A day after publicly asking if the subsidy given to US-based micro chip manufacturer Micron Technology is justifiable, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy backtracked. He claimed to have been ‘misquoted’ in the media.
In what is being seen as an embarrassment to the Centre, Mr. Kumaraswamy had questioned the Centre and Gujarat government’s decision to offer a subsidy of ₹3.2 crore to the US-based micro chip manufacturer for every job created in the home State of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing JD(S) workers in Bengaluru on June 14, Mr. Kumaraswamy asked if the country eve requires such an investment at all. The company is generating about 5,000 jobs, and receiving $2 billion in return through subsidies. The company would recover 70% of the $2.75 billion investment through subsidies from the State and Centre.
HDK questions the spend per job
“If calculated for every job generated, we are spending ₹3.2 crore. I asked officials how many jobs have been created in Peenya [industrial area in Bengaluru which houses small-scale industries] and what benefits have been provided to them,” he had said. While he initially named the firm, he later requested the media not to name the company.
“I need to understand the Ministry better and create employment opportunities in the country. Unemployment was an election issue,” he had said, in his first address to the JD(S) after assuming charge as a Union Minister
With his statement threatening to snowball into a major embarrassment for the Centre, on June 15, Mr. Kumaraswamy posted on social media platform X: “Semiconductor is a strategic industry. It is a basic requirement for electronics and automobile manufacturing. Both these sectors generate lots of employment. I greatly appreciate the semiconductor related initiatives taken by the Prime Minister’s Office and will work towards fulfilling through my ministry.”
Later, he told reporters at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru that promoting the semiconductor sector in a big way is strategic. “Parallelly, we have to create jobs in small-scale industries where we can generate more jobs. We are thinking about it and working on it. I have been misquoted... In future, I have to be cautious,” he said.
M.B. Patil welcomes HDK’s statement
Karnataka Industries Minister M.B. Patil welcomed Mr. Kumaraswamy’s statement on Micron.
In a social media post on X, he stated: “It is not fair that ₹3.2 crore incentive is being given for every job being created by Micron Technology in Gujarat. Mr. Kumaraswamy is right in questioning this... Every state in the country should get a level playing field and equal opportunities.
“If the Government provides 70% funding for the project, we might as well call it a PSU. Even if it is to kick start an ecosystem, all states should benefit and have equal opportunity/ level playing field.
“However, it looks like Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been showing special interest towards his home state Gujarat. This will lead to discrimination and inequal treatment.”
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