Karnataka’s Industries Minister R.V. Deshpande is a man with a progressive vision and passion for attracting investments to the state. Deshpande initiated the New Industrial Policy 2014-19 after taking charge as the Industries Minister in the present Siddaramaiah-led Karnataka government. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Guardian, Deshpande discussed a host of issues. Excerpts:
Q. Karnataka has consolidated its lead over other states under your leadership and relentless initiatives. This year again, the state has attracted the highest amount of investments. What has made this possible?
A. We have emerged as innovation leaders. Karnataka is the only state in India to have innovated in many ways and at many levels. From the enterprise IT services business in the mid-nineties to the start-up revolution beginning 2010, it is now heralding the era of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Deep Learning in fields such as healthcare, manufacturing, and enterprise IT. It’s a matter of pride for all of us in Karnataka and Bengaluru that the IT industry has evolved as an engine of growth for the last 25 years.
Q. Investments in Karnataka are now moving beyond IT and into manufacturing, R&D facilities and emerging sectors like aviation etc. What attracts such diverse sectors?
A. Karnataka has a long history of industrialisation. While in the 1950s and 1960s, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru brought the public sector and PSUs like HMT, BEL, HAL to Karnataka, the resources of the research facilities of the Ministry of Defence gave the state a huge talent pool. The IT sector in the 1980s and 1990s used the same to develop Information Technology and we see that today, the IT industry has over 15 Lakh employed here. Moving on, advancement in IT brought with it different skill sets which has seen over 20,000 automotive software engineers and designers, more than 10,000 aeronautical engineers and designers now based in the state. It’s a continuous evolution of the supremacy of Karnataka.
Q. The “Invest Karnataka-Vendor Development and Investors Summit” is evoking great response. What was the motive for this?
A. Training and skill development are a vital element. Big industry cannot survive without ancilliary/small units and the reverse is also true in the changing technological scenario. So far, investing in physical capital has been an important part of Karnataka’s growth success. Now, a new wave of growth can come from investing in what economists call “human capital”—that is people.
We aspire to skill 1.88 crore youth during the period 2017-2030, with an annual skill target of 13.4 lakh existing workforce and new entrants. Only if the big players partner with their vendors and small sectors, can this become a reality. We want to facilitate such an atmosphere.
Q. Bengaluru has recently earned the tag of the Most Dynamic City. What keeps the city moving?
A. Bengaluru’s strength are its enterpreneurs , hard working people and a pro-active Siddaramaiah government that they have seen in the last four years. It is a rich city, rich in wealth and intellect. Bengaluru GDP is around $120b, with a per capita income between $10,000-12,000 per year. Bengaluru paid around Rs 92,000 crore as corporate and income tax last year, next only to Mumbai and marginally below Delhi. With the third highest quantum of bank deposits around Rs 600,000 crore, the fourth highest level of bank lending for a city, the third biggest airport and more, Bengaluru and Bengalurians certainly feel proud. Bengaluru has the fourth largest technology cluster in the world after Silicon Valley, Boston, and London.
Recently, Bengaluru was ranked as the best city, beating San Francisco and Tokyo among 45 other cities to become the best city of the world for digital hosting of businesses.
Q. However, the city has in recent years faced severe criticism for not being able to cope with growth and the crumbling infrastructure of the city is a concern. Do you think Bengaluru has reached a saturation point?
A. Currently, Bengaluru is facing traffic challenges due to its 70 lakh vehicles for a population of one crore. However, our Chief Minister has already announced 250 km of Metro by 2022 which should carry over 30 lakh passengers, which may ease the traffic situation of Bengaluru. Apart from that, Bengaluru is seeing development of several road development projects which will make commuting a pleasure.
Q. In the past, several states have tried to compete with Karnataka; even much acclaimed Gujarat has come a distant second to Karnataka. What makes Karnataka so different?
A. Karnataka has always been known for its technical prowess. Its foundations were laid in the erstwhile Mysore state by one of the greatest Indian engineers of all time, Sir M. Visvesvaraya. With its progressive and enterprising ethos, Karnataka is the natural destination for 3 Is (Ideas, Innovation and Impact).
Recently, Karnataka introduced the i4 Policy (IT; ITES; Innovation;Incentives) to stimulate growth of over 20,000 technology-based start-ups, including 6,000 product start-ups by 2020 in Karnataka.
The promise of making Karnataka the global hub for start-ups and a hotbed for innovation is a work in progress.
Q. What are the future sectors from where Karnataka can expect investments to come?
A. We are setting up a model 2,000 acre IT and Hardware Park, Aviation Park, next to the International Airport to provide modern facilities to the IT industry. Alongside, we have set up IT Parks in Tier-2 cities as well to disperse IT & ITES in these cities and generate employment.
We have already set up centres of excellence for aerospace, cyber-security, animation, and gaming.
In a first-of-its kind initiative, Karnataka is all set to launch an exclusive Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Bengaluru.
Q. Your passion for development of industry is exemplary. What is it that you would want to do more for the state even after having served it for over five decades in various capacities?
A. My ambition is to nurture Karnataka’s knowledge-innovation driven economy and become a state of job creators instead of being a state of job seekers. We have to continuously learn and build together in Karnataka and enable the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit in each one of us shine.
Recently, I have gone through an article on “We Need to Convert Science Research Centers into Startups”. It is said that in India, we spend 0.8% of the GDP in research. As against this, US spends 2%, Korea spends 4% and China spends 3%.
We need to spend more significantly. We also have to increase private funding for research works. We need to set up incubators within research institutions and universities. We have to increase funds for research by involving industrial houses. Bengaluru is the Hi-Tech and Science Capital of India, we need to build on it.
I always tell people: Invent in Karnataka; Innovate in Karnataka; Invest in Karnataka because the future India will emerge from Karnataka.