From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Mar 2: Deputy Chief Minister (DCM) and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwatha Narayana, who also holds the IT/BT and Science and Technology portfolio, launched the country’s first ever Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) policy framed by the government of Karnataka ER&D Policy-2021 in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
In his inaugural address, the Deputy Chief Minister said the ER&D sector in the country is the fastest growing industry with a CAGR of 12.8%. The global Engineering Research and Development industry is expected to reach US$ 2 trillion by 2025.
Considering this scenario, ER&D policy aims to prepare the state to make use of the future opportunities emanating from this sector, he said.
The Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), and NASSCOM have involved in drafting this policy after wider consultations with all the other participating stakeholders including the representatives of the industry.
The five Priority Sectors of the policy are:
(1) Aerospace & Defence
(2) Auto, Auto Components & EV
(3) Biotechnology (BT), Pharma & Medical Devices
(4) Semiconductors, Telecom, ESDM and
(5) Software Products
Karnataka is currently the leading contributor to the Indian Engineering R&D industry revenue. The State is home to over 400 leading R&D Centers/ GCCs. This policy aims to retain this position, generation of intellectual properties (IPs), and to make this as skilled knowledge capital, Dr Narayana pointed out.
He said Karnataka which has been at the forefront of technological innovation for a long time has come out with this visionary policy after studying the industry trends.
This intends to make Karnataka a preferred destination of choice for global MNCs, GCC (global capability centers), engineering service providers (ESPs) and to create a suitable ecosystem all across the state, he explained.
Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman-Karnataka Vision Group on IT, and Debjani Ghosh, President NASSCOM virtually attended and spoke on the occasion.
Dr E V Ramana Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Dr Ajay Prabhu, President, QuEST Global & Chair for NASSCOM Engineering, Meena Nagaraj, Director, Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T and Managing Director, KITS were among the dignitaries present.
Objectives:
• Attract leading Engineering R&D entities to establish and/or expand in Karnataka
• Create strong linkages between Industry and Academia
• Establish and offer access to advanced testing, prototyping, and other innovation infrastructure
• Facilitate Engineering R&D entities to adopt leading practices and gain marketing opportunities
• Taking the Engineering R&D industry beyond Bengaluru to spur the growth of regional economies
• Promote IP Creation, Registration, and Retention in Karnataka
Potential Benefits:
• Enable Karnataka to contribute ~45% to India’s Engineering R&D during the policy period;
• Create an additional ~50,000 new jobs (direct & indirect) for skilled manpower in the Engineering R&D sector during the policy period;
• Developing a research-oriented skilled talent pool and foster a knowledge economy;
• Attract Engineering R&D intensive investment into Karnataka; and
• To augment capacity by bridging the Gap between Engineering/ Research Talent and Industry’s Technology Needs
Incentives Offered:
• Rental Reimbursement for setting up/ expanding in beyond Bengaluru Urban District
• Recruitment Assistance for setting up/ expanding in beyond Bengaluru Urban District
• Investment subsidy for setting up or expanding in beyond Bengaluru Urban District
• Engineering R&D Fund to Support Technological Innovation
• R&D Infrastructure Program to create and strengthen the testing and prototyping infrastructure.
• Innovation Labs Program to encourage open innovation
• Digital Innovation for Services Challenges to encourage technology interventions that have a social impact.
• Applied Research in Academia Program to support the industrial application of Academic Research.
• To develop Engineering R&D Future Skills Courses and promote the adaptation of these courses in State Government Engineering Universities/ Affiliated Colleges.
• To promote internships to bridge the gap between academic skills and the needs of the Engineering R&D industry, GoK will reimburse 50% of the internship stipend for interns per entity, for a period of 3 months, up to Rs 10,000 per month per intern. The entity to offer internships to 33% women candidates and consider 30% of the total interns into full-time employment.
• CM Research Fellowship program designed to provide a monthly stipend and an annual research grant to students in PhD programs related to Engineering R&D. GoK will provide a monthly stipend of Rs 70,000 for the first two years, a monthly stipend of Rs 75,000 for the third year and monthly stipend of Rs 80,000 for the fourth year and annual research grant of Rs 2 lakh for students enrolled in Karnataka. 25% of women candidates shall be considered for this offering.