‘Forgotten to delete Karnataka from their bills’:  Priyank Kharge taunts rivals for lifting state's tech playbook

Karnataka’s IT & BT Minister Priyank Kharge took a direct shot at rival states during his speech at the BT AI Summit, claiming others have copied Karnataka’s policies so blatantly, “they've forgotten to delete the name Karnataka from their bills.”

Speaking at the Business Today AI Summit, Kharge painted a confident picture of Karnataka’s dominance in tech and innovation. “We love competition and thrive on it,” he said, noting that India is “fiercely competitive by default.” But he didn’t shy away from pointing out what he sees as clear copycat behavior from other states.

“While we have Invest Karnataka, they now have Invest Maharashtra, Invest Andhra, Invest Chhattisgarh, Invest Northeast,” Kharge said. “It’s good for the end investor. Everyone likes window shopping.”

He backed his comments with hard data: Karnataka’s IT exports reached ₹4.5 lakh crore last year, double that of Telangana. “Out of 110 unicorns, over 47 are from Karnataka. More than half the deep-tech startups in India are based here,” he stated.

Kharge also highlighted the state’s dominance in R&D and AI: “40% of engineering R&D skills, 38% of silicon design, and the second-highest penetration of AI skill sets come from Karnataka.”

The minister touted a long list of firsts — from the country’s earliest IT and biotech policies to recent ones for EVs, battery storage, and even space tech. “We were the first to have the Global Capability Centers policy,” he noted.

Despite aggressive competition from other states, Kharge believes Karnataka’s edge lies in its matured ecosystem. “The triple helix of academia, industry, and government took three decades to build. It’s not easy to replicate and extremely difficult to beat,” he said.

In a parting shot, he emphasized: “While my neighbors talk, my data speaks.”