New Delhi: Disruptions from Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be short-lived and new jobs will emerge, Karnataka's IT and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge has said, stressing that large-scale reskilling initiatives are underway in the state to prepare talent for new-age technologies.

In an interview with PTI, Kharge asserted that Karnataka retains a comfortable lead in technology, supported by strong data and performance indicators.

The state encourages innovation and collaboration, ensuring that “any entrepreneur or corporation who dreams of making it big globally, starts from Karnataka,” he said.

On the issue of AI-related disruptions, Kharge said Nipuna Karnataka — the state's large-scale reskilling and upskilling initiative — aims at future-proofing its talent pool.

“While there might be certain job losses, new jobs will be created… And that is why we need a massive reskilling and upskilling programme. So, there will be disruption, but the disruption will be for a brief while, until we are able to reskill and upskill people,” he said.

Nipuna Karnataka is a Rs 300 crore industry-driven reskilling initiative with ambitious targets to train talent at scale.

In the coming financial year, the state government aims to skill individuals in key areas such as AI, cybersecurity, digital forensics and other emerging technologies in line with global tech demands.

“We intend to skill over 5,00,000 people in the coming financial year… This programme is not just catering to the local ecosystem, we are catering to the global ecosystem also,” he noted.

Kharge highlighted that Karnataka remains a leader in IT exports, startups and global capability centres (GCCs).

“As many as 20,000 startups are registered with us. Of 110 unicorns, more than 45 are from Bengaluru. We contribute 21 per cent of the national bioeconomy and 65 per cent of defence electronics manufacturing happens in Karnataka. We have over 800 GCCs and their units, totalling about 1,500,” he said.

He added that office space demand, real estate leasing, and GCC momentum reflect the same trend.

“Last year, we gobbled up close to 47 per cent of the country's real estate for GCCs. This year, in just six months, 13.1 million sq ft has been given only for GCCs. So, where is the competition? I don't see that,” he said.

Kharge emphasised that Karnataka's policies are backed by actionable outcomes like the recent Quantum Roadmap.

“We are not announcing mere policies for the sake of it. Over the years we have built a strong foundation of skills, topped that with incubators, centres of excellence and budgetary allocation… And through these, we are innovating and inventing,” he said.