infosys hubballi project: Karnataka minister to invite Infosys officials for discussion on Hubballi project

Karnataka’s Industries Minister MB Patil on Tuesday said he would invite top management of Infosys for talks to understand how it planned to take its Hubballi campus forward.

The minister was responding to queries about the technology major not commencing operations at its campus in Hubballi in the Legislative Council.

Infosys is a globally renowned software services company with a proven track record. The government would handle the subject with the sensitivity it demands, the minister said, responding to a query from the member SV Sankanur (BJP).

The company has 43 acres and the management has built buildings, roads, parking lots, food courts and other facilities in 20 acres. The company has set aside the rest for expansion later. The campus currently has 280 employees and 122 contract workers, Patil said.

While getting approval from the government, the company had said it will provide 1000 jobs, but has not provided as many jobs yet, he added.

The minister rejected demands from Sankanur and Saleem Ahmed (Congress) to withdraw the plot from Infosys on grounds of not meeting the investment timelines.

In a chat with ET later, Patil said Infosys has built a reputation for itself globally by building state-of-the-art campuses in many states and employing tens of thousands of engineers. The government would pursue the proposed investment with the company for the benefit of the region. The subject figured in the Legislative Assembly, last week, when deputy leader of Opposition Arvind Bellad sought withdrawal of the industrial plot for not commencing operations.

“Infosys has not created a single job,” the BJP leader said, alleging that the company had instead converted into a plantation.

In its annual report released in April 2023, Infosys said, “As part of this strategy, this year, we set up offices in Hubballi, Indore, Navi Mumbai, Nagpur and Coimbatore, in India.”