‘Space was easier’: Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla on Bengaluru traffic at tech summit

Shubhanshu Shukla

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla joked on Thursday that navigating space is easier than dealing with Bengaluru’s traffic, drawing laughs at the city’s tech summit.

The Indian Air Force officer and Gaganyaan mission astronaut highlighted the issue while addressing a full audience.

He quipped that his commute from Marathahalli took three times longer than the speech he was scheduled to give.

"I’m coming all the way from the other side of Bengaluru, Marathahalli. I have spent thrice the time that I am going to be spending on this presentation with you. So you have to look at the commitment that I have," he said.

Responding to the comment during his closing-day address, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge quipped, "Shubhanshu Shukla said it was easier for him to get from space to Bengaluru, but getting from Marathahalli to this venue was difficult." Kharge added that the government would ensure such delays do not recur.

The Future Makers Conclave, one of the most engaging sessions of this year’s Bengaluru Tech Summit, drew thousands of participants and featured a strong lineup of creators, innovators, founders, athletes and thought leaders.

Speakers included Shukla, entrepreneur-author Ankur Warikoo, Zepto co-founder Kaivalya Vohra, mind reader Suhani Shah, six-time Grand Slam champion Sania Mirza, and India wicketkeeper-batter and ICC World Cup champion Richa Ghosh.

The 28th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit, themed 'Futurise', organised by the Department of Electronics, IT & BT, Government of Karnataka, concluded at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC).

Meanwhile, in a unique bid to de-congest Bengaluru and ease the crippling traffic woes, the Karnataka government has unveiled a unique scheme offering firms a one-time incentive of up to Rs Rs 50,000 per employee hired by them.

According to a report in CNN-News18, the initiative is part of the new IT Policy (2025-2030) which is designed to accelerate growth in emerging tech clusters near the city.

The key regions identified for the expansion include Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, Kalaburagi, and Shivamogga.

The report said that the incentive is specifically targeted at companies that move their existing workforce from Bengaluru, or hire new talent from outside the state, to establish operations in designated Tier-2 cities.

The idea behind the initiative is to ease the growing congestion in the city due to the massive influx of people over the last few years.