Synopsis
Karnataka's IT/BT department has approved four initiatives totaling over Rs 27 crore to boost innovation across the state. These projects include startup acceleration in Mangaluru, industry-academia partnerships in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and advanced infrastructure for medical robotics and genome editing in Bengaluru.Listen to this article in summarized format
Two of the initiatives are being implemented under the Local Economy Accelerator Programme (LEAP), the government's programme to strengthen innovation ecosystems outside Bengaluru, the department said in a statement.
"These approvals reflect Karnataka's commitment to investing across the full innovation spectrum—from startups and talent development to frontier research in biotechnology, genomics and medical robotics," said IT/BT minister Priyank Kharge in the statement.
The department has approved a K-Combinator Startup Accelerator at WrkWrk, Mangaluru, in collaboration with TiE-Mangaluru, at a cost of Rs 9.26 crore over five years. The accelerator will support startups from the Udupi-Mangaluru region at proof-of-concept and minimum viable product stages.
Under LEAP, the department has also approved the Super 100 Industry-Academia Adoption Programme at Rs 7.47 crore over three years, in partnership with Karnataka Digital Economy Mission. The programme will create one-to-one partnerships between 100 industry partners and 100 higher education institutions in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
The department has sanctioned development of an Advanced Surgical Assistive Robot for neurosurgical applications at Rs 3.66 crore over three years. The project will be jointly undertaken by the International Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru, and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences.
The fourth initiative involves expanding infrastructure at the Centre for Human Genetics, Bengaluru, to house the newly established Institute of Advanced Genome Editing and Gene Therapy at Rs 6.80 crore over two years.
The expansion will create approximately 1,500 square metres of laboratory space, including ISO-certified clean rooms, tissue culture laboratories and next-generation sequencing facilities, the statement said.
