The major issues facing businesses in the state capital continue to be traffic and deteriorating infrastructure.
Bengaluru, the nation’s centre of technology and startups, is optimistic with a new administration poised to assume office in Karnataka.
In order to unseat the BJP-led government, the Congress won 135 of the 224 seats in the Karnataka legislative assembly.
Bengaluru boasts a thriving startup ecosystem, but it also struggles with deteriorating infrastructure, bad traffic, potholes, and flooding and waterlogging during rainy seasons. Several CEOs, startup founders, investors, and venture capitalists have called attention to the inadequate infrastructure and traffic issues in a series titled, but little has been done by elected officials and administration to address them thus far. Clearly, the city’s infrastructure cannot keep up with its rapid expansion.
the preferences of corporate leaders
An early-stage VC and businessman named Sanjay Swamy stated that Bengaluru’s new administration must deal with the city’s problems with housing, traffic, and physical infrastructure. In order to keep its position as a top location for startups, the government needs also establish a policy for consuming innovative goods and services.
The state of Karnataka is already setting the standard for paperless, cashless, and signature-less transactions, which are promoting broad inclusion, transparency, and cheaper costs for service providers, according to Swamy, the managing partner of Bengaluru-based Prime Venture Partners. In order to engage with the startup ecosystem in a win-win manner, he implores the government to seize this opportunity.
According to Amit Gupta, co-founder and CEO of Bengaluru-based Yulu, a mobility company, the new administration should prioritise speeding up Metro rail construction, widening sidewalks, dedicating lanes for cyclists, improving the state of the nation’s roads, and adding more electric buses to improve public transportation. Moreover, according to Gupta, establishing satellite towns would be another method to lessen the strain on Bengaluru’s infrastructure. More people will move to the suburbs, he said, which will help to relieve some of the city’s congestion. “Rail connectivity to nearby satellite towns with better frequency and reduced travel time will encourage more people to shift to the suburbs.”
According to a tweet from businessman V Mohandas Pai, they want a government that promotes progress, jobs, and is free of corruption. In agreement with him, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, executive chairman of Biocon Limited, tweeted following the poll results that “Infrastructure development, economic prosperity & social harmony are the metrics that people will measure to elect its representatives.”
This is a great chance for the government to emphasise the expansion of the startup ecosystem, according to Neelakantha Bhanu, CEO of the edtech startup Bhanzu, “Public transport needs urgently to have better connectivity. A more reasonable alternative to pricey cab aggregators and by speeding up the ongoing Metro construction and boosting accessible public transport options, the financial strain will be lessened.
In turn, this will strengthen the state’s economy, according to Bhanu.
In order to close the talent gap and provide appropriate up-skilling opportunities, he also underlined the importance of partnership between the public and private sectors.
The government should implement regulations to foster public-private partnerships (PPP) and advance last-mile connection, according to Girish Nagpal, CEO and founder of Metroride, a start-up focused on last-mile mobility. He stresses that private businesses are not in direct competition with public transport and are willing to enhance it. In addition to advocating for new urban mobility programmes, he said that strong policies already in place should be maintained because they could be impacted by political upheaval.
Many creators and investors emphasised the necessity of the government working with startups to address and resolve last-mile delivery concerns at the Moneycontrol’s Policy Next Karnataka Summit.
“Startups have a lot of solutions for infrastructure problems. All we want of the government is that it encourage innovation, work with us, and not stifle it. You are frequently banned immediately. A discussion would likely be beneficial to comprehend the decision-making process, according to Vivekanand Hallekere, co-founder of mobility start-up Bounce.
At the event, Salt co-founder Chaitra Chidanand stated, “As a company founder in Bengaluru, what I worry about is the infrastructure. Salt is a platform that helps women map their money and make investment decisions. Infrastructure development should proceed at a 10x faster rate, in my opinion. I don’t care which political party delivers it; I don’t even know. Yet Bengaluru requires that.
missing investment chances
Congress spokesperson Rajeev Gowda said that Tamil Nadu “shockingly” defeated Karnataka in securing investments from major companies in the electric car business, such as Ola and Ather, during Moneycontrol’s Policy Next Karnataka event. Gowda was speaking about Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, and the state.
Karnataka achieved its highest-ever turnout of 73.19%, while Bengaluru’s voter turnout remained relatively low due to a number of causes, including mistakes on the electoral rolls and voters’ disinterest.
The BJP, which took 16 of the city’s 28 seats and the Congress, which won the other 12 seats, continues to enjoy support from voters. The BJP kept assembly districts with IT hubs including Mahadevapura, Bommanahalli, KR Puram, and CV Raman Nagar, while the Congress kept BTM Layout, which includes neighbourhoods like Koramangala.
