Bengaluru: India's Bangalore city changes name Published duration 31 October 2014

image copyright AFP image caption Home to hundreds of IT firms, Bangalore is known as India's Silicon Valley

India's technology capital Bangalore will be formally known as Bengaluru from Saturday, eight years after the state first proposed the name change.

Bengaluru is the city's name in local Kannada language and local politicians and historians say Bangalore is an anglicism that should be dropped.

The names of 11 other cities in Karnataka state, of which Bangalore is the capital, will also be changed.

Home to hundreds of IT firms, the city is known as India's Silicon Valley.

Over the last few years, the name Bengaluru has grown in popularity as it has been extensively used to describe the city, but it was formally approved by India's federal government earlier this month.

The official name change has led to a debate with some saying the move may have an impact on the city's global reputation, BBC Hindi's Imran Qureshi says.

Those in favour of Bengaluru say people will soon get used to it, he adds.