Silicon Valley Will Be Known As 'Bangalore Of The West': MoS Rajeev Chandrashekar At Bengaluru Tech Summit 2023

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, participated in the twenty-sixth edition of the Bangalore Tech Summit 2023 on Thursday. During the event, he discussed Bengaluru's transformation from a 'retirement paradise' to becoming a prominent tech hub of India.

Chandrasekhar emphasised that Bengaluru's talent pool is globally recognised, comparable only to the Silicon Valley in the United States. He went on to predict that in a few years, Silicon Valley would be referred to as the 'Bangalore of the West.'

Addressing competition among Indian cities, particularly comparing Bengaluru to others, Chandrasekhar, who is a resident of Bengaluru himself, asserted that there is no real competition as Bengaluru is significantly ahead in various aspects.

The IT minister highlighted Bengaluru's rapid expansion and diversification beyond IT, noting that the city hosts the engineering and R&D centers of major semiconductor brands such as AMD, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Intel, and Fujitsu.

He acknowledged the legendary competition between Hyderabad and Bengaluru but emphasised that Bengaluru's talent base is globally renowned.

Despite his pride in Bengaluru's achievements, Chandrasekhar admitted to feeling conflicted at times, especially when encouraging new brands and companies to establish their offices in the city. He expressed concerns about contributing to the existing traffic problems in Bengaluru.

"As a Bengalurean, I have mixed emotions. In the morning, when I meet with great brands and companies, I say 'go to Bengaluru.' Then in the afternoon, I think, 'Should I really be telling them to go to Bengaluru because they'll make the traffic problem even worse?'" remarked Chandrasekhar, according to a report published by MoneyControl.

Despite these concerns, he expressed immense pride in the city's accomplishments and its welcoming nature towards companies, envisioning that Silicon Valley would be named the "Bangalore of the West" in the upcoming decade.