PM Modi and French President Macron to address 25th edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit

PTI, Nov 8, 2022, 7:48 PM IST

Image Courtesy: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, will address the 25th edition of Asia’s largest Tech Event ‘Bengaluru Tech Summit’ (BTS), during its inaugural here on November 16. The flagship event organised by the Department of Electronics, IT, Bt, S&T, Government of Karnataka along with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) will be held physically from November 16 to 18 at the iconic Bangalore Palace here.

According to E V Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T, Government of Karnataka, it will be a recorded address by both Modi and Macron. Among the dignitaries attending the event are: Omar Bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, UAE; Tim Watts, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia; Petri Honkonen, Minister of Science and Culture of Finland, Finland; and Martin Schroeter, Chairman & CEO, Kyndryl, USA.

As part of the landmark 25th year celebrations, BTS 2022 will witness the unveiling of the Silver Jubilee Commemoration Plaque of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, along with the felicitation of 35 companies from ITE and Biotech who have completed 25-plus years of service in Bengaluru.

The event will also witness the coming together of global tech leaders, Indian corporates and startups from IT, Deep tech and Biotech, showcasing disruptive technologies, forging partnerships and alliances. Speaking to reporters, Karnataka Minister for Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science and Technology,

C N Ashwath Narayan said, the aspiration is to scale-up to the level of Davos in Switzerland, which hosts World Economic Forum, in the years to come. ”We plan to ramp up or scale up the summit to a much bigger level in the years to come. What you see in Davos, we want to adapt that style. That’s the kind of aspiration we have…if we grow to it, definitely it will be the most happening,” he said.

BTS 2022 this year will consist of a multi-track Conference on IT & Electronics, Deep Tech, Start-Ups & Biotech, Global Innovation Alliance and India USA Tech Conclave. Over 350 domain experts from over 20 countries will address 70-plus sessions attracting 5,000 business delegates. The ITE & Deep Tech Track will focus on AI, Hybrid Cloud, 5G, Edge Computing, Fintech, ESG, Spacetech, Electronics & Semiconductor manufacturing, EV & Mobility, and AVGC.

The Biotech Track will concentrate on Genomics, Bio-Pharma, Gene Editing and Agriculture, One Health, Genomic Medicine, Bio Industrial, Bio Energy, Cell & Gene Therapy, Big Data in Drug Discovery and Bio Investing, while the Startup Track will focus on Digital Public Goods, FinTech, Robotics, Women in Tech, Capital beyond VCs, Social Entrepreneurship and grassroot innovation.

BTS 2022 Conference will also see plenary sessions from most prolific minds. It includes Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier, Nobel Laureate for Chemistry in 2020, Prof. Ajay K Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, Dr. Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Aarin Capital, and S Somanath, Chairman ISRO.

An annual highlight at the summit is the Global Innovation Alliance track where partner countries will participate across conferences, exhibition forging partnerships, and collaborations. Some of the participating countries include France, Australia, Canada, Finland, Denmark, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Israel, Germany, NRW, Switzerland, Japan, European Union, Lithuania, Poland and Thailand.

Another feature is the India USA Tech Conclave 2.0 curated by US India Business Council to focus on Quad Strategic Tech Update, Reality of the Metaverse, digital health, augmenting and co-creating IP. BTS2022 will also witness India’s largest tech exhibition with over 575 organisations participating which will see the confluence of IT & Biotech majors, best of R&D Labs, Tech Nations, states of India.

The other highlights include International Exhibition, STPI IT Export Awards, Smart Bio Awards, Bengaluru Impact Award to new Unicorns, National Rural IT Quiz, Bio Quiz and Bio Posters. The summit will also witness the inauguration of the interactive Science Gallery Bengaluru that aims to bring Science back into culture.