Another opportunity slips through Karnataka’s fingers. Silectric Semiconductor Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd., which was considering Mysuru for its next plant, has now backed out. 

The official reason? “Issues with technical direction,” stated the Company.

But the real reason, according to industry insiders was the inability of the Karnataka Government to hand over legally clear land and the fear of politicised labour in Mysuru-Nanjangud region.

In short, the company didn’t see Karnataka as a State ready to do business, at least not without unnecessary delays or political minefields.

Sources even today cite these reasons for why AT&S, the well-known Printed Circuit Board (PCB) manufacturing company in Mysuru chose Taiwan to set up their new PCB                                              manufacturing plant. 

What’s disheartening is that this isn’t an isolated incident. It’s a pattern — a slow, steady erosion of Karnataka’s industrial credibility — and no one in power seems particularly bothered. 

Since S.M. Krishna left office, Karnataka hasn’t had a single Chief Minister with a coherent industrial vision or the administrative will to execute it.

S.M. Krishna understood the role of industry in wealth creation, job generation and raising State revenues.

He once said, “We do not look at investors as businessmen. We consider them as our partners — partners in development and technological upliftment.”

And clearly, the rest of the country agreed as he was voted India’s Best Chief Minister twice in a nationwide poll. Back then, Narendra Modi was Gujarat’s Chief Minister and he was ranked eighth. 

Krishna succeeded not just because of his policies, but because of his approach. He was accessible, pragmatic and ‘unthreatening’ to industrialists unlike the present administration. 

Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy praised his openness to new ideas. Ashok Soota, Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) then President-designate, called him the “feel-good” Chief Minister.  

S.M. Krishna blended conservatism with modernism — balancing old-school party politics with an investor-friendly mindset.

Fast forward to today: Karnataka’s leaders are short-sighted, uninspiring and addicted to populism. 

The tragedy of Karnataka is that today our leaders behave like tenants, instead of trustees — grabbing what they can, while they can.

This could be because Karnataka politics today is a game of musical chairs, so no one knows how long they will stay in power.  

That said, Siddaramaiah has had almost two stable terms. So why then this lack of industrial growth? Too much time spent on creating vote banks at the cost of creating job banks? 

Take the case of a mobile manufacturing company that approached the Karnataka Government a few years ago. They needed land and approvals to set up a factory near Bengaluru. Predictably, red tape delayed progress. 

But then Telangana’s Industries Minister caught wind of it, the company was invited to Hyderabad the very next day. Meetings were held. An IAS officer was deputed as a single-window contact with a strict delivery timeline.

Five weeks later, the factory was approved. Today, it employs 2,000 people.

Meanwhile in Karnataka, “we’re still looking into it.”

This failure isn’t just bureaucratic — it’s strategic. Case in point is Karnataka’s ill-conceived ‘50% jobs for Kannadigas’ reservation announcement. 

Instead of inspiring confidence, it spooked investors and as usual Andhra Pradesh was quick to pounce.

Nara Lokesh, Andhra’s then IT Minister, invited businesses to relocate to Visakhapatnam — offering better infrastructure, no labour restrictions and a Government that gets things done. It worked. 

A European industrialist had requested just an acre of land to set up a unit to manufacture machines used to make PCBs in Mysuru. The team was shown  plots under Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) by real estate agents instead of Government officials !

The company is now looking at Andhra Pradesh.  

It is time for Karnataka politicians to pause their obsession with reserving jobs and focus on creating them first — after all, No industrial land, no jobs. No jobs, no revenue. No revenue, no freebies. No freebies, no election victory. Politicians do the math. 

Even Gujarat offers an instructive contrast. When then-CM Narendra Modi was told that 310 religious structures — yes, including temples — were encroaching on Government roads in Gandhinagar and obstructing development, he ordered them demolished. 

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) howled in protest. “Development cannot come at the cost of temples!” they cried. Modi stood firm.

The temples came down. The roads were widened. Industries came in. Jobs followed.

That’s political will. That’s governance.

What Karnataka needs now is new Industries, and for that, you need new politicians — Politicians who are Pro-development, Pro-people and most importantly, Pro-professional — Leaders who understand that governing a State isn’t just about courting MLAs at resorts, but about courting investors in boardrooms.

Because here’s the hard truth: If Karnataka doesn’t wake up and reboot its industrial strategy — especially in manufacturing — then in 15 years, we may see Kannadigas migrating to Telangana for jobs. Or worse, to Bihar.

The age of IT as a mass employer is fading. Manufacturing is the next big frontier. But without leadership that sees beyond vote banks and short-term optics, Karnataka will fall further behind.

We once turned Bengaluru into a global tech hub. We can do the same for Mysuru, Belagavi and Hubballi — if only someone in Vidhana Soudha decides to stop managing headlines and start managing outcomes.

Until then, we’ll keep losing opportunities. One factory at a time.

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