Mr. N Kumar, Chairman,
CII Institute of Quality & Past President, CII & Vice Chairman, The Sanmar Group
Mr. Bhupinder S Bhalla,
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
Mr. Mathur,
Chairman and Managing Director, Export-Import Bank of India
Mr. Shekar Viswanathan,
Chairman, CII Karnataka State Council 2015-16 & Vice Chairman & Whole-time Director,
Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited
Media Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
1. I am delighted to be a part of this function, organized to commemorate the 23rd National Quality Summit by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Presentation Ceremony of the CII-EXIM Bank’s Awards for Business Excellence for the year 2015.
2. First of all I wish to Congratulate to all the winners and we hope that more companies from Karnataka will participate and get recognized as excellent companies.
3. After the intensive morning deliberations, all of you must be eagerly looking forward to the announcement of the various recognitions for the year 2015.
4. Any Awards Ceremony is not only an occasion to rejoice about the achievements, but also, to remember the importance and stature it signifies.
5. The joy and importance goes up many times when we speak of the CII EXIM Bank Award for Business Excellence, the most sought after and prestigious Award for the last 20 years in the country.
6. All the Award and Prize Winners have done the country proud and are great ambassadors of business excellence as well as value creation.
7. Commendation Certificate holders too have embarked upon their excellence journey and need to be applauded. However, India needs more such brand ambassadors for enhancing the country’s image as a great place to do business with, as we embark on another exciting journey of creating a new India and inviting the world to “Come, Make in India”.
8. In the context of excellence and seeing so many companies having scaled themselves in competitiveness, it would be pertinent for all of you to look at Karnataka as a pioneer in the development of industries and providing an industry-friendly ecosystem that nurtures the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation.
9. As you all know, besides being distinguished as the Knowledge Hub of Asia with over 201 plus Engineering Colleges,114 plus Medical Colleges, 50 Universities and 13 International Schools and the largest number of Medical Institutions and Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in the country, we are the 3rd largest Foreign Direct Investment receiving State in the Country and home to the fourth largest technology cluster in the World after Silicon Valley, Boston and London.
10. Karnataka with its 370 plus world renowned high-end research and development organizations houses the largest number of Research and Development Centers in India, prompting The World Economic Forum identifying Karnataka among the top 4 innovation hubs in the World.
11. The World Bank’s Investment Climate Index has ranked Karnataka first for a Healthy Business Climate and Attracting Investments.
12. The State has already acquired the distinction of having built a healthy eco system for Information Technology, Bio-Technology, Aerospace, Semi-conductor, Electronics and Hardware.
13. In the infrastructural context, Karnataka is the preferred investment destination in the Country and truly represents “One State, Many Opportunities”.
14. The State is home to major automotive industries such as Toyota Kirloskar, Volvo, Honda Motors, TVS, Tata-Marco polo,Larsen & Toubro Komatsu, Mahindra Reva, Scannia, Bosch, Siemens, JK Tyres and many more.
15. It is also the Bio-Tech Capital of India and home to nearly 60 per cent of India’s bio-tech units with planneddedicated Bio-Technology parks and centers.
16. With the presence of HAL, NAL, Airbus, Boeing, ISRO, HCL, Honeywell, UTC Aerospace, Goodrich Corporation the State is emerging as the favoured global destination in the Aerospace Sector.
17. The State also has a vibrant Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector with over 4.81 lakh registered MSMEs in Karnataka providing employment to over 28 Lakh persons with a total investment of around 18,635 Crore.
18. It is also the largest producer and exporter of silk and silk products in the country and produces over 20 per cent of the national garment production.
19. I take this opportunity to compliment CII and Institute of Quality for having completed one more successful Quality Summit.
20. The Chairman Mr N Kumar, we in the Government would like to work with CII IQ on putting Quality Processes in place in the various Government Departments.
21. We would like to make the Government machinery more efficient and citizen-friendly. We would like CII to come up with suggestions to address current civic issues and work together to improve these pressing challenges.
22. Mr Shekhar Viswanathan, Chairman, CII Karnataka State Council I thank you for your support and look forward to working with the Institute of Quality in making Karnataka an international destination of choice.
23. I once again take this opportunity to congratulate the recipients of various recognitions which will be announced soon.
24. I hope their efforts and achievements will inspire others to initiate such an exercise in their organizations.
Thank You one and all !