Bengaluru Tech summit 2018 opens; Australia, French mark their presence
Bengaluru: Being the torchbearer of Indian IT in the last couple of decades, Bengaluru, on behalf of the entire nation, has built a significant branding and positioning for the sector in the international markets.
Going forward, the city and state of Karnataka are all set to build huge capabilities for deep, digital technologies thus creating a solid base for the next level growth of the country’s tech sector, said Karnataka Chief Minister H.D Kumaraswamy.
Sectors like IT, biotechnology and animation have provided direct employment to over a million people and indirect jobs to close to four million people in Bangalore alone. The next layer of tech growth is expected to bring in large number of jobs and value creation for the industry, said Mr Kumaraswamy.
At the opening session of the 21st edition of the state’s tech exposition, Bengaluru Tech Summit here on Thursday, Mr. Kumaraswamy said, "This is a unique platform provided by Karnataka for deliberating on innovation and its impact on industry and society at large. A large number of Indian and foreign companies engaged in innovation and R&D are participating in it."
He said his government was committed towards supporting and encouraging SMEs and start-ups. Through its startup policy, the government intends to support young ventures for providing solutions that address several challenges faced by society. The partnership between the government, industry, academia, and research and development institutions has led to the creation of a unique ecosystem in the state, he added.
Kate Jones, Minister for Innovation and Tourism Industry Development, Queensland, Australia said her state, like Karnataka, was investing heavily into technology to become Australia’s largest tech ecosystem. Queensland has set aside $650 million for R&D and tech collaboration. She said she was pleased to meet a few entrepreneurs in India's IT Capital who are working on 3D printing of human liver or human babies.
“This is something I know would be welcomed all around the world. I am so excited about the opportunities between our two States,” she added.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and managing director of biotechnology company Biocon said, India has almost 2,000 biotech startups out of which 600 are in Karnataka.
"The biotechnology sector is now being referred to as bio-economy due to its huge impact on the economy, whether it is environmental sustainability, agriculture or digital healthcare. There is an emergence of data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning in life sciences, which is going to be a huge transformational factor for applications such as diagnosing diseases,’’ she added.
Speaking on the occasion, Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France, said, “Bengaluru is a highly favoured location for French companies and more than 150 firms have set up activities in the city. I am so impressed by the energy and the amount of innovation that is happening out of here.’’
The three-day Tech Summit has global participants, industry captains, futurists and innovators showcasing innovation and celebrating the success of technology and startup ecosystem of the state. Innovation and Impact being the focal theme of the Bengaluru Tech Summit this year, the event will have the convergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, IoT, robotics, blockchain and cyber security, which help in providing solutions for the challenges faced in sectors like health, education, agriculture and energy.
