc. need to be addressed along with improving enforcement of existing laws in various sectors
Social Infrastructure:
·Need to improve enrolment and retention rates at higher stages of school education.
·Infrastructure of ITI s and other vocational education institutes need to be appropriately strengthened
BCIC is looking forward to work with the State Government on the above recommendations on continual basis to ensure that the State get back to its growth trajectory to become an ideal investment destination, Mr. Harish further added. CCI Newswire
