‘All we look for – bare necessities’

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Bengaluru: As perception grows that the Congress government is focused wholly on the rest of Karnataka to the neglect of Bengaluru and the urban middle class, worried industry captains in the city are keen to catch Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's attention and impress upon him the importance of the capital and its IT and manufacturing industries.
On Friday, no less than Infosys chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy used the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) platform to drive home the message. "I had prepared my speech assuming that the Chief Minister would be here", he began,  "but he is not here, I am sure, due to pressing reasons. But I am going to say what I came to say anyway."
The next 12 minutes were a pointed reminder - of what the city means for the state and for the country, and what the IT industry, in turn, means for the city, and of discredited ideologies. "Over the last 40 years, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to remove poverty is by creating jobs. No slogan can ever do that".
"The IT industry earned Rs. 55,000 crore in foreign exchange for the country from Bengaluru alone. It is the highest foreign exchange earning industry. In these days of current account deficit, the government must realise the importance of the IT industry".
And then, a telling blow to those who dismiss Bengaluru's IT giants as "land grabbers": "A manufacturing industry takes up anywhere from 100 to 1,000 acres of land, employing about 10,000 people at an average salary of Rs. 25,000 per month. In 100 acres of land, an IT company employs 50,000 people, at an average salary of Rs. 50,000 per month". 
"The software industry is also pollution-free, needs the least amount of water. At Infosys, we have reduced power consumption by 40 per cent, water consumption by 30 per cent. Using rain-water harvesting, most of our campuses are water-neutral".
"Infosys alone has created about 40,000 jobs in Karnataka, about 25,000 in Bengaluru, 10,000 in Mysore and 5,000 in Mangalore". "Infosys paid Rs. 3,377 crore in taxes last year, the highest for any company in Bengaluru". And then came the punchline: "All we want is the opportunity to create more high-income jobs. And all we ask of the government is reasonably good roads, electricity, water, clean air, and some English-medium schools. Nothing extraordinary".
"We would like good connectivity to the airport. Ideally, we would like a small airport near Electronic City".
‘We are a baby govt, give us time’
Education and Tourism minister R.V. Deshpande, who was the chief guest at the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s ‘open session’ on Friday evening heard industry captains complain about infrastructure, neglect of Bengaluru and other woes. And then, pushed back, defending the Siddaramaiah government.
The catch-all: “We are a baby, a government of one-and-a-half months. Give us some time”. While recognising that the BCIC had invited him because of his record as industries minister in previous governments, Deshpande, who was in a jovial mood, nonetheless showed that his energies were now focused on his new ministries.
While the chamber’s members pleaded for better roads and power, Deshpande evangelized  Education and Tourism, assuring investors of “good returns, no headaches or problems”. After all, he was the minister.
“You have told me of problems in Bengaluru. But if we solve them, you will all stay here. Industries should go to backward areas. I am not saying you should forget Bengaluru, but you must go to other places, like Gulbarga”.
The minister called on the industry to invest in building human resources and skills development, saying it would be an investment for them. As for tourism, a tongue-in-cheek tip for investors: “People spend without thinking when they are touring. It’s only when they go back home that they start worrying if they spent too much”. On a more serious note, Deshpande said he was working on a new tourism policy for the state.