Nokia plans GCC, research centres in Karnataka, says industries minister M B Patil

Nokia Corporation plans to expand its operations in Karnataka by establishing a global capability centre (GCC) and research centres, Karnataka industries minister M B Patil said on Friday.

Speaking from the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Patil said the state has assured full support for Nokia's expansion plans during meetings with senior company officials.

Nokia, which operates its largest global research centre in Bengaluru and has maintained a presence in the state for over 25 years, discussed expanding operations across Karnataka, including in tier-2 cities, said the government in a statement.


Over the past few days, Karnataka has held expansion discussions with multiple firms, including RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, Lenovo, and Coca-Cola at Davos.

Patil also spoke about the state's commitment to supporting the World Economic Forum's 'Yes-BLR UpLink' initiative, which seeks to develop the 'Yes Bengaluru' programme on sustainable urban development into a globally recognised platform for government-industry collaboration, the statement said.

Discussions were also held with global cybersecurity major Cloudflare on joining the 'KWIN City' project, a new smart city planned near Bengaluru.

US-based space technology company Vast Space has expressed interest in partnering with the Karnataka government in areas related to space technology, advanced manufacturing and innovation-driven initiatives.

UAE-based multinational business group Crescent Enterprises has also expressed interest in investing in enterprises and companies across the state.

Aerospace firm Voyager Technologies has expressed interest in partnering with Karnataka and has offered to collaborate with ISRO on space technology and research initiatives, Patil said.