Karnataka polls: With assets over Rs 1,020-cr Priya Krishna is the richest candidate

Mangaluru, May 29: Several non-resident Kannadigas from various Gulf countries including Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Thursday, May 28, interacted with Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel through a video conference and urged him to allow the Kannadigas stranded in the Middle East to return by facilitating the operation of repatriation flights.

The development comes amidst reports that lack of preparedness on parts of the local authorities in Karnataka compelling the Centre to delay the operation of flights from Middle East to Mangaluru and Bengaluru airports.

“We have never forgotten you. We will take necessary steps for your safe return to the homeland as soon as possible,” assured Mr Kateel after paying heed to the complaints of non-resident Kannadigas.

The video conference was organised by Ravi Shetty, ex president of Kannada Sangha Qatar.

Praveen Kumar Shetty, president, Karnataka NRI Forum of UAE, Sarvottam Shetty of UAE Karnataka Sangha, Avikshit Rai, Ravi Shetty, former president of Qatar Kannada Sangha, Santosh Shetty of Riyadh Karnataka NRI Forum, Zakariya Jokatte, president of Dammam Karnataka NRI Forum, Mohammad Mansoor, president of Bahrain Indian Overseas Congress, NS Shetty Kuwait, Pradeep Shetty of Kannada Sangha Bahrain, Karunakar Rao, Shashidhar Shetty Oman, Rajesh of Kuwait Kannada Sangha, Ramesh Bhandari, M E Muloor and Sunil Kulkarni among others participated in the video conference.

Bengaluru, Jun 3: Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan on Tuesday invited investors in the Electronics System and Design Manufacturing (ESDM) sector to Karnataka, as the state contributes 64 per cent to the sector's total exports from the nation.

During a video conference organised by Invest India for a few select states with leading ESDM players across the globe, Narayan said, "We are the largest chip design hub and home to 70 per cent of India's chip designers."

Karnataka has introduced industry-friendly policies from the beginning and it continues to be the leader in attracting technology-specific investments, he added.

"Karnataka has an estimated GSDP of almost USD 220 billion. We were the first to come out with IT, BT, ESDM, and AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) policies to give a push to the growth of the technology sectors and innovation. We also have vibrant automobiles, agro, aerospace, textile and garment, and heavy engineering industries," Narayan explained.

"We have created sector-specific SEZs for key industries such as IT, biotechnology and engineering, food processing and aerospace,'' he said.

However, the state government is planning ahead as it has initiated talks with other countries.

"We have held multiple consultations with the private sector to seek inputs for returning to business as we ease the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. We are also initiating dialogue with countries across the globe to understand future plans for their companies in the post COVID era and discuss how the Karnataka government can support that," the Deputy Chief Minister stated.

"Karnataka has attracted cumulative FDI inflows in the state from 2000 to 2019 which were recorded at USD 42.3 billion," he said.

Referring to the Karnataka ESDM policy 2017-2022, Narayan further said, "We aim to stimulate the growth of 2,000 ESDM start-ups during the policy period and create 20 lakh new jobs by 2025.