CII Karnataka Annual Meeting 2022-23:: Beyond Bengaluru – Karnataka Government Is Committed To Decongesting Bengaluru.

* Plan to avail 50000 acres of land for industrial development within 6 months: Dr. Murugesh Nirani

* New office Bearers for CII Karnataka: 

* Mr Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan elected as the Chairman and Mr Venu Nuguri elected as Vice Chairman

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Karnataka organised the Annual Meeting 2022-23 in the city today. The meeting was marked by an engaging discussion on“Karnataka@100: Sustainable Futures - Digital Transformation and Upskilling. Dr. Murugesh Rudrappa Nirani, Hon’ble Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka delivered the inaugural address. 

CII Karnataka released the vision document Towards Karnataka@100 in collaboration with IIM Bangalore at the Inaugural Session. The vision document prepared in consultation with the stakeholders from across the state, capturing their inputs and aspirations for Karnataka@100 brought out a collective vision of an inclusive sustainable future powered by innovation.

CII Karnataka also announced the election of new office bearers for CII Karnataka State Council for the year 2023-24.Mr. Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan Managing Director of Kennametal India Limited (KIL) elected as the new Chairman while Mr. Venu Nuguri, Managing Director & CEO of Hitachi Energy will serve as the Vice Chairman.

Dr. Murugesh Rudrappa Nirani, Hon’ble Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, Government of Karnataka stated that Karnataka is number one in ease of doing business and in receiving FDI in the country at 38%. In Aerospace and Defence also, Karnataka is number one in the country with more than 63% share. All major multinational companies in the aerospace sector have set up their R&D centre in Karnataka.

Dr. Nirani shared that Karnataka Government is committed to decongesting Bengaluru and developing infrastructure in Karnataka as a top priority. The Government is looking to build around 17 or 18 airports in Karnataka each within a radius of 100 kilometres from the other. Road connectivity is also being improving with the objective to enhance the industrial connectivity across Karnataka with other states. According to him, Beyond Bengaluru will become a reality soon.

Speaking about the Global Investors Meet 2022, Dr. Nirani stated that Rs. 9.81 lakh crores worth of MOU were signed which would generate 7 to 8 lakh jobs in the State. He said that government is in sync with CII’s Beyond Bangalore concept, and highlighted that only less than 10% of these investments (during GIM) were for Bangalore, with 90% directed outside Bangalore, in Tier 2 and tier 3 cities. He further said that 50% to 60% of the MOUs signed during the Global Investors Meet will be operational within 5 years. Making land available for industrial development is of high priority for the government and the process of availing land parcels of 50000 acres in the State including 20000 acres in Bengaluru and over 30000 acres of land outside the city will be available within 6 months.

Ms. Suchitra Ella, Chairperson, CII Southern Region & Managing Director Bharat Biotech International Ltd said that the industry is currently in the early stages of a sustainability Revolution. To prepare for the sustainability revolution, companies need to rethink their approach on new skills and new jobs and academic institutions to bridge that gaps in R&D.

Mr. Kamal Bali, Deputy Chairman, CII Southern Region & President & Managing Director, Volvo Group India Pvt Ltd emphasised the need for India to focus on its transition to sustainable manufacturing not just by the large players but also within the MSME sector. Promoting sustainable manufacturing as a thrust area will be the need of the hour to be visible as a leader in the Global Value Chain. 

Mr. Arjun Ranga, Chairman, CII Karnataka State Council & Director, NR Group & Managing Director, Cycle Pure Agarbathis said that CII Karnataka has been working towards inclusive and sustainable growth by focusing on the development of Tier-2 cities and will continue to work on enhancing the ease of doing business, especially for MSMEs and strengthen the ecosystem for entrepreneurship and youth engagement.

A CEOs Perspective on Sustainable Future, Globalization to Localization moderated by Mr. Ramesh Ramadurai, Managing Director, 3M India Ltd saw a lively discussion on the key trends and actions that are being taken in India to drive sustainability in different sectors by a panel which included Mr. Sandeep Maini, Chairman, Maini Group; Dr Venkata Ramana Akkaraju, Chairperson, New Mangalore Port Authority; Mr. Venu Nuguri, Managing Director & CEO, India & South Asia, Hitachi Energy India Ltd, Mr. Arvind Mediratta, Managing Director & CEO, Metro Cash & Carry India and Mr. Dilip Jose, Managing Director & CEO, Manipal Hospitals.

The CII Karnataka Annual Meet 2023 brought together thought leaders from industry, government, and academia to facilitate dialogue and learnings for co-creating and working towards a sustainable and inclusive future for Karnataka.

Profile of CII Karnataka new office bearers

Mr. Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan, Chairman of CII Karnataka State Council 2023-24.

Vijaykrishnan Venkatesan is the Managing Director of Kennametal India Limited (KIL) since September 2020. He spearheads the infrastructure business of Kennametal Inc. for the APAC region in addition to his role as the MD of Kennametal India. Prior to joining Kennametal, Vijaykrishnan accumulated over 23 years of work experience with Saint Gobain and 3M. He has held leadership roles in India as well as the APAC region. He served as Vice President - Abrasives systems Division, and as Executive Director – Strategic Planning, 3M India.  In his current role, he is leading efforts to drive growth for Kennametal in India and create value for its stakeholders with focus on enhancing ESG standards for the company, Manufacturing & operational excellence. He champions DEI & ESG initiatives within his frame of work. Vijaykrishnan is a Graduate of Madras University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA with specialization in Marketing.

Mr. Venu Nuguri Vice Chairman of CII Karnataka State Council 2023-24

Venu Nuguri is Managing Director & CEO of Hitachi Energy in India and South Asia. He has been the Managing Director of India since December 2019 and head of the South Asia region since Jan 2016. Venu has over 25 years of experience across Business Units in the company. He has held several leadership positions in sales, marketing, account management, business development, customer relations, and operations. Venu has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal, and he has also attended management courses at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and the International Institute of Management Development, Switzerland.