The BJP has been in power in Karnataka only for three and a half years, yet it laid the foundation for a fast-paced economic growth
The people in Karnataka have to make a choice for owning their destiny on May 10. This is a task ordained on the electorate by the next generation. Karnataka is on a trajectory to attain a $1 trillion economic scale in the next few years. India’s ambition to become the fourth largest economy shortly is incumbent on the Karnataka growth engine. This sets up the May Assembly election in Karnataka as an abundant responsibility for the electorate to make their decisions carefully and wisely.
The choice before the electorate is clear. They have to choose between economic growth and the politics of freebies. The resources of Karnataka can keep running the growth engine of Karnataka for the collective well-being and prosperity of the people and future generations. Or, the resources of Karnataka be locked into financing freebies to bind the state to limitations and derail the growth engine.
This contest between the economic models of inclusive growth which caters to all the cross sections of society and politics of freebies, which feeds on povertarianism, is being watched out with keen interest by all. Karnataka is among the progressive states of India. Karnataka is also a state where the youngsters find fulfilment of their dreams. Karnataka is the startup capital of India.
The Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) grew from $311 million in 2019 to $1.34 billion in 2020-21. Between 2019-20 and 2021-22, Karnataka’s share in total FDI inflows into the top 5 states remarkably increased from 22.43 per cent in 2019-20 to 49.40 per cent in 2021-22. The state has maintained its pole position even in 2022-23.
Karnataka is growing with a GSDP of double digits. Also, it is estimated that Karnataka can accelerate its growth to a GSDP of $500 billion by 2026 and a GSDP of $1 trillion by 2030. Karnataka can very well become 10 per cent of the national economy soon.
Karnataka’s per capita income has also been rising fast. In the last decade, the state witnessed a record increase of 208.86 per cent while the national average growth was 136.87 per cent. Karnataka’s per capita GSDP is Rs3.32 lakhs.
The extraordinary economic growth of Karnataka has touched the lives of all. The resources of Karnataka are being spent on the expansion of small and micro irrigation facilities, as well as in scaling up the access to potable drinking water in households, including in the rural parts of the state. The Vidyanidhi scheme of the state government is covering children of farmers, landless labourers, weavers, and poor women in the scholarship programme so they access quality education and write their own destinies.
In FY2022, the total exports of Karnataka stood at $25.87 billion in which petroleum products, iron and steel, and organic chemicals remained the key contributors. Karnataka proved its mettle during the Covid-19 pandemic, as the state fulfilled its all global commitments in the supply chains. There was zero disruption in the global supply chains even during the national lockdown from Karnataka.
This must be borne in mind that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in power in Karnataka only for three and a half years. Much of the time of the incumbent BJP government overlapped with the pandemic. Yet, the BJP government laid the foundation for fast-paced economic growth.
On the lines of NlTlAayog, the Karnataka government 2022 restructured the Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission (KSPPC) as the State Institute for Transformation of Karnataka (SITK), which is chaired by Chief Minister BasavrajBommai. The think tank is principally tasked to remove the regional imbalances in development indicators.
The state government has been incentivizing the setting up of industries and industrial clusters all across Karnataka by leveraging its land pool and the affidavit-based investment clearance system.
The other objectives of SITK include attaining sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 and India@2047 goals and realising the vision of ‘Nava Karnataka,’ thereby contributing to the vision of ‘New India’ as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The state government has shown the ease of undertaking structural reforms. Karnataka 2021 unveiled the e-Sahamathi platform, a consent-driven system that gives citizens complete control over choosing what personal data to share with private companies, upholding the Right to Privacy.
The Karnataka government’s good governance leveraged technology to ensure the safety of citizens, especially women, children, and senior citizens. The state government decided to spend Rs. 667 crores for various projects under the Nirbhaya fund for installing more than 16,000 state-of-the-art CCTV cameras in GIS-mapped sensitive locations, along with safety lights and panic buttons. Moreover, 4,100 cameras have been installed across Bengaluru as per Karnataka state budget 2023.3 Furthermore, the state government has also installed CCTV cameras in all district and taluk level hospitals, including ICU wards, for the safety of citizens.
More than 68 per cent of the workforce in Karnataka is employed in the agricultural sector. Also, 64.50 per cent of the entire territory is under agriculture, and the state is ranked fifth in India for the largest area dedicated to horticulture. It ranks fifth in the production of vegetable crops and third in the production of fruit crops. Karnataka is the biggest producer of medicinal crops, tropical fruits, aromatic plants, and spices. It is the second-largest milk producer. Karnataka also is the second-largest producer of grapes in the country.
Much of the groundwork to make Karnataka integral to the global supply chains has been laid by the BJP government in the last 42 months. Karnataka’s rapid expansion in its economy can also be gauged from the fact that the state has taken the second slot in the GST collections behind Maharashtra.
India by 2047, when the country would commemorate 100 years of Independence, aims to be at least a $30 trillion economy and take the rightful place of the third biggest economy. When that stage comes, the gains of status will touch the lives of all and lift an extraordinary chunk of the population to a state of prosperity.
But a few questions beg answers. Can India and Karnataka in particular seize the opportunity to knock at the doors by entertaining the regressive politics of freebies of Congress? Is it even responsible on the part of Congress to indulge in politics of freebies, which the grand old party is copying from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)? What vision has Congress brought before the electorate of Karnataka to take the state to the coveted goal of a $1 trillion economy by 2030?
The people of Karnataka are enterprising and aspirational. They, like their counterparts in Gujarat and Haryana, would prefer that they have enough income from gainful activities that they could pay their own electricity bills. The youth of Karnataka will be emotionally hurt if the state government offers them Rs 3000 per month and stay idle. The youth of Karnataka are launching startups. They are busy designing satellites. They know that a government that is visionary will provide opportunities.
Karnataka was the first to tap hydropower in Asia. Karnataka is India’s top green energy producer. Karnataka is the land of innovation. Karnataka is a global village for research and development. Karnataka will thus bless the politics of development.
(Author is a political analyst)
