<p>Hubballi/DHNS: Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge claimed that in the last two years, Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi (HDB) cluster has attracted 40 companies, which employed more than 2,000 people.</p><p>He was speaking after jointly inaugurating the centre of advanced AI, cybersecurity, and space technology at Infosys Hubballi Development Centre along with Industries Minister M B Patil here in the City on Wednesday. He said during the last one year, 23 companies including the IT and manufacturing sector became operational in the HDB cluster.</p><p>“The state government is ready to collaborate with academia and the private sector to train the youth to make them the most employable human resource in the world,” he pointed out.</p><p><strong>Grants to startups</strong></p><p>Explaining how the government is encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, Kharge said they are giving up to Rs 50 lakh grants to startups to create a conducive ecosystem. In recent years, the government funded over 1,000 startups, which includes 125 in Hubballi City itself. No other state government in the country has done so much for startups.</p><p>Karnataka IT export is worth Rs 4.5 lakh crore in which Rs 3,500 crore is from Hubballi-Dharwad and Rs 3,000 crore from Belagavi. “We are the fourth largest technology cluster in the world and we are in fifth position in the top 50 AI cities in the world,” he noted.</p><p>“Our ecosystem and human resources are so good that no other state can match us even after giving land for just 99 paise per acre. In engineering research and development, more than 40% of human resources are from Karnataka. Fancy slogans like ‘Digital India’ will not work unless we have skilled human resources. This ecosystem has been developed here after 30 years of efforts,” Kharge said.</p><p><strong>Expand in NK</strong></p><p>Industries Minister M B Patil said now the Infosys Hubballi Development Centre has over 1,000 employees, which could have been achieved earlier and much faster too. Responsibility lies with Infosys in the progress of the region as the founder of the company hails from Hubballli. The government has also been creating necessary infrastructure in secondary cities, he said and requested Infosys to expand its footprints in other parts of North Karnataka.</p><p>Infosys executive vice-president Sunil Kumar Dhareshwar said the new lab is a significant step towards their mission to deliver AI-driven solutions that transform industries. With the state-of-the-art infrastructure and AI-first approach, the centre would help to address key client needs while driving innovation at scale, he said.</p><p>Infosys executive vice-president Rajneesh Malviya and Dharwad Zilla Panchayat CEO Bhuvanesh Kumar Patil were present.</p><p>‘K’taka competes with countries, not states’</p><p>IT, BT and Electronics Minister Priyank Kharge said that Karnataka is globally competing with Taiwan, Vietnam, China, and European countries, not with neighbouring Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, or Maharashtra. He said, during their global meets, they try to sell the state’s ecosystem for investment and skilled human resources, which naturally attracts investment to the state.</p><p>Therefore, top global companies set up global capacity centres (GCC) in Bengaluru, and the state has 40$ of total GCCs of the country.</p>
<p>Hubballi/DHNS: Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge claimed that in the last two years, Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi (HDB) cluster has attracted 40 companies, which employed more than 2,000 people.</p><p>He was speaking after jointly inaugurating the centre of advanced AI, cybersecurity, and space technology at Infosys Hubballi Development Centre along with Industries Minister M B Patil here in the City on Wednesday. He said during the last one year, 23 companies including the IT and manufacturing sector became operational in the HDB cluster.</p><p>“The state government is ready to collaborate with academia and the private sector to train the youth to make them the most employable human resource in the world,” he pointed out.</p><p><strong>Grants to startups</strong></p><p>Explaining how the government is encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, Kharge said they are giving up to Rs 50 lakh grants to startups to create a conducive ecosystem. In recent years, the government funded over 1,000 startups, which includes 125 in Hubballi City itself. No other state government in the country has done so much for startups.</p><p>Karnataka IT export is worth Rs 4.5 lakh crore in which Rs 3,500 crore is from Hubballi-Dharwad and Rs 3,000 crore from Belagavi. “We are the fourth largest technology cluster in the world and we are in fifth position in the top 50 AI cities in the world,” he noted.</p><p>“Our ecosystem and human resources are so good that no other state can match us even after giving land for just 99 paise per acre. In engineering research and development, more than 40% of human resources are from Karnataka. Fancy slogans like ‘Digital India’ will not work unless we have skilled human resources. This ecosystem has been developed here after 30 years of efforts,” Kharge said.</p><p><strong>Expand in NK</strong></p><p>Industries Minister M B Patil said now the Infosys Hubballi Development Centre has over 1,000 employees, which could have been achieved earlier and much faster too. Responsibility lies with Infosys in the progress of the region as the founder of the company hails from Hubballli. The government has also been creating necessary infrastructure in secondary cities, he said and requested Infosys to expand its footprints in other parts of North Karnataka.</p><p>Infosys executive vice-president Sunil Kumar Dhareshwar said the new lab is a significant step towards their mission to deliver AI-driven solutions that transform industries. With the state-of-the-art infrastructure and AI-first approach, the centre would help to address key client needs while driving innovation at scale, he said.</p><p>Infosys executive vice-president Rajneesh Malviya and Dharwad Zilla Panchayat CEO Bhuvanesh Kumar Patil were present.</p><p>‘K’taka competes with countries, not states’</p><p>IT, BT and Electronics Minister Priyank Kharge said that Karnataka is globally competing with Taiwan, Vietnam, China, and European countries, not with neighbouring Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, or Maharashtra. He said, during their global meets, they try to sell the state’s ecosystem for investment and skilled human resources, which naturally attracts investment to the state.</p><p>Therefore, top global companies set up global capacity centres (GCC) in Bengaluru, and the state has 40$ of total GCCs of the country.</p>
