Karnataka to build dedicated start-up park near Bangalore airport, develop six new high-tech cities

Karnataka plans to develop six new cities to promote the growth of knowledge and technology industries in the state besides building a dedicated start-up park to drive the growth of the sector, Chief Minister Basavaraj S. Bommai announced at the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS). 

Speaking at the 25th edition of the summit, Bommai said these cities will come up in Kalaburagi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Mysuru and Bengaluru while the start-up pack will be developed near the Bengaluru international airport. 

“These cities will be well planned, high-tech and help promote IT and start-ups. A dedicated Start-up Park will be developed near the Bengaluru international airport which will be multi-modal and help promote various spheres of the start-up eco-system,” he said, adding that the state needs to do much more for the growth of the startup industry. 

The government will begin work on developing these cities within the next six months, he added. 

C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Minister for IT/BT, also said the state government has set a target of achieving $300 billion digital economy by 2025. 

Inaugurating the event virtually earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India has shown the world how to democratise technology and give tech a human touch. He said innovations in technology and their adaption by government agencies helped the country navigate the tough times during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“For a long time, technology was seen as an exclusive domain. It was said to be only for the high and mighty. But India has shown how to democratise technology. India has also shown how to give tech a human touch. In India, technology is a force of equality and empowerment,” Prime Minister said. 

The event is organised by the Department of Electronics, IT, BT, S&T, Government of Karnataka along with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI). 

A host of global leaders including Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, UAE; Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia; Petri Honkonen, Minister of Science and Culture of Finland, Finland; and Martin Schroeter, Chairman & CEO, Kyndryl attended the inaugural function along with Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO, Inmobi; Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairperson, Biocon and Biocon Biologics; Prashanth Prakash, founding partner of venture capital firm Accel; and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan. 

Over 300 start-ups are exhibiting their products and services at the event, which features a multi-track conference on IT and electronics, deep tech, start-ups and biotech besides featuring Global Innovation Alliance and India USA Tech Conclave. The start-up track at the event will focus on digital public goods, fintech, robotics, women in tech, capital beyond VCs, social entrepreneurship and grassroot innovation.

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