Vice President (VP) Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 24th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS), Asia’s Largest Technology Event, that was conducted between 17th to 19th November in the Hybrid format. For the 1st time, BTS hosted the United States (US) Tech Conclave.
- Theme of 2021 BTS – ‘Driving The Next’
Objective – To showcase the products developed by Start-ups firms from various sectors – IT, Electronics, IoT, Healthcare, Medtech, Agritechetc, and act as a link between various sectors.
i. The tech summit is annually organised Department of Electronics, Information Technology (IT), Biotechnology (Bt), Research and Development (R&D) and Science & Technology (S&T) of Government of Karnataka , Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) , Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) , Vision Group(Information Technology, Biotechnology & StartUp), MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications.Â
ii. The 3-day long event saw the participation from over 5000 start-ups, & 20,000 exhibitors.
Overview of BTS 2021:
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually addressed the crossover sessions of the Bengaluru Tech Summit and Australia’s Sydney Dialogue.
International Representation:
This year’s event saw the virtual participation of Australian PM Scott Morrison and Israeli PM Naftali Bennett.
BTS 2021 saw participation from over 30 countries, including the 1st time participation from South Africa, Vietnam and the UAE.
BTS hosted its 1st US Tech Conclave, which included sessions on India’s Digital Journey from Outsourcing Hub to Innovation Central, and Research in Life Science and Biotechnology.
Establishment of Australia-India Centre of Excellence
During his address, Australian PM Scott Morrison, announced the establishment of the Australia-India Centre of Excellence for Critical and Emerging Technology Policy in Bangalore, Karnataka & Australian consulate would also be set up in Bengaluru.
Other Initiatives:
‘Beyond Bengaluru Startup Grid’:
The ‘Beyond Bengaluru Startup Grid’, an initiative under the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), aims to increase the presence of Startups beyond Bengaluru to its surrounding areas. It has also chosen possible cluster areas – Mangalore, Mysuru, and Hubli.
- This scheme aims to attract 5,000 new companies and startups to generate 10 lakh employment and $10 billion of exports from these clusters.
Razorpay’s Harshil Mathur to head KDEM Task Force:
Harshil Mathur, the founder and CEO of fintech unicorn Razorpay, was appointed as the head of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) Task Force by the Karnataka government.
- They will frame a roadmap towards the growth of start-up industry & fintech companies in Bangalore.
- 6-Other members – Timmanna Gouda of Whatsloan, Miten Sampat of CRED, Nithin Kamath of Zerodha,. Raveesh Naresh of Khatabook, Harsh Jain of Groww, and Johnson Tellis
‘IT Ratna of Karnataka’ award:
STPI & Karnataka government awarded the ‘IT Ratna of Karnataka’ award for 2021 during BTS 2021, where Information Technology (IT) major ‘Infosys’ in IT exports in the above Rs 10,000 crore category. 20 other companies were also awarded during the session.
- Padma Duraiswamy, CEO Chimera Technologies, received the ‘Woman Entrepreneur of the Year-IT’ award
Karnataka Government announced ‘Smart Bio Awards’:
Karnataka Govt. awards companies under five different categories for developing innovative solutions to tackle climate change impact or the challenges we faced during the pandemic. The award is named as ‘Smart Bio Awards’
- Axio Biosolutions, a medical firm, won the Innovator of the Year award.
- NeoDx Biotech Labs received the Best start-up against COVID-19 award.
- Dr. Janani Venkataraman of Biomoneta won the women entrepreneur of the year.
- HealthCube was awarded the Biotech start-up of the year.
- For the note-worthy social work, Biocon Academy was presented with the best social enterprise or institute.
The 25th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit is scheduled to be held from 16 to 18 November 2022.
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Governor – Thawar Chand Gehlot
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