Bengaluru Tech Summit 2024 Karnataka launches India's first GCC policy

The 27th Edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2024, organised by the Department of Electronics, IT, Bt, Government of Karnataka and Software Technology Parks of India, Bengaluru, was inaugurated by Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister of Karnataka, in the august presence of other dignitaries, at Bangalore Palace on November 19.

- Dr Manbeena Chawla

The event witnessed the launch of India's first policy for Global Capability Centre (GCC).

Key highlights of the policy include the creation of Global Innovation Districts with three new tech parks in Bengaluru and Beyond Bengaluru, and the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to boost AI R&D and talent development.

The Centre of Excellence in AI, in collaboration with IIT Alumni Centre Bangalore, positions Karnataka as a hub for advanced R&D and startup innovation. This CoE will work on a hub and spoke model with multiple academic institutions of excellence across the State (especially Beyond Bengaluru) to create compute capacity, curated datasets, responsible/ethical AI principles, startup acceleration facilities and other support needed to build the AI ecosystem.

It is envisioned as India’s premier accelerator for AI startups. This initiative is designed to support the next generation of AI-driven innovations by providing startups with access to capital, high-quality mentorship, industry partnerships, and state-of-theart technical resources.

The GCC policy also introduces the Beyond Bengaluru Package, offering recruitment assistance and rental support, while creating 3.5 lakh jobs. The government aims to attract establishment of 500 new GCCs achieving a total number of 1,000 GCCs in Karnataka by 2029; to support creation of 3.5 lakh new jobs in Karnataka by 2029; and to generate economic output of $50 billion in Karnataka through the GCCs being established by 2029.

The government is also announcing an Innovation Fund with an allocation of Rs 100 crore, to support joint research between GCCs and academia, and innovation challenges. The government will set up a dedicated unit within the Department of Electronics, IT, Bt, and S&T to offer dedicated support for GCCs establishing operations in Karnataka.