Innovation authority to promote emerging tech, says Karnataka government official

Karnataka is strengthening the Karnataka Innovation Authority framework to nurture emerging technologies through a regulatory sandbox and promote cutting-edge innovation across sectors, additional chief secretary Gaurav Gupta said on Thursday.

“We are advancing a regulatory sandbox framework,” Gupta said at the ET AI Conclave and Awards in Bengaluru. The move, he added, would allow emerging technologies to be tested in controlled environments with appropriate regulatory flexibility.

“But we want to achieve this responsibly,” he emphasised, noting that the government is working on a state-level ethical AI framework. “Because we know that for you to succeed, your customers need to trust the technology. We want Karnataka to be the global benchmark for safe and trusted AI.”


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Under the state’s IT Policy 2025-30, Karnataka has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore in incentives over five years. The policy aims to raise the IT sector’s contribution to the state’s gross value addition from 26% to 36% by 2030.

Karnataka is home to nearly half of India’s AI talent, with AI-related jobs growing strongly year after year, Gupta said. Bengaluru continues to anchor the country’s AI entrepreneurship landscape, with a rising number of deep-tech and AI startups. The city accounts for about 30% of India’s global capability centres (GCCs) and nearly 35% of the total GCC workforce.

To sustain AI-led digital growth, the state is stepping up infrastructure creation. A proposed 1 GW greenfield data centre park, spread across 300 acres, is expected to significantly enhance computing capacity and strengthen the digital ecosystem.

The government is also exploring AI-enabled townships and innovation clusters integrating technology, sustainability, and urban development, he said.

On the institutional front, the state is advancing its AI ecosystem through a dedicated AI centre of excellence (CoE) in partnership with the IIT alumni ecosystem and the Centre for Applied AI for Tech Solutions (CATS) to drive industry collaboration. “At the school level, the Kalika Deepa programme is leveraging AI-enabled tools to enhance language learning and prepare the workforce of tomorrow,” Gupta said.

The government is also deploying AI in public administration, including smart traffic management systems in some of the fastest-growing districts. Efforts are underway to expand such use cases into emerging cities to promote balanced regional development.

Gupta, who also oversees the energy department, said Karnataka remains a green surplus state with one of the highest renewable energy capacities in the country. “By integrating solar and wind with advanced storage solutions such as battery systems and pumped storage, we are building a clean, reliable, and future-ready energy backbone for an AI-driven economy,” he said.

The state’s universities house AI and robotics labs and 21 CoEs across emerging technologies, reflecting a strong research pipeline supported by collaboration between industry, academia, and government.

With rapid digital expansion driving a sharp rise in power demand, the state has drawn up resource adequacy plans up to 2035-36 to add 55 GW of capacity to ensure long-term reliability and supply security, Gupta said.