Bengaluru, February 23 Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries M B Patil inaugurated Amazon's newly constructed, fully equipped 11 lakh sq ft corporate office near Yelahanka here on Monday.
He said this is Amazon's 10th corporate office in the state. The company, which has a two-decade association with Karnataka, plans to invest $35 billion in India over the next four years.
"This investment is expected to support 15 million small businesses and generate lakhs of employment opportunities. Karnataka will receive a significant share of this investment," Patil said after inaugurating the new office here.
The minister pointed out that Karnataka has an annual per capita income of over Rs 3.80 lakh, ranking highest in the country.
According to him, the State also stands second in annual GST contributions to the national exchequer, contributing Rs 1.6 lakh crore. Bengaluru has climbed to the 21st position globally in the Global Innovation Index and is the only Indian city to feature among the top 30 in the Tech-Cities Index.
Last year, the city recorded 14.6 million square feet of industrial leasing, the highest in the country, he said.
Of the 900 Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, nearly 35 per cent are located in Karnataka, he added.
In a statement issued by the Minister's office, Patil said the State also leads in infrastructure required for e-commerce operations, with warehousing capacity of 42.48 lakh tonnes and 233 cold storage units. Correspondingly, e-commerce transactions in the State are growing at 11 per cent annually.
To further promote industrial growth, projects such as dedicated freight rail corridors, multimodal logistics parks, dry ports and truck terminals have been planned, Patil urged Amazon and other global companies to leverage Karnataka’s industry-friendly ecosystem by enhancing their investments in the State, manufacturing here and exporting to global markets.