Karnataka’s tech push: Govt launches umbrella brand for innovation in state

‘Innovate Karnataka’ will act as an umbrella brand for all innovation in the state, including in emerging technologies such as blockchain, robotics and AI.
Karnataka’s tech push: Govt launches umbrella brand for innovation in state
Karnataka’s tech push: Govt launches umbrella brand for innovation in state
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With the aim of making Karnataka a global first choice for innovation, the state government unveiled ‘Innovate Karnataka’ in Bengaluru on Thursday.

‘Innovate Karnataka’ will act as an umbrella brand for all innovation in the state -- whether it’s in emerging technologies such as blockchain, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), nanotechnology, or in the startup ecosystem of Karnataka.

Speaking about the brand narrative for Innovate Karnataka, Siddaramaiah said, “Development cannot happen without innovation, and no innovation is truly big unless it helps people. With ‘Innovate Karnataka’, we hope to start on the path to Mission 2025: where technology will help in the inclusive development of the state, where better governance can be delivered to the citizens. Our vision is to put people first in all our schemes in programmes, and ‘Innovate Karnataka’ will both fulfill the vision, and be a driving force for it.”

As per a statement from the state government, the vision of ‘Innovate Karnataka’ to see Karnataka as a global first choice of innovation and technology by adopting policies which spur 100% digitization of health, agriculture and other domains and enable inclusive digital growth across geographies and all strata of society.

Innovate Karnataka will be spearheaded by the Department of Innovation and Technology, which is a modern, advanced version of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology

“We are at the cusp of a technology revolution across the world, and Karnataka is poised to be the global leader when it comes to innovation. Already, we are spearheading the startup movement in India, and ensuring that we’re at the forefront of blockchain, nanotechnology, artificial intelligence innovation. Now, it’s time to take Karnataka into a safe, secure future where technology solves real problems,” Priyank Kharge, IT Minister of the state said.

Kharge also added that the changing job and employment markets will require a large scale reskilling of the current and future workforce, and said Govt of Karnataka was ready to meet the challenge.

The state government also launched several Centres of Excellence (CoE) across Karnataka at the program, including the Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, in association with NASSCOM; Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics, in association with ABAI; Centre of Excellence for Machine Learning & Robotics at IIITB; Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security.

An Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) Cluster was announced for Mysore, and a Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) Incubator in Hubli was launched, to focus not just Bengaluru, but the rest of the state as well. An amount of Rs 4 crore will be spent on each facility.

The minister also announced a roadmap for use of blockchain technology in Karnataka, and said that it will be used extensively in governance and service delivery, in a manner that has maximum social impact.

The event also saw the launch of two portals for the youth of the state to participate in ‘Innovate Karnataka’: The Yuva Yuga portal, which will act as the one-stop-shop for all the information related to the state’s skill development program, and the e-Margadarshi, which will help youth who are looking for employment to fulfill their dreams.

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