IT hub to Tier 2 cities: Tech Summit sets lofty goals

By K. Shajil Kumar

A staggering investment of Rs 5,000 crore and an enthusiastic response to the Karnataka government’s initiative to draw investors to destinations beyond Bengaluru like Hubballi, Mysuru and Mangaluru; These were two major outcomes of the recently concluded 24th edition of ‘Bengaluru Tech Summit-2021’ which was a huge draw among tech entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts and saw 340 expo participants from Australia, the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and other countries.

The state government’s ‘Beyond Bengaluru StartUp Grid’ policy is aimed at facilitating growth of emerging industries in cities outside Bengaluru. Launched as part of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) the grid will provide a network, facilitate market access, mentorship, and investment access for the startups to interact and grow. KDEM through its industry anchors will enable and extend all the support for its Beyond Bengaluru Startup Grid members. The policy aims to have 5,000 new companies and startups under the spoke shore strategy to create 10 lakh jobs and $10 billion of exports from these clusters.

The state Minister for Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, Dr C.N. Aswath Narayan, claimed that BTS 2021 has attracted huge investments in the aftermath of the announcement of the government’s new Electronics System Design & Manufacturing Policy (ESDM) with industries evincing interest in setting up semiconductor plants, motors for air conditioners, solar cell units, and electric vehicle among others.

For the first time the summit hosted the US Tech Conclave. Narayan also announced the setting up of ‘Start-up Silicon Valley Bridge’ to facilitate skilled employees of the state to work for Silicon Valley based startups in the US. The minister hoped the proposed tie up will also serve as a connection between startups of both countries, enabling sharing of knowledge and other resources as a part of the new initiative.

In an interview to this daily the minister said, “We want to accelerate IT exports in tier-II clusters from 2% to 5% which translates to Rs 50,000 crore over five years from the current Rs 10,000 crore.” He also claimed the Karnataka Industries (Facilitation) Act has helped streamline the procedures for setting up industrial units.

The government has also set up a fintech task force to attract investments in the financial sector. It is also planning to set up a Centre of Excellence and a back office in Mangaluru for the purpose.

Many of the tech companies are now open to shifting to smaller towns as the recent disruption caused by the pandemic has made them realise that working from home or for that matter working from anywhere was no bar to productivity. The lower overhead costs is a major attraction and the widening penetration of the internet has proved to be a major facilitator for such a shift.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna during a recent visit to India has claimed that in the past six months, the US tech giant has expanded in tier-II cities and accelerated hiring. IBM has set up a global delivery centre in Mysuru with 300 employees. Other companies like Glowtouch and iMerit have also launched operations in Mysuru and Hubbali respectively.

There were three ministerial-level delegations from abroad and 1,253 international delegates participated during the three-day event.More than 210 startups from the fields of IT, Electronics, IoT, Healthcare, Medtech, Agritech, Fintech, Mobility Sectors showcased their products.

According to the Additional Chief Secretary E.V. Ramana Reddy, the event clocked 26,863 registered delegates with about 49,935 attendees. The summit also reached more than four crore viewers, including 2.93 crore impressions, through various social media channels, and 98,10,500 viewers through mainstream media.

As this year’s summit was held after the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, there was also a pent-up response. Last year’s event was held under the shadow of the pandemic and hence, the participation was fairly muted. There were only 8,507 registered delegates and 19,381 attendees.

While addressing the summit, US Consul General Judith Ravin claimed that India’s economic strength “is not just in India’s interest, but in the interest of the United States, the region, and the world.”

She said the trade between the two countries will surpass $145 billion in 2021, despite the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Overseas interest

Another indirect outcome of this event is that of the Australian Government planning to set up a Consulate in Bengaluru. While addressing the tech summit through a video message Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison