Karnataka approves data centre, marine biotech policies

Bengaluru: Karnataka has approved policies for data centres and marine biotechnology that seek to attract investment in the two sectors and expand activity beyond Bengaluru.

The data centre policy targets 1 GW of cumulative data centre IT load by 2031 and aims to account for 10-12% of India’s AI-ready data centre capacity.

“The focus is on building infrastructure and creating an ecosystem that can support investment and commercial activity in these sectors,” IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge said in the release.


The policy covers data centre units and parks, edge data centres, cable landing stations and related infrastructure, with incentives for capital investment, land, power, connectivity, renewable energy, research and development and skilling, said IT/BT department in a statement.

The policy also provides for sustainable data centre zones and data centre parks, along with a Centre of Excellence for data centres. The state plans to promote renewable power, energy-efficient cooling, water management and monitoring of power and water usage at data centres. The proposed budget for the policy is about Rs 1,300 crore.

IT/BT department will implement the policy, with Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS) handling registration and policy implementation and Karnataka Udyoga Mitra serving as the single-window agency.

The marine biotechnology policy aims to increase Karnataka’s blue bioeconomy from about $2 billion to $6-8 billion by 2031. It will cover marine biotechnology, biomanufacturing, seaweed-based products, marine biomaterials and other marine-based businesses.

The state will set up the Karnataka Institute of Marine Biotechnology and Blue Economy (KIMBE) and develop Marine Biotechnology Zones with research and production infrastructure.

The policy also provides for a seaweed value addition production linked incentive, a blue carbon certification programme and a marine bioinnovation and startup incubation centre.

The marine biotechnology policy has a proposed budget of Rs 120 crore. It targets about 2,500 technical jobs and 7,500 coastal enterprise and livelihood opportunities.