Bengaluru, Dec 30 (KNN) Karnataka Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar has said that the state ranked first in the country with investment proposals worth Rs 1,54,937 crore despite the coronavirus pandemic over the last nine months.

While speaking at a webinar on Tuesday organised by apex trade body Assocham here, Shettar said, ''according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, 95 investment proposals amounting to Rs 1,54,937 crore have been registered in Karnataka."

"This has made our state the first in the country in terms of investment proposals," Shettar was quoted as saying in a release.

He further said that the state government approved 410 projects with investments worth Rs 82,015 crore between August 2019 and December 2020, within days after the ruling BJP returned to power on July 26, 2019.

"The investment proposals have the potential to generate 2,27,147 jobs across the state," Shettar added.

Asserting that the state was self-reliant in energy, Shettar said demand for power was increasing in sectors like electric vehicles and data centres.

"We are working with state-run Escoms (utility providers) to improve usage of power in the industrial sector, rationalise cross subsidy surcharge and wheeling charges," said the Minister.

''At present, we rely on grids for uninterrupted power supply and this is not possible due to technical problems," he said adding the problem could be overcome by building a new battery storage facility near the grids.