M.B. Patil chairs a meeting at Khanija Bhavan in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru: Karnataka is considering opening Invest Karnataka Forum (IKF) offices in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and France to attract industrial investment, Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil said. Officials have been asked to examine the proposal and submit a report.
The proposal was discussed at the IKF Board of Directors meeting at Khanija Bhavan. Patil directed officials to assess its advantages and disadvantages and hold consultations before the government takes it forward.
He said Karnataka needed to study each country’s industrial strengths and sectoral specialisations as competition among States for investment intensifies. Some State governments had already taken steps to establish offices in these countries, he said.
Overseas offices and country leads under consideration
The discussions covered appointing people with relevant expertise to head offices in some locations and appointing “Country Leads” through IKF in others. Another meeting would be held shortly to take the discussions forward, Patil said.
He identified manufacturing, semiconductors, aerospace and defence as sectors gaining importance in Karnataka’s economy. The new industrial policy had set out priority sectors, and reaching investors in their own countries had become necessary, he said.
Patil said the government had restructured IKF after assuming office so that it could function more actively and effectively in attracting investment. The overseas presence remains a proposal under examination; the statement did not announce that offices had opened.
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