BENGALURU, 6 JAN

A high-level delegation from Malaysia's Penang state has expressed keen interest in partnering with the state government for developing quantum technology, state Science and Technology Minister NS Boseraju said here on Tuesday.

Quantum technology draws on quantum mechanics and enables new ways of processing information.

The minister shared the information after meeting the delegation, led by Penang Deputy Chief Minister Jagdeep Singh Deo, at Vikas Soudha earlier in the day.

Deo extended an invitation to Boseraju to visit Malaysia and Penang.

Boseraju, during the interaction, highlighted Karnataka’s innovations in the minor irrigation sector and its ‘waste to wealth’ initiatives, including the KC Valley (Koramangala-Challaghatta) and HN Valley (Hebbal-Nagawara) projects.

The KC Valley project is a State government initiative that uses secondary treated wastewater from Bengaluru’s sewage plants to replenish rain-fed tanks and recharge groundwater in the drought-prone Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts.

The HN Valley project is a similar initiative that uses treated wastewater from Bengaluru to replenish lakes and recharge groundwater in Chikkaballapur and Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts.

"By treating sewage water and filling tanks in drought-prone districts, we have recharged groundwater and supported agriculture," Boseraju told the delegation.

Deo appreciated the Karnataka government’s initiatives in science and technology and elaborated on Penang’s development model.