Karnataka global hub for new research: CM Shivakumar

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the State has emerged as a global hub for new research because of the skills of its youth, and stressed that skill was an asset that no one can steal.
Addressing World Youth Skills Day at the Banquet Hall of Vidhana Soudha, Shivakumar said education must be accompanied by skill if the country was to progress.
“Skill means the confluence of intellectuals and achievers. No one can steal skill. Thanks to the skills of the youth here. Karnataka has become the hub of new research in the world,” he said.

“If the country needs to become more aware, skill must accompany education. Possessing a skill is like enjoying a royal fortune (Rajayoga); no one can steal it,” he said, noting that California had 1.3 million IT engineers while Bengaluru alone had 2.5 million IT professionals.
Every person possessed some skill, he said, citing goldsmiths, carpenters and even prisoners who helped construct Vidhana Soudha before modern technology became available
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Shivakumar said industrialists such as those heading the Tata and Mahindra conglomerates had studied and acquired skills in Bengaluru before expanding their businesses globally. “Do not restrict your competition to Belagavi, Hubballi, or Dharwad — you must compete at the global level,” he told students.

Recalling the history of IISc, he said Swami Vivekananda had discussed India’s poverty with Jamsetji Tata during a ship journey and concluded that poverty could be eradicated through science. Vivekananda subsequently approached the then Maharaja of Mysore, leading to the establishment of IISc on 360 acres, he said, adding that the institution had since produced hundreds of thousands of talented scientists.

“No one can steal skill. My power and office might end one day, but the skill within me will not. Furthermore, the education we acquire never fades away,” he said.
Shivakumar said degrees did not necessarily translate into skill or common sense, pointing to farmers ploughing fields in straight lines and women planting crops precisely without being taught by engineers or using rulers.