New Delhi, Nov 1 (KNN) Karnataka's IT minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday urged the technology industry to invest in cities beyond Bengaluru.

Speaking at the preview meeting for the 26th Bengaluru Tech Summit, the minister said, “I'm here to request your cooperation and request all of you to help Karnataka go beyond just Bengaluru. We are here to request you to break boundaries together. We are providing a conducive environment for investment outside the city.”

Talking about artificial intelligence, Kharge said, “While we are encouraging AI, the European Union is trying to regulate AI, the US government is trying to regulate AI”.

Speaking on the competition with China, Kharge said that Bengaluru has grown to be the 4th largest technology cluster in the world, back from its entrepreneurial roots 500 years ago when small clusters traded for cotton, salt and oil in the 16th cent.

"Earlier when we talked about technology, we only spoke about IT services. STPI (Software Technology Parks of India) has been our partner for 25 years. We were the call centre for the world, the back office.then we moved on to financial and banking operations to now a research and development hub moving on to innovation and invention now in less than 3 decades," he said.

He added that the state is number 1 in India Innovation Index, attracting FDI and electronics exports.

"We have 234 engineering colleges, 60 medical colleges, 44 universities, 1,777 public and private industrial training institutions, IIIT-B and IIM, IISc and the ISRO and probably the highest number of employable graduates in the workforce," Kharge claimed.

The preview meeting was also attended by STPI Director General Arvind Kumar and several officials as well as industry representatives.

(KNN Bureau)