DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit highlights

Namaskara, Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

We have come to the end of an enlightening day of thought-provoking sessions. And, I am sure the ideas expressed and exchanged here will go a long way in ushering in a better tomorrow.

On behalf of Deccan Herald, I express my deep gratitude to all the speakers who threw up valuable suggestions for a better Bengaluru. Our thanks also go to the invitees who turned up in good numbers despite their pressing engagements.

We thank our sponsors who have supported us for the second edition of the Summit. Presenting Sponsor Puravankara Ltd, Powered by Sponsor Ather, Banking Partner Canara Bank and Associate Sponsors Mercedes Benz Research and Development India,Ad Factors PR, IOCL XP95, Manipal Academy of Higher Education and ITC.

Last but not the least, I thank all the different teams of The Printers (Mysore) Ltd who have toiled hard for the last many weeks in making this conclave of DH - The Bengaluru 2040 – a huge success.

Thank you all

. Bengaluru only city where if a stranger lands up on a Monday morning, that person will end up knowing at least 100 people by Friday: Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani toldPadaki in a conversation.

. "I spoke to several young people asking them which city they would choose if they wanted to become entrepreneur in the future, and all of them picked up Bengaluru. And interestingly, none of them spoke about infrastructure. Maybe it was assumed that infrastructure will be good by 2040."

. Future of work will include freelance, metaverse, etc. There won't be any specific workplace in future, saysPadaki.

. Madan Padaki, Founder & CEO - 1Bridge & President - TiE Bangalore delivers the closing keynote.

. I really want Bengaluru to have at least 2-3 great theatres to produce great performers, says Vijay.

. Prakash Raj announcedthat he will promote and produce 20 plays across over 30 districts in Karnataka to give more opportunity to young talents.

. Women anywhere should feel safe. I don't even want to call it a right. It is extremely basic: Shruthi on where in Indian entertainment industry women feel safe.

. Theatre and art should be included in the curriculum of schools, suggests Prakash on improving the entertainment industry.

. Once one music director told me that it used to be art-oriented business, but now it is business-oriented art: Vijay on entertainment industry

. Anyone who is not willing to change now, will perish soon. I am unlearning now to stay relevant in the industry: Prakash

. You can spend money, have big sets. That is not important now. Script is important now: Prakash

. The success mantra for films has now changed. People now seek good content, says Prakash.

. Songs of 'Kantara' are now being heard at places like Kolkata. Music is now free from regional boundaries, says Vijay.

. Bengaluru has a lot of critical elements that are required to build a vibrant cultural city. But people should be aware of it andcome up in support of artists, Manasi said.

. Knowledge rests firmly in the domain of culture, Jahnavi said.

. A transgender group at a cultural programme was not allowed to enter the venue because they were transgenders. Many thought they had come there to beg. This needs to stop: Ghosh

. At the science gallery in Bengaluru, we look to build a bridge between research and the public. If we don't have an understanding or the use of knowledge, it is a waste of public money. This is what science gallery wants to work for: Jahnavi Phalkey

. "You have Christmas, Ramzan and Durga Puja all together in Bengaluru. What can be a better way to showcase the diversity in culture in the city?" says Arundhati Ghosh.

. To encapsulate the heritage of the past as well as the grandeur of the present, for diversity as well as creativity, to boost a creative economy, and to build a city that's ready for 2040, culture is the key. In this context, we look at Bengaluru as a cultural construct. With its many-layered past and its ever-changing present, how can we build a future that incorporates its intangible cultural heritage? How and why should there be a merge of technology and culture? What are the ways we can integrate cultural spaces into urban planning? And indeed how can we transform our museums into living, breathing spaces...

Panelists : Jahnavi Phalkey, Founding Director, Science Gallery, Bengaluru | Arundhati Ghosh, Executive Director, India Foundation for the Arts | Manasi Prasad, Mentor & Advisor, Indian Music Experience, Bengaluru and Carnatic classical vocalist | Kamini Sawhney, Director, Museum of Art & Photography, Bengaluru

. "There is money in sports, there is interest in sports. But people don't want to invest in sports because of lack of transparency in accounts. We pay Rs 18 lakh to a foreign coach but an Indian coach for hockey is paid Rs 2 lakh? Why this discrimation? We really need to change this" says Ballal.

With this, the session comes to an end.

. Ballal says we need to drive children towards sports because sports teaches a lot of things. "India has talent, one just needs to provide opportunities. One should be focused on the target as to where one wants to be in the next two years. It has to start with governance, new thought processes should be brought in and younger people should be allowed to lead," says Ballal.

. Sportsmen are second-class citizens, says former India Hockey Team Captain Ashish Ballal. He says that our contributions are forgotten. On the state of sporting infrastructure, Ballal says, in India there are about 50 hockey fields, out of which only 10 are functional.

. Reeth Abraham, Former International Athlete, raises the issue of athletes not getting support from the associations and federations. She also points out the lack of infrastructure for athletes to train in Bengaluru. "Kanteerava Stadium also has limited access," she says. "This makes it hard for us to fight it out," she adds.

. Karnataka, and Bengaluru in particular, has bred many internationals across disciplines that have contributed to India's global success in sports. Of late, however, hockey, track and field, football, badminton, among others, that gave India many stalwarts have slacked a bit. How do we regain the lost glory to make Bengaluru India's sporting hub again?

Panelists : Ashish Ballal, Former India Hockey Team Captain | Reeth Abraham, Former International Athlete | U Vimal Kumar, Former India Badminton Player | Nandan Kamath, Sports Lawyer

. FIRST PRIZE: Film: 'Ithyartha...?' Theme: Stuck in a moment Team Lead: Naveen Kempanhalli

SECOND PRIZE Film: 'CRO-X-ED OVER (INTO THE WORLD OF MOBILE)' Theme: Crossing over Team Lead: G Aynkaran

THIRD PRIZE Film: 'Dradha Nirdhaara' Theme: Crossing over Team Lead: Joswin Pereira

. BBMP is a punching bag anyway. Tomorrow if you do something besides government rules and if there's flooding, do not blame the BBMP for it, says BBMP chief.

With this, the session comes to an end.

. What defines heritage is very subtle. Historic areas should be preserved, says BBMP chief. One has to see a balance in the growth and what heritage one wants to preserve, which is a fine debate. Regulations have to be put by us, he adds.

. In the US, public schools have facilities where people can walk in in the evening and play some sport. If we can use public spaces and provide sporting space and facilities, we can help better the quality of lives, says Ashish Puravankara.

. The way the private infratsruture is developing, it will not be able to sustain in a long run. Isolated infrastructure are restricting people from interacting with each other. Where is the law regarding boundary walls? asks BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath. He points out that we are running short of playing grounds.

. In 2040, the priority will be social infrastructure, says Ashish Puravankara. He adds: "We can redefine the culture today. We can mould Bengaluru's culture. As a visionary, we must focus on work-life balance, social infrastructure." He says that sports centres should be build so that families can come there and spend some time.

. Markets drive the city. It can happen otherwise also. Ultimately, for all the markets (commernce and industry), their demands have to be met. The only way itcan grow is in the same trajectory. Upto 2040, we should continue attract the best in the IT sector. We should be able to meet their demands, says BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath. Whenever we plan, we should plan for 25 years and not 5 years, he adds.

. As the panel begins,Ashish Puravankara asks: Can Bengaluru make it to the top 30 or top 40 cities in the world?

"That's what we should aim for and to achieve thatinfrastructure plays an important role. This aim could be acheived if the government could come up with a vision and convey it to the people and timely implement the measures," says Ashish Puravankara, MD Puravankara.

. Panelists: Ashish Puravankara, MD Puravankara Ltd | Tushar Girinath, Chief Commissioner, BBMP | Abhishek Kapoor, Executive Director & CEO, Puravankara Ltd | NSN Murty, Partner & Leader, Government & Public Services, Deloitte Consulting

. Prof Navakanta Bhat, Dean, Interdisciplinary Sciences Division and Professor, Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) calls for a vibrant startup ecosystem. "Create a vibrant startup ecosystem and provide a platform for these startups as they need access to high-end equipments," he says, adding that IISc has created such an ecosystem in Bengaluru.

. Bengaluru has the most important ingredient to turn into a future-ready city – a scientific temperament, pointed out Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon Ltd, the city-based global biopharmaceutical company.

Speaking at Deccan Herald’s Bengaluru 2040 Summit, on Saturday, she traced the history of the city’s tryst with science right from the founding of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) back in 1909, to the evolution of NIMHANS, the National Aerospace Laboratory in 1960 and to its continued engagement with research and development to this day.

. Ladies and gentlemen, Bengaluru has for a couple of decades now been known as the 'Back-office of the World.' Thispaneltoday of Science and Technology entrepreneurs and leaders is meant to understand where Bengaluru is heading next. Please welcome on stage Gopichand Katragadda, founder, Myelin Foundry; Manu Saale, Managing Director, Mercedes Benz R&D India; Prof Navkanta Bhat, Dean, Centre for Nano Science & Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, and Prof Tarun Souradeep, Director, Raman Research Institute. Thepanelwill be moderated by S Raghotham, Opinion Editor, Deccan Herald."

. The political slugfest over the BBMP elections continues at the session between MLA Reddy and Minister Narayan. "Where is BBMP? There is no BBMP for the last two and a half year," says Reddy. To this, Narayan asks her to raise these issues on the floor of the House. Reddy responds saying that the Congress has raised the issue in the Assembly as well and that the minister would have seen it if he were present.

On the issue of pothole-filled roads, Reddy says, "His partycares only about 'Love Jihad' and not potholes."

With this, the fierysession comes to an end.

. On the issue of infrastructure and the steel flyover issue, MLA Reddy says that in a true democracy the CM listens to people. But right now, the protests keep continuing.

. The matter of BBMP elections is in the Supreme Court, the elections will be held once the court takes a decision on the new legislation, says Ashwath Narayan. He adds that, however, the government is looking after various aspects of the city.

Reacting to the delay in holding the BBMP election, MLASowmya Reddy, said, "It shouldn't take over two years to conduct an election."

. Rtd. IPS officer Bhaskar Rao bats for stronger governance within the city, saying, "When governance takes a beating several mafias starts dictating terms." Rao says that good governance, decentralisation and urban management are the three areas that one needs to focus to make Bengaluru future-ready.

. Congress has started working on the manifesto for Bengaluru, says Sowmya Reddy, Jayanagar MLA. Reddy says that the party has a set of parametres including water, education, transportation, waste management and even animals based on which it is working on a manifesto. "We want the Halle Bengaluru back," says Reddy.

. The entire country is looking at Bengaluru, says CN Ashwath Narayan. He adds that the government is working on multiple projects including elevated roads, ring roads to build Bengaluru for the future. However, after the pandemic, the way cities grow is changing. So all these factors have to be kept in mind while building the city, he adds.

. It’s election season and the discussion will focus on what Bengaluru, a city whose problems get patchwork solutions, can expect in terms of vision, governance and development for a long-term future.

Panelists : Dr. CN Ashwath Narayan, Hon’ble Minister for IT/BT and Higher Education | Sowmya Reddy, MLA, Jayanagar | Bhaskar Rao, Rtd. IPS officer

. We have tremendous data but we are not sharing it. The Government of India has started an intivite called Urban Centre which would enable us to share data with companies working on solving problems. We've signed a deal with Google and have shared data with the giant as they are working on a feature to locate the nearest metro station. We are ready to share data as long as the third party is not selling the data and using it only for the said purpose, says Anjum Parwez.

. People should adhere to traffic rules and maintain discipline on roads, says City Traffic Commissioner. This would help Bengaluru solve its traffic woes, he adds.

"In the last two decades, our population has grown by 4% but the number of vehicles has grown by 10%," he says.

. Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru City, Dr M A Saleem traces the development of the city over the last few decades to understand the city's traffic woes. Saleem says, "If you see the growth of the city when major PSUs were set up here, the traffic woes were not there. The second phase of development happened with the arrival of the IT companies. With this, the need for travel started two decades back. And so did the traffic woes. In the last two decades, our population has grown by 4 per cent but the number of vehicles have grown by 10 per cent," he says.

. The panel will focus on solving mobility problems in urban India including congestion and pollution by having a conversation on integrated multi-modal transport, the role of city planners and policymakers, the future of mobility, charging infrastructure and the role of software-connected vehicles and IoT.

Panelists : Guruprasad Mudlapur, Joint Managing Director of Bosch Limited | Dr M A Saleem, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Bengaluru City | Anjum Parwez, Managing Director, BMRCL | Chetan Maini, Co-founder and Chairman of SUN Mobility

. Kerala has given its state the tagline "God's own country" but Karnataka is "God's most loved state". Let's live and and create a better Bengaluru, says CM Bommai.

. India Energy Week is happening in the first week of February to discuss enegry issues and global challengesbecause Bengaluru has the highest number of R&D in power. So, Bengaluru is also a city for energy, says CM Bommai.

. Bommai says, "Everybody thinks about the problems of today, which is due to wrong policies. A course correction is necessary for Bengaluru."

The Karnataka chief minister says that three important steps need to be taken for "Bengaluru's course correction". First, is planned development, then planned traffic management and planned waste management. If these three measures are taken in a time-bound manner, majority of Bengaluru's woes will be solved, says Bommai.

. She adds, "Hence, we need to innovate." On this note, she ends her keynote address.

. Shaw says that Bengaluru holds a special place when it comes to science. Institutions such as NIMHANS, ISRO, HAL have helped Bengaluru build a scientific temper in the city. "The creative temper created by these institutions have maede Bengaluru ITBT capital of India. The creative and scientific temper have set the stage for Bengaluru to be future-ready," she says.

. Shaw stresses on Bengaluru being a safe city for it to truly be future-ready. "There has to be 24*7 surveillance.We need technology to be a safe city," says Shaw.

. As Shaw delivers the keynote address to flag off the DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit, she asks, "How are we going to be future ready? If we really want to build #Bengaluru as a future-ready city, we need to look at a city with a good quality of life."

. We have the potential to make Bengaluru future-ready for 2040, says Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon.

. Deccan Herald Editor says, "As we all know, we also have some of theworst roads going and seriousproblems with traffic, with pollution, with drinking water and with garbage collection. We will be a seriously crowded city, with some 26 million people by 2040."

As we all know, we also have some of theworst roads going and seriousproblems with traffic, with pollution, with drinking water and with garbage collection. We will be a seriously crowded city, with some 26 million people by 2040.

. Today, you will hear speakers from all the moving parts that make Bengaluru the city it is, whether it is start-ups, big tech or pure science; policy or politics; showbiz or sport; museums or mobility. These are some of the groups with the biggest stakes in how Bengaluru looks two decades hence; groups most interested in asking and answering the question of how we build a smart, sustainable and world-beating city that is home to the brightest and best, where all people are treated fairly and live in harmony. The last bit is particularly important: there is little point building a shiny new city if it is not a city for everyone, he says.

. A very welcome to the second edition of Deccan Herald's Bengaluru 2040, our annual event where we attempt to spark ideas, spur debate and shape the future of our city. Many of us met last in March of 2022, the inaugural edition; this year, we're going a little earlier to avoid our festival of ideas clashing with the festival of democracy that is an assembly election, saysShankar.

. The seasoned resident of “India’s Silicon Valley” has been vocal about the city’s crumbling infrastructure. She has often questioned why the officials concerned have not been held accountable for the laps.

. The billionaire-entrepreneur and biotechnology veteran will share her blueprint for a future-ready Bengaluru. The seasoned resident of “India’s Silicon Valley” has been vocal about the city’s crumbling infrastructure. She has often questioned why the officials concerned have not been held accountable for the laps

. The panel will focus on solving mobility problems in urban India including congestion and pollution by having a conversation on integrated multi-modal transport, the role of city planners and policymakers, the future of mobility, charging infrastructure and the role of software-connected vehicles and IoT.

. Karnataka, and Bengaluru in particular, has bred many internationals across disciplines that have contributed to India's global success in sports. Of late, however, hockey, track and field, football, badminton, among others, that gave India many stalwarts have slacked a bit. How do we regain the lost glory to make Bengaluru India's sporting hub again?

. To encapsulate the heritage of the past as well as the grandeur of the present, for diversity as well as creativity, to boost a creative economy, and to build a city that's ready for 2040, culture is the key. In this context, we look at Bengaluru as a cultural construct. With its many-layered past and its ever-changing present, how can we build a future that incorporates its intangible cultural heritage? How and why should there be a merge of technology and culture? What are the ways we can integrate cultural spaces into urban planning? And indeed how can we transform our museums into living, breathing spaces...

DH Bengaluru 2040 Summit highlights

Vote of thanks by K V Subramanya, Associate Editor, Deccan Herald

'Sounds of Bengaluru' by Jazz singer Aparupa Gupta & her band

A beautiful caricature by DH's Sajith Kumar of all the panelists, speakers and performers at the event

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