Addressing the opening ceremony of the 23^rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS 2020), the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said due to Digital India, our nation has witnessed a more human centric approach to development. He said using technology on such a large scale has brought about several changes for the citizens and the benefits are clearly visible.

The Prime Minister stressed that a framework-level mindset has the potential to build an eco-system of multiple successful products. He listed out the initiatives with a framework-level mindset like UPI, National Digital Health Mission, Swamitva Scheme, etc. He said technology is setting the pace for the defence sector to evolve. He stressed on the need of data  protection  as well as  cyber security with the rapid increase of tech use.  He proposed the youth can play a big role  in devising robust cyber security solutions which can effectively vaccinate digital products against cyber attacks and viruses.

The Prime Minister said the scope and need for innovation is relevant in the fields of science like bio-sciences, engineering, etc. He said Innovation is the key to progress and India has a clear advantage when it comes to innovation because of the talent of our youth and their zeal to innovate. He added the potential of our youth and possibilities of technology are endless.

The opening ceremony of the 23^rd edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit was conducted at a hybrid event in Bengaluru today. Organized by the Department of Electronics, IT, Bt and S&T of the Government of Karnataka, the Summit was virtually inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi.

With the theme of ‘NEXT IS NOW’, the three day Summit is focused towards highlighting the role of technology and innovation in a dynamically evolving ecosystem, and is scheduled from the 19^th to the 21^st of November, 2020.

The inaugural ceremony was graced by the Guests of Honor which included H.E Scott Morrison- Prime Minister of Australia, H.E Guy Parmelin, Vice President of Swiss Confederation, and Ravi Shankar Prasad- Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, and Law & Justice. The ceremony was also presided by B.S.Yediyurappa- Chief Minister of Karnataka along with Dr. C.N. Ashwath Narayan -Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and Minister for IT, BT ,  and  Jagadish Shettar- Minister of Large and Medium Scale Industries and Public Enterprises, Karnataka.

The three day summit will feature Multi-track Conferences, International Exhibition, Global Innovation Alliance, STPI-IT Export Awards, Smart Bio Awards and Bengaluru Impact Awards. The other popular programs include the Rural IT Quiz, Biotech Quiz and Biotech Posters will also be held virtually.

The Summit will witness more than 270 subject matter experts from both India and International partner countries, highlighting the latest technological innovations under the tracks of of Knowledge Hub, Innovation Corner, One Health and Country Sessions