Mahindra Group plans to invest nearly Rs 40,000 cr in Karnataka: Anand Mahindra
Bengaluru, Feb 11 (PTI): Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra on Tuesday announced that the group plans to invest nearly Rs 40,000 crore in Karnataka over the next few years.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the Invest Karnataka-2025 summit, he said the Mahindra Group has no hesitation in investing in long-term businesses such as renewable energy, aerospace, hospitality, and real estate in Karnataka.
"It gives me great pleasure to state here today that the Mahindra Group is planning close to Rs 40,000 crore of investment in Karnataka in the coming years," Anand Mahindra said.
He noted that Karnataka plays a vital role in the group's renewable energy portfolio. Mahindra Susten intends to invest Rs 35,000 crore to develop over five gigawatts of solar and hybrid projects over the next five years, generating 6,000-8,000 new jobs.
Mahindra Holidays already operates several resorts in Karnataka and is evaluating further expansion into areas like Gokarna and Hampi.
Anand Mahindra said, "We intend to invest an additional Rs 1,000 crore and are in discussions with government officials. I look forward to their support, particularly regarding land aggregation."
He also stated that Mahindra Defence Services and Mahindra Aerospace are exploring strategic expansion opportunities in the state, with investments of several hundred crores planned.
As a key step in the group's mission to electrify India's last-mile industry, Karnataka serves as the hub for Mahindra's ambition to remain the market leader in the electric three-wheeler space, he said. The company has filed 60 patent applications, 54 trademarks, and 16 design registrations from the state.
"Our last-mile mobility business is deeply rooted in Karnataka, with its R&D, product development, and manufacturing units based here," he added.
Mahindra Lifespaces, the group's real estate arm, is currently developing projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore in Bengaluru and plans to invest an additional Rs 6,000 crore in the near future.
Highlighting the Mahindra Group's deep-rooted relationship with Karnataka, Anand Mahindra drew parallels to the lessons he learned at the Kodagu coffee plantation.
"Our involvement with Karnataka is deeply rooted and firmly intertwined. Most of our businesses, including the jewels in our corporate crown—automotive, IT, farm equipment, financial services, and hospitality—have operations here. Our group directly employs over 25,000 people," he said.
He further stated that the Mahindra Group's relationship with Karnataka has flourished over the years, thanks to the nurturing, encouragement, and support provided by the Government of Karnataka. Policies such as the New Industrial Policy and the Global Capability Centres (GCCs) Policy reflect this supportive outlook. "This approach to business gives us confidence in our future here," he added.
Pointing out that Karnataka is deeply intertwined with his childhood memories due to his family's close connection with Kodagu, Anand Mahindra recalled spending a lot of time in the village of Kutta in the late 1960s, when his parents took on the challenge of developing a working coffee plantation from scratch.
"Eventually, although they came from Punjab and later moved to Mumbai, I believe that, at the end of their lives, my parents were happiest in Kutta. So, while I come here today as an investor, first and foremost, I'm just a Kodagu boy coming home," he said.
Noting that he learned the basics of coffee cultivation simply by observing, Anand Mahindra reflected that, in hindsight, those years on the coffee plantation were transformative.
"Watching that coffee grow taught me life lessons that have shaped me both as an adult and as a business leader. I have a lot to thank Karnataka for," he said.
Explaining that he has carried three major lessons from coffee growing into his life, Anand Mahindra stated that successful coffee cultivation requires bushes to be carefully planted and deeply rooted—a principle that also applies to business and personal relationships.
Another key aspect of coffee growing, he said, is that plants need support to grow, as coffee bushes thrive under the shelter of shade-giving trees. Similarly, people and businesses flourish when nurtured and supported by those who can provide guidance and protection.
He further emphasised that growing up on the plantation taught him patience, noting that coffee does not yield returns overnight.
"It teaches you to have faith—faith in the future and belief that hard work will pay off. The returns are worth the long gestation period, whether in life or business," he said.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
