Bengaluru, July 8 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday chaired a strategic consultation with leaders of more than 150 Global Capability Centres (GCCs), reaffirming the state government’s commitment to strengthening the state’s position as India’s leading destination for multinational innovation and technology hubs.

The consultation, titled “KATALYST CONNECT: The Chief Minister’s Meet with Global Capability Centre Leaders”, was organised by the Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology in partnership with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) under the state government’s KATALYST initiative, aimed at improving ease of doing business for GCCs.

Prior to the meeting, the Chief Minister visited the Bengaluru campus of Target in India, the Global Capability Centre of US retail giant Target Corporation.

During the visit, CM Shivakumar interacted with the company’s leadership and reviewed its work in artificial intelligence, technology, finance, digital operations, supply chain, merchandising and store design.

The visit highlighted Karnataka’s growing role in enabling multinational companies to drive global innovation from the state.

The strategic consultation brought together senior executives from leading multinational companies, government officials and industry stakeholders to discuss the future of Karnataka’s GCC ecosystem.

Deliberations focused on artificial intelligence, engineering, research and development, product innovation, talent development, digital infrastructure, ease of doing business, industry-academia collaboration and expanding GCC investments beyond Bengaluru.

Industry leaders also discussed strengthening partnerships between startups and GCCs while positioning Karnataka as a global hub for high-value innovation and enterprise capabilities.

Addressing the gathering, Chief Minister Shivakumar said Karnataka’s partnership with GCCs had helped create one of the world’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems.

“Our (Congress-led Karnataka) government remains committed to creating an environment where businesses can innovate with confidence, access world-class talent and scale globally. Together, we will ensure that the next generation of global technologies and enterprise capabilities continues to be imagined, engineered and scaled from Karnataka,” the Chief Minister added.

Karnataka Minister for Home, Information Technology, Biotechnology and e-Governance, Priyank Kharge, said that the state would continue to provide the policy support, talent and innovation ecosystem required for GCCs to take on larger global mandates.

The state government reiterated its target of attracting 500 new GCCs by 2029, generating 3.5 lakh high-quality jobs and creating an estimated economic output of $50 billion.

The meeting concluded with a commitment from both the government and industry to translate the recommendations into actionable measures for accelerating Karnataka’s next phase of innovation-led growth.

–IANS

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