The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : No more expansion in State: Biocon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 11, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

No more expansion in State: Biocon

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw says bureaucracy is `ineffective' and the State capital is losing out

Bangalore: Biocon, the country's largest biotechnology company, has announced that it will not have any more expansion in Karnataka. Blaming it on the "ineffective" bureaucracy and a "confused'' ruling coalition in Karnataka, Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said on Friday that infrastructure woes are impeding the growth of Bangalore.

Ms. Shaw said future expansion of Biocon will not happen in the State because the Government is not supporting the industry. She said Bangalore is no longer the "venue of choice when it comes to at least showcasing India".

"Today, Hyderabad, to some extent, has overtaken Bangalore. Even U.S. President George W. Bush went to Hyderabad (during his recent visit to India). He didn't come to Bangalore. That was largely as a result of Bangalore's failing infrastructure," Ms. Shaw told PTI here in an interview.

She severely criticised the previous Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition headed by N. Dharam Singh, which collapsed earlier this year following withdrawal of support by the Kumaraswamy-led group. She blamed the bureaucracy for the present situation.

She said in cases where politicians are "irresponsible" but bureaucracy is strong and effective, "you see progress".

"Here unfortunately, bureaucracy seems to be as ineffective as the Government. You can say that one is complementing the other. It is a serious situation," she said. "If you don't have a bureaucracy that is effective, it is very bad for the State," Ms. Shaw said. "It is likely to continue. That's why I don't see hope."

Ms. Shaw said although coalition politics has come to stay, what is needed is a stable coalition. "That's what I don't think is happening in Karnataka. It seems to be a coalition which is all about pulling the rug," she said.

On the Dharam Singh Government, she said: ``The Congress-Janata Dal (S) coalition said they are not going to focus on urban development; and they are going to focus on rural development. But the sad thing is they did neither."

Ms. Shaw said Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who assumed charge last month, has made "very good statements". "If he can't get the bureaucracy to implement them and support him, how is he going to do all this?," she asked.

She said most of the software companies are moving out of Bangalore. "Today, if you ask me if I really had to expand my business, would I do it in Karnataka? No. I would certainly look for opportunities. Any future project, I will not do in Karnataka. There is no support for industry," she said.

Ms. Shaw said: "Core of all this is infrastructure. We (Karnataka and industry in general) cannot hope to have that kind of exponential growth unless infrastructure issues are addressed. It becomes difficult to pursue growth. When you spend so much time commuting, it is a loss of very valuable time," she added. — PTI

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