Power from the Shivanasamudra hydroelectric station on the Kaveri, one of the first major hydroelectric plants in Asia, reached the Kolar Gold Fields in 1902. Bengaluru got electric street lighting in 1905, among the first Indian cities to do so.
The Indian Institute of Science was founded in 1909 with backing from Jamsetji Tata and land and funds from the Mysore Maharaja. It made the city a centre for scientific research decades before the IT boom.
Further reading: Indian Institute of Science on Wikipedia.