Karnataka govt chalks out plan to expand innovation ecosystem beyond Bengaluru city

Karnataka government has picked five tier-II cities-- Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubbali - Dharwad and Shivamogga to expand the tech innovation ecosystem beyond Bengaluru.

At the virtual Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020, Karnataka government on Thursday (November 12) announced Beyond Bengaluru initiative to develop tier-II cities.

As part of the new Information Technology (IT) policy 2020–25, the government has chosen five upcoming cities-- Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubbali - Dharwad and Shivamogga-- to expand the technology innovation ecosystem beyond Bengaluru.

With with, the government foresees greater growth of exports from the Karnataka state in primary sectors such as IT /ITeS, Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO), Electronic System Design Manufacturing (ESDM), and Telecom sector industries.

State-run New Age Innovation Network (NAIN) has already set up incubation centres in 30 engineering colleges outside Bengaluru. So far, 470 projects have been funded, 181 prototypes built, and 13 patents have been filed.

Furthermore, Common Instrumentation Facilities (CIFs) and Technology Business Incubators have set -up in academic institutions to help students improve their skill sets and be job-ready. Over time, the government believes, will help draw companies to set-up innovation and R& D centres in cities such as Mysuru, Belagavi, Mangaluru and Shivamogga.

Karnataka government is also aiming to promote biotechnology sector, incubation and R&D infrastructure centres in Dharwad, Bagalkot and Mysuru.

The government added that ESDM clusters have been identified and are being promoted to encourage industry to set up operations in the cities of Mysuru, Hubballi, Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga and others.

Already, the government has set up Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Incubation Centre and Brownfield Cluster at Hubballi.

“Beyond Bengaluru is a unique initiative by the Government of Karnataka in its efforts to boost IT penetration across the State, supported by strategic policy interventions and holistic economic development. The cities of Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubbali -Dharwad and Shivamogga are foreseeing great investment opportunities and employment potential. We aim to build a sustainable model to encourage the growth of and development in cities Beyond Bengaluru," said Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, and Minister for IT, BT and S&T.

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