Bengaluru | September 7, 2026 — Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said Bengaluru has 26 lakh IT professionals, compared with 16 lakh in California’s Silicon Valley, while claiming that about 2 lakh foreign passport holders work in the city. He made the remarks on Sunday while speaking at the Study Abroad 2026 programme.
Shivakumar described Bengaluru as a global city and highlighted the scale of its technology workforce and wider talent pool. The figures were presented by the chief minister during an address focused on international education and opportunities for students.
“Bengaluru is a global city. As many as 2 lakh foreign passport holders work here. If there are 16 lakh IT professionals in California’s Silicon Valley, there are 26 lakh IT professionals in Bengaluru,” Shivakumar said, according to the reported remarks.
The chief minister also said Karnataka produces more than 1 lakh engineers and 13,940 doctors every year. He claimed that the state’s concentration of skilled human resources was unmatched by any other state in the country. The supplied report did not provide the methodology, source or time period used for these comparisons.
Shivakumar said students should receive global exposure and aim to become job creators rather than only seek employment. He credited Skill Development Minister Sharan Prakash Patil for supporting the programme and described investment in knowledge as an asset for the wider population.
More than 80 universities participated in the event, he said, with opportunities to study more than 300 subjects. The chief minister added that government departments were offering special scholarships and that banks were providing loan support of up to Rs 2 crore for students from the state.
The reported remarks did not specify a separate implementation timeline for the scholarships or education loans. The programme’s immediate focus, according to the statement, was to connect students with international study opportunities and financing support.
