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An estimated 3.74 lakh additional employment opportunities are expected to be generated in the state by the end of the fiscal year Global recession has strongly affected the state’s

performance in the information technology sector. Software exports for 2009-10, till the end of November 2009, was worth Rs29,389 crore, down by 50% compared to the exports in the

corresponding period of the previous year, when they had touched Rs70,375 crore. However, the state government is optimistic that the figures from January to March will see a surge. In the

current financial year, 50 software technology parks (STPs), with a total investment of Rs584 crore, have been approved. The number of STPs approved in 2008-09 was 84 and it was 116 in

2007-08. Exports from Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) units in the first eight months of the financial year stood at Rs6,001 crore, compared to Rs15,014 crore in 2008-09. The state

government has approved 45 new IT projects in the current financial year compared to 94 projects approved in 2008-09. It has also approved three projects in the bio-technology sector with an

investment of Rs4,550 crore. During the year, the mines and geology sector granted 10 mining leases for major minerals and four prospecting licences. The sector earned a revenue of Rs329

crore. So far, 40 reconnaissance permits have been granted for gold, diamond and other associated minerals and four quarry leases for ornamental stone. In 2009-10, an estimated 3.74 lakh

additional employment is expected to be generated in the state. The number of job-seekers, according to the live register figures of employment exchanges, was 5.83 lakh in November 2009,

compared to 6.52 lakh at the end of March 2009. The state government has established its own State Skill Commission to provide vocational training for unemployed youth to meet the challenges

of emerging technologies. With a view to enhancing the employability of  unemployed youth, special job fairs are being organised at Bangalore, Hubli, Mysore, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Belgaum,

Tumkur, Bellary, Bijapur, Shimoga, Chamarajnagar and Karwar. In association with NIIT and the social welfare department, the state is providing computer training to 1,600 candidates at 10

locations. The state is targeting to train around 10,000 students a year in computers. Medium and large industries minister Murugesh Nirani said he was optimistic about the state’s economic

growth. He said the government was working towards making the Global Investors’ Meet in June a big success. The state was expecting investment proposals of over Rs2 lakh crore at the meet,

he said. The recent approvals given by state for mega steel plants to Arcelor, Posco and Tata would go a long way in industrialising the backward northern Karnataka, he said. The interest

shown by Hero Honda to set up its mega two-wheeler plant in northern Karnataka was another indicator of industrial revival in the state, Nirani claimed. The state government’s initiative to

provide air connectivity to all the districts was another factor that would accelerate economic growth in the state, he said.