AI disruptions will be brief as reskilling drives new jobs: Karnataka IT Min Priyank Kharge
New Delhi (PTI): Disruptions from Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be brief and new jobs will emerge, Karnataka's IT and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge has said, highlighting the state's large-scale reskilling initiatives are underway to prepare talent for new-age technologies.
In an interview with PTI, Kharge asserted that Karnataka retains a comfortable lead over others in technology, with strong data and performance vectors backing its position.
The state encourages innovation and collaboration, ensuring "that any entrepreneur or corporation who dreams of making it big globally, starts from Karnataka", he noted.
On the issue of disruptions due to AI, the minister said, Nipuna Karnataka, the state's large-scale reskilling and upskilling initiative, aims at safeguarding and future-proofing its talent pool.
"While there might be certain job losses, new jobs will be created...And that is why we need a massive reskilling and upskilling programme. So, there will be disruption, but the disruption will be for a brief while, until we are able to reskill and upskill people," he said.
Nipuna Karnataka is a Rs 300 crore reskilling initiative, industry-driven and industry-focused, with ambitious targets to train talent at scale, he added.
In the coming financial year, the state government aims to skill individuals in key areas, like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital forensics, and other technologies, in line with the global tech demands.
"We intend to scale over 5,00,000 people in the coming financial year, in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital forensics, and anything that the industry might need. So, we are closely talking to them through our skill council for emerging technologies, taking their feedback, taking their curriculum, and seeing how we can ensure that we give the most affordable and most talented human resources for them.
"And this programme is just not catering to the local ecosystem, we are catering to the global ecosystem also," Kharge noted.
He said Karnataka retains its lead over others, and data ranging from IT exports to startups and GCCs play, underscores its competitive strengths.
"We are far ahead of the curve when it comes to our neighbours or neighbouring states. So, while we love competition, we are not afraid of it. It also helps us pull up our socks," he said.
As many as 20,000 startups are registered with the state government, he said, adding that of 110 unicorns, more than 45 are from Bengaluru.
"We contribute 21 per cent of the national bioeconomy, and 65 per cent of defence electronics manufacturing happens in Karnataka. And GCCs, we have close to over 800 GCCs and their units, totalling about 1,500," Kharge said.
The same trend is evident in office space demand, real estate leasing, and GCC momentum.
"Last year, we gobbled up close to around 47 per cent of the entire country's real estate for GCCs. This year, just in the last six months, 13.1 million square feet has been given only for GCCs. So, where is the competition? I don't see that," Kharge said.
The minister emphasised that the state's policies are backed by strong, actionable outcomes like the recent Quantum Roadmap.
"We are just not announcing mere policies for the sake of announcing them. So, when we keep the Karnataka quantum roadmap in front, people believe us...That is because over the years, we have managed to build a strong foundation of skills.
"We have topped that with incubators, and we have topped up with centres of excellence across sectors. So, I run more than 25 centres of excellence from agritech to space tech. And through these, we are innovating and inventing. On top of that, we have put budgets. On top of that, we put policies," Kharge said.
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Hospital wall collapse: CM orders suspension of executive engineer; kin of victims get solatium
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the immediate suspension of an executive engineer for the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital wall collapse that claimed the lives of seven people, during a high-level review meeting at Vidhana Soudha.
A compensation of Rs 5 lakh, as announced by the CM Siddaramaiah, was distributed to the families of seven victims who lost their lives in the tragedy on Wednesday evening, which occurred due to heavy downpour with gusty winds and hailstorm.
The meeting of municipal commissioners of the five corporations, chaired by the chief minister and attended by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, focused on fixing accountability and examining lapses that led to the tragedy.
"Why was soil dumped in a way that damaged the wall? Why did you not monitor this?" Siddaramaiah asked, pulling up hospital authorities during the meeting.
A statement from the chief minister's office said that the CM ordered the immediate suspension of the executive engineer of the Karnataka Health Systems Development Project (KHSDP).
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He also questioned the hospital authorities, asking why they failed to monitor the dumping of soil that weakened the structure.
The chief minister directed that a notice be issued to the head of the Hospital.
During the meeting, Siddaramaiah said the rains had caused extensive damage in the city, with over 250 trees uprooted.
The Chief Minister instructed officials to take necessary measures before the onset of the monsoon to avoid untoward incidents.
Commissioners of all five municipal zones in Bengaluru have been asked to take precautionary steps, including trimming dry and dangerous tree branches, the CMO said.
Siddaramaiah also directed them to get the silt cleared from stormwater drains to prevent flooding, and that immediate action be taken to remove debris and fallen branches from roads.
Further, he instructed that barricades be placed at underpasses where water stagnates and restricts public movement.
The Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) Chief Commissioner M Maheshwar Rao said in a statement that Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad distributed compensation cheques of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased on Thursday.
Seven people, including a six-year-old girl, were killed and seven others injured when the compound wall collapsed amid heavy rain, strong winds and a hailstorm on Wednesday evening.
Police said the victims, comprising three from Bengaluru, two from Kerala on a study tour and one each from Uttar Pradesh and Assam, had taken shelter near the wall when it suddenly gave way, trapping them under the debris.
The chief minister questioned officials over the dumping of soil near the wall despite knowing it could weaken the structure, and directed that a notice be issued to the head of Bowring Hospital.
Siddaramaiah, who had visited the spot soon after the incident along with senior officials, reviewed the situation and ordered a detailed probe into the collapse.
