Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar
| Photo Credit:
The Department of Electronics, Information Technology and Biotechnology (Government of Karnataka), in partnership with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM), hosted ‘KATALYST CONNECT: The Chief Minister’s Meet with Global Capability Centre (GCC) Leaders’ on Wednesday in Bengaluru. The consultation was held under KATALYST, the Government of Karnataka’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) initiative for GCCs.At the consultation, several senior officials from the Government of Karnataka such as Home and IT Minister Priyank M Kharge, Chief Minister’s Financial Advisor L K Atheeq (IAS), and IT and Biotechnology Secretary Dr N Manjula (IAS) were present.Ahead of the strategic consultation, Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar visited Target in its Bengaluru campus, the GCC of US retailer Target Corporation. He interacted with the company’s leadership and gained insights into the capabilities being built from Karnataka across technology, AI, finance, marketing, digital, supply chain, merchandising, store design and more.Following the visit, the Chief Minister chaired the strategic consultation, bringing together senior executives from over 150 multinational enterprises, senior government officials and industry stakeholders to discuss the priorities shaping the next phase of Karnataka’s GCC ecosystem.The consultation focused on strengthening government-industry collaboration, driving AI and R&D innovation, and expanding GCC investments beyond Bengaluru through actionable policy frameworks.Industry leaders shared perspectives and recommendations on talent availability and future workforce readiness, urban and digital infrastructure, AI adoption, ease of doing business, policy responsiveness, industry-academia collaboration and expanding GCC investments beyond Bengaluru. The discussions also explored opportunities to deepen Karnataka’s start-up-GCC linkages and strengthen the state’s position as a global hub for high-value innovation and enterprise capabilities.Addressing the gathering, Shivakumar reaffirmed the Government’s openness to GCCs entering the state by stating, “Together, we will ensure that the next generation of global technologies and enterprise capabilities continues to be imagined, engineered and scaled from Karnataka.”Speaking during the strategic dialogue, Kharge said, “As GCCs evolve from delivery centres into global hubs for AI, engineering, R&D and product innovation, our focus is on ensuring that Karnataka continues to provide the talent, policy environment and innovation ecosystem required for them to take on larger global mandates.”Published on July 8, 2026
