Karnataka minister taunts Piyush Goyal’s 'new Silicon Valley' pitch

Karnataka Industries minister MB Patil slammed Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal for advocating a new Silicon Valley in India. Patil took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, 'Our Own? "Bengaluru is in India. India is our country. Bengaluru wasn’t built in a day; it took decades, even centuries, to build Bengaluru. You can build structures, roads, and infrastructure but an ecosystem takes decades to develop. Bengaluru is the hub of India’s knowledge ecosystem."

Goyal’s statement that started the argument

On Monday, India’s commerce minister, Piyush Goyal, proposed a dedicated startup township in the country while launching the Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR).

His proposal was a new startup township to enhance innovation and collaboration with access to resources, mentorship, and financial support. “I know Bengaluru is the Silicon Valley of India, but it's time we started thinking about tying up with NICDC and creating a whole new township dedicated to entrepreneurs, startups, innovators, and disruptors.” Goyal had remarked. 

Karnataka’s dream project

Incidentally, the Karnataka government’s ambitious Knowledge, Healthcare, Innovation, and Research (KHIR) City is about to come up between Dabaspet and Doddaballapur, around 60 km from Bengaluru.

Patil suggested Goyal "use his office to help further our own 'Namma Bengaluru' as a global city, and help to make KHIR a “massive global destination”.

The state government want to pivot on key sectors such as mobility, semiconductors and advanced materials, aerospace, defence and space technology, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing as disclosed earlier in a release. 

The Congress-ruled Karnataka and the NDA-led Centre differ in opinions with the state demanding a generous share of funds from the Union government.

The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah has written to his allies in eight states, including four in the south, to jointly negotiate a more preferable financial deal with the Centre.

The KHIR City project aims to attract Rs 40,000 crore in investments in the healthcare, innovation, and knowledge sectors, and will likely be creating 80,000 jobs. 

Also read: Phonepe CEO Apologises Over Anti-Karnataka Job Reservation Bill Stance (startuppedia.in)