K’taka expecting Rs 10L cr investment commitments

Bengaluru: Karnataka is expecting to sign investment commitments of about Rs 10 lakh crore with an array of industries at its biennial investor meet this week, aimed at showcasing the state’s industrial potential, M B Patil, Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries, said.

The Invest Karnataka 2025 -- Global Investors Meet (GIM 2025), scheduled from February 11-14 in Bengaluru, aims to position Karnataka as a premier global investment hub.

“We are expecting around Rs 10 lakh crore in investments, with at least 70 per cent converting into reality (and) not just (remaining) on paper,” he said.

On the theme of the summit ‘Re-Imagining Growth’, Patil said this “because today we are in a stage where our world is moving towards tech-driven, green, inclusive, and more importantly, resilient growth. Because we are in a situation... (these are) challenging times. There is a war in Ukraine and Russia, then the Israel-Gaza conflict, (US President) Trump’s policies, China plus one, two years (post recovery from) Covid-19, and more importantly, artificial intelligence, clean mobility coming in”.

“EVs and green hydrogen will take centrestage. Diesel, petrol, and all fossil fuels will be phased out. So these are challenging times, how do you adapt to that? We have a very strong system, which has to be resilient to all these changes. So we have this investors meet in these challenging times,” he said.

The inaugural session will be on February 10 at 4 pm.

“The governor will be there with his auspicious presence. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be presiding, and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be inaugurating. Many central ministers are going to participate, some on 12th, some on 13th, and some on 14th. State ministers, industrialists, and big names will all be participating in this meet,” he said.

February 12 and 13 will feature business sessions, including a semiconductor summit. On February 12 evening, there will be an award function recognising industries that have contributed to Karnataka’s growth.

On February 13, there will be multiple sessions and roundtables, including the Queen’s City roundtable. The event will conclude on February 14 with awards for ventures and key contributors.

As many as “19 countries are participating, with 9 of them having their pavilions here. It will be a meaningful forum, with 60+ speakers sharing insights,” he said.