Chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh and former chief secretary K. Ratna Prabha felicitate Uma Reddy, who took over as the new president for Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI) in Bengaluru on September 27, 2025.
| Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J
The State government in two years had empowered nearly 1.2 lakh women, providing financial assistance to the tune of ₹50,000 crore, said Chief Secretary, Shalini Rajneesh.
Speaking at an induction ceremony held at FKCCI here on Saturday, she said this financial handholding has resulted in some 37% of women joining the labour force in the last couple of years.
Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Rajneesh also called upon FKCCI to create 1.2 lakh entrepreneurs during the tenure of its newly elected and first woman president, Uma Reddy.
FKCCI has over 5,000 active members across the state and each of these member companies should adopt at least one government educational institution and become a resource for the institution on developing entrepreneurship, the chief secretary insisted.
“The government, at the most, can create 20,000 to 30,000 jobs, while the requirement is high. It has to be a collaborative effort and the FKCCI should take up this responsibility,’‘ she urged the trade body members.
Ms. Rajneesh said the unemployment rate was high and there was a need to create platforms for entrepreneurship, not just for women but in general. She also encouraged the trade body to expand its organisational base to zilla and gram panchayat levels as entrepreneurship has to pervade to all levels.
The Chief Secretary who arrived a bit late to the FKCCI event said she was on the rounds with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on how to improve the roads of Bengaluru.
Published – September 28, 2025 01:15 pm IST
