Bengaluru, 24 Jan

Karnataka government has signed eight MoUs worth Rs 23,000 crore with global companies at the recently concluded World Economic Forum meet at Davos in Switzerland, Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil said on Wednesday.

A Karnataka delegation, which he led, engaged in over 50 meetings with global industry leaders in Davos. "Karnataka successfully signed eight MoUs worth Rs 23,000 crore with global companies. Noteworthy agreements include Web Werks' Rs 20,000 crore investment for a hyper-scale data centre and Microsoft's commitment to digital skilling interventions," Patil said here.

The Minister said Hitachi signed an MoU to "stimulate" economic growth in Karnataka, particularly focusing on rural areas. The partnership with emphasis on developing sectors such as healthcare, education, and Panchayat E-Governance aims to create more opportunities and employment for the people of the state, Patil said.  Further, MoUs have been signed by five companies across sectors of digital healthcare, smart city infrastructure, renewable energy and data centres worth Rs 3000 crore, he said.

Additionally, several companies pledged to set up facilities in north Karnataka, contributing to equitable development beyond Bengaluru such as Lulu Group's expansion in Vijayapura and Kalaburagi and BL Agro's food processing unit in Vijayapura, the Minister said. "Artificial Intelligence emerged as a prominent theme, with discussions held with companies like HCL, HP, Cisco, and Sony," the Minister noted.

Sustainability and Citizen Services were also key areas of focus, with engagements with companies such as Planet, Volvo and Nestle, Patil said. He added that the delegation explored collaboration in sectors like global capability centres, with discussions involving companies like HP, Rockwell, Sony, and Volvo looking to expand their capabilities in Bengaluru. "Our subsequent focus will be on realising these agreements, converting discussions into concrete investments, and addressing feedback for the smooth implementation of these projects," Patil said.