President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has hoped Bangalore would take the initiative in setting up industries that cover the total life cycle of hardware and networking products for marketing worldwide.

"With the world moving towards Wi-MAX technology and low-cost PCs and mobile devices, India needs to embark on a mission mode programme to establish knowledge industries in collaboration with international design partners to manufacture and export products worldwide.

"Bangalore should take the initiative in this programme," Kalam said late Sunday while addressing the Karnataka legislature here to mark the golden jubilee of the state's formation in 1956.

Such a diversification will enable Karnataka to increase its exports of IT, ITES, BPO and knowledge products in software-hardware and networking to $20 billion in the next four years. It will also generate about 500,000 additional jobs for knowledge workers in the state.

In a bid to make Bangalore attract more investment in R&D centres and industries that can develop knowledge products for global markets, Kalam said routine and information level value additions need not be done from Bangalore or Mysore but outsourced to rural areas.

"This value addition is essential to make the Indian software, hardware and networking industries internationally competitive. About 600,000 villages need last mile connectivity through wireless.

"By improving infrastructure in tier-two cities across the state, it is possible to attract 40 per cent of the BPO (business process outsourcing) and call centres to these secondary cities and reduce the density of Bangalore population."