Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has come out with several incentives for the growth of the industry in Karnataka, which includes setting up a factory for refurbishment of pre-owned mobile phones in Chikkabalapur.
In his Budget proposal, Kumaraswamy said that China’s tremendous advances in manufacturing in areas such as solar power, electrical lighting, toys, bathroom fittings have flooded the market. “Industries are at the verge of closing down and to counter that I’m thinking of implementing a scheme, along with successful entrepreneurs.”
The government plans to implement the “compete with China’’ initiative and a programme mission unit will be created for this purpose. In line with this, spare parts will be manufactured at the village level, assembled at taluk level and malls will be opened to market these goods.
For this purpose, plug and play industrial sheds will be constructed and for skill development, training programmes will be organised, The government has factored in skills available in some of these areas. For example, Kalaburagi district will focus on Solar power wherein solar panels, inverters, capacitors and luminators will be produced there.
LED lights, which majorly is imported from China, is another focus area. Manufacturing household LED lights will be developed in Chitradurga district to reduce reliance on Chinese imports. Similarly, Hassan district will be developed to manufacture bathroom floor tiles and sanitary goods. For battery operated toys, Koppal district has been identified for setting up a manufacturing plant. Additionally, the government plans to set up an industry of mobile phone components.