Siddaramaiah govt launches Innovate Karnataka initiative to push technology

The Karnataka government has unveiled Innovate Karnataka programme to bring development and technology in the state.

The newly designed initiative, headed by the Department of Innovation and Technology, will act as a single umbrella to bring all emerging technologies blockchain, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) under one roof, reports The Hindu.

It is believed that the new development will bring digital growth in various sectors including health, agriculture and other domains in the state.

The state, which is also furthering the cause of startups, is looking to give a stronger push to the ecosystem. It announced the Elevate 100 programme for entrepreneurs which will be extended to 500 entrepreneurs. A sum of ₹5 crore was allocated for development of start-ups in Kalaburagi along with the Deshpande Foundation.

The state government will provide incentives to help skill students in colleges outside of Bengaluru and spend Rs 40 lakh per college for skilling programmes.

Besides, the government is planning to help the cause of technology development through electronics clusters. The state government on Friday announced to launch an Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) cluster for Mysuru and a Very Large Scale Integration (VLSI) incubator in Hubli. It also committed a sum of Rs 4 crore for each facility.

The government also launched several Centres of Excellence (CoE) such as Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, in association with NASSCOM; Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics, in association with ABAI; Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security; and Centre of Excellence for Machine Learning & Robotics at IIITB.

Meanwhile, two web portals Yuva Yuga and e-Margadarsh were also launched during the daylong event. The former will provide all the information related to the state’s skill development programme, while the latter will help youngsters to find employment.

Also Read: Karnataka govt to launch Wi-Fi services in all gram panchayats, aid rural entrepreneurs

The government has been announcing a number of schemes in the state to provide innovation and technology to the masses.

Last year, the government kicked-off a project to install WiFi facilities in 2,650 gram panchayats across the state. The scheme, which is up and running, will provide up to a range of 1 kilometer from the Gram Panchayat office. Once implemented, it will allow villagers to browse the internet at high speeds for the first 100 MB after which there would be a speed reduction or a fee.