Union Minister of Communications has inaugurated the VTU-VRIF-TCOE Hub and Spoke Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. This Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a strategic partnership between Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), the Visvesvaraya Research and Innovation Foundation (VRIF), and Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCOE) India. The collaboration aims to establish a state-of-the-art innovation ecosystem with a focus on emerging domains including 5G/6G communications, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), quantum computing, healthcare and other frontier technologies.
Addressing the academic community of VTU, the minister stressed the importance of Bengaluru in India’s tech landscape, stating “The world calls Bengaluru India’s Silicon Valley. But I say, in the next decade, Silicon Valley will be seen as a version of Bengaluru. This is a city where code is written over coffee, satellites are launched before traffic signals, and start-ups are born every minute.”
The new centre aims to be a launchpad for deep-tech research and start-up incubation, powered by a robust academia-industry partnership. With over 20 start-ups and 30 academic institutions already on board, the ecosystem is set to drive innovation at scale. The initiative is also supported by leading tech firms including Keysight Technologies, QpiAI, Televerge, etc. Skill development efforts are being guided by the Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC).
Beyond its technical vision, the minister emphasised the larger policy shift ushered in by prime minister, stating that, “In the last 11 years, the prime minister has fundamentally redefined the role of government, from a regulator to a facilitator. This centre is a direct extension of that transformation.”
Citing remarkable growth in India’s digital infrastructure, the minister noted, “11 years ago, we had 250 million internet users. Today, we have over 974 million internet subscribers and 940 million broadband users. We are building the world’s largest optical fibre network, an invisible digital highway that will visibly transform 1.40 million lives.”
Minister also reflected on India’s evolution from a software services hub to a product innovation powerhouse: “We once imported 90 per cent of our mobile phones. Today, India is exporting mobile phones worth over Rs 2.5 trillion, including to the US. It is time we move from being the world’s back office to becoming its innovation engine.”
