BTS 22: Karnataka comes out with Research Development and Innovation Policy

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 16 : With an aim to provide support for a robust and well-connected ecosystem, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai released the 'Karnataka Research Development and Innovation Policy' on Wednesday which has the focal objective of financing the infrastructure and institutions.
The policy which was released during the inaugural session of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS 22) intends easy access to a skilled talent base, grassroot innovators, support for university-based cutting-edge research, and researching enterprises for cooperation between industry and science and for innovative business startups.
The policy focuses on strengthening governance and financing of the research and innovation system, strengthening research and innovation policy, research and innovation to drive the regional ecosystem, research and development and innovation to support entrepreneurship and Micro, Small and medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and promoting research and development and innovation in priority sectors for social transformations.
It is proposed to create a 'Karnataka State Research Foundation' to devise and implement strategies to meet the objectives outlined in the policy.
"To expand the financial reach of the research and innovation ecosystem each department/ministry of the state government should earmark their budget for research and innovation activities. To achieve a national average of 0.7 per cent of GDP and 2 - 3 per cent of state GDP in the next 5 years, additional funding from state government agencies is proposed to increase by 0.1 per cent of state GDP every year," read an official statement.
The policy is expected to act as a guideline to support undergraduate, and postgraduate students, doctoral scholars and early-stage researchers to undertake high-quality research and acquire the necessary skills.
"The policy will also work towards enabling higher education institutions to adopt 'open science and research' by ensuring open access to publicly funded research results, facilities and research data. The policy aims to nurture the ecosystem by creating many science and technology parks. It recommends creating a special incentive scheme to encourage companies to set up research and development laboratories outside Bengaluru," added the statement.
The policy also proposed launching an innovation incubation programme called 'Karnataka Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship (K-TIE) to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem beyond Bengaluru.
Minister for IT/BT Dr CM Ashwath Narayanan, and Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Nirani were also present for the event.