Children - Terre des Hommes

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Karnataka
State Overview
The population of Karnataka in 2001 was 52,850,562, of
which two-thirds live in rural areas. 1 In 2007-08, the state
had an estimated (Gross State Domestic Product) GSDP of
Rs. 2,152.82 billion. 2 Karnataka was the fastest growing state
over the past decade in terms of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) and per capita GDP. With GDP growth of 56.2 per
cent and per capita growth of 43.9 per cent, Karnataka now
has the sixth highest per capita GDP growth of all states. 3
Since the 1980s, Karnataka became the Information
Technology (IT) hub of India with more than 2,000 IT firms
operating out of the state. Karnataka is also the manufacturing
hub for some of the largest public sector industries in India,
such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat
Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), and is the headquarters
of many of India’s science and technology research centres.
The major manufacturing industries in the state include sugar,
paper, silk and cement.
However, over half (56 per cent) of the workforce is engaged
in agriculture and related activities. 4 Around 64.6 per cent of
the state’s total area is cultivated and 19 per cent of the state is
covered by forest. The main crops grown in the state include
rice, maize, pulses, chillies, sugarcane and tobacco. Karnataka
is the largest producer of coarse cereals, coffee and raw silk in
India. The agricultural sector has slowed down in recent years
though in the state, largely due to continuous droughts and
less priority given to it.
There are wide disparities in terms of income and living
standards across Karnataka’s districts. Around 25 per cent
of the total population live below the poverty line. This rises
to 32.6 per cent in urban areas of the state. For Scheduled
Castes (SCs), over half (50.6 per cent) in urban areas live
below the poverty line. The overall literacy level in the state
is higher than the Indian average, at 67 per cent. However,
literacy rates are much lower for the SC and Scheduled
Tribe (ST) populations. Only 33.32 per cent of rural ST
women and 35.56 per cent of rural SC women are literate. 5
The northeast region of the state (also known as Hyderabad
Karnataka) which comprises five districts—Bellary, Bidar,
Koppal, Gulbarga and Raichur—and that has most of the
mineral resources remains particularly backward.
In terms of employment trends, there is a drop in overall
employment rates within the organised sector in recent years,
suggesting a greater dependency on the unorganised sector.
Employment rates have decreased in a number of sectors such
as agriculture, mining and utilities. The growth of marginal
workers increased at a rate of 161.5 per cent between 1991
and 2001 indicating that increasing numbers of people have
become part of the unorganised and marginalised workforce.
The state is also facing major challenges in terms of basic
health. Whilst Karnataka is now emerging as a destination for
‘health tourism’, with its state-of-the-art speciality hospitals
in Bengaluru (earlier known as Bangalore), the provision of
1 Census of India, 2001.
2 Finance Department, Government of Karnataka, Highlights of Karnataka Budget 2008-09.
3 The Hindu, In terms of per capita GDP – Karnataka, Bengal fastest growing states, 9 June 2005.
4 Planning Commission, Government of India, Karnataka Human Development Report 2005.
5 Census of India, 2001.