₹156-Crore Devanahalli MSME Tech Centre Opens High-End Aerospace, Electronics Facilities to Small Firms; 10,000 to Train Annually
Bengaluru, September 10: High-end manufacturing infrastructure that can be prohibitively expensive for small businesses — including prototyping, advanced testing, CNC machining, additive manufacturing and Surface Mount Technology — will now be accessible to micro and small enterprises at the newly opened ₹156-crore MSME Technology Centre in Devanahalli Aerospace Park, while the facility is also equipped to train around 10,000 people every year.
Karnataka MSME Department Secretary Rohini Sindhuri said the centre is intended to address two critical requirements at the same time: giving students and young professionals practical skills aligned with current industry needs, and allowing micro and small enterprises to use sophisticated technology, design and testing infrastructure without having to make heavy investments in such facilities independently.
Speaking at the inauguration of the MSME Technology Centre, Sindhuri said the Union Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises had established the facility at a cost of around ₹156 crore on 10 acres of land provided by the Karnataka government.
The centre will focus particularly on Electronics System Design and Manufacturing, or ESDM, and advanced manufacturing. Its facilities include Surface Mount Technology, additive manufacturing, CNC machining, design, prototyping and advanced testing.
The availability of these facilities to smaller businesses is a key feature of the centre. Sindhuri said micro and small enterprises that may not be in a position to independently invest large sums in sophisticated machinery and testing infrastructure can use the centre to improve their products, manufacturing processes and quality.
She said the centre’s real strength would not merely be the machinery installed there, but the capabilities that could be created through it. An entrepreneur with a new idea could use the centre to develop a prototype, test it, improve its quality, acquire manufacturing capabilities and move the product towards the market, she said.
The centre has the capacity to train approximately 10,000 people annually and will prioritise practical skill development suited to current industry requirements. Sindhuri said this would allow students and young professionals to complement classroom learning with direct exposure to technologies currently being used by industry.
The location of the centre in Devanahalli Aerospace Park is significant to its intended role. Sindhuri said aerospace, defence manufacturing, electronics, semiconductor design and advanced manufacturing are expanding rapidly in the Devanahalli-Bengaluru region, creating an opportunity for the technology centre to serve as a bridge between students, MSMEs and larger industries.
She said smaller enterprises cannot always separately invest in expensive machinery, testing laboratories, design facilities or specialised technical expertise. Common technology facilities such as the Devanahalli centre could therefore help them improve productivity, quality and competitiveness and enable them to participate in the value chains of larger industries.
Sindhuri stressed that Karnataka’s MSMEs should not remain outside the aerospace, defence, electronics and advanced manufacturing value chains developing around Bengaluru. They should become an integral part of that growth, she said.
The centre therefore has a role extending beyond training. By making advanced manufacturing and testing infrastructure available to MSMEs, it is intended to give smaller firms a pathway to upgrade their production capabilities and meet the quality and technology requirements of more sophisticated industrial supply chains.
Sindhuri said the next phase of MSME development in Karnataka would focus on technology adoption, cluster development, common facility centres, skill development, quality, innovation, digitalisation, market access, green manufacturing and integration with domestic and global value chains.
She expressed confidence that the Devanahalli MSME Technology Centre would play an important role in helping small businesses move from conventional manufacturing towards technology-driven and quality-focused production capable of competing at the global level.
The combination of shared high-end infrastructure and a training capacity of around 10,000 people a year also positions the centre at the intersection of Karnataka’s skills and industrial-development priorities, particularly in the aerospace, defence, electronics and advanced manufacturing ecosystem around Bengaluru.
The MSME Technology Centre at Devanahalli Aerospace Park was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shobha Karandlaje. Senior officials from the Union and Karnataka governments, industry representatives and entrepreneurs attended the inauguration.
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