Karnataka emerges investors' favourite state; Gujarat left far behind

[email protected] (The Hindu)
August 8, 2016

New Delhi, Aug 8: Gujarat, which was ranked first among all States in 2015 for attracting maximum investment intentions' in value terms, has lost its position to Karnataka halfway through this calendar year.
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Gujarat received investment intentions worth only Rs.21,309 crore during January-June 2016, while Karnataka — which topped the list — received over thrice that amount, or Rs.67,757 crore, during the same period, government data showed.

The Centre, which is co-ordinating efforts to rank states on ease of doing business', also maintains a State-wise break-up of investment intentions in terms of Industrial Entrepreneur Memoranda filed for de-licensed sector, Letters of Intent issued and Direct Industrial Licences granted.

Interestingly, the Rs.67,757 crore worth investment intentions received by Karnataka in the first six months of 2016 was more than the Rs.64,733 crore that Gujarat had attracted in the whole of 2015, the year when it topped the all-India list in this regard.

Investors meet

The Rs.64,733 crore-worth investment intentions Gujarat got was 20.81 per cent of the total investment intentions worth Rs.3,11,031 crore that India received in 2015. However, out of the Rs.1,76,738 crore worth proposed investments that India received in January-June 2016, the share of Gujarat declined to 12.06 per cent — or Rs.21,309 crore. Meanwhile, Karnataka's share jumped from 10.18 per cent (or Rs.31,668 crore) in 2015 to 38.34 per cent (or Rs.67,757 crore) in January-June 2016. Karnataka said Invest Karnataka 2016', an investors' meet held during February 3-5 this year, concluded with 1,201 approved projects and MoUs valued at Rs.3.08 lakh crore.

Other leading States in terms of investment intentions' during January-June 2016 were Maharashtra (Rs.15,688 crore), Telengana (Rs.13,600 crore) and Chhattisgarh (Rs.8,514 crore). In 2015, the States in the top five after Gujarat were Chhattisgarh (Rs.36,511 crore), Maharashtra (Rs.33,277 crore), Karnataka (Rs.31,668 crore) and Odisha (Rs.24,524 crore).

Even in the latest Business Reforms Action Plan' index (or measures taken by states to improve ease of doing business), Gujarat was sixth with a score of 53.98 per cent. Uttarakhand topped that dynamic implementation scorecard' with 63.72 per cent, followed by Rajasthan, Telengana, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Gujarat government officials rejected apprehensions that incidents (which even led to changes at the Chief Minister-level) — including the Patidar agitation for reservation and more recently, Dalit protests after some of them were reportedly attacked for allegedly skinning cow carcasses — are leading to lower investor interest in Gujarat.

“These numbers (on investment intentions) keep going up and down. Some big announcements could come up soon and the situation can change,” a senior Gujarat government official said, indicating that some major decisions are likely in the run-up to the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit that is slated to be held during January 10-13 next year.

Most of the investment intentions that Gujarat has received are getting converted into amount that is actually being spent on the ground, the official said.

Comments

Abdul Latif
 - 
Monday, 8 Aug 2016

we need development only.....good governence

A.Mangalore
 - 
Monday, 8 Aug 2016

If there is no sangha pariwar goondasm in Mangalore, we would been the top district in terms of development. Now investors are feared to come to our district because of these Rss sponsored terrorists.

Rikaz
 - 
Monday, 8 Aug 2016

Fabulous job CM Siddaramayya....keep going Sir! May God help you....Gujarath was not shining whereas Feku was just cheating....

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February 22,2020

Belagavi, Feb 22: A madrasa in Karnataka’s Belagavi district hosted a Hindu-Muslim mass marriage on its premises on Friday, sending a strong message of communal amity. As many as 76 Muslim couples and 25 Hindu couples entered marital life on the occasion.

Madarsa Al Arabia Anwarul Ulooma, an Islamic religious institute in Bailhongal, 50km from Belagavi district headquarters, played host to the event that was organised by Jamia Faizan-ul-Quran and Issa Foundation, which has conducted mass marriages on a bigger scale in Gujarat.

The mass marriage comes a month after the 100-year-old Cheravally Jamaat Masjid in Kerala’s Kayamkulam in Alappuzha hosted a Hindu wedding, complete with a vegetarian feast for 4,000 people. A Hindu priest led the rituals, and the couple sought the blessings of chief imam Riyasudeen Faizy of the mosque.

At Bailhongal, moulvis and pontiffs led the marriage proceedings and asked the couples to read passages from Quran and Bhagvad Gita.

The Hindu couples were gifted a copy of the Gita, and newly-married Muslim couples received a copy of Quran. The organisers provided each Hindu bride a mangalsutra. Bailhongal MLA Mahantesh Koujalagi blessed the couples at the event, which was attended by more than 4,000 people.

Mohammad Rafique A Naik, a member of Jamia Faizan-ul-Quran, said they have gifted each couple a refrigerator, an almirah and a tailoring machine. Ranjita Kalala, a bride who married a daily-wage labourer, said her family couldn’t afford the cost of a wedding, adding, “When we learnt about the Bailhongal madrassa’s plan, we agreed to sign up because it also sends out a message of communal harmony.”

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News Network
March 19,2020

Bengaluru, Mar 19: In the backdrop of coronavirus pandemic, Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has reported huge revenue losses in March.

According to official data, the cumulative revenue loss in all services from March 1 till March 18 has amounted to around Rs 8,58,86,462 crores.

This includes cumulative revenue loss of Rs 5,33,82,456 in premium services, and cumulative revenue loss of Rs 3,25,04,006 in non-premium services.

The highest reported revenue loss in all services was reported on March 18, which amounted to Rs 1,90,25,183.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the state have reached 15, according to the Karnataka Health Minister.

A total of 169 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in India so far, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Thursday.

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February 5,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 5: Despite installing a BJP government in Karnataka through disguised operation Kamala, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led union government has continued its step motherly attitude towards this south Indian state.

Under the new formula adopted to share central taxes among states Karnataka will be the worst-affected. Though the 15th Finance Commission has recommended a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore for the state for 2020-21, the Centre appears reluctant to pay up and instead has asked for the proposal to be reviewed.

During the Union budget, the report of the 14th Finance Commission headed by NK Singh for 2020-21 was tabled in Lok Sabha. It shows besides Karnataka, Telangana, Mizoram and Kerala saw their central tax share decrease, while Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra were top gainers.

Karnataka's share has decreased from 4.7% provided by the previous finance commission, to 3.6%. Acknowledging there is a steep decline in Karnataka's share from 2019-20, the finance commission has recommended a special grant of Rs 5,495 crore for the state.

Its share in 2019-20 was Rs 36,675 crore, but under the new formula, Karnataka will get only Rs 31,180 crore in 2020-21 from the divisible pool of Rs 8.5 lakh crore - a decline of 22.5%.

Also, the decrease for Karnataka comes on the back of a shortfall in 2019-20. While the state was entitled to Rs 39,806 crore from the divisible pool, it got only Rs 36,675 crore as the Centre suffered a tax revenue shortfall of Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

What is more disheartening though is the Centre's refusal to pay the special grant. Instead, the Union finance ministry has asked the finance commission to reconsider the recommendation. This has prompted the state to take up the issue with the Centre.

"The decline in central taxes devolution comes at a time when the state is going through a tough financial situation. Steps are being taken to ensure Karnataka gets justice," said chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar.

Officials said besides corrective measures for 2020-21, the focus will be on ensuring a fair share in subsequent years. However, Karnataka has little chance of getting its dues as the Centre is known to be prudent when distributing tax proceeds among states.

"The Centre has certain views on devolution. We have done our duty by submitting the interim report. It's up to the states to convince the Centre," said Ravi Kota, joint secretary of 15th Finance Commission.

Under the new formula, the commission changed the weightage for some of the six criteria it considers - population, area, forest cover, income distance, demographic performance and tax effort.

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