Minister Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan outlines projects as part of Beyond Bengaluru

Mysore/Mysuru: A Software Technology Park will come up at the building belonging to Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) near Mandakalli in Mysuru and the required land for expansion of Mysore Airport will be provided immediately. Also, a Mysuru Experience Centre about software and skill development will be set up at the Exhibition Grounds (Doddakere Maidan).

These were the assurances of Minister for Information Technology and Biotechnology and Higher Education Dr. C.N. Ashwathnarayan. He was participating in The Big Tech Show organised at Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in the city yesterday ahead of the upcoming Bengaluru Tech Summit 2021, an initiative of Government of Karnataka and Karnataka Digital Economy Mission.

“The Mysuru Experience Centre will give a feel of the tech ecosystem of Mysuru and at the same time, it will be a space for people, tech entrepreneurs, companies and IT giants to see what talent is available in Mysuru,” he noted. “We are ready to take forward a proposal of establishing the Technology Park at KSOU building,” he said. The Minister later met KSOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. S. Vidyashankar and discussed the proposal.

He assured the industry in Mysuru that the land required for expanding the Airport at Mandakalli will be provided soon. He said he discussed the matter with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who had responded positively to the request.

Cyber security hub

In the present day, cyber security is becoming essential for every person. Mysuru should leverage the existing tech ecosystem and become a cyber-security hub, the Minister felt. He added, at least 15 companies should start their Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in the city.

The Minister shared his experiences from recent visit to Dubai World Expo and said that investors were ready to invest in Karnataka. But he felt that the State should grow Beyond Bengaluru to absorb the investment. “Though Start-ups in Karnataka are attracting huge investments, most are coming from abroad while domestic investors are contributing only 10 percent,” he revealed.

Beyond Bengaluru outlook

Dr. E.V. Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT-BT and Science and Technology said that the Government of Karnataka has a clear vision on building the innovation and technology ecosystem in cities beyond Bengaluru.

“In line with the increasing importance to support and promote innovation, growth and development in these cities, the skill development plan of the spoke-shore initiative is to focus on creating a talent pool for spoke shore strategy for beyond Bengaluru,” he said.

International cricketer Javagal Srinath and Sanjeev Gupta, MD & CEO, Lahari, engaged in a Fireside chat on ‘Sports Tech’. Srinath said, “With the rapid digital transformation across sectors including sports and shifts beyond the metros, the new GCC strategy will be a catalyst for growth in markets such as Mysuru. Not only will this create employment opportunities in the new digital economy but will also put Karnataka on the map of driving futuristic growth across sectors.”

Mysuru-centric panel discussions

Among the panel discussions were ‘Mysuru Ready for Future Digital Jobs’ that laid emphasis on the talent pool and infrastructure in Mysuru. The session was addressed by Harish Krishnan, MD & Chief Policy Officer, CISCO. The panellists included Ramaiah Pattabhi, Talencia Global, Dr. Lakshmi Jagannath, CEO, Derbi Foundation, Dr. Ramasastry Ambarish, Dean & Chairman, MYRA Business School and Deepa Nagraj, Senior Vice President & Head – Sparkle Innovation Ecosystem and Communications, Mphasis.

Start-ups from the soil of Mysuru was closest to home that celebrated and spoke about the successful Start-ups that Mysuru has offered to the State and the industry. Scion of erstwhile Mysore royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar spoke.

The panellists included Bhaskar Kalale, Founder & CEO Fifty5Plus, Siddarth Pai, Founding Partner, 3one4 Capital, Chamaraj Prasad, Co-Founder & Director, Indibean Speciality Coffee Pvt. Ltd., Mysuru, Rohan Muralidhar, CEO & CTO, Bellatrix Aerospace, Shrilakshmi Desiraju, Co-Founder, Tri-phase Pharma and Shweta Rajpal Kohli, Chief Public Policy Officer at Sequoia Capital.

Future Tech: 3 MoUs inked

The Big Tech Show witnessed the inking of 3 MoUs (Memorandums of Understanding). An MoU between KDEM and Bherunda Foundation will work to attract Digital Economy investments into Mysuru and create employment opportunities. The royal family of Mysuru will promote Mysuru towards this and work with KDEM.

Another MoU between KDEM & ISAC will seek to set up Cyber Ranges in key locations to make Karnataka the most favoured Engineering and Research and Development destination.  The third MoU between the Government of Karnataka and VMware will be to empower 1,500 women with the skills required to return to their technology careers.