Karnataka reconstitutes Knowledge Commission & Innovation Council

State govt reappoints Kasturirangan as Chairman of Knowledge Commission for second term

The Karnataka government on Saturday reconstituted Karnataka Knowledge Commission under the chairmanship of K Kasturirangan, member (science), Planning Commission and Director of National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. The Commission consists of 28 members drawn from various fields.

“For the first time, we have included members under the age of 45 years from various fields including sports, business, education and technology,” said R V Deshpande, state minister for higher education.

The reconstituted commission will focus on institution building, policy innovation and excellence in the field of education, health, science and technology, industry, entrepreneurship, research and innovation, traditional knowledge, agriculture, e-governance, rural development among others areas relevant in the context of Karnataka, he told reporters.

It will strive to build excellence in the educational system to meet the knowledge challenges of the 21st century and increase Karnataka’s competitive advantage in the fields of knowledge. It will also promote creation of knowledge in all formal and non-formal educational, scientific and knowledge institutions in Karnataka, Deshpande said.

The members of the Commission include Sudha N Murthy, chairperson of Infosys Foundation; Professor M R Satyanarayana Rao, ex-director, Jawaharlal Centre for Advanced Scientific Research; Professor G Padmanabhan, former Director of IISC; S Sadagopan, director, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore; Dr Deviprasad Shetty, heart specialist and founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya; Rahul Dravid, former India cricket captain and Prakash Padukone, former badminton player among others.

The state government has also reconstituted Karnataka State Innovation Council under the chairmanship of Prof H P Khincha, advisor, Indian Institute of Science and R Gopalakrishnan, executive director, Tata Sons as Mentor. The Council has 31 members including Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and managing director, Biocon Ltd, V K Aatre, ex-advisor, defence minister and secretary DRDO, Pankaj Chandra, ex-director, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Mohandas Pai, Chairman, MAHE, Neelam Dhawan, managing director, HP Ltd and L T Prakash, ex-director, CFTRI, Mysore among others.

The main focus of the Innovation Council is to drive the state model of innovation in tune with Indian model of innovation to provide solutions related to basic common needs of the people.