Bengaluru’s 25-year journey from humble beginnings to an IT hub

It was in the year 1998, when Bengaluru had shed its sobriquets such as “Garden City” and Pensioners’ Paradise” and came to be better known for its IT industries and BPOs, that the State came to have the annual exposition Bangalore IT.Com. And, since then, there was no looking back and in 2022 State’s over 1,400 IT firms that employ over 4 million people exported software worth ₹6,30,000 crore, close to 40% of the country’s total exports. “No one imagined something that begun in such a modest way would emerge as a gigantic industry that changed everything not only for Bengaluru and Karnataka but also for the entire country and for the whole world as well to an extent,’‘ said B.V. Naidu, the first director of Software Parks of India in 1991. “I would call 2001 and 2010 the golden period for Indian IT as most of the world started recognising us in these years as we started developing advanced global delivery systems to cater to the requirements of global markets,’‘ Mr. Naidu recalled. “Under its ‘Beyond Bangalore’ initiative, Karnataka is now developing tech clusters in many tier-2 and 3 cities including Mysuru, Hubballi/Dharwad, Belagavi, and Mangaluru,’‘ added Mr. Naidu, who is chairman of KDEM.