Big-ticket investments pour in at Karnataka Investor Meet, led by giants like JSW, Mahindra, more

Karnataka's ongoing Global Investor Meet 2025 has garnered big commitments and outlays from leading domestic as well as international companies. While renewable energy projects have seen the highest investment interest so far, those looking to set up manufacturing and research and development units are not far behind. Here are some of the top investments.

JSW Group

JSW Group announced investments in key areas such as steel, renewable energy, and infrastructure. The group has said that it will be expanding its Vijayanagar steel plant with ₹45,000 crore, including AI and robotics adoption at its plants. JSW says the Vijayanagar steel plant is on track to become the world’s largest single integrated plant in the coming years.

JSW Neo Energy Ltd also announced a ₹56,000 crore investment into solar projects, wind projects, battery energy storage, and blade manufacturing. It will also be setting up a Wind Turbine Generator plant. In 2023, JSW Group won a bid to develop a greenfield port at Keni in Ankola, Uttara Kannada district, near Karwar, on a public-private partnership model. The estimated cost of the project is over ₹4,100 crore and is currently being developed.

Mahindra Group

Mahindra Group aims for a ₹40,000 crore investment in the state over the next few years. Mahindra Susten will invest ₹35,000 crore in setting up renewable energy projects of 5GW over the next five years, creating 6,000–8,000 new jobs. Mahindra Holidays is exploring a ₹1,000 crore expansion, including locations like Gokarna and Hampi.

Mahindra Aerospace and Defence is looking at expansion. Mahindra Lifespaces is looking to develop another ₹6,000 crore worth of housing projects in Bengaluru in the near future.

Baldota Group

Baldota Steel & Power Limited has increased its investment plan to ₹54,000 crore for its integrated steel plant in Koppal. Earlier, in 2022, Aaress Iron and Steel, a subsidiary of Baldota Group, had proposed to set up and operate an integrated steel plant of 3.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity with an investment of ₹18,000 crore. The Baldota Group now intends to invest ₹54,000 crore into the integrated steel plant, which will operate under Baldota Steel and Power Ltd. (BSPL) with an expected annual production capacity of 10.50 million tonnes.

Other notable investments in the renewable energy sector include:

Tata Power Renewable Energy to invest ₹50,000 crore in renewable energy power projects and rooftop solutions across the state.

ReNew Pvt Ltd's ₹50,000 crore investment plan for setting up 4GW of renewable energy projects.

Serentica Renewables India Pvt Ltd will invest ₹43,975 crore in renewable energy projects.

Hero Future Energies to invest ₹22,200 crore in renewable energy, green hydrogen, and its derivatives.

Suzlon Energy with a ₹21,950 crore investment for wind power projects.

Essar Renewables Ltd to invest ₹20,000 crore.

Avaada Energy Pvt Ltd to invest ₹18,000 crore.

Emmvee Energy Private Ltd to invest ₹15,000 crore in manufacturing solar photovoltaic cells and modules.

ACME Solar Holdings Ltd and O2 Power Pvt Ltd have committed ₹10,000 crore each in the renewable energy sector.

Manufacturing and R&D Investments

Other notable investments in the manufacturing and R&D sectors include:

Epsilon Group: ₹15,350 crore for manufacturing anode and cathode materials.

Lam Research: ₹10,000 crore for semiconductor equipment manufacturing.

Sotefin Bharat: ₹8,500 crore for the construction and installation of fully automated robotic multilevel car and bus parking systems.

Global names such as Safran have committed nearly ₹225 crore for avionics manufacturing, while Schneider Electric plans to spend ₹2,247 crore for electrical product manufacturing and related research and development (R&D) activities. Hitachi Energy and Bosch intend to spend ₹1,000 crore and ₹450 crore, respectively, for manufacturing and R&D units. Samvardhana Motherson plans to invest nearly ₹3,700 crore in its manufacturing, engineering, and assembly units.

Auto companies Honda and TVS Motors are also in expansion mode in Karnataka. Honda, which has its two-wheeler manufacturing base in Bengaluru, will now invest nearly ₹600 crore in setting up an electric vehicles facility, while TVS Motor will establish a state-of-the-art R&D facility in Mysuru, where the company already has a production footprint.

Existing cement manufacturers such as Shree Cement Limited, UltraTech, and Dalmia Cements have committed ₹8,350 crore, ₹4,500 crore, and ₹3,000 crore, respectively, to cement manufacturing.