Prioritise Primary Education in CSR, Shivakumar Tells Industry

Congratulating FKCCI, Shivakumar said, “Coming together is a beginning, discussing together is progress and working together is success.” he said.

He highlighted the role of FKCCI in the development of Karnataka even before the emergence of IT and Artificial Intelligence sectors and said that the success of the state started with the contribution of the sector.

The Prime Minister credited former Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee with introducing the CSR framework.

“CSR is not charity; it is an investment in sustainable development,” he said, adding that responsible corporate leaders take the concept seriously.

Touching on urbanization, Shivakumar stated that he came from a village for educational purposes and never returned, describing this as a story shared by many people.

He pointed out that the urban population of Karnataka has reached 43 per cent and said the population of Bengaluru has doubled from around 70 lakh during his earlier tenure as a minister under SM Krishna to around 1.4 crore today with around 1.30 lakh vehicles on the roads.

Highlighting Bengaluru’s global standing, he said world leaders are now looking to the city because of the strong foundation laid by visionary leaders and its high-quality education ecosystem.

He noted that around 38 of the 140 international schools in the country are located in Karnataka.

Recalling the establishment of Kempegowda International Airport, Shivakumar said Narayana Murthy was appointed as chairman during the project and recalled former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s observation that Bengaluru would become a preferred destination for global leaders.

“Earlier, world leaders would first visit Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad or Kolkata. Now they are coming to Bengaluru,” he said.

The CM also highlighted the state’s industrial and technology ecosystem and highlighted the growth of the manufacturing sector supported by Electronic City, ITPL and FKCCI.

He emphasized the need for a balanced approach to worker welfare and said employers and employees are equally important.

“If there is no employer, there is no employee. We must maintain balance and ensure that workers are supported before they burn out,” he said.

Citing data, Shivakumar said that of the 13 lakh engineers working in California, nearly six lakh are from Karnataka, underlining the talent pool.

He further stated that there are 71 medical colleges in Karnataka and train around 13,900 doctors and around one lakh other medical professionals every year, but most of these talents eventually leave the country.

Shivakumar called for balanced regional development, saying the state must now look beyond Bengaluru.

He said there are currently around 10,000 CSR initiatives in Karnataka and announced that a separate government team will be set up to monitor them in districts including Mysuru, Hubballi and other districts.

Urging companies to focus on rural education, Shivakumar said students should not be forced to migrate to Bengaluru for quality education.

He called on companies to embrace schools, create educational infrastructure and strengthen primary education.

“Your priority should be primary education. I want you to embrace schools and create infrastructure. Companies like Toyota are already building schools and I want more sectors to follow this example,” he said.

The Prime Minister added that he wants companies to go beyond financing infrastructure and provide skilled staff to support education. “A child needs to compete at global standards. That’s why we have put in place various policies,” he said.

Reiterating that a strong industry will contribute to a stronger Karnataka, Shivakumar stated that technological developments such as artificial intelligence are rapidly transforming society, and emphasized that the government’s immediate focus should remain on primary education, as well as sustainability.

He said Bengaluru continues to attract people from all over the world due to its talent pool, pleasant weather and culture.

While acknowledging that the city has moved beyond its Garden City identity, he said it remains more affordable than many other metropolitan cities, including Mumbai.