Davos 2026: 'Bengaluru is competing globally' - DK Shivakumar plays down competition, infra concerns

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said Bengaluru is no longer competing with other Indian cities or states for investment. He argued that Bengaluru operates in a global league driven primarily by talent.

Speaking to India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Shivakumar responded to questions on whether Bengaluru risks losing out on foreign investment amid infrastructure constraints, particularly after reports that Google chose Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh for a major investment plan instead of Bengaluru.

The deputy chief minister invoked a historical reference to underline Bengaluru’s global positioning. "(Former Prime Minister) Vajpayee, at the time of inaugurating the international airport 25 years ago, said that the world leaders are looking to India through Bangalore. This is the statement of Vaajpayee, which I'm repeating," he said.

He said comparisons with neighbouring states miss the larger picture. "I don't want to compete with any of these neighboring states or any of the states in the country. Bangalore and Karnataka are competing globally," Shivakumar said.

Responding directly to the Google example, Shivakumar compared Bengaluru's workforce scale with global tech hubs. "You are telling me about Google. California has 1.3 million techies, while Bangalore has 25 million techies. That is the strength of Bangalore," he said.

He said Karnataka continues to produce a steady pipeline of skilled professionals. "Every year, we produce more than two lakh engineers and IT professionals. That is the biggest strength. The talent, human resources you can't match. I don't want to compete with them," he said.

When pressed on physical infrastructure and whether it undermines Bengaluru's attractiveness, Shivakumar said the state is investing heavily in the city's future. "About 41% of the IT exports of the country (go through Karnataka). We have a plan for Bangalore for the next 5 years. We are spending two and a half lakh crores only on Bangalore city, and we are preparing a plan for the next 25 years," he said.

He added that global interest in Bengaluru remains strong. "Yesterday, I had a meeting with a lot of premiers, a lot of ministers across the globe. All of them want to see and come to Bangalore. They want to work with Bangalore," Shivakumar said.

When asked whether Karnataka risks relying too heavily on legacy firms, the deputy chief minister said the state's policy framework is designed to attract new companies and startups. "We have a startup policy. We are giving them opportunities, we are giving them incentives. Karnataka has so many policies. We have started the IT policy, the startup policy. So we are there to help them out on an incentive base or on production base," he added.