led by Bengaluru, is emerging as the engine driving India’s transformation into a developed nation by 2047, Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) CEO Sanjeev Gupta on Thursday said.

Highlighting the state’s tech, startup, and digital achievements, Gupta said Bengaluru is not just India’s Silicon Valley but “The Silicon Valley of the East,” shaping the future of Bharat from urban metros to rural heartlands.

Speaking at India Digital Summit 2026 organised by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Gupta said Karnataka accounts for nearly 35 per cent of India’s software exports, worth $150 billion, and attracts 30-40 per cent of the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI). The state hosts over 400 Fortune 500 companies and has 200 million square feet of IT-grade infrastructure, with last year alone seeing 28 million square feet leased out-more than the next three states combined.

“India is on a trajectory from ‘Assembled in India’ to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Invented & Made in India’,” said Sanjeev Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission. “To truly unlock the USD 300 billion electronics vision by 2030, this Budget must incentivise creation of intellectual property by Indian companies.”Gupta urged the government to introduce a 200 per cent weighted tax deduction on R&D expenditure for the ESDM sector and expand the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) scheme by increasing its fiscal cap fourfold, from Rs 15 crore to Rs 60 crore, for strategic deep-tech startups.“To get the 200 per cent tax break or the Rs 60 crore DLI, the government can mandate that the primary patent must be filed in India and the intellectual property must be owned by an Indian-incorporated entity,” Gupta said, adding that such conditions could also encourage multinational firms to establish Indian IP-holding subsidiaries.