Karnataka eyes $3 bn for chip, related biz

livemint.com:

NEW DELHI : Karnataka information technology minister Priyank Kharge said the state aims to corner investments worth $2.8-3 billion in the semiconductor-related electronics manufacturing sector, converting at least 50% of them by March 2024. He said the state is willing to tweak incentive and labour policies to attract major players along with their supply chains.

“We have close to around $2.8 to $3 billion, so we are hopeful that we will convert at least 50% of it within this quarter within this financial year," the minister said on the sidelines of the promotion of the Bengaluru Tech Summit. Kharge said he and state officials had recently met large companies in the US, and assured them of business-friendly policy interventions.

“We’re talking to them, to their supply chain, figuring out what policy interventions are required, what labour policy interventions are required, and what kind of skill sets they are looking at so that their gestation period of setting up shop and getting into productivity is reduced," he added. Kharge said Karnataka is also in talks with entities from the UK and US to set up quantum computing centres of excellence.

Having lost out on investment opportunities in the EV space to Tamil Nadu, the state government will create attractive policies including incentives for battery manufacturing for EVs. “The only loss of investment we’ve had is Ola, which went to Tamil Nadu because of the previous government’s lethargy, but we have we’re pulling the ecosystem back," he said.