Bengaluru, Jan 28 (KNN) In order to address varied needs of industry, investors and entrepreneurs and promote Karnataka brand on international platforms, the state government is set to unveil a new industrial policy in April, Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah said.

The state government is set to unveil the new industrial policy in April.

“The new industrial policy will give impetus to NIMZs, development of industrial infrastructure, promotion of entrepreneurship, skill upgradation with attractive packages and incentives to the MSME sector and flag the state as a brand at international fora," Siddaramaiah said.

He said this while addressing about 1,000 delegates from 45 countries at the inauguration of 20th Partnership Summit, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the ministry of commerce, in the city yesterday.

The chief minister said the state government is setting up the first National Investment and Manufacturing Zones (NIMZs) spread across 12,500 acres of land at Tumkur, about 70 km from Bangalore and proposes to establish three more NIMZs at Bidar and Gulbarga in the state's northern region and at Kolar, about 100 km from here.

"We have identified a potential of Rs 19,065 crore for investments in infrastructure across the state. We are also committed to developing urban infrastructure through public-private partnerships to ensure the state's economy grows rapidly with a ripple effect on other sectors," the state chief minister said.

The Karnataka government is in the process of finalizing the Bangalore-Mumbai Economic Corridor with the assistance of Government of India.

The project will be taken up with the collaboration of government of United Kingdom, which will further the state's development, said Siddaramaiah.

As part of the infrastructure development, the state government is setting up the Chennai-Bangalore-Chitradurga industrial corridor with financial aid from the central government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Bangalore-Mumbai economic corridor with Britain as its investment partner, he said.

The government is committed to establishing strategic partnerships to realize a strong base of urban infrastructure that will, in addition to fuelling the pace at which our economy is growing, also spur the growth of all other sectors in the economy, he said.

Asserting that the state was working to sustain an environment conducive to risk-taking and long-term investments, the chief minister said Karnataka was ranked fourth in attracting foreign direct investments (FDI).

"The World Bank investment climate index ranked our state first for a healthy business climate and in attracting global investments," Siddaramaiah added.

He said the Information Communication Technology sector in the state has achieved high levels of growth.

Bangalore will become the largest information technology cluster by 2020 with 2 million IT professionals, 6 million indirect jobs and Rs 4 trillion crore exports, which will have about 40 per cent of India's IT exports, the chief minister said.

The state government has just begun the work on setting up the world's first Digital Media City in Bangalore. This can become the hub for content creation, management and distribution, he added. (KNN Bureau)