BANGALORE: The Government on Tuesday held a roadshow in New York to woo investors to the State. The programme was led by Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Industries Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, who are now on a tour of the United States.

According to information reaching the State Secretariat here on Wednesday, the roadshow was a big success in terms of the number of people who attended the programme, the inquiries received and the interest shown by both the Kannadigas settled in the U.S. and American nationals.

Sudhakar Rao, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, was also present at the roadshow.

Mr. Yediyurappa, Mr. Naidu and Home Minister M.P. Prakash are in the U.S. in connection with the conference of Kannadigas settled in the U.S. organised by the Association of Kannada Kootas of America at Baltimore, near Washington DC.

Mr. Yediyurappa told the gathering that the Government had embarked on a major programme to improve the infrastructure in the State, particularly in the industrial areas. The upgrading of infrastructure was aimed at ensuring that Karnataka remained on the top as an investment destination in India.

The Government recently launched a new industrial policy which would be effective until 2011. Under the policy Rs. 500 crores had been earmarked for upgrading the infrastructure in the industrial areas. It was the first time that the Government had embarked on improving the infrastructure and this would be a one-time measure, he said.

Mr. Yediyurappa called upon non-resident Indians and American citizens to invest in various sectors, not merely Information Technology. They could invest in sectors such as heavy industry, pharmaceuticals, bio-technology and chemical industries. Karnataka was for long a leading State in the country in the field of IT and bio-technology.

Mr. Naidu told the investors that Karnataka provided the best possible environment for entrepreneurs. The State had a huge skilled workforce covering every field of industrial production. Further, the State presented varied investment avenues ranging from consumer goods to the services sector.

Mr. Yediyurappa and Mr. Naidu later held discussions with Paraj Saxena, CEO of Vedantha capitals; Harry Gross, CEO of Britannica Home Fashions; Derish Wolf, chairman of the Berger company (Venture Capital), and Mohammed Amin, president of the American Medical Infoteck Networks Inc, who has evinced interest in setting up a hi-tech medical equipment project in Karnataka.

They also called on Deputy Governor of New York John. K. Hills and visited the offices of Hewlett Packard and held discussions with Kristian H. Hughes, head of the international trade and policy of the multinational.

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