Forum for men of mind and matter

Forum for men of mind and matter
Deccan Herald


The Silicon Valley of India is all set to add another colourful feather to its cap when President A P J Abdul Kalam formally inaugurates on November 21 the Bangalore International Centre (BIC), a knowledge hub and cultural and multi-activity centre at Domlur here.

The BIC is modelled on the lines of New Delhi’s India International Centre and Indian Habitat Centre.

There is many a forum in Bangalore City where its cultural elite, intellectuals, and leaders of public opinion besides its IT and BT Czars, come together on the basis of some specific affinity.

However, R K Pachauri, Director-General, The Energy Research Institute (TERI), who is associated with BIC, says there is no single institution in the City which provides a platform for interaction across professions collectively fostering intellectual activity, cultural enterprise, and innovation in development – representative of what Bangalore stands for.

The BIC is being developed as a hub of cultural and intellectual activities in Bangalore, viewing the success of the India International Centre (IIC) and India Habitat Centre (IHC), both in New Delhi. The Centre has been formally registered and is ready to launch its activities.

Pachauri says as BIC is a non-profit organisation, its funding will have to be worked out and would include membership money. The International Centre in Goa has a slow start but is doing well now, he adds.

The untimely demise of first IT Secretary of Karnataka Sanjoy Dasgupta has left a void in BIC as he was supposed to take over as its director. We will have to find a suitable director for BIC, Pachauri added. BIC will first be housed in TERI whose innovative complex in Domlur is a model of energy efficiency and environmentally conscious design.

It presents a range of possibilities for use by members for music concerts, seminars, parties, book launches, creative workshops, film screenings, training programmes, media events, exhibitions. The Centre also offers residential and state-of-the-art business facilities for members.

The facilities offered at Domlur premises of BIC include auditorium (with a seating capacity 80), outdoor lawn for member parties (capacity 150), terrace garden (Capacity 60), indoor banquet hall (Capacity 50), residential facility (9 rooms/3 suites), conference room (capacity 20), business meeting room (capacity 6). It also has a workspace (with computer and internet), video conference centre, library, exhibition space and games room.