Bengaluru to become India’s economic capital: CM Bommai

Bengaluru, Nov.18:

Bengaluru will not remain as a city of Technology but will become the country’s economic capital in the next five years, said Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

Speaking at the valedictory of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 and distribution of awards here on Friday, he said Karnataka has been in a better position in attracting Foreign investment and Startups. Beyond Bengaluru must grow. The State enjoys a good ranking in the fields of agriculture, technology and economy, and naturally the responsibility is more than them.
‘Self-confidence is Tech Summit’s inspiration’ 

The CM said since Karnataka has been in first place in all fields maintaining that position is challenging. To achieve it they need to work hard. In this regard, they have confidence in engineers and scientists, and their hard work. Modern technology must be used for the betterment of mankind and for building a good society. Each person can bring changes and he must march forward with self-confidence without the fear of losing. This self-confidence has been the inspiration for Tech Summit. Such an event will be successful if industrialists achieve success in their area of work. Many important innovations have happened because of a few individuals and not because of any company.
‘Tech Summit, a big success’
He said they have successfully conducted the Bengaluru Tech Summit and it must be carried forward. The feelings of participants in these three days of events are very important. Bengaluru means a city of gold and people with a golden heart.

The final day of the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 concluded with The Innovators Conclave and Unicorn Felicitation ceremony. Speaking at the Innovators Conclave – Unicorn Felicitation, Dr C.N. Ashwath Narayan,   Minister for Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T, Higher Education; Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood, Government of Karnataka said, “The State of Karnataka is all set to strengthen its position as a hub of unicorns in the country with the addition of another 20 unicorns soon. These startups have received funding of over US$ 3.5 billion in the last few years and several of them are likely to achieve unicorn status shortly. Karnataka is home to around 40% of all unicorns in the country, and Bengaluru holds a rare distinction of producing the first and the hundredth unicorns of the country. Today, Bengaluru continues to retain India’s top position as a startup hub.”

He further added, “The Government of Karnataka has been forthcoming in encouraging innovation and facilitating platforms for its growth. Karnataka is the first state in the country to curate and design the Karnataka Preferential Market Access, a specific policy to promote public procurement from startups. The Government has undertaken several initiatives such as Elevate 100, Elevate WomEN, Grand Challenges Karnataka, New Age Innovation Network, and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission to name a few, to nurture and grow the startup ecosystem in the state. All of these initiatives have cemented Karnataka as a global technology hub and earned the State the well-deserved tag of ‘Startup capital of India’.”

Also present at the event were Dr E. V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Dept. of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T, Government of Karnataka; and Smt. Meena Nagaraj C.N., Director, Dept. of Electronics, IT &Bt, and Managing Director, KITS, Government of Karnataka.

The Unicorns felicitated at the Bengaluru Impact Awards include ACKO General Insurance Limited, No Broker, Mensa Brands, Slice, DealShare, Hasura.Inc, Livspace, Polygon Technology, Amagi Media Labs, Open Financial Technologies and LeadSquared. In the Decacorn category Byju’s and Swiggywere honoured.

 Key mentions:

 BTS Silver Jubilee Icon awards presented to top tech companies in recognition of their contribution to the State for over 25 years

• Announcement of the Karnataka Research, Development and Innovation Policy
• The Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S & T, Government of Karnataka launched 22 innovative products and solutions by startups
• Launch of Bengaluru Science and Technology Cluster (BeST) which will bring together the best minds in science, engineering, entrepreneurship, academia and government
• The prestigious IT Ratna of Karnataka awarded to Infosys and Intel
• IT Pride of Karnataka awarded to TCS, Bosch, Mindtree, and 21 other companies
• Google collaborates with Karnataka government to support emerging local startups and create new opportunities through digital skilling
• MOUs signed with HDFC, Razorpay, PayTM, TeeglobalAccerator for Innovation Network – The GAIN, Dayananda Sagar Entrepreneurship Research and Business Incubation – DERBI, Microsoft India Corporation, AWS Activate, StrongHer Ventures

 Overview of BTS 2022

• The event saw an overall participation of 32 countries, 405 speakers, 9356 delegates, 585 exhibitors, 25, 738 registered business visitors, over 50,000 footfalls at the Expo, and the signing of 12 MoUs
• The Global Innovation Alliance track saw the participation of 20 Countries, 164 Delegates, 101 Speakers, 3 Ministers level delegations, and 6 Ambassadors
• GIA Expo saw participants from Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, UKTI, South Korea, Pennsylvania, USPTO, Denmark
• National Rural IT Quiz by TCS saw participation from 28 States and 5 Union Territories with 4.5 lakh students
• Biotech Posters from 104 Young Researchers
• 15^th edition of the Bio Quiz goes National for the first time. Sees 1198 registrations PAN India
• Announcement of the ‘Booster Kit Partnership with Ecosystem Partner’ by Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka
• STPI IT Export Awards
• Smart Bio Awards 2022 conferred to companies and organizations who have immensely contributed in the field of Biotechnology
• Bengaluru Impact Awards 2022 conferred to Bengaluru based startup Unicorns