Tryst of tycoons today in Bangalore

Undisputed global steel emperor Lakshmi Mittal, IT czar Azim Premji, Bangalore’s very own liquor baron Vijay Mallya, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumaramangalam Birla,  Sajjan Jindal...the list could go on. The biggest conclave of Indian industry has descended in Bangalore, along with global corporate honchos. And the state government looks to them to put Karnataka on the fast lane to economic prosperity.

Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Arun Jaitley, will light the lamp today and formally inaugurate the Global Investors Meet at Palace Grounds at 10.30 am. He will throw the field open to corporate giants, so they can make good use of the flood of opportunities that come their way in the biggest initiative to industrialise the state.

In all, over 400 memoranda of understanding are expected to be signed at the two-day event, with total investment commitments exceeding Rs4 lakh crore. More than 3,000 delegates are expected to participate.

Exclusive sessions for aerospace, mining, tourism and biotechnology will be held on Thursday; on the concluding day, Friday, sessions on infrastructure, power, food processing, textiles, health and education will also be held.

Over 60% of the investment proposals are directed at the backward northern Karnataka region. The GIM is expected to give a big boost to Bangalore’s infrastructure too. A slew of infrastructure projects have been lined up for implementation through private participation. Most of these will find the private partners in the GIM. The high-speed rail link to the Bengaluru International Airport, the mono-rail as feeder service to the Metro, and the Peripheral Ring Road are some of the major projects that could get a big push at the GIM by attracting private investment.

The Bangalore Sub-City project that has been drawn up near Devanahalli, spread over 3,000 acres. Of this, over 200 acres have been reserved for a residential township for those who work there. Ultimately ‘Walk to Work’ is the most ideal solution to the city’s commuting woes. The aerospace, IT and financial hubs planned near Devanahalli are expected to generate over 30 lakh jobs.