BY MAHADEV DESAI

The red carpet was rolled out by the Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (GIACC) and major sponsors Eko Vehicles Ltd., TiE and Erin Consultants, for the visiting Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri B.S.Yeddyrappa and his delegation at the breakfast reception held at Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, Atlanta, on Tuesday, September 2.

Upon arrival, the Chief Minister greeted the attendees that included the Consul General of India S.M.Gavai, Georgia's Attorney General Thurbert Baker and Commissioner Ken Stewart of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

The event was emceed by Mr. C.N.(Madhu) Madhusudan, the CEO of VectorSpan Inc. He welcomed the Chief Minister and the members of his delegation that included several ministers, Chief Secretary Mr. Sudhakar Rao and other key leaders of Karnataka. He said that the GIACC was honored by their visit and appreciated the presence of dignitaries like Gavai, Baker and Stewart. Pointing out that visits by Heads of States and their delegations from India are extremely critical in building bridges, he said that such visits were important to learn about business opportunities, practices and culture. By touring in the US and participating in many business and cultural events, the visiting team got an excellent insight into US business and culture. Striking a lighter note, he encouraged the audience to reciprocate by learning a word in Kannada, a commonly used graceful greeting in Karnataka - 'Namaskara'. The audience cheerfully joined him in wishing 'Namaskara' to the Chief Minister and his delegation. After giving a brief introduction of Karnataka and its capital Bangalore and contrasting it with Georgia and Atlanta, Madhusudan invited the Chief Minister to address the gathering.

The Chief Minister is a leader who is passionate, committed and zealous about making a difference, wanting to change things and making Karnataka a leading State in India. He said that he was happy to be in Atlanta and thankful for the opportunity to address the gathering. Karnataka is one of the top industrialized states in India. As BJP has a clear majority in Karnataka, he could confidently assure the investors of atleast five years of stable government. “Our one and only agenda is Development, development and development” he said. “We have a vision and a mission of creating a strong state,an investor-friendly and progressive state”, he said.

He touched upon some salient facts:

New Industrial Policy 2006-11 to promote rapid industrialization.
New infrastructure Policy 2011 with strong public/Private partnership.
Faster approval through single window mechanism through Karnataka Udyog Mitra.
Ambition to become the aerospace hub of the country.
Karnataka has over 2033 IT companies, over 688 MNCs and 87 Global Fortune 500 companies. It is home to 50% of the bio-tech companies in India, and provides the largest number of doctors, nurses and paramedics in the country.
The Government of India has approved 45 SEZ in the State.
A Global Investors Meet will be held in January 2009 to encourage and facilitate investment in Karnataka.
“I invite you all to be a partner in Karnataka’s growth and prosperity" he concluded to a thunderous applause.

The Attorney General Baker presented a memento on behalf of GIACC to the Chief Minister to mark his visit to Atlanta.

The gathering was full of appreciation of the short but highly impressive documentary on Karnataka which was screened in the reception room.

Following the presentation, the Chief Secretary Mr. Sudhakar Rao responded to the questions from the floor. He assured the attendees that though agriculture and rural development are top most priorities, the continued development of Bangalore will not be ignored. “In addition, there will be extensive focus on developing Tier 2 and tier 3 cities”, he said.

Welcoming the Chief Minister and his delegation to Atlanta, Commissioner Ken Stewart commented that Georgia has long standing relations with India. He recalled his visit to Karnataka and remarked that there are many similarities between Karnataka and Georgia as the latter also believes in 'faster, friendlier and easier’ customer service. “It is commendable that Karnataka is also treating companies like valued customers", he said.

On behalf of GIACC, the Honorable Consul General Gavai thanked the Chief Minister and his delegation for choosing Atlanta on their first visit to the US. “It is only appropriate that you have come to Atlanta, a dynamic city with many business opportunities. Top US Corporations working in India have their headquarters here", he said. He also thanked Attorney General Baker, GIACC and all the sponsors. He recognized GIACC President Dr. Narsi Narasimhan, former Chairman and emcee C.N. (Madhu)Madhusudan,GIACC’s honorary representative in Bangalore Mr. Sai Prakash, and Founding President Mr. Ani Agnihotri to name a few. He stressed on GIACC’s importance to the Indian Consulate. Mr. Gavai ended his remarks on a personal note disclosing that his next assignment would be in Canada as India's High Commissioner. He appreciated the warmth, affection and cooperation he received from GIACC and the various Indian groups in Atlanta.


The event was well attended and an outstanding testimony to the rising importance of global cities like Atlanta and Bangalore.