IT exports from Karnataka to net Rs 2.20 lakh crore in 2015-16: Governor Vajubhai Vala

BENGALURU: IT exports from Karnataka are expected to net Rs 2.20 lakh crore in 2015-16 and direct employment in the sector will be around 10 lakh as per Nasscom estimates, state Governor Vajubhai Vala said today.

In his address to the joint session of both Houses of the state legislature, he said Karnataka was the leader in the IT sector, contributing to about one-third of the country's IT export revenues.

Vala said Bengaluru is the only Indian city to be ranked among the best 20 startup ecosystems across the world as per the 'Global Startup Ecosystem Ranking Report 2015'.

Karnataka is also the first state in the country to announce a multi-sectoral startup policy 2015-20 to give boost to the startup culture in the state, he said.

The IT capital is home to around 4,000 active tech startups and the government has set up a warehouse in Bengaluru in association with Nasscom, Vala said.

A statewide GIS is being established at a cost of Rs 150 crore and Incubation Centres and Common Instrumentation Facility for biotech sector have been set up in Biotech Park at Bengaluru, Vala said.

To encourage entrepreneurship, nine incubation centres have been sanctioned for engineering colleges across the state, he said, adding the Indian Institute of Information Technology in Dharwad has started functioning.

The IT Skills Development Society is providing training to unemployed youth in basic ICT skills and the regional Science Centres in Dharwada and Mangaluru are operational, the Governor said.