Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka Mr. Yeddyurappa addressed the CEO’s of several IT (Information Technology) and BT (Bio Technology) companies on July 23, 2008 at 8 PM over a Dinner meet.
He was joined by several of his cabinet colleagues (including Hon’ble IT Minister Mr. Naidu) and several senior IAS officers (including the Chief Secretary).
I was asked to give my opening remarks. I was a bit out of place (the only other Professor being Prof. Sharat Chandra of IISc). I used the opportunity to get across to the government that IT & BT industry have contributed a lot to the growth of Karnataka in general & Bangalore in particular.
There is no city in the world like Bangalore – the top 2 firms in every segment being present – HP & IBM, Intel & AMD, Microsoft & Oracle, SAP & Oracle, nVidia & ATI, TI & Intel, Samsung & LG, Siemens & ABB, Cadence & Synoptics, Philips & Samsung, Nokia & Motorola, Accenture & EDS, Microsoft & Redhat, Freescale & Infineon, and, of course, the world headquarters of Infosys & Wipro
Karnataka is No 1.
Yet, I also pointed out that just in the last year AP grew 40+ percent, Tamil Nadu grew 20+ percent, while Karnataka grew only 10+ percent. Companies like SAP who planned to grow only in Bangalore are growing elsewhere. It is time the government recognizes the trend, make it an inviting place and arrest the falling growth. Like human beings, industry also “want to be wanted”
Several eloquent speakers followed me; Kiran of Biocon and Kris of Infosys.
The team came on time; in fact, the CM was ahead of time. Everyone appreciated the spirit; one hopes Karnataka will be in the growth path again.
The CM agreed to meet 3 months later and apprise every one of the “ground level action”; it will be interesting to watch
Tags: BT Industry, IT industry, Karnataka Chief Minister, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
