The Karnataka government has ambitious plans for Bengaluru as it seeks to maintain the city’s dynamism while addressing key infrastructure challenges.

During a fireside chat with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO, YourStory and The Bharat Project, Karnataka Minister for Greater Bengaluru Development, Krishna Byre Gowda, said, “Bengaluru continues to be the centre for dynamism that nurtures talent and is able to be the home for a lot of people who contribute productively to their own lives, economy and to the services of the country as well as the larger global space.”

The State government plans to create technology spaces, mixed usage locations that will attract knowledge professionals and also investments.

According to the minister, the Greater Bengaluru Authority covers a geographical area of about 750 square kilometers, while Bengaluru's existing urban space already occupies about 1,200 square kilometers. “We are already planning the 2,000 square kilometer space around Bengaluru,” the minister remarked.

Bengaluru’s economic significance is reflected in several indicators. The city accounts for 36% of the new office space created in the country, hosts 40% of India’s global capability centres (GCCs), and contributes around 40-45% of the country’s $300 billion in exports.

Despite the city’s breakneck pace of growth, Gowda highlighted the role of its social ecosystem in sustaining its dynamism.

The minister said the state government plans to expand Bengaluru’s metro rail network from the current 96 kilometres to 170 kilometres over the next 18 months.

“By 2037, Bengaluru will be 500 years old and hopefully by then we can have at least 400 kilometres of metro,” he said.

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