Pramesh S Jain
*Karnataka Calls for Industry-Government Partnership to Build India’s AI-led Product Economy.
Calling for stronger collaboration between government, industry and academia to position India as a global AI-led product nation,Minister for Home,Information Technology & Biotechnology,Priyank Kharge today outlined Karnataka’s vision for the next phase of AI-led growth,emphasising that the State’s innovation leadership will be built through collaborative policymaking,future-ready talent,research, entrepreneurship and responsible adoption of artificial intelligence.
The Minister was speaking during the Special Plenary Session on “Transforming India into an AI-led Product Nation– Innovation,Trust & Technology”at the 22nd CII Innovation Summit–Innoverge 2026,alongside Mr. Guruprasad Mudlapur,Chairman,CII Karnataka & President,Bosch Group in India;Mr.Kamal Bali,Chairman, CII Innoverge 2026 & President & Managing Director, Volvo Group India;Mr.Kris Gopalakrishnan,Past President,CII,Co-founder,Infosys and Chairman,Axilor Ventures;and Mr.Sudipto Paul,Partner,McKinsey & Company.
Speaking at the summit,Priyank Kharge,Minister for Home,Information Technology&Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka,said“If India is to become an AI-led product nation, government,industry and academia cannot work in silos anymore.
Karnataka has always believed in building innovation through collaboration.Our role is not just to govern,but to partner with industry,academia and entrepreneurs to create the right ecosystem for talent,research,startups and responsible AI.Together,we can build solutions that are not only made in Karnataka, but built for the world.”
The Minister said Karnataka’s next phase of AI-led growth will depend on stronger partnerships between government and industry across strategic priorities:
*Build a globally competitive AI talent pipeline by expanding industry-led skilling, ensuring students and professionals are equipped with future-ready capabilities across AI and emerging technologies.
*Take Karnataka’s innovation ecosystem global by strengthening international partnerships and enabling startups to access global markets, technologies and innovation networks.
*Accelerate DeepTech innovation by encouraging industry to mentor startups,provide pilot opportunities, validate technologies and co-invest alongside Government to help promising innovations scale faster.
*Strengthen research and industry-academia collaboration by expanding Centres of Excellence and creating stronger partnerships between higher education institutions,researchers and industry.
*Prepare the next generation of AI innovators by deepening academia-industry collaboration, developing future-ready curricula and advancing responsible AI education and research through the proposed AI University.
*Leverage AI to transform governance by enabling innovators to responsibly build public-interest solutions using anonymised government datasets through a secure regulatory sandbox,helping improve citizen service delivery.
To support these priorities,the Minister highlighted several flagship Government initiatives already underway,including Nipuna Karnataka for industry-led skilling, the Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) and the upcoming Global Innovation and Growth Alliance (GIGA) to strengthen international innovation partnerships, Elevate and Elevate Next to accelerate startup and DeepTech growth,Karnataka’s network of Centres of Excellence,the proposed AI University,and the Government First initiative to promote responsible AI-driven governance.
Priyank Kharge also urged industry to play a more active role in shaping Karnataka’s innovation ecosystem by mentoring startups,adopting colleges,partnering in Centres of Excellence,supporting research and innovation,and working alongside Government to build globally competitive AI products and solutions from Karnataka.
He reiterated that Karnataka’s policy approach will continue to evolve in partnership with industry,ensuring the State remains responsive to emerging technologies and the changing needs of innovators and enterprise.
