Karnataka Global Investors' Meet to attract Rs 8-Rs 10 lakh crore in investments, says MB Patil

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Industries Minister MB Patil

Karnataka opted out of this year's World Economic Forum gathering in Davos to focus on the Global Investors Meet (GIM) slated for February, the southern state's large and medium industries minister MB Patil has said.

The opposition BJP had questioned the government, as Karnataka was the only state from the south to skip the 55th WEF annual meeting held in the Swiss resort town from January 20–24 .

“Attending Davos, signing agreements, and then inviting the same companies here to sign similar agreements creates unnecessary confusion. To avoid this, we have chosen to stay away from the Davos Summit this time,” Patil told mediapersons on January 24.

Also read: Davos 2025: Karnataka BJP slams Congress-led government for skipping World Economic Forum

Patil said the state’s focus is on the Invest Karnataka 2025, which will be held in Bengaluru from February 11 to 14. Patil expressed confidence that the event could attract investments worth Rs 8- Rs10 lakh crore.

“At least three-fourths of the agreements signed should materialise as actual investments. Otherwise, such efforts are in vain. We are approaching this with a realistic perspective and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah shares the same view,” he said.

Also, read: Davos 2025: Was busy with Budget, says Siddaramaiah after BJP questions Karnataka's absence at WEF summit

Referring to the BJP government’s Invest Karnataka 2022 meet, Patil criticised the previous administration for making unfulfilled promises. He said that though Rs 5 lakh crore worth of investments were announced — Rs 2.40 lakh crore of which were in the green energy sector — there were no tangible outcomes.

“Not a single rupee came from those claims. We don’t have the capacity to absorb such large-scale investments in the green energy sector. The BJP government made exaggerated claims but we will not repeat such mistakes,” Patil added.

Also read: WEF 2025: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala gear up to woo global investors at Davos