23rd Edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit 2020 takes off virtually
Bengaluru: The opening ceremony of the 23rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit was conducted at a hybrid event in the city today. Organized by the Department of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T of the Government of Karnataka, the Summit was virtually inaugurated by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. With the theme of ‘NEXT IS NOW’, the three day Summit is focused towards highlighting the role of technology and innovation in a dynamically evolving ecosystem, and is scheduled from the 19th to the 21st of November, 2020.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by the Guests of Honor which included H.E Mr. Scott Morrison– Hon’ble Prime Minister of Australia, H.E Mr. Guy Parmelin, Vice President of Swiss Confederation, and Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad- Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, and Law & Justice. The ceremony was also presided by Shri B.S.Yediyurappa- Chief Minister of Karnataka along with Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan –Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and Minister for IT, BT , and Shri Jagadish Shettar- Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries and Public Enterprises, Karnataka.
The three day summit will feature Multi-track Conferences, International Exhibition, Global Innovation Alliance, STPI-IT Export Awards, Smart Bio Awards and Bengaluru Impact Awards. The other popular programs include the Rural IT Quiz, Biotech Quiz and Biotech Posters will also be held virtually.
The Summit will witness more than 270 subject matter experts from both India and International partner countries, highlighting the latest technological innovations under the tracks of of Knowledge Hub, Innovation Corner, One Health and Country Sessions.
Overview of the events scheduled under each track for Day 1 :
Knowledge Hub
- 3 sessions which included the themes of : Going global, Impact of IP on innovation, and e-commerce and supply chain
- The second session of the day on ‘Impact of IP on innovation leading to ease of doing business’ was moderated by Dr.S.K Murthy, Patent Counsel, Intel India and saw the participation of key leaders from ACIR, National Law School of India University – Bangalore, United States Patent and Trademarks Office, and Philips Electronics India Limited
Innovation Corner
- 3 sessions which covered the themes of : Drones & Robotics as an emerging solution in Healthcare, Agriculture & Disaster Management, Satellites and Society, and Digital Healthcare
- The sessions saw the participation of subject matter experts from Lockheed Martin Space, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (ISRO), India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Programme, United Nations OOSA, and IITB
One Health
- 5 sessions which included the themes of : From Digital to Living Machines, AI in Drug Discovery, Atmanirbhar Bharat –NBRIC, AI in Human Health, Accelerating Innovation
- The opening session on ‘Digital to Living Machines’ was presided by Dr.Kiran Mazumdar Shaw,, CMD, Biocon Ltd. And Dr.Susan Hockfield – President Emerita at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Country Sessions
- Panels by 4 partner countries : Finland, Israel, Netherlands and the UK
- The sessions saw discussions on Artificial Intelligence, Space technology, exploring the digital way for Indian startups to expand to the Netherlands, and tech’s role in Green Recovery and a Sustainable Future
The first day of the event witnessed the key note addressed by Shri. Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group which focused on the need to network and strategize on emerging technologies. The other highlights of the day included an insightful session on Drones & Robotics as an emerging solution in Healthcare, Agriculture & Disaster Management; AI in Human Health and a session by the UK consul on Tech’s role in Green Recovery and a Sustainable Future. The day concluded with the announcement of the IT awards, along with the closing note which was addressed by Ms. Debjani Ghosh, President NASSCOM.