<p>The government has written to the Centre to open a zonal centre for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Bengaluru, by either shifting the one in Kochi or by starting a new centre.</p>.<p>The demand, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar told the Council, was being made, since 36 of the 62 SEZs in the country were in Karnataka.</p>.<p>Responding to a query by Congress member P R Ramesh, Shettar said 495 industrial units were operational in SEZs of Karnataka, through which 3.74 lakh job opportunities were created.</p>.<p>Products worth 1.18 lakh crore and 1.01 lakh crore were exported from the SEZs in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.</p>.<p>Shifting the zonal centre to Bengaluru would ease the administration of such zones and also help in addressing any concerns faced by them.</p>.<p>The government, Shettar said, has also formed a committee to verify whether factories set up in the state were following guidelines on employing locals and to assess whether the industrial units followed directions issued by the government.</p>.<p>Karnataka attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth Rs 78,160 crore between October 2019 and December 2020, Shettar said, noting that Karnataka stood first in terms of investment proposals.<br /><br />According to official figures, Karnataka attracted Rs 1.6 lakh crore of the Rs 4 lakh crore investment proposals received by the country. The Covid-19 pandemic has not affected FDI inflow, Shettar said.</p>.<p>He said that the government would initiate strict action against those firms which violated guidelines on providing employment to locals, as per the new Industrial Policy.</p>.<p>“We have formulated laws to cancel the special incentives offered to industries which violate employment guidelines,” he said.</p>.<p>As per the policy, all group ‘D’ jobs and 70% of the remaining jobs should be reserved for locals, Shettar added. </p>
<p>The government has written to the Centre to open a zonal centre for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Bengaluru, by either shifting the one in Kochi or by starting a new centre.</p>.<p>The demand, Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar told the Council, was being made, since 36 of the 62 SEZs in the country were in Karnataka.</p>.<p>Responding to a query by Congress member P R Ramesh, Shettar said 495 industrial units were operational in SEZs of Karnataka, through which 3.74 lakh job opportunities were created.</p>.<p>Products worth 1.18 lakh crore and 1.01 lakh crore were exported from the SEZs in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.</p>.<p>Shifting the zonal centre to Bengaluru would ease the administration of such zones and also help in addressing any concerns faced by them.</p>.<p>The government, Shettar said, has also formed a committee to verify whether factories set up in the state were following guidelines on employing locals and to assess whether the industrial units followed directions issued by the government.</p>.<p>Karnataka attracted Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth Rs 78,160 crore between October 2019 and December 2020, Shettar said, noting that Karnataka stood first in terms of investment proposals.<br /><br />According to official figures, Karnataka attracted Rs 1.6 lakh crore of the Rs 4 lakh crore investment proposals received by the country. The Covid-19 pandemic has not affected FDI inflow, Shettar said.</p>.<p>He said that the government would initiate strict action against those firms which violated guidelines on providing employment to locals, as per the new Industrial Policy.</p>.<p>“We have formulated laws to cancel the special incentives offered to industries which violate employment guidelines,” he said.</p>.<p>As per the policy, all group ‘D’ jobs and 70% of the remaining jobs should be reserved for locals, Shettar added. </p>