Coastal business development summit ends on positive note

Mangalore, January 5: The curtains came down on the two-day Coastal Business Development Summit organised by State government and the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) giving rise to the hope of rapid development of coastal districts of Karnataka and creation of job opportunity in this part.

Speaking at the valedictory ceremony of the Summit held at T V Ramana Pai Convention Centre here on Thursday, Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs M Veerappa Moily said progress in coastal Karnataka must be apolitical.

He said that when new industries come up the locals must get jobs on priority basis.

Stating that coastal region is usually the centre of industrialisation, he said that the environment of the region should not be spoilt in the name of development.

MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik said the B2B sector generates at least 400 crores. The state government has decided to sanction Rs 145 crores for hospitality, Rs 113 crores for sea food, Rs 41.5 crores for pharmaceuticals, Rs 37 crores for agriculture, Rs 15 crores for Ice plants and Rs 21 crores for Plywood, he said.

He said that the Summit focussed on various sectors in the district like education, fisheries and agriculture.

Dr G V Joshi, Professor of Economics, Justice K S Hegde Institute of Management, NITTE, said that Coastal Karnataka's highest revenue generation is through education and the concept of edupreneurs must take importance in the district. “The quality of education must be improved even though it is already quite good,” he added.

Speaking about the fisheries sector Dr Ramachandra Bhat, Professor and Head, College of Fisheries, said even though it was important to modernise fishing in the district it must not be at the cost of environment pollution. There must be a balance of modernism and ecological awareness so that there is all round synergy, he said.

FKCCI president J R Bangera, President of Small Scale Industries Association Jayaraj Pai, MLA Yogish Bhat, MLC Capt Ganesh Karnik, President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry Latha R Kini, Coastal Development Authority Chairman B Nagaraj Shetty were also present on the occasion.