Bengaluru, Sep 2 (IANS): Karnataka on Wednesday exhorted British firms to invest in the state, saying it was committed to ensure ease of doing business.

"Britain should have more research and development (R&D) centres in our state, especially in Bengaluru, which is a knowledge capital," state Industries Minister R.V. Deshpande said at a interactive session here with British deputy high commissioner Ian Felton and officials of British firms operating in the state.

Asserting that the state government was keen to streamline systems and processes for speedy approvals, Deshpande said the single-window clearance system would enable companies set up operations at the earliest.

"With competition intensifying and quality becoming imperative to sustain, industries have to do lot of research and become cost-effective to compete in global markets," Deshpande said.

Observing that Karnataka had a good track record of attracting investments in diverse sectors, Felton said the business climate in the state, especially in the tech city was conducive, as evident from the large presence of many British firms here.

"We are working on creating smart meters to manage power better in the city as the state is facing energy crisis owing to deficit monsoon this year," Felton said.

Deshpande hoped industries would gel well with the state's policies to create employment for the people and undertake corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities for a win-win situation for all stakeholders.

State industry secretary Ratna Prabha stressed upon the British firms to generate more jobs for youth in the state's tier-one and tier-two cities and towns.