Bengaluru Tech Summit 2023 an 'unprecedented success': Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge

Karnataka Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology, Priyank Kharge, said that the three-day Bengaluru Tech Summit 2023, held at the Bangalore Palace, concluded with unprecedented and resounding success, breaking new ground in the realm of technology and innovation.

Speaking to mediapersons, Kharge added that the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2023 has been a global standout, with participants from 45 countries, 83 sessions and insights from 401 speakers.

The event themed "Breaking Boundaries: Innovations from India, Impact for the World", featured 553 exhibitors and 258 startups across various fields, facilitating connections through 427 physical B2B meetings and 1981 virtual connect sessions.

With a strong attendance of 8,606 business professionals and 18,592 registered business visitors, the summit also recorded an impressive 50,000 expo footfall, the Minister said.

Noteworthy contributions came from countries like Australia, Denmark, South Korea and Japan in the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) expo as well as major academic institutions like Amity University and industry leaders like Infosys, Biocon, Microsoft Startup etc., Kharge added.

At the Bengaluru Tech Summit, the Karnataka government unveiled a revised policy for biotechnology and a new Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) policy to drive economic development in these sectors.

The Biotechnology Policy aims for exponential growth, building on Karnataka's status as the 'Biotechnology Capital of India'.

The AVGC-XR policy seeks to leverage the state's IT and Business Process Management strengths to establish global leadership, emphasising talent development, job creation, exports and sustainability, the Minister said.

"The GIA track featured 20 countries, including Australia, Finland, Netherlands, South Korea, Israel, Austria, France, the UK, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Switzerland, Thailand, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, and witnessed the participation of ambassadors from six countries -- Australia, Finland, Germany, the UK, Netherlands and Lithuania," Kharge added.

Reacting to a query, the Minister said that the Bengaluru Tech Summit is not conducted for the BJP and he aspires to strengthen the position of IT city Bengaluru at the global level.

Kharge added that the guarantee schemes are in no way coming in the way of providing infrastructure to IT companies and ensuring development.

The economic crisis is created by the pathetic economic policy of the Central government, he said."We are yet to receive the GST balance. Karnataka is getting Rs 18 for every Rs 100 given to the Union government, whereas north Indian states like Uttar Pradesh are getting Rs 120 and Rs 180. The Karnataka BJP unit must clarify whether they want guarantee schemes or not," he added.