Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar | Photo Credit: MURALI KUMAR K

The Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology (Government of Karnataka), in partnership with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), hosted ‘KATALYST CONNECT: The Chief Minister’s Meet with Global Capability Centre (GCC) Leaders’ on Wednesday in Bengaluru. The consultation was held under KATALYST, the Government of Karnataka’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) initiative for GCCs.

At the consultation, several senior officials from the Government of Karnataka such as Home and IT Minister Priyank M Kharge, Chief Minister’s Financial Advisor L K Atheeq (IAS), and IT and Biotechnology Secretary Dr N Manjula (IAS) were present.

Ahead of the strategic consultation, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar visited Target in its Bengaluru campus, the GCC of US retailer Target Corporation. He interacted with the company’s leadership and gained insights into the capabilities being built from Karnataka across technology, AI, finance, marketing, digital, supply chain, merchandising, store design and more.

Following the visit, the Chief Minister chaired the strategic consultation, bringing together senior executives from over 150 multinational enterprises, senior government officials and industry stakeholders to discuss the priorities shaping the next phase of Karnataka’s GCC ecosystem.

The consultation focused on strengthening government-industry collaboration, driving AI and R&D innovation, and expanding GCC investments beyond Bengaluru through actionable policy frameworks.

Industry leaders shared perspectives and recommendations on talent availability and future workforce readiness, urban and digital infrastructure, AI adoption, ease of doing business, policy responsiveness, industry-academia collaboration and expanding GCC investments beyond Bengaluru. The discussions also explored opportunities to deepen Karnataka’s start-up-GCC linkages and strengthen the state’s position as a global hub for high-value innovation and enterprise capabilities.

Addressing the gathering, Shivakumar reaffirmed the Government’s openness to GCCs entering the state by stating, “Together, we will ensure that the next generation of global technologies and enterprise capabilities continues to be imagined, engineered and scaled from Karnataka.”

Speaking during the strategic dialogue, Kharge said, “As GCCs evolve from delivery centres into global hubs for AI, engineering, R&D and product innovation, our focus is on ensuring that Karnataka continues to provide the talent, policy environment and innovation ecosystem required for them to take on larger global mandates.”

In a separate development, Shivakumar visited the Bengaluru campus of Target’s Global Capability Centre (GCC), where he interacted with the company’s leadership and reviewed capabilities being built from Karnataka across technology, AI, finance, marketing, digital, supply chain, merchandising and store design.

Speaking at the event held at Manyata Tech Park, Shivakumar said the State government was working to replicate Bengaluru’s growth model across Karnataka. “Our government is moving forward to build more Bengalurus beyond Bengaluru. We are committed to providing all the facilities available in Bengaluru to the State’s tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well,” he said.

Highlighting the cost advantage of smaller cities, he said office rentals in Bengaluru range between $1 and $1.5 per sq ft, while similar spaces in tier-2 and tier-3 cities are available for nearly half a dollar. To encourage investments, the government plans to offer double floor area ratio (FAR) in these cities, enabling high-rise commercial developments.

Reaffirming Karnataka’s commitment to the sector, Shivakumar said, “Together, we will ensure that the next generation of global technologies and enterprise capabilities continues to be imagined, engineered and scaled from Karnataka.”

He also outlined the government’s infrastructure push to support the city’s continued growth, including a 40-km tunnel road project, a 44-km double-decker flyover, a 133-km flyover network and the 123-km Bengaluru Business Corridor. “We are spending ₹26,000 crore on the first phase of the Business Corridor and nearly ₹1.5 lakh crore on Bengaluru’s overall development,” he said.

Published on July 8, 2026