As India navigates the realities of the post-pandemic era, its focus shifts to revamping and implementing its technological agenda.

Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2021, the country's annual flagship event for tech, will take place from November 17 to November 19. It will be inaugurated by M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Vice-President of India.

At a curtain-raiser news conference here on Tuesday, Dr. C.N Ashwath Narayan, the Karnataka Minister for Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology, Higher Education, Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood, said the annual event had been growing from strength to strength, and getting better and more relevant to the times. Technological innovations are redefining the future, and the theme of this year's event, ‘Driving the Next’, revolves around this, he explained.

The news meet was attended by S. 'Kris' Gopalakrishnan, co-founder, Infosys Technology, and the chairman of Axilor Venture and the Karnataka Vision Group on Information Technology; Dr. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson, Biocon Limited, and Chairperson, Karnataka Vision Group on Biotechnology. Meena Nagaraj C.N, IAS, Director, Dept. of Electronics, IT & BT and Managing Director, KITS, Govt. of Karnataka, gave an overview of BTS 2021.

BTS 2021 promises to deliver cutting-edge agenda in the domains of information technology, biotechnology and Deep Tech. It comes at a time when India puts emphasis on incorporating digital technologies in modernizing its economy.

Dubbed as Asia’s largest technology event, Bengaluru Tech will feature multi-track conferences, a business-to-business expo, international exhibitions, a conclave of thought leaders and opportunities for startups to showcase their innovations.

Other activities include STPI IT Export Awards, a Rural IT and Bio Quiz, an International Quiz, R&D (Lab to Market), Start-up Unicorn Felicitation, a Science Gallery, a Global Innovation Alliance, an India Innovation Alliance, Smart Bio Awards, Bengaluru Impact Awards, Bio-Posters, B2B meetings, etc. India USA Tech Conclave, India Innovation Alliance, Bengaluru Next Conclave with Leadership Conclave and Startup Conclave and a showcase of the Science Gallery will be the new features of BTS 2021.

The BTS 2021 will draw over 300 exhibitors from over 30 countries while 75 sessions have been scheduled that will be addressed by 300 speakers. The event will also see the participation of international dignitaries like Naftali Bennett, Prime Minister of Israel; Prof. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Chairman, World Economic Forum; Martin Schroeter, Chief Executive Officer, Kyndryl; senior ministers from central and state governments and a galaxy of international industry captains, government officials, Nobel Laureates and visionary leaders.

The India-US Tech Conclave

The India-US Tech Conclave, in association with the US-India Business Council (USIBC), will be hosted for the first time under BTS 2021. This programme will consist of two sessions focused on IT, Technology and Startups and Biotechnology addressed by speakers from the East Coast, West Coast, Mid-America as well as India, opening new avenues of international cooperation in the areas of innovation and technology.

India Innovation Alliance, in its maiden session under BTS 2021, will bring together heads of eight innovation centers from Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kanpur, Delhi, Bhubaneswar and Panaji to exchange learnings and explore areas of cooperation and collaboration to accelerate innovations for public good.

The CEO Conclave under BengaluruNext will witness the top 100 CEOs from IT, Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) and the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sectors deliberating on stratégies which will contribute to the vision of India becoming a five-trillion dollar economy by 2025.

The Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) track will consist of 16 sessions by countries like Israel, Japan, Sweden, the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Taiwan, Denmark, The Netherlands, Lithuania, Switzerland, Vietnam, Finland and the European Union.

Some of the prominent speakers in this track include Gil Shwed, CEO, Checkpoint Software Technologies; Stuart Ayers, from the Department of Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; Timo Harakka, Minister, Transport and Communications, Finland; Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, and Barry O'Farrell, Australian High Commissioner to India.

Several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed between Karnataka and the GIA partners at the tech summit.

The Start-Up Track at BTS 2021 will throw the spotlight on key topics like women entrepreneurship, grassroot and social entrepreneurship, IPO opportunities and challenges for startups, helping businesses survive, government funding, emerging tech trends in aerospace and defence, EdTech, healthcare, electric vehicles etc. Some of the prominent speakers in this track include Anand Sudarshan, former CEO of Manipal Education, and Director, Sylvant Advisors; Meena Ganesh, Co-Founder, Chairperson & MD, Portea Medical; Ashish Hemrajani, Founder & CEO, Bookmyshow.com; Manish Agarwal, CEO, Nazara Technologies, and Tarun Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Ather Energy.

 
The inaugural session will be presided over by Thaawarchand Gehlot, Governor of Karnataka, in the presence of the state's Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology; Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Dr Ashwath Narayan.