Investor meetings in Karnataka often start with a strategic name-drop — Telangana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh — according to Priyank Kharge, the state’s Minister for IT & BT.
It’s a negotiation tactic, he says, to pressure Karnataka by listing the subsidies offered elsewhere.
“At every meeting, investors begin by saying, ‘I’m just coming from Telangana’ or ‘I met the UP Chief Minister,’” Kharge said at the BT AI Summit. “They’re already putting us on the back foot — signaling they’ve seen better incentives.”
But Kharge pushed back hard, arguing that no other state offers Karnataka’s depth. “From being a pensioners’ paradise, we’ve become one of the most disruptive cities in the world,” he said, citing the state’s unmatched ecosystem — driven by academia, startups, talent, and long-term policy stability.
He reminded the audience that Karnataka pioneered several key policies in India: the first IT and biotech policies, electric vehicle manufacturing frameworks, space tech drafts, and a global capability centers policy. “We’ve always had the first-mover advantage,” he said.
Kharge didn’t hesitate to call out copycats: “Some states have borrowed from us so much, they’ve forgotten to delete the name Karnataka from their bills.”
Still, he welcomed the rivalry. “India by default is fiercely competitive. While we have Invest Karnataka, there’s Invest Maharashtra, Invest Andhra, Invest Northeast — and it’s good for the end investor.”
To support his claim, he listed data points: ₹4.5 lakh crore in IT exports last year, double Telangana’s ₹2.2 lakh crore; 47 of India’s 110 unicorns are based in Karnataka; 40% of national engineering R&D talent and 38% of silicon design comes from the state.
“My neighbors can say what they want,” Kharge concluded. “But my data speaks for itself.”
