Bengaluru, Nov 18 (IANS): Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS), one of the premier technology summits of the country kicked off with Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddiyurappa inaugurating the same here.

"Karnataka is the top state in attracting investment and our ease of doing business environment helps in this. Besides IT revolution, now the state is driving startup revolution for India," said Yeddiyurappa on Monday at the Bengaluru Palace.

The Chief Minister said Karnataka has established an innovation authority which will drive research and development in partnership with the entrepreneurs.

"We have formalised the decision to come up with Innovation Authority, the first of its kind in India, and it will bring next wave of innovation in the state," said Yeddiurappa.

Headed by the Chief Minister, the Innovation Authority will sanction sandboxes and wield powers to exempt taxes and extend relaxations to startups and companies to further innovation.

According to him, Karnataka offers Elevate, a grant provided to innovative entrepreneurs to promote innovation.

He highlighted that innovation in science and technology has been a major driving force of Karnataka's economy at the summit with the theme Innovation and Impact 2.0'

"In Karnataka, we are moving towards becoming an innovation hub, a gradual shift from the services sector to product development," said Yeddiyurappa.

Karnataka is examining a proposal to set up Karnataka Technology Development Board (KTDB) to promote IT and knowledge economy, he said.

KTDB will deal with investment promotion, industry and manpower development of the broad technology sector, with an aim to emerge as a technology hub in the world, Yeddiyurappa said.

In the 2019 summit, Cananda has joined the event as Global Innovation Alliance partner, with its regional partners sharing innovative solutions and investment opportunities at the summit.

Consisting of sessions in four tracks under Smart IT, Smart BIO, Global Innovations Alliance and Impact, the summit is being organised under the guidance of Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddiyurappa and a Vision Group, consisting of industry captains from across business verticals.

The 2019 edition will focus on disruptive technologies among others and feature a Robotics competition for the first time.

As many as 11,000 visitors, 3,500 delegates and 300 exhibitors are expected to attend BTS 2019.

Among several next generation technologies, the summit will also feature discourses on genomics, 5G and Blockchain, the statement said.

Bengaluru Tech Summit 2019 is scheduled from November 18 to 20.