Karnataka clears proposals worth Rs 75,000 cr, including Foxconn’s project

The Karnataka government on March 20 said Taiwanese based Foxconn (Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Private Limited) will invest Rs 8,000 crore for a mobile manufacturing unit offering employment opportunities for 50,000 people in the state.

A delegation led by Foxconn CEO and chairman Young Liu visited the state and held a meeting with CM Basavaraj Bommai a fortnight ago in Bengaluru.

It may be recalled that in a letter to Bommai dated March 6, Foxconn expressed its keenness to set up an electronics manufacturing unit as part of its ‘Project Elephant’ in Bengaluru. A team of senior executives from Foxconn led by Liu and 16 senior leaders of the company were in the city on March 3.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union minister of state for entrepreneurship, electronics & technology, had tweeted that Apple phones will be built in a new 300-acre factory in Karnataka.

Foxconn was unavailable for comment till the time of filing this story.

On March 3, up to 300 acres of land were identified for the manufacturing facility for Foxconn at Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) industrial area at Doddaballapur in Devanahalli Taluk near the Bengaluru International Airport. The electronics manufacturing unit was projected to generate more than 1 lakh employment opportunities in the next 10 years within the state. A day later, on March 4, the company stated that it had not entered into any binding, definitive agreements for new investments during the trip. This is despite a Letter of Intent being signed between the company and the Karnataka government on March 3. It led to a major embarrassment for Bommai ahead of the assembly polls.

Ahead of polls, Karnataka attracts investments worth Rs 75,393 crore
The 61st meeting of the State High-Level Clearance Committee approved 18 projects with a total investment of Rs 75,393.57 crore including Foxconn.

“The meeting was held at CM’s office-cum-residence ‘Krishna’ on Monday under the chairmanship of CM Bommai. Among the 18 projects that were approved, 10 are new and five are expansion projects, and three are additional projects,” a statement from the industries department said.

In addition to Foxconn, Ather Energy private limited has proposed a electric two-wheelers manufacturing unit in Bengaluru rural district (investment: Rs 504 crore, employment: 1,300), Tata Advanced Systems Limited to set up units in Vemgal, Yelahanka, Electronics City Phase-1 and another private location at KIA in Bengaluru (investment: Rs 1,030 crore, employment: 450).

Among the firms, Gurugram-based Amplus Active Private Limited, proposed a major investment of Rs 34,020 crore in hydrogen power and renewable resources in Mangaluru SEZ and other districts across the state and is expected to generate 1,000 jobs. Schneider Electric IT Business India Pvt Limited proposed an investment of Rs 841.1 crore and will generate 3,550 jobs in Anekal. Other investments include: Ayana Renewable Power Private Limited (investment: Rs 2,200 crore, employment: 515), Epsilon C2GR Private Limited in Bellari (investment: Rs 83,50 crore, employment: 6,450), UltraTech Cement Limited in Kalaburagi (investment: Rs 2,670 crore, employment: 650), Ramco Cements Limited in Kalaburagi district (investment: Rs 2,000 crore, employment: 360) and Nirani Sugars Limited in Bagalkote (investment: Rs 86.9 crore, employment: 100).

“Investment projects are expected to further push industrial growth and generate direct and indirect employment opportunities in Karnataka,” it said.

Speaking at the meeting, Bommai said, “We are happy that the state has received such a huge investment. In this regard, the proposals for green hydrogen, ethanol production, wind energy power plant, electrical and electronic items assembling, lithium batteries and electric vehicles, and cement and steel companies in the state have been approved in the meeting. Karnataka’s contribution to the manufacturing sector will be remarkable in the country.”

Expressing his happiness, industries minister Murugesh R Nirani said, “Karnataka is at the forefront of renewable energy, ethanol production, and manufacturing sector. Karnataka is the third largest sugarcane-growing state in the country and also is the highest producer of ethanol. We are glad that the green energy sector investment proposals have been approved in this meeting,” he added. PTI