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Karnataka
Area : 1,91,791 sq km
Population : 52,850,562
Capital : Bangalore
Principal Languages : Kannada
Karnataka was installed by a Ganga minister Chavundaraya.
The Chalukyas of Badami (500-735 AD) ruled over a wider
area, from the Narmada to the Kaveri from the days of
Pulikeshi II (609-642 AD), who even defeated
Harshavardhana of Kannauj. This dynasty created fine
monuments at Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal, both
structural and rock-cut. Aihole has been one of the
cradles of temple architecture in the country. The
Rashtrakutas (753-973 AD) of Malkhed, who succeeded
them, levied tribute on the rulers of Kannauj
successively in the so-called ‘Age of Imperial Kannauj'.
Kannada literature developed during this period.
Outstanding Jain scholars of India lived in their court.
The Chalukyas of Kalyana (973 to 1189 AD) and their
feudatories, the Hoysalas of Halebidu built fine
temples, encouraged literature and fine arts. Noted
jurist Vijnaneshwara (work: Mitakshara ) lived at
Kalyana. Great religious leader Basaveshwara was a
minister at Kalyana. Vijayanagar Empire (1336-1646)
fostered indigenous traditions and encouraged arts,
religion and literature in Sanskrit, Kannada, Telugu and
Tamil. Overseas trade also flourished during their rule.
The Bahamani Sultans (Capital: Gulbarga, later Bidar)
and the Bijapur Adilshahis raised fine Indo-Saracenic
buildings and encouraged Urdu and Persian literature.
Advent of the Portuguese resulted in the introduction of
new crops (tobacco, maize, chillies, groundnut, potato,
etc.). After the fall of the Peshwa (1818) and Tipu
(1799), Karnataka came under the British control.
Christian missionaries introduced English education and
printing during the 19th century. Revolution in
transport, communication and industries was evident,
making way for the emergence of the urban middle-class.
Mysore dynasty helped industrialisation and cultural
growth. Freedom Movement was followed by the movement
for the unification of Karnataka. After Indian
independence, the new united Mysore State was created in
1956, and was renamed Karnataka in 1973.
Karnataka lies to the south of Goa and Maharashtra, to
the west of Andhra Pradesh, to the north-west of Tamil
Nadu and to the north of Kerala. It has a sea-coast of
nearly 400 km (300 km with inundations).
Agriculture
Agriculture and allied activities account for nearly 56
per cent of the workforce in Karnataka State. Out of the
geographical area of 1,90,49,836 hectares, 1,21,08,667
hectares area is accounted as “Agricultural Holdings”
and nearly 62,21,000 farm families operate the same.
Major food crops are paddy, jowar, ragi, maize, bajra,
wheat, pulses, groundnut, sunflower, cotton, sugarcane
and tobacco. The State contributes about 5.59 per cent
in national foodgrains production. Karnataka enjoys a
prominent position on the horticultural map of India.
The State is blessed with natural resources, favourable
agro-climatic conditions and enterprising farming
community, which offer scope for an all-round
development of horticulture. It is the first state to
establish a large scale Biotechnology Centre under
public sector to cater to the needs of farmers of the
state with an objective to produce quality-plant
materials and conserve the genetic diversity of
horticulture plants.
Horticulture covers an area of 15.81 lakh hectares in
the State. The horticultural policy focuses on area
expansion, dissemination of new technology and
production and supply productivity of planting
materials.
Irrigation and Power
Karnatka has the basins of the Krishna, Cauvery,
Godavari, North Pennar, South Pennar, Palar and the west
flowing river basins as well with a drainage area of
1,90,500 sq km. The average annual yield of the rivers
has been estimated as 97,352 m.cum. The ultimate
irrigation potential of the State from all sources has
been estimated at about 61 lakh hectares consisting of
35 lakh hectares under major and medium irrigation, 10
lakh hectares under minor irrigation (surface) projects
and 16 lakh hectares under groundwater resources.
The Karnataka Electricity Reform Act was enacted in
1999. The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC)
has been functioning since December 1999 and the
erstwhile Karnataka Electricity Board was corporatised
under the banner KPTCL. The KPTCL was further unbundled
into the Transmission Company (KPTCL) and four
Distribution companies, namely, BESCOM, MESCOM, HESCOM
and GESCOM. These four were catering to about 12.50
million consumers.
The total installed generation capacity of the State is
5,836 MW. In the next 3 to 4 years, it is planned to add
about 2,400 MW of additional generation capacity mainly
from the following power projects: (i) Almatti Hydel
Project: 290 MW: (ii) RTPS 8th unit 210 MW; (iii)
Bellary Thermal Power Project 500 MW; and (iv) Bidadi
Combined Cycle Project 1,400 MW.
The State has achieved 100 per cent in village
electrification. Now the main thrust is on
electrification of hamlets. More emphasis is being given
for reduction of commercial losses.
Industry
The State has been a pioneer in industry and also had
the distinction of building a strong and vibrant
industrial base, which combined the strengths of a large
public sector, privately owned large and medium
industries and a very wide and dispersed small-scale
sector. Good labour relations have helped the state
achieve pre-eminence on the industrial map. In more
recent times, Karnataka has emerged as the knowledge and
technical capital of the country. The thick
concentration of I.T related industries, bio-technology,
BPO's and IPO's combined with strong research and
development institutions and a large pool of qualified
trained manpower have ensured that the state is now
leading global player. The Government has been
consistently pursuing progressive industrial policies to
meet the changing needs of the State’s economy and
industry.
Karnataka is one among the most preferred destinations
for foreign investments in India and houses 65 of world
fortune 500 companies.
The State Government has evolved a new Industrial Policy
for the Textile Industry. The State is home for every
sector of industry such as, Information Technology,
Bio-technology, Electronics, Telecom, Aerospace,
Processed Foods, Apparel, Automobiles, Banking and
Finance, Mining, Steel, Cement and much more. The State
is having small, large and medium scale industries
providing employment to a large number of people in the
State.
The State contributes 70 per cent of India’s coffee and
silk, 20 per cent electronic hardware and 35 per cent of
software for exports and is a major producer of spices,
flowers, fruits and vegetables.
Karnataka has a progressive industrial policy in place
that actively supports public-private partnership.
Sector specific policies, viz., I.T. Policy, B.T.
Policy, B.P.O. Policy, Tourism Policy, Agro Food
Processing Policy and Export Promotion Policy are in
place for focused backing. The State has simplified
Labour Law, Land Reforms Act, and the Karnataka
Industries (Facilitation) Act 2002 is under enactment to
ease doing business in the State and wherein deemed
approval clause is incorporated.
Minerals
Karnataka is endowed with rich mineral deposits. All
minerals except hydrocarbons are available in the State.
Important minerals are gold iron ore, copper, manganese,
chromite, limestone, clay, kaonite, silica sand, molding
sand, felsite, quartzite and ornamental granites, etc.
The State is getting about Rs 170 crore as royalty on
minerals produced in the State.
Information Technology
Karnataka – the Silicon State is the most favoured
destination for IT and other knowledge based industries.
The State has the most investor friendly policy. The
State has taken major initiatives in the e-governance
area. It has computerised all treasuries. It is
programmed to implement the delivery of caste and income
certificate, birth and Death certificate, old age
pensions, domicile certificate, etc., under the Rural
Digital Services (RDS) project.
Besides computerising government offices latest
information to the farmers regarding techniques of crop
production, Horticulture, Animal Husbandry, Fishery,
Sericulture and Diary farming has also been computerised.
Transport
Roads : There are 13 National Highways in
Karnataka State. The total length is 3,967 km. Out of
the 13 National Highways, 2 viz., NH.4 and NH.7 are
handed over to National Highways Authority of India, New
Delhi for improvements under the Golden Quadrilateral
and North-South corridor respectively. The remaining
3,008 km comprising of 11 National Highways are
improved/maintained by Government of India. The total
length of State Highways is 9,590 km. Lengths of major
district roads, municipal roads and other district and
village roads are respectively 38,247 km, 8,366 km and
1,12,958 Km.
Railways : Rail network in Karnataka is 3,100 km,
which includes broad gauge (2,450 km), metre gauge (350
km).
Aviation : Bangalore, Belgaum, Mangalore and
Hubli are the main airports. Direct flight facilities to
major cities of India are available from Bangalore. Some
international flight activity already exists in the
current HAL/Domestic Airport.
Ports : Karnataka has formulated a new port
policy. The strategy adopted is to use private
investment for the creation of port facilities,
development of new sites and supporting infrastructure,
maritime related industries, and coastal shipping and
port facilities for power projects. The Karnataka
Industrial Investment and Development Corporation has
been appointed as nodal agency for implementation of
this policy. A committee has been constituted to
finalise the framework of agreement with private
parties.
Tourist Attraction
Karnataka has numerous Tourist attractions. The former
princely capital Mysore with the Brindavan Gardens and
Srirangapattana nearby, Sharavanabelgola with the famous
monolithic statue of Gomateshwara (57 ft high), Belur,
Halebid and Somnathpura with the famous Hoysala
monuments; Badami, Aihole and Pattadkal for the 1,300
year old rock-cut and structural temples; Hampi, the
famous open air museum (ancient Vijayanagar); Gulbarga,
Bidar and Bijapur, renowned for their Indo-saracenic
monuments; Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada
Districts for beautiful beaches; Mangalore and Krwar for
ports; Chitradurga, Bidar, Basavakalyan and Gulbarga
with attractive forts; Bandipur National Park,
Bannerghatta National Park are the play ground of Wild
Life; Ranganthittu, Kokkre Bellur, Mandagadde, Gudavi,
Attiveri are the famous bird sanctuaries; Jog, Sathodi,
Shivanasamudra, Mogod, Gokak, Abbey, Unchalli. Irupu,
Hebbe, Kalhatti are the mesmerising Falls; Madikeri,
Kemmannugundi, B.R. Hills, Nandi Hills, Kudremukh,
Kodachadri are the Picturesque Hill Stations. Dussehra,
Hampi, Chalukya, Kadamba, Hoysala, Kodagu, Karaga
festivals, are depicting art and culture of Karnataka.
Kabini River Lodge, K. Gudi, Cauveri Fishing Camp, D
handeli Wilderness Camp, Devbagh are the unique
Eco-Tourism projects of Karnataka. Gokarna, Udupi,
Dharmashala, Melukote, Gangappura, Saundatti, Kollur,
Sringeri, Horanadu, Kalasa, Kukke Subramanya, Yediyur,
Koodalasangama, Ulvi, Nanjangud are famous pilgrimage
centres. Tourism Department has identified 215 tourist
spots in the State. The capital city of Bangalore is
also a tourist attraction with its famous huge granite
structure. Vidhana Soudha and the beautiful Cubbon Park,
and Lalbhag. Hampi and Pattadakal have been declared as
World Heritage sites. |
