Karnataka approves new IT policy; to create 60 lakh jobs

Team Udayavani, Sep 3, 2020, 7:16 PM IST

Bengaluru: Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the new IT (information technology) policy for 2020 -25 that aims to generate over 60 lakh direct and indirect jobs in the state. The policy would also enable the IT industry contribute approximately 30 per cent to the country’s goal of creating a trillion-dollar digital economy.

According to the government, the policy would ensure the state retains its leadership position in innovation and technology. The policy would help sustain the pace towards holistic economic development, the government said. The policy suggests enhancing infrastructure to provide impetus to local industry and encourage investments and growth beyond Bengaluru. It calls for promoting innovation and to encourage growth of upcoming industries by promoting investment, global alliances, R&D support and IP creation; also to accelerate skill enhancement and nurture the talent pool by strengthening the existing initiatives and introducing strategic skill interventions for emerging technologies.

Karnataka is the IT hub of the country and its capital Bengaluru is the fourth largest technology cluster in the world. It is also the first state in the country to formulate an IT policy in year 1997, which gave a boost to the growth of the industry. Karnataka’s IT industry has emerged as one of the largest employment-generating industries and 80 per cent of global IT companies have their operations in India and R&D centres in the state, an official press release said.