Bengaluru, November 2, 2026: Minister for IT, BT and Rural Development Priyank Kharge held discussions with the senior leadership of NTT DATA on expanding the company’s operations in Karnataka, particularly in Mangaluru and Udupi and exploring new areas of collaboration.
NTT DATA, which recently acquired Karnataka-based Niveus Solutions and WinWire, shared its plans to expand its presence and strengthen its operations in Karnataka, particularly in the coastal region, citing the availability of skilled talent as a key advantage.
Highlighting the Government’s initiative, Minister Kharge said, “Through our Beyond Bengaluru programme, we are building strong regional technology ecosystems by investing in skilling, infrastructure and progressive policies. Our focus is on taking investments and opportunities to where the talent is and we want to work closely with industry to co-create solutions that accelerate growth across Karnataka’s emerging technology clusters.”
Discussions also covered Karnataka’s Sustainable Data Centre Policy and opportunities for collaboration with NTT DATA, leveraging its capabilities across data centres, cloud services and digital infrastructure. The Minister also highlighted the State’s plans to strengthen digital infrastructure, including the proposed Mangaluru cable landing station and discussed how NTT DATA’s expertise could contribute to these efforts.
The Minister encouraged NTT DATA to explore expanding its presence beyond cloud services into biotechnology, healthcare, life sciences and automotive manufacturing, aligning the company’s growing focus in these sectors with Karnataka’s strong industrial and research ecosystem.
The meeting also explored collaboration in startup incubation and innovation. Minister Kharge highlighted the recently launched Government First programme, which enables startups to pilot innovative solutions with government departments and invited NTT DATA to partner in supporting Karnataka’s startup ecosystem.
Dr. N. Manjula, Secretary, Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka and NTT DATA representatives Charlie Li, President and Global Head of Cloud, AI & Security; Ayman Husain, Worldwide Managing Director and VP, Google Business Unit; and Shashir Shetty, Chief Growth Officer, Dr. Avinash Menon Rajendran, IAS, Director, Department of Electronics, IT & Bt and Managing Director, Karnataka Innovation and Technology Society (KITS), Government of Karnataka and Sanjeev Gupta, CEO, KDEM participated in the meeting.
