Bengaluru, Nov 11 (KNN) The Karnataka government on Friday unveiled the plans to set up Knowledge, Healthcare, Innovation and Research (KHIR) city on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

As per reports, the state is aiming to attract Rs 40,000 crore in investments in healthcare, innovation and knowledge sectors, creating 80,000 jobs in the proposed KHIR City. 

This new investment region will be developed within 60 km of Bengaluru in a phased manner. While the location is not yet to be finalised, it is likely to come up near the Kempegowda International Airport.

The state wants to set up KHIR City on the lines of Singapore’s Biopolis Cluster and Japan’s Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster.

Addressing the ideation session for setting up KHIR City, MB Patil, Karnataka large and medium industries and infrastructure development minister, said, "Karnataka is flexible in terms of private company participation, offering formats via land lease models, special project vehicles and fully private models".

“Apart from ensuring job creation and attracting investments from leading global and Indian hospitals, research centres, universities and private companies, the initiative has the potential to contribute towards the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) due to increased economic activity. Besides attracting investments, it aims to contribute at least 1 lakh crore to the state GDP,” he Patil.

Patil further added that the proposed KHIR City is being developed to attract investments from leading global and national hospitals, research institutions, universities, private companies, etc. 

“This will help in strengthening Bengaluru’s position as a hub of medical tourism, providing employment to local people and also help in attracting skill sets from across the globe,” he said.

“KHIR City is poised to redefine the city's global position by fostering the growth of cutting-edge knowledge institutions, healthcare facilities, innovation hubs, and research centres. Karnataka is already among the top five states in India in terms of economic value and contributes about 8.7 percent to the National GDP. Such initiatives further strengthen the state's position in the country,” said Patil.

Priyank Kharge, state IT-BT minister said KHIR City will be the first such centre of knowledge that will have innovators from healthcare, knowledge, and global research centres coming together in one place. 

The government is planning to come out with a separate policy to promote medical tourism in the state. 

The industry representatives suggested that the government should focus at improving the skills of workers in the state that will be required for the setting up of the knowledge city. They also suggested focusing on life sciences and looking at holding a roadshow to attract capital into this sector.

(KNN Bureau)