Industry council for investment

Deputy CM and finance minister, Siddaramaiah, plans to set up a Karnataka State Industrial Development Council (KSIDC) under the chairmanship of the CM, to "accelerate industrial growth".

In his budget proposals for March 2006, here on Friday, the Dy CM allocated Rs 143 crore for facilitating investments in the industry and mining sector, as against Rs 105 crore for the current fiscal. A Rs 10 crore "Kaigarika Vikasa" scheme will be launched for industrialisation of 39 taluks identified by the D M Nanjundappa panel.

This will provide employment to about 1.5 lakh people over five years. The scheme will generate an annual income of Rs 300 crore, he said.

Special economic zones (SEZ) for textiles at Hassan and Mysore, and for IT and allied activities will be set up in Mangalore. Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks (STEP) will be set up in 11 districts.

Industrial valves clusters will established in Hubli-Dharwad, coir clusters in Channapatna and Hassan, food processing clusters in Mangalore, auto components cluster in Shimoga are proposed.

The total investment for all this is some Rs 40 crore. Another Rs 2.8 crore will be used to set up state-of-the art laboratories to aid mineral investigations.