Karnataka launches Engg R&D policy

Bengaluru: THE Karnataka government on Tuesday launched the Engineering Research & Development (ER&D) policy-2021, claimed to be the first such in the country that aims to enable the state to contribute about 45 per cent to India's Engineering R&D during the policy period and create an additional about 50,000 new jobs.

Department of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T, Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), and NASSCOM were involved in drafting this policy after wider consultations with all the other participating stakeholders including the representatives of the industry, an official release said. The five priority sectors of the policy include Aerospace & Defence; Auto, Auto Components & EV; Biotechnology (Bt), Pharma & Medical Devices; Semiconductors, Telecom, ESDM; and Software Products.

"The ER&D sector in the country is the fastest growing industry with a CAGR of 12.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the global Engineering Research and Development industry is expected to reach a spend of $2 trillion by 2025," Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said and added that "Considering this scenario, this policy aims to prepare the State to make use of the future opportunities emanating from this sector."