The Karnataka government on Thursday unveiled the theme for the Global Investors Meet 2027 (GIM) as ‘Powering what’s Next’, showcasing the state as an investment opportunity to investors and businesses.
The theme will be powered by five pillars; frontier technology, engineering at scale, availability of talent, sustainable approach and collaborative partnerships between the government and industry. The southern state is already the country’s largest chip design hub and an artificial intelligence (AI) native cluster. Karnataka also has about 85,000 acres of industrial land, with 19,000 factories, which include the likes of Foxconn and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
With a rich source of talent pool, considering almost 150,000 engineers graduate annually from hundreds of private engineering colleges, the state has become an attractive place for global companies, many of whom have set up their research and development (R&D) centres in Bengaluru. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) estimates there are over 1,000 global capability centres (GCC) in Bengaluru, almost 50 per cent of the country’s total.
“This is an opportunity to shape Karnataka for the future. Bengaluru is the place where ideas become business,” Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said at the event. “I do not want to compete with other states, as we have our own talent and manpower that no one can match anywhere in the world.”
The state is also aiming to attract investors through its sustainability practices, with a potential of 400 gigawatts (Gw) of renewable energy, according to a government presentation made on Thursday.
The last pillar is about collaborative partnership to facilitate ease of doing business.
“Our progress speaks for itself. Over the last three years, Karnataka has approved 1,691 projects, attracted ₹2,63,921 crore in investments and generated 543,218 jobs. We are committed to building on this momentum, creating new opportunities for our youth and taking Karnataka’s industrial growth story to the world,” Shivakumar said on X before the event.
The event, to be held between April 20-22, 2027, will have more than 300 exhibits and 5,000 delegates and 10 roadshows. “We want Bengaluru to be one of the world’s most trusted places to innovate, manufacture and grow,” said Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara, adding that the state has immense potential in fields of precision engineering, electric mobility, aerospace component, pharmaceutical and food processing.
At the last GIM, the state had secured investment commitments of about ₹10.3 trillion, of which 65 per cent of the manufacturing investment has already been converted. That has the potential to create about 600,000 jobs.
Karnataka has already invited Poland to be part of GIM 2027 and asked for deeper cooperation in technology, AI and aerospace. Poland has proposed an investment of about ₹80 crore by TZMO group in the KIADB Vemgal Industrial Area in Kolar district, spread across five acres. The project has the potential to create 1,000 jobs and introduce manufacturing of smart adult incontinence pads for the first time in India.
