The international importance of Bengaluru

From the above article:

"American interest in Karnataka did not start with the era of the so-called Next Steps in Strategic Partnership between the two countries or the Indo-US nuclear deal. The Americans expressed interest in setting up a consulate in Bangalore during the prime ministership of P.V. Narasimha Rao, who gingerly began a post-Cold-War opening to Washington. But the ministry of external affairs and the agencies under the Union home ministry as well as the cabinet secretariat threw a minor fit. Using the argument that the Russians had been allowed to have a presence in Thiruvananthapuram for a very long time, the Americans continued to press their case with both the South and the North Blocks. Today, there is a unique institution in Bangalore called the American Corner, which is a partnership of the US consulate general in Chennai with the American Information Resource Center and the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Bangalore. In addition, the US Commercial Service for India headed by a minister counsellor — Mishra’s US counterpart — at the American embassy in New Delhi has a thriving office in Bangalore."

http://www.hindu.com/2008/06/10/stories/2008061060870300.htm