K'taka leads the way in many sectors with attractive policies to promote industries: FM Sitharaman
Bengaluru, Nov 2: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday batted for investments in Karnataka saying that the state is a leader in many sectors and has attractive policies to promote industries.
The Union Minister, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, said investors are willing to come to the state because of the record of Karnataka and Bengaluru in facilitating industries.
"Karnataka is a leader in many sectors. First in renewable energy, because 63 per cent of all our installed capacity lies in renewable energy. First in electrical maintenance, innovation, home to about seven plus auto Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) -- more than seven of them are here and 50-plus auto component manufacturers are here," Sitharaman said addressing the gathering at the launch of the three-day Global Investors' Meet titled 'Invest Karnataka'.
The industry consultative process which happens in Karnataka is one which is extensive, the Finance Minister said.
Quoting Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Sitharaman said that initially when the GIM was planned, the state government's expectations and target of investment was somewhere in the range of Rs 5 lakh crore.
However, it went upwards to about Rs 7.5 lakh crore, of which Rs 2.8 crore related proposals have already been cleared, she said.
"That is the pro-active nature of this government being led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and it is at that speed, which gives confidence to the investors," Sitharaman pointed out.
She highlighted that the MoUs are coming up in the sunrise areas, including green hydrogen. Sitharaman said the state government is making sure that the corridors are coming up for industries and the ports are connected.
According to her, the state's new Information Technology Policy 2020-25 is a big step forward as it also looks at electronic system-defined manufacturing and telecom services in six clusters.
Further, the industrial clusters are not just going to be located in Bengaluru but outside the city in places like Mangaluru, Tumakuru, Mysuru, Hubballi, Shivamogga and Kalaburagi.
"The 'one district, one product' is something which the state is moving at a rapid pace. Land reforms are happening. Similarly, the renewable energy policy of the state is something which I think is very rewarding and as a result, you have a lot of investments happening in the renewable energy area as well," Sitharaman said.
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Jitan Ram Manjhi's video triggers fresh 'vote chori' row in Bihar
Patna (PTI): A row has erupted in Bihar over a video in which Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has purportedly spoken of having "helped" a candidate who was trailing by a narrow margin in an assembly poll.
The video, which seems to have been shot in Manjhi's Lok Sabha constituency of Gaya, has been shared by the opposition RJD-Congress combine, which was drubbed in the recently held elections, as "proof of vote chori" by the BJP-led NDA.
Manjhi, however, said the video was tampered with and shared on social media.
The former Bihar chief minister, who heads the Hindustani Awam Morcha, can be heard speaking of an incident involving Tikari assembly segment, which his party's candidate Anil Kumar had won in 2020 but lost to RJD in the assembly polls held last month.
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Speaking in the local dialect Magahi, the octogenarian can be heard saying, "the candidate was trailing by 2,700 votes in the 2020 assembly polls. He called me up, and I telephoned the official concerned. Finally, he was declared the winner".
PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
"This time, the candidate lost by 1,600 votes. But instead of contacting me, he chose to concede defeat. The then DM of Gaya, who is now posted in Tripura, telephoned me to enquire what went wrong this time. I could have done nothing when the candidate chose to return home without contacting me", Manjhi can be heard as saying in the video.
The RJD, which may have wrested Tikari but has suffered a crash in its tally to only 25 from 75 five years ago, shared the video on its official X handle, claiming it as "the truth of the artificial popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
The opposition party alleged that Modi, aided by the Election Commission, had made in the recent elections, "an unsuccessful attempt at political assassination of our young and revolutionary leader Tejashwi Yadav".
Bihar Congress spokesman Asit Nath Tiwari echoed the sentiments and alleged, "Union home minister was all fire and brimstone inside Parliament recently while reacting to allegations of vote theft. Now, the confession of his cabinet colleague suggest that what is taking place is not vote chori but vote dacoity".
However, Manjhi came out with an angry post on his X handle claiming "a video of mine has been tampered with and shared on social media by those who think they can defame a son of a Musahar (a Mahadalit community)"
"I want to tell all such people that Manjhi has now become a brand. He is not going to be scared of anyone", added the Union minister.
When Bihar minister and former state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal was asked about the controversy, he said, "I have seen the unedited video. Manjhi was speaking about counting of votes having been stalled for several hours in 2020, after his candidate was trailing in the penultimate round by a small margin. After counting of votes was over, the candidate was declared".
