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BENGALURU: Karnataka has received investment proposals worth over Rs 17,718 crore in April and May despite the second wave of Covid-19 being at its peak, reports Sandeep Moudgal.

According to the industries department data, as many as 120 investment proposals were cleared by the state at various levels between April and May.

These investments promise to provide employment to about 20,000 people in the state. The data accessed by TOI shows a bulk of the investment proposals came from 10 projects worth Rs 13,174 crore. These proposals are from warehousing, manufacturing and food processing sector. The rest are proposals ranging between Rs15 crore and Rs 50 crore.

Not with standing second wave of the pandemic, industries minister Jagadish Shettar said the government had approached MNCs and major industrial players from outside the country. “This investment is significant at a time the state is involved in the Covid fight. While I admit a majority of the investment proposals are from smaller companies, the government is making inroads in attracting many bigger MNCs in the coming months,” he said.

Shettar said the government is expecting a sizeable section of electric vehicle and battery-storage industry to come to Karnataka after its amendment to the EV policy of 2017.

“While we cannot do anything about investments which have moved out of the state, we hope to get more interest directed towards Karnataka,” he said. The proposals suggest a considerable amount of investments are being made in tier-II and tier-III cities in food processing and manufacturing industries. These primarily include Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board industrial parks.

Of the big investment promises for Karnataka in the past two months, a considerable amount is towards setting up allied industries or second plants of already existing firms in the state. This includes Jindal Steel Works liquid oxygen plant, Shree Cements, Grasim Industries, YG Cutting Tools and Mylar Sugars.

The government is hopeful once the pandemic recedes by the month-end, it can announce fresh dates for Global Investors’ Meet. To make land acquisition more affordable, KIADB has collaborated with HDFC Bank so that eligible investors can avail credit facilities. As per the agreement, KIADB chief executive N Shivashankara said the bank will offer credit facilities to eligible companies or investors up to 75% of the project cost.