Bangalore a no-go zone for industries; State govt okays job quota for private sector

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday cleared an industrial policy for 2014-19 that reserves jobs for locals in new industrial units and discourages investments in and around Bangalore.

The policy, which outlines the approach of the 15-month old Congress regime headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, aims to create 1.5 million jobs from a targeted investment of Rs 5 lakh crore. Under the policy, investors must give locals all jobs at the lowest level (D group) and 70% of jobs at levels A, B and C.

The policy reserves maximum sops for investors willing to go to industrially backward areas. "The farther an investor moves from Bangalore, the better it will be in terms of incentives.Whatever the usual subsidy an investor gets will be on the higher side if the investment is in the backward taluks identified by us," additional chief secretary, commerce & in dustries, K Ratna Prabha told ET.

The policy provides special thrust to the backward Hyderabad-Karnataka region based on per average capita investment and employment in its policy. The government, with this policy, has offered to partner with the private sector to develop industrial parks. Private investors, the policy says, can develop industrial areas and estates either on their own or in public-private partnership mode.

The government seeks to earmark a fifth of plots in the industrial estates for small and medium industries.

The government, according to Prabha, wants to encourage woman entrepreneurs, and hence, has plans to set up two exclusive industrial areas at Harohalli (near Bangalore) and HubliDharwad. Similarly, there is a separate package for non-resident Kannadigas inclined to invest in their home state.