Pramesh S Jain
Karnataka’s deep tech ecosystem will be strengthened through five key building blocks—talent,research,startup support,government adoption of innovation and intelligent governance-Minister for Home,Information Technology,Biotechnology and E-Governance Priyank Kharge said today.
Delivering the keynote address at NASSCOM Future Forge – Charting India’s Deep Tech Architecture,the Minister said Karnataka’s continued leadership in technology has been built through close collaboration between government,industry and academia, and the same approach will shape the State’s next phase of deep technology growth.
“At one level, NASSCOM represents the industry.But at a deeper level,it is an institution that brings together policy, innovation, talent and investment.
Many of Karnataka’s landmark technology policies have emerged from conversations with industry,and that is what has made our ecosystem one of the most progressive in the country,”he said.
The Minister said Karnataka’s approach to deep tech is built on five interconnected building blocks that together create an end-to-end innovation ecosystem.
The first building block,he said, is talent through Nipuna Karnataka,the State’s flagship industry-led skilling initiative.
The programme supports up to 40 per cent of the cost of upskilling professionals in emerging technologies, with industry itself identifying the skills required across sectors such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, manufacturing and life sciences.
“Our idea is simple-skill locally and work globally. Karnataka has the talent,and our responsibility is to ensure that talent remains future-ready and globally competitive,”he said.
The second building block focuses on research and innovation through Karnataka’s network of more than 20 Centres of Excellence,established in partnership with industry and academic institutions.
The Minister said these centres are helping transform research into commercially viable technologies by supporting startups,promoting industry-academia collaboration and creating intellectual property.
Collectively,the Centres of Excellence have generated over 1,000 intellectual properties,demonstrating Karnataka’s commitment to ensuring that ideas move beyond laboratories into the marketplace.
“We want ideas to become products, products to become companies and companies to become globally competitive enterprises.That is why we continue to invest in research,Centres of Excellence and innovation,” he said.
The third building block is startup-led innovation through Karnataka’s flagship Elevate programme and Elevate Next, the State’s dedicated deep tech initiative under its Deep Tech Decade vision.
Having already supported nearly 1,500 startups through grant funding without taking equity,Karnataka has expanded support for deep tech startups through Elevate Next,providing grants of up to ₹1 crore while also connecting startups to mentors,research institutions and international markets through Karnataka’s Global Innovation Alliance spanning more than 40 countries.
“It’s not just about funding startups.It is about building an ecosystem where innovators have access to research,mentorship,markets and opportunities to scale globally,” the Minister said.
The fourth building block is Government First,a new approach aimed at making government an early adopter of innovative technologies.
Under the initiative,startups developing solutions for governance and public service delivery will be able to pilot their innovations using government datasets in secure sandbox environments,enabling them to validate products while addressing real-world challenges across sectors including healthcare,mobility, water,tourism, agriculture and urban governance.
“If startups are solving real governance challenges, government should become their first customer.We want to create opportunities for innovators to build solutions that improve citizen service delivery while helping them scale,” he said.
The fifth building block is Karnataka’s transition from E-Governance to Intelligent Governance (I-Governance), where artificial intelligence,data and digital technologies are integrated into governance to improve decision-making and public service delivery.
Highlighting the State’s growing use of AI in disaster management, livestock census, remote sensing and digital public services, the Minister said Karnataka will continue leveraging emerging technologies to build smarter, faster and more responsive governance.
“The next phase of governance is intelligent governance, where technology helps governments make better decisions, improve citizen services and solve real-world problems at scale,” he said.
The Minister also said Karnataka is strengthening the digital infrastructure that will underpin AI-led growth. He noted that the State is refining its forthcoming Sustainable Data Centre Policy in consultation with industry to encourage renewable energy adoption, sustainable infrastructure,efficient water management and responsible resource utilisation,ensuring that the growth of AI is supported by environmentally sustainable digital infrastructure.
Concluding his address,the Minister said Karnataka’s deep tech framework would continue to evolve alongside technological advancements.
“These four-five things are the architecture we are developing for deep tech. It is an agile framework. As technology evolves,government must continue to listen, learn,adapt and build policies that enable innovation.
Karnataka will continue creating an ecosystem where technologies developed here solve problems not just for our State, but for India and the world,”he said.
