Karnataka remains IT leader in India, far ahead of Telangana, says Minister Priyank Kharge
BENGALURU: Karnataka is way ahead of any state, including Telangana, in the Information Technology sector in India, said IT and BT Minister Priyank Kharge.
“As many people are telling me that Telangana is inching closer to Karnataka in IT, I would like to assure them again that there is absolutely no competition between Karnataka and Telangana as our state is way ahead of them,” Kharge said, adding that no state is coming near Karnataka any time soon. He was speaking at the inauguration of the 20th edition of the Confederation of Indian Industries’ India Innovation Summit Innoverge 2024 here on Wednesday.
Last year, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai stated that Hyderabad will dethrone Bengaluru’s IT status because of continued neglect of the city by successive governments over the last 10 years. “In electronic design, Karnataka stands number one in the country. In machine tool manufacturing, we have 52 per cent share. In defence manufacturing, we have a 65 per cent share. We are exporting $5 billion worth of electronic accessories. IT exports last year were close to Rs 4.5 lakh crore, which is twice that of Telangana,” Kharge said.
He pointed out that Karnataka is $214 billion ahead of Telangana in terms of business in IT. The neighbouring state’s IT business is almost half compared to Karnataka.
“We are number five in the top 50 AI cities in the world. In the last two years, Karnataka has added $9 billion to the bio-economy, taking it from $22 billion to $31 billion last year. Bengaluru is one of the most sustainable growth engines in Asia, and the state has a robust system in place,” he said.
He said 20 Centres of Excellence, which are anchored by the industry and the academia, are run by the Karnataka government, and sought the support of the industry to accelerate them.
CII and the Department of Information Technology & Biotechnology (ITBT), Karnataka, launched the Karnataka CleanTech Startup Accelerator.
The new initiative is designed to boost clean technology startups by offering mentorship, funding, and resources essential for rapid growth.