Karnataka CM Kumaraswamy launches scheme to take on Chinese goods

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Jul 09, 2018 : Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is all set to take on China. In his maiden budget presented on 5 July, he announced a ‘compete with China’ scheme, under which, to counter the inflow of products imported from China, manufacturing units will be set up across the state.

 

Kumaraswamy announced, “Spare parts would be manufactured at the village level, assembled at taluk level and malls would be opened to market them.”

The Chief Minister’s ambitious plan foresees the state manufacturing solar power goods, LED lights, bathroom fittings, sporting goods, electrical goods and electronic toys in various districts of the state, in two years.

Rs 14,000 crore has been allocated for the project and Kumaraswamy promises to create 8 lakh jobs as part of the schemes. A "Program Mission Unit" under the leadership of successful entrepreneurs in state would set up to create detailed blueprint and to handhold the project.

One of the first projects proposed by Kumaraswamy was setting up ‘Bharath Solar District’ in Kalburgi. Under this project, factories in this north Karnataka district will manufacture solar panels, inverters, capacitors and laminators to produce solar power.

To tap into India’s Rs 46,000 crore LED bulb market, Chitradurga district will become the hub for manufacturing LED bulbs, said Kumaraswamy. He proposed the household-made LED bulbs will compete with the Chinese products that have taken a large share of the market.


The next project on the list is bathroom floor tiles and sanitary goods. “Earlier, the market of bathroom fittings was limited to Indian-made goods. To compete with Chinese products, it is the ambition of our Government to develop Hassan district as bathroom floor tiles and sanitary goods manufacturing district,” said Kumaraswamy.

Claiming 80 percent of global demand for Integrated Circuit chips are met by Taiwan, the Chief Minister proposed setting up dedicated manufacturing unit in Mysuru. He said the state already has manufacturing units for IC and ICB chips, which will be helpful.


With the Chinese mobile flooding Indian markets, an industry of mobile components is proposed in Chikkabalapur in the outskirts of the city.

"Every year, mobile phones valued more than Rs 5 lakh crore are being imported in to India from China. Old mobile phones are being replaced by new mobile phones only within two years. Every old phone will get Rs 4000 if the original components are separated. There is an opportunity to separate component of 3 crore old phones." - HD Kumaraswamy, Karnataka CM  Sports, Textile and Agriculture.

Rs 2,000 crore will be spent to set up production units for sports and fitness equipment in Tumkuru district. As per the proposal, equipment of different kinds, required for over 23 sports, will be manufactured in these units.

Bidar district has been allotted Rs 2,000 for manufacturing agricultural implements required for agriculture and protection of agricultural products. According to the budget, the allocation will be distributed among companies who come forward with the plan to set up agricultural factories in Bidar.

As Ballari district already has an established textile industry, additional funds will be provided to enhance the operations in the district, read that budget.
Training and Plug & Play Industrial Sheds

Plug and play industrial sheds will be constructed across the state to accommodate these projects. To implement these schemes, expert workers trained for six months to two years are needed, for which training schools would be opened in the first phase, Kumaraswamy said.

The budget has provided Rs 500 crore for training this year in seven districts and in the next four years, Rs 2,000 crore will be given in the form of equity share capital to private institutes participating in this industry, he said.

While the ambitious project plans to take on China, a senior bureaucrat closely associated with the project said that the biggest challenge will be to create an industrial ecosystem that can sustain such a project.


courtesy:Yahoo