Karnataka’s IT-BT Minister Priyank Kharge, in a conversation with BW Businessworld’s Rohit Chintapali on the sidelines of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025, discussed the state’s innovation-led tech strategy, regional expansion plans and talent development initiatives driving the state’s USD 1 trillion local economy ambition. Excerpts:
The ambition in Karnataka’s new IT policy to elevate the IT sector’s contribution to Gross State Value Added (GSVA) from 26 per cent to a target of 36 per cent is significant. What specific, actionable initiatives are in place to drive this aggressive 10-point jump in GSVA contribution?
If you look at the IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) exports from the state, we have already touched Rs 5 lakh crore, and we’re aiming to more than doubling that over the next five years. We are confident we’ll get there faster than in previous years and sooner than what we’ve committed, simply because we’re now disrupting verticals. Earlier, it was only about enabled services. Today, with Global Capability Centres (GCCs) expanding, AI coming in, and companies looking to disrupt these verticals independently, we have a strong advantage.
For instance, 47 per cent of all office space leasing by GCCs in India happened in Karnataka. Out of the 77 million sq. ft. leased across the country, nearly half was here in Karnataka. That gives you a sense of the scale and the level of interest we’re attracting. I’m extremely confident that we will achieve these targets, not just in terms of revenue generation, but also employment.
If the last two decades were defined by IT/ITeS, what new technological wave and economic structure, ‘Beyond IT’, now defines Bengaluru and Karnataka as one of the world’s fastest-growing tech ecosystem?
What you said is true. In the mid-nineties to throughout 2000s, we grew as a services-driven sector. But now we have matured into a full-fledged ecosystem, and we’ve moved up the value chain. The advent of GCCs has changed the game. IP creation is happening here, innovation is happening here, inventions are happening here, and product development is happening here.
“IPs are being registered from Karnataka, and global companies now see India as a talent pool that can serve the world.”
So, if you ask me what has changed, it’s that we’ve moved up the value chain in a big way. We have also moved up the innovation chain; earlier, people did not think of us as a product-building ecosystem. Now they do. And the fact that we are ranked number eight in the global startup ecosystem shows just how quickly we have climbed that value chain.
Given the huge disruption in the talent landscape, how is the Karnataka government actively supporting its citizens and the tech industry to navigate these changes?
We are pushing the triple-helix model, where industry, academia and the government work closely together to identify the talent requirements in emerging technologies. And when we say emerging technologies, it’s not about reading a report and drafting a policy in isolation. We are actively engaging with industry. We have inputs from over 200 corporates across sectors, from banking to cybersecurity, and we’re asking them directly: What skill sets do you need? What do you require in cybersecurity, digital forensics, quantum, biotechnology, and other frontier areas?
“The industry is giving us the curriculum, pointing out the skill gaps, and based on that, we’ve launched ‘NIPUNA,’ which is India’s largest reskilling and upskilling program built in partnership with industry, with a strong focus on emerging technologies.”
The goal is to make Karnataka’s human resources the most employable in the world. Our tagline is “skill locally, work globally.” Our talent pool is no longer restricted to Bengaluru. Someone trained here can work from Hubballi or The Hague, or Brisbane, or Belgium. That’s the vision. Because the demand for our talent is coming not just from companies based in Karnataka, but also from global ecosystems looking to tap into this skilled workforce.
‘Beyond Bengaluru’ is one of your flagship initiatives to develop Karnataka’s business ecosystem. What are the quantifiable outcomes and developments that the state government expects to achieve in the next few years from this initiative?
We have started a program called LEAP, the Local Economic Acceleration Program. The idea is very simple: instead of talent moving to where investments are, we are taking investments to where the talent already exists. Under LEAP, we are creating centres of excellence, common instrumentation facilities, plug-and-play spaces, accelerators and startup programs. We’re engaging with local educational institutions, industries, and industry bodies to actively promote these opportunities beyond Bengaluru. And it’s working very well for us.
“Take Mysuru, for example, it has exported IT services worth about Rs 6,500 crore through both STPIs and SEZs. Mangaluru is close to Rs 3,500 crore, and the Hubballi-Dharwad-Belagavi cluster is around Rs 3,000 crore. We’re clearly seeing companies move outward now.”
LEAP is also designed around the geographical and demographic strengths of each region. If Mangaluru is strong in marine biotech, we push marine biotech there. Automotive manufacturing can thrive in Belagavi, so that’s where we focus. Aerospace, again, aligns with Belagavi. The Manipal-Udupi-Bengaluru belt has a strong academic and talent base, so it’s ideal for startups. Kalaburagi is suited for agri-tech accelerators.
We’re playing to the strengths of each region’s demography and geography, and we’re seeing a clear shift in mindset. A classic example is the emergence of nano-GCCs in Mangaluru. There’s a Danish company operating a 1,000-seater centre there, with leadership based in Mangaluru itself. They love the air quality, the quality of life and the fact that everything is 15 minutes away. This is exactly how we are promoting the model, and we see LEAP becoming a real game-changer for the ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ initiative.
Considering the four major policy pushes made in 2025 to meet Karnataka’s broader USD 1 Trillion local economy goal, what specific role is the tech sector, under you, including both Bengaluru and the 'Beyond Bengaluru’ initiatives, expected to play in achieving this aggressive target?
I believe the tech sector will be the accelerator and the force multiplier. With the large-scale digital adoption, we’re seeing across services, products and apps in tier-1, tier-2 cities and even rural areas, the potential is huge. I see tier-one and tier-two cities becoming the key contributors in the near future, and they will add huge value to our push toward the USD 1 trillion economy. That’s where the population is, and it’s not as if they’re unaware or disconnected.
Most of our citizen services today are delivered through digital infrastructure, and people across the state have become familiar with it. So, it’s only a matter of time before everyone beyond Bengaluru also move up the value chain.
Also read: [color=hsl(210,75%,60%)]Karnataka Targets 90 Lakh Jobs, $3 Bn Space Investments Under New IT, Space Policies |
