Karnataka held bilateral engagements with 46 companies at WEF, no MoU signed: Minister Patil
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Saturday said that he had bilateral engagements with 46 global and Indian companies, investors and country leaders at WEF in Davos.
He said there were discussions on investment intents, but no MoU was signed.
"We held 46 bilateral engagements with global and Indian companies, investors, academic institutions and country leaderships at World Economic Forum, Davos," Patil said at a press conference here.
These included engagements with 26 international companies and over 15 Indian companies across aerospace and defence, advanced manufacturing, food processing, space tech, life sciences, data centres, digital infrastructure and clean energy, he said.
Patil said the discussions have translated into a robust investment pipeline.
"From Davos, Karnataka has advanced a strong, credible pipeline of investments, expansions and partnerships across aviation and logistics, beverages and food processing, clean energy manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, space tech, data centres and GCC and R&D," he said.
According to the minister, the visit also featured government-to-government engagements.
"We had focused G2G discussions with Liechtenstein and Singapore to strengthen institutional collaboration and jointly attract investments into Karnataka," he said.
Patil said the delegation also interacted with global thought leaders.
"We engaged with people like Gita Gopinath of the IMF and entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath to exchange perspectives on global macroeconomic trends, entrepreneurship and India’s evolving role in the global economy," he said.
Referring to meetings with WEF leadership, Patil said, "We met John Dutton, Head of UpLink, and Sean Doherty, Head of International Trade and Investment at WEF, to deepen Karnataka’s strategic engagement with WEF platforms, explore collaboration across innovation, trade and sustainability, and strengthen Karnataka’s positioning within global initiatives."
According to the minister, discussions at Davos focused on practical enablers for investment.
"There was clear interest in support mechanisms for marquee investments in Tier-2 and Tier-3 locations, expansion of GCCs including in Tier-2 cities, grid stability and power reliability for data centres, and water security and smart water management," he said.
Patil said Karnataka showcased its execution readiness.
"Across all interactions, we positioned Karnataka as India’s leading platform for AI talent, GCCs and clean manufacturing, backed by policy facilitation and strong ecosystem partnerships," he said.
The minister added that the state was also projected as a preferred destination for next-generation industries such as AI, data centres, semiconductors, space tech and Industry 4.0.
He said global companies engaged during the visit included Coca-Cola, Lenovo, Welspun Group, Amazon Web Services, Nokia, PayPal, Schneider Electric, Cloudflare, Imperial College London, Mistral AI, Octopus Energy, Axon Cables, Xylem, Voyager Technologies and Vast Space, with several discussions moving into advanced-stage follow-ups and grounding discussions in Karnataka.
When asked about the MoUs signed during the WEF, he said, "We consciously decided not to sign MoU at Davos because we wanted the investors to come to Karnataka and see for themselves the resources, talent pool and policies for investors," Patil said.
Another reason for not signing MoUs there was that it was not proper to sign deals with Indian companies abroad as it looks odd, he added.
The minister said Karnataka has emerged from the WEF meeting at Davos with a strong and credible pipeline of global investments, partnerships and expansion proposals across priority sectors, underlining the government’s focus on swift execution rather than mere announcements.
Highlighting progress beyond the Global Investors Meet (GIM), Patil said Karnataka has secured around Rs 1.1 lakh crore of fresh investments in the last 11 months.
"This includes about Rs 66,293 crore from manufacturing and industrial sectors, Rs 20,913 crore from renewables, Rs 12,500 crore from Global Capacity Centres and Rs 6,350 crore from data centres," he said.
He said the state also has a strong near-term pipeline of over Rs 1.5 lakh crore.
"This is led by ESDM and semiconductors, auto and EV manufacturing, and aerospace and defence manufacturing," Patil said.
On conversion of investment intent into action, the minister said, "At the Global Investors Meet 2025, we closed with Rs 10.27 lakh crore in commitments and an estimated over six lakh jobs. Our focus now is speed of execution, not just announcements."
"In under a year, nearly 50 per cent of committed investments have already moved into on-ground investment filings with Karnataka Udyog Mitra, with manufacturing leading at around 60 per cent conversion," he added.
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Elderly Dalit woman cremated on road after family denied access to village cremation ground in Bihar
Vaishali: An elderly Dalit woman was cremated on a public road in Bihar’s Vaishali district after her family was allegedly prevented from using the village cremation ground, triggering outrage and tension in the area, The Observer Post reported.
The incident occurred on Thursday at Sontho Andhari village under the Goraul police station limits. The deceased, identified as Jhapki Devi (95), belonged to a Mahadalit family. According to locals and police, when her family tried to take her body to the cremation ground, some people blocked the route, leaving the family with no option but to perform the last rites on the road.
Family members and residents said the obstruction has been a long-standing issue. “Every time we take a body for cremation, the way is blocked. This has happened earlier too, but no permanent solution was given,” said a local resident from Manjhi Tola, expressing anger over repeated denial of access.
As tensions rose, the funeral procession stopped at Andhari Gachi Chowk, where the body was placed on a pyre in front of a Shiva temple and cremated on the road. Villagers alleged that the pathway connecting the main road to the cremation ground had been encroached upon by local landowners.
Police and administrative officials later reached the spot. A fire brigade vehicle was deployed to extinguish the pyre, and the road was cleaned after the cremation. Public representatives who arrived at the scene were reportedly chased away by protesting villagers, who accused the administration of ignoring their complaints for years.
Vaishali Superintendent of Police Vikram Sihag said the issue arose due to the absence of a clear path. “Earlier, there was a route to the cremation ground, but some people built a temple on that path. Due to the lack of access, the family carried out the cremation on the road,” he said. He added that discussions were held with local officials and that arrangements would be made to restore access to the cremation ground. “The situation is currently under control,” the SP said.
Block Development Officer Pankaj Kumar Nigam and Circle Officer Divya Chanchal said the area had been cleared and an inquiry was under way. “All aspects will be examined, and steps will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen again,” they said.
