Karnataka govt inks MoU with Yusuff Ali’s LuLu group for Rs 2,000-cr investment at WEF meet

News Network

May 23, 2022

Davos, May 23: Karnataka government on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with M. A. Yusuff Ali’s Lulu International Group for an investment of Rs 2,000 crore in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet being held in Davos, Switzerland. The Chief Minister held talks also with heads of Jubilant Group, Hitachi, Hero MotoCorp, Siemens, Dassault Systems and Nestle, among others.

Lulu Group intends to open four shopping malls and hypermarkets. It is also keen to establish export-oriented food units in Karnataka, and the projects are expected to create employment opportunities for 10,000 people, the Chief Minister's office said in a statement.

Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, Additional Chief Secretary in the Department of Commerce and Industry E V Ramana Reddy, CM's Principal Secretary N Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner of Industries Department Gunjan Krishna, and others were present. Bommai invited the Jubilant Group to explore the investment opportunities in pharma and FMCG sectors in Karnataka, and made a pitch for the FMCG Park being established in Dharwad and explained the incentive package being offered by the State to draw the investors to set up their units here.

Jubilant Food Works has decided to set up its centralised kitchen and Jubilant Biosys is keen to establish its R&D unit in a 10-acre plot at Devanahalli. Presently, about 9,000 people are working with Jubilant in the State. Presently, about 9,000 people are working with Jubilant in the State.

Meanwhile, Hitachi Energy conveyed its interest during the talks to set up an EV-charging infrastructure unit in the State. The company has evinced interest to explore the opportunities in energy and digitalisation sectors considering the immense talent pool available in Bengaluru, the release said. The company is set to inaugurate its energy quality instrument unit at Doddaballapur, it added.

Hitachi Energy has its head office in Bengaluru and it is building a centre of engineering, which would engage about 2,000 engineers. Noting that Siemens is taking up two projects in Bengaluru focusing on magnetic imaging and diagnostics and a health-related R&D project, the CMO said the company plans to lay the foundation stone for setting up a medical equipment manufacturing unit at Bommasandra in September 2022 to cater to the domestic market.

Bommai has been invited to the programme. The company currently has about 2,000 engineers. The State government has assured the company of special incentives to set up its production unit for modern medical equipment, it said, adding that representatives of Siemens and the State government also discussed the 'Beyond Bengaluru' project to draw investments to Tumakuru, Hubballi-Dharwad and Mysuru cities.

According to the CMO, Dassault has evinced interest to invest in electric vehicles, modern production systems, industrial training for students in Digital 4.0 technology and Smart City project in Karnataka while Nestle has expressed its keenness to modernise and expand the Nestle Instant Coffee unit in Nanjangud. Bommai launched the Karnataka pavilion at the WEF summit during the day and participated in a session on soil extinction, climate change and ecological degradation with spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi' Vasudev.

"The solution lies in linking nature to economics, i.e. eco-economics. Eco-budgeting has to be there in the balancesheets of all businesses," the Chief Minister said in a tweet.

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‘This is how it began in Gujarat’: Modi outlines BJP’s political ambitions in Kerala

News Network

January 23,2026

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, January 23, indicated that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming to expand its political footprint in Kerala ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled in the coming months.

Speaking at a BJP-organised public meeting, Modi drew parallels between the party’s early electoral gains in Gujarat and its recent victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. The civic body win, which ended decades of Left control, was cited by the Prime Minister as a possible starting point for the party’s broader ambitions in the state.

Recalling BJP’s political trajectory in Gujarat, Modi said the party was largely insignificant before 1987 and received little media attention. He pointed out that the BJP’s first major breakthrough came with its victory in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation that year.

“Just as our journey in Gujarat began with one city, Kerala’s journey has also started with a single city,” Modi said, suggesting that the party’s municipal-level success could translate into wider electoral acceptance.

The Prime Minister alleged that successive governments led by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the United Democratic Front (UDF) had failed to adequately develop Thiruvananthapuram. He accused both fronts of corruption and neglect, claiming that basic infrastructure and facilities were denied to the capital city for decades.

According to Modi, the BJP’s control of the civic body represents a shift driven by public dissatisfaction with the existing political alternatives. He asserted that the BJP administration in Thiruvananthapuram had begun working towards development, though no specific details or timelines were outlined.

Addressing the gathering at Putharikandam Maidan, Modi said the BJP intended to project Thiruvananthapuram as a “model city,” reiterating his party’s commitment to governance-led change.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Kerala also included the inauguration of several development projects and the flagging off of new train services, as the BJP intensifies its political outreach in the poll-bound state.

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