Tech summit ends: Deputy Chief Minister calls for innovation

Bengaluru: India's flagship technology event, The Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020, concluded on Saturday. Organized by the Department of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T of the Government of Karnataka, this was the 23rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit and the first virtual version of the event.

Delivering the valedictory speech, C.N. Ashwath Narayan, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for IT, BT and S&T, speech, said, "Bengaluru has always taken charge to lead the transformation of India with innovation, science and technology. The theme of this year's summit was "Next is Now", building on the success of our event last year. Innovation, especially in leveraging disruptive technologies, is the need of the hour. Through the sessions, panels, presentations, knowledge café, etc., we have created a larger platform for exchange of knowledge and ideas. This year, it was a matter of great privilege to have Hon'ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji to inaugurate the summit. The Hon'ble Prime Minister's presence and inspiring words gave us all the energy over the last three days. We were honored by the virtual presence from H.E. Scott Morrison, Prime Minister of Australia and H.E. Mr. Guy Parmelin, Vice President of Swiss Confederation."

He further added, "The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for rapid innovation, synergies between biotechnology and information technology and global cooperation. BTS 2020 is the ideal platform for achieving these aims. Our government is committed to ensure that these technologies and innovations are made in Karnataka for the world, in collaboration with leading minds and to alleviate the life of the common man."

The 23rd edition of the summit was conducted under the guidance of the chairmen and members of the three vision groups on IT, Biotech and Start-ups. For the first time, an International Advisory Group was also formed to ensure a global perspective while designing the conference. BTS is the only event in India which has brought together India's leading cross sectoral industry organizations like NASSCOM, TiE, ELCIA, IESA, ABAI, ABLE, CLIK and IACC on a common platform.

The Summit had leading innovators, scientists and tech evangelists participating from all across the globe. As part of the Global Innovation Alliances (GIA) track, there were 16 GIA sessions by international partners – Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and Taiwan. Several industries also engaged with the Karnataka ecosystem during BTS 2020. Some of them included Mr. Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group; Mr. Amit Agarwal, Head of Amazon India, Mr. Sonam Wangchuk, the renowned innovator, Dr. Steve Jolly, Co-Founder of Lockheed Martin, Dr. Meyya Meyappan, Chief Scientist, Space Exploration, NASA Ames; Mr. Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital and Surge; and Shri Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev.