DPIIT’s Tumakuru Visit Signals a New Era of Smart Industrial Corridors and Deep-Tech Integration for Indian SMEs
In a strategic move that underscores India’s evolving industrial priorities, Shri Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), led a high-level delegation to K-tech MeitY Nasscom Centre of Excellence (CoE) for IoT & AI in Bengaluru, followed by an intensive site review of the Tumakuru Industrial Area, one of the flagship nodes under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme (NICDP).
Far from being a routine government visit, this engagement reflects a larger policy signal, India is doubling down on its intent to blend deep-tech innovation with modern industrial infrastructure. And for India’s vibrant SME and MSME sector, especially in Tier-2 and Tier-3 regions, this could mark the beginning of a transformative era.
Integrating Deep-Tech Hubs with Industrial Growth Nodes
The first stop of the delegation was at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, India’s largest deep-tech innovation hub for AI, IoT, robotics and data science. The CoE connects startups, enterprises, academia, and policymakers to co-create tech-driven solutions for real-world challenges spanning manufacturing, logistics, mobility and urban transformation.
In interactions with startup founders and incubation leaders, Shri Bhatia emphasized the need to identify areas where cutting-edge technologies can be rapidly applied to enhance the competitiveness of Indian MSMEs. The message was clear: India’s industrial future will be innovation-first, not just infrastructure-led.
Tumakuru Industrial Area
The visit then shifted to the Tumakuru Industrial Area, located about 70 km from Bengaluru, a key node in the Chennai–Bengaluru–Mumbai Industrial Corridor (CBMIC). Spread over 1,736 acres under Phase A, this zone is being developed with world-class internal roads, drainage systems, utility corridors and plug-and-play facilities.
With Larsen & Toubro (L&T) as the EPC contractor and HaskoningDHV as the project management consultancy (PMC), the site is witnessing accelerated construction efforts. The DPIIT Secretary reviewed milestone progress, urging stakeholders to ensure land allotment to industries begins by the end of 2025.
Attracting domestic and global investors in electronics, clean tech, precision manufacturing and logistics, Tumakuru is being designed not just as an industrial park, but as a smart export-oriented economic hub.
A Strategic Push for Export-Led MSME Growth
This convergence of innovation and infrastructure could redefine how Indian MSMEs plug into global value chains.
By visiting advanced manufacturers such as Foxconn India and Dynamatic Technologies a key aerospace components supplier the DPIIT team signalled its commitment to integrating MSMEs into high-tech and export-driven supply chains. These visits are particularly relevant for component suppliers, engineering SMEs and logistics startups who can benefit from proximity to such anchors.
Importantly, the review also involved collaboration with senior Karnataka government officials, including the MD of KIADB and the DC of Tumakuru, to ensure that state-level infrastructure and central policy goals are aligned for timely execution.
Opportunity in Motion
1. Export-Ready Infrastructure for MSMEs
Once operational, the Tumakuru node will offer SMEs access to world-class industrial facilities complete with power, water, road and logistics support. These will be plug-and-play zones compliant with international standards, easing the burden of setup and regulatory delays.
2. Tech-Infused Manufacturing with National Backing
The link between the Nasscom CoE and NICDP zones is not symbolic. It marks a shift where SMEs are being nudged towards adopting AI, IoT, robotics and automation in real time. Government-backed centres like the CoE provide not just mentoring and prototyping but also funding access and policy handholding for SMEs.
3. Talent and Technology in One Corridor
With Bengaluru’s startup ecosystem less than two hours away, Tumakuru can draw from a deep pool of digital talent, R&D labs and academia. For SMEs looking to leapfrog into Industry 4.0, this proximity provides a unique ecosystem of engineering, software and supply-chain readiness.
4. Integration with FTAs and National Logistics Policy
Tumakuru is also strategically aligned with India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) particularly those with the UAE, the UK, and ASEAN nations. As corridor infrastructure improves, MSMEs based here will be able to access these global markets more easily. The National Logistics Policy further supports this by enabling faster cargo movement, lower costs, and digital traceability.
Policy Synergy and the Vision Ahead
The DPIIT’s on-ground engagement reflects a broader goal: to create an industrial development model where digital innovation, quality infrastructure and policy alignment work in unison. The fact that senior officials from Startup India, NICDC, and Karnataka’s industrial departments were part of this mission reinforces the intent to break bureaucratic silos.
Shri Bhatia’s remarks calling for timely execution and adherence to global standards are more than administrative directives they represent India’s ambition to emerge as a global manufacturing and logistics hub, with MSMEs at the centre of this transformation.
Tumakuru and Beyond
The blueprint unfolding in Tumakuru could soon be replicated across other NICDP nodes like Dholera, Krishnapatnam, and Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad. For SMEs in other parts of India, this is a strong cue to start evaluating:
- How to position themselves near these corridors
- What digital competencies they must build
- How to engage with anchor firms and government-backed CoEs
- Which export markets and schemes (RoDTEP, PLI, etc.) they can leverage
This is more than a visit. It’s a visible, action-oriented signal that India is ready to rewire its manufacturing backbone by embedding tech, quality and speed into every node of industrial growth. For MSMEs, startups and investors watching from the sidelines, the message is unambiguous: get corridor-ready, get tech-ready and go global because the next phase of India’s industrial rise has already begun in places like Tumakuru.
