Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy announced ‘compete with China’ scheme in his maiden budget on 5 July. Under this scheme, manufacturing units will be set up across the state to counter the inflow of Chinese products imported from China.
This plan mainly constitutes the state manufacturing solar power goods, sporting goods, LED lights, electrical goods etc in different parts of the state in two years. “Spare parts will be manufactured at the village level, assembled at the taluk level, and malls will be opened to market them,” said Kumaraswamy.
Budget of Rs 14,000 crore has been assigned for the project and it is expected to create 8 lakh jobs opportunities as promised by the Chief Minister. A “Program Mission Unit” would be set up in the state to create detailed blueprints and to handhold the project.
Kumaraswamy has proposed various projects like, ‘Bharat Solar District’ in kalaburgi, under which factories in north Karnataka district will manufacture solar panels, inverters, capacitor and laminators to produce solar power. According to Kumaraswamy, Chitradurga district will be the hub for manufacturing LED bulbs to strike into India’s Rs 46,000 crore bulb market. Next project will be set up in Chikkaballapur for manufacturing mobile components to eliminate the heavy demand of Chinese mobiles in India.
Kumaraswamy said,“Every year, mobile phones valued at more than Rs 5 lakh crore are being imported into India from China. Old mobile phones are being replaced by new mobile phones within only two years. Every old phone will get Rs 4,000 if the original components are separated. There is an opportunity to separate component of 3 crore old phones”.
This huge project is set to take on China but the biggest challenge associated with it will be to create an industrial ecosystem which can create a network of suppliers of raw materials and distributors, said a senior bureaucrat associated with the project.
