Bengaluru Tech 2021, the three-day annual flagship event, will be held in a hybrid format from November 17 with the tagline ‘Driving the Next’’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be invited to inaugurate the event and U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris will be invited to participate in the event, Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, who holds the IT/ BT, Science, and Technology portfolio, told reporters after holding a preparatory meeting with the officials and chairpersons of Vision groups.

He said that in view of the possible third wave of COVID-19 breaking out, the event will be organized in a hybrid format with one part being virtual and the other physical. The last event was held virtually for the first time, and the event had received an overwhelming response and participation from delegates of 25 countries, he added.

‘Thought Leadership Day’ will be held on the first day of the event, while ‘Technologies and Strategies Day’ and ‘Startups Day’ will be held on the second and the third day respectively.

Prior to the event, ‘Beyond Bengaluru’ will be held in Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi during September and October.

During ‘Beyond Bengaluru’, reports pertaining to KDEM, engineering R&D, and IESA would be released.

Dr. Narayan said that Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Harsh Vardhan, and Nitin Gadkari, among others, will be invited for the event.

“To actively involve academia, VTU and Higher Education Council will be roped in for all the events,” he added.