4 industrial parks for women in state

Bengaluru: The Karnataka government will set up four industrial parks dedicated to women at Mysuru, Dharwad, Harohalli and Kalaburagi, Large and Medium Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani said on Thursday.

“Karnataka is the first state in India to set up exclusive industrial parks dedicated to women,” the minister said after inaugurating women entrepreneurs’ event titled ‘Together We Grow’ organised by UBUNTU Consortium of Women Entrepreneurs Associations to mark International Women Entrepreneurship Day.

He urged the women entrepreneurs to take advantage of this initiative. “Women should join hands with the government in driving industrial growth by taking up entrepreneurship and providing jobs,” Nirani said.

“Women are shining in every field in this competitive world. Empowerment of women will become more meaningful when women become entrepreneurs and provide jobs to others. Successful women entrepreneurs like Sudha Murty of Infosys, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw of Biocon have become role models and their success stories should become a source of inspiration for other women entrepreneurs,” Nirani opined.

The minister said the government through various initiatives has been encouraging women entrepreneurs to unlock their potential to generate unlimited profit and create jobs. ‘Udyami Aagu, Udyoga Needu’ program in Bengaluru was a grand success and it will soon be conducted in other districts, he added. “We are proud of the fact that today India has 13.5 15.7 million womenowned enterprises, representing 20 per cent of all enterprises. Accelerating quantity and quality of entrepreneurship towards such benchmarks can create over 30 million womenowned enterprises and this is not an impossible goal,” Nirani opined. The Minister promised incentives for women entrepreneurs from weaker sections.

“Amendment to the Factories Act, 1948 allows women to work in the night shift between 7 PM to 6 AM. Additional incentives are proposed to special category entrepreneurs such as SC/ ST women under new industrial policy,” Nirani informed the gathering.

The minister praised former Karnataka Chief Secretary Ratnaprabha who is heading UBUNTU for promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship among the women.

He lauded UBUNTU for supporting and guiding women entrepreneurs and promised to extend the government’s cooperation and support in their endeavours. UBUNTU comprises over 30 women entrepreneurs associations where 1,500 members function under a single platform.