Chief Minister visits Target in India’s Bengaluru campus ahead of the strategic GCC consultation
* Over 150 GCC leaders engage with Government on AI, talent, infrastructure and the next phase of*Karnataka’s GCC growth
* Government reaffirms commitment to attracting 500 new GCCs, creating 3.5 lakh high-quality jobs*and generating US$50 billion in economic output by 2029
Bengaluru, July 08, 2026-
The Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka, in partnership with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), today hosted ‘KATALYST CONNECT: The Chief
Minister’s Meet with Global Capability Centre (GCC) Leaders’, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister
of Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar. The consultation was held under KATALYST, the Government of Karnataka’s
dedicated Ease of Doing Business (EODB) initiative for GCCs, aimed at facilitating investments, addressing
operational challenges and enabling faster coordination between GCCs and the Government.
Minister for Home, Information Technology, Biotechnology and E-Governance Priyank M. Kharge;
Financial Advisor to the Chief Minister of Karnataka, L.K. Atheeq, IAS; Dr. N. Manjula, IAS, Secretary,
Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology; and other senior officials from the
Government of Karnataka were also present at the consultation.
Ahead of the strategic consultation, the Chief Minister visited Target in India’s Bengaluru campus, the Global
Capability Centre of US retailer Target Corporation. He interacted with the company’s leadership and gained insights into the capabilities being built from Karnataka across technology, AI, finance, marketing, digital, supply chain,merchandising, store design and more. The visit highlighted the growing role of Karnataka based GCCs in driving value globally through innovation, technology and digital capabilities, and undertaking increasingly strategic mandates for multinational enterprises
Following the visit, the Chief Minister chaired the strategic consultation, bringing together senior executives from over 150 leading multinational enterprises, senior government officials and industry stakeholders to discuss the priorities shaping the next phase of Karnataka’s GCC ecosystem.
The dialogue focused on strengthening Government-industry collaboration and enabling GCCs in Karnataka to take on larger global mandates across artificial intelligence, engineering, research and development, product innovation and enterprise transformation.
Industry leaders shared perspectives and recommendations on talent availability and future workforce readiness, urban and digital infrastructure, AI adoption, ease of doing business, policy responsiveness, industry-academia collaboration and expanding GCC investments beyond Bengaluru. The discussions also explored opportunities to deepen Karnataka’s startup-GCC linkages and strengthen the State’s position as a global hub for high-value innovation and enterprise capabilities.
The consultation saw participation from leadership representatives of leading Global Capability Centres, including
Google, Target, Intel, IBM, Anthropic, Nokia, Bosch, JPMorgan Chase, HSBC, Chevron, Philips, Thermo Fisher
Scientific, Takeda, Novo Nordisk Global Business Services, Lowe’s India, Rolls-Royce, Raytheon, Ford, eBay,
Snowflake, Carl Zeiss, Collins Aerospace, Johnson Controls, Wayfair, Waters, Verint, A.P. Moller-Maersk, Delta Air
Lines and several other multinational enterprises.
Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister of Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to strengthening Karnataka’s position as India’s leading destination for Global Capability Centres. He said, “Karnataka’s partnership with Global Capability Centres has helped build one of the world’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems. Today, GCCs in our State are shaping global products, engineering
breakthrough technologies and driving enterprise transformation. Our Government remains committed to creating an environment where businesses can innovate with confidence, access world-class talent and scale globally. Together, we will ensure that the next generation of global technologies and enterprise capabilities continues to be imagined, engineered and scaled from Karnataka.”
Speaking during the strategic dialogue, Minister for Home, Information Technology, Biotechnology and E-Governance Priyank M. Kharge said, “Karnataka’s leadership as India’s premier GCC destination has been
built on the trust and long-standing partnership of the global enterprise community. As GCCs evolve from delivery centres into global hubs for AI, engineering, R&D and product innovation, our focus is on ensuring
that Karnataka continues to provide the talent, policy environment and innovation ecosystem required for them to take on larger global mandates. We will continue working closely with industry to strengthen this partnership
and enable the next phase of GCC growth from Karnataka.”
Welcoming the industry leaders, Dr. N. Manjula, IAS, Secretary, Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology, said, “The recommendations shared by industry will play an important role in shaping Karnataka’s future GCC roadmap. Our priority is to ensure that policy remains responsive to evolving industry needs, our talent ecosystem keeps pace with emerging technology mandates, and enterprises have the enabling environment required to build and scale high-value capabilities from Karnataka.
Through the Karnataka GCC Policy 2024–2029 and initiatives such as KATALYST, LEAP, Centres of Excellence, NIPUNA and Beyond
Bengaluru, we will work closely with industry to translate these discussions into meaningful action.”
The interaction featured focused discussions around key themes including:
* AI, GenAI and enterprise transformation
* Talent development, skilling and future workforce readiness
* Digital and urban infrastructure
* Ease of Doing Business and policy enablement
* Research, innovation and industry-academia collaboration
* Expansion of GCC investments beyond Bengaluru
* Strengthening Karnataka’s startup and deep-tech ecosystem
* Enabling GCCs to take on larger global mandates from Karnataka
The meeting concluded with a shared commitment between the Government of Karnataka and industry leaders to deepen collaboration and translate the recommendations emerging from KATALYST CONNECT into actionable
measures for strengthening the State’s GCC ecosystem
