 One state, many worlds. That is the tagline peddled by the state's tourism officials in mega ads to showcase India's eighth largest state. Two miles from India's Silicon Valley that houses information technology (IT) giants, there are mud-roofed huts that house unlettered folks who eke out just Rs 30 slugging it out the whole day-less than what a geek architect at the valley glass and chrome-plated buildings would dish out for a piping hot cappuccino. If India's Silicon Valley state-exporting Rs 37,600 crore software-have helped the nation emerge a superpower in the global knowledge economy, its hi-tech millions have also spawned an anachronism which the state does not know how to handle. And this is the reason why this is a land of contrasts. For every tenth Kannad graduate, there is a huge number that don't even go to school. This, despite the fact that just one eminent educational institution has drawn over 4,000 students from more than 40 countries.  | | | | | 1.92 lakh sq km is the state's size, forming 5.83 per cent of the country's area | | Rs 37,600 cr is the state's software exports, more than a third of the country's total | | Rs 5.3 cr is Karnataka's population, 5.13 per cent of the country's total | | 9.2% is its growth rate, above the national average of 9 per cent | | 11.34% is Karnataka's growth rate in the manufacturing sector | | 12.4% is the state's share in the national FDI, second in the country | | However, the 27 districts in the state, reporting a 66.6 per cent literacy rate, have their own tales of woe: if Bangalore, a mud fort 500 years ago, could zip drive to a global tech hub, there is also the contrasting world of poverty-prone cities like Raichur with 45 per cent literacy. For the record, the state has nearly 1,300 undergraduate colleges linked to 20 universities. This is the state that introduced the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission to professional engineering and medical colleges. Administrative Reforms Commission Chairman Veerappa Moily, during whose chief minister- ship the CET was introduced, says, "We must be in a race to catch up with the rest of the world. Innovative plans and projects should be followed up with the speed synonymous with the tech world." | | INTERVIEW H.D. KUMARASWAMY | | | "Growth Cannot Be Limited To Bangalore Alone" | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | THE CHIEF MINISTER SAYS THAT HE IS TRYING TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE RURAL AND URBAN AREAS, BUT IT CANNOT BE DONE OVERNIGHT. | | Karnataka is the country's infotech capital and its 46-year-old Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy wants to make it the country's industrial hub. He explains to Principal Correspondent Stephen David how he intends to go about doing it. Excerpts: Q. What is your vision for Karnataka? A. Karnataka retains premier positions in various sectors, but after I became chief minister, I have noticed that there is a big chasm between the rural and urban areas and my vision and mission is to bridge this gap. Q. Bangalore is India's Silicon Valley, but the infrastructure is a mess here. A. It's not a problem that can be fixed overnight. The city has seen unprecedented growth in the past decade. Bangalore is being watched by the entire world and I have also studied the problems it faces. There has been haphazard growth outside the city through individual planning by the town and city municipal councils. Now we are trying to see that the planning and supervision is centralised. Q. What about the urban poor in the cities? A. While development should reach all, very often the benefits are only reaped by the urban rich. In cities like Bangalore, the land prices have reached astronomical proportions, and we have reports of land mafia like in Mumbai or other cities trying to find a foothold here. We want to deal with them with an iron hand and don't want the city's peace disturbed. At the same time we are also making efforts to reclaim thousands of acres of Government land that have been encroached upon by the well-heeled with all sorts of connections. It is a difficult job, but we are on it. Q. There is the constant question of regional imbalance, the lopsided development between north and south Karnataka. Your solution? A. Regional imbalance is an issue that has been there for years despite the fact that several chief ministers have come from north Karnataka. But for the first time, my Government has positively responded to the recommendations of the Nanjundappa report on redressal of the regional imbalance. Q. There is a problem with connectivity within the state, especially developing of airports. A. As a first step, we are introducing the PPP model to develop at least ten airports outside Bangalore, in cities like Gulbarga, Bidar, Karwar, Hassan, Shimoga, Mysore, Bellary, Bijapur and other places. Even farmers need to be connected. We want to develop tier two and tier three cities, as developments should also percolate beyond Bangalore. Q. You are a farmer at heart but you are pushing industries at a hectic pace. A. I have chaired six high power committee meetings clearing nearly Rs 1 lakh crore worth industrial investment projects within a short period. We have industry-friendly policies and industries are not complaining Q. Karnataka has tremendous tourism potential yet it is a laggard compared to smaller states like Kerala. A. For a start, I am going to be closely involved with promoting the rich tourism potential of our state, especially the opportunities on the 320 km coastline. We have the variety that tourists look for and we want to emerge as a number one destination in two or three years. We have allocated Rs 100 crore for tourism in the current budget. Q. What is your take on the NICE Bangalore-Mysore expressway project? A. My Government has no problem as far as they want the roads to be built. We will provide all help but what we don't want is it becoming a real estate project.
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Some targets, however, have been on the drawing board for years. Take, for instance, the issue of regional imbalance-the shocking ground realities of north and south Karnataka. If the northern part of the state has the second largest arid zone in the country, the southern districts are a haven in material blessings. Mangalore in south is not only home to a major sea port but it is the only city with a limited edition international airport outside Bangalore. Five big commercial banks were born here and literacy is one of the highest in this region. In sharp contrast to this, the northern regions of the state, which have produced several chief ministers, have reported drought in 128 taluks and the highest number of farmer suicides in the state. It was to address this lopsided growth that Dr D.M. Nanjundappa Committee was formed. The 2002 Nanjundappa report wanted the state Government to spend Rs 31,000 crore till 2010 in the north to correct the imbalance, but even after four years, not much has been done on the ground. Tech-heavy cities like Bangalore and Mysore continue to be a magnet for entrepreneurs like Shanmugham Nagarajan from cities like Palo Alto in California for obvious reasons. But even Nagarajan, who returned to India after several years from the US to establish a BPO, is just one of the four lakh workers in the state's it space who face the challenges of the physical infrastructure. Clogged roads and jammed airports are just one of the few examples of the state of affairs in the state. | | | | 1 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The IT sector is key growth driver of the state's economy, contributing almost 30 per cent to the state GDP. Exports are set to peak to about Rs 50,000 crore this fiscal year, which is about half of India's total exports. | 2 EDUCATION, R&D HUB
It is home to over 100 private and government R&D centres, defence labs and top science & technology schools like the Indian Institute of Science. Bangalore is the fourth largest tech hub in the world. Every tenth graduate in India is from this state. | 3 APPAREL
With a Rs 3,600-crore apparel sector, the state is the second largest exporter of readymade garments after software and electronics. It is home to Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Lee, Levi Strauss, Tommy Hilfiger among others. | 4 MINERALS
India's oldest gold mine Kolar Gold Fields, near Bangalore, may have shut down but the state is still the largest producer and exporter of gold (nearly 90 per cent of India's total) and sole producer of felsite. A key exporter of iron ore, limestone and other minerals. | 5 BIOTECHNOLOGY
The state is the country's largest biotech cluster. It is home to 120 biotech companies, a fact helped by the presence of leading research institutes like IISc and the National Centre for Biological Sciences. Half of India's total biotech exports are from Karnataka. | |
| | | | 1 TOURISM
With a 320-km coastline, two world heritage sites, and an array of historical, religious and adventurous sites, the state could have beaten Kerala or UP. With the sector not accorded the same space as, for instance, IT, this job has been left to bureaucrats. | 2 INFRASTRUCTURE
No tier two cities have been developed. Intra-state connectivity via roads, rail and air is in serious disarray. Only Bangalore has international flights and the airport is jammed. Mangalore just has limited edition foreign flights. | 3 POWER OUTAGES
There is severe power shortage in the state. While demand-supply gap is about 2,250 MW against installed capacity of 7,785 MW, the gap might only increase to 3,450 MW by 2006-07 and 5,300 MW by 2011-12, going by current outages. | 4 AGRICULTURE
While there is Cauvery river water dispute in south, there is no water in the northern parts of the state. Successive failure of the south-west monsoon has led to a substantial decline in foodgrain production during the last few years. | 5 REGIONAL IMBALANCE
There is a north-south divide within the state with north Karnataka not being developed as the south. The state Government has not fully acted on the Nanjundappa report on bailing out north Karnataka with an eight-year Rs 31,000-crore rehab plan. | |
| | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | DESPITE BANGALORE BEING THE IT HUB, IT SUFFERS FROM CRUMBLING INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE FORM OF TRAFFIC JAMS ON THE CITY’S ROADS AS WELL AS IN THE AIR. | | The importance of proper civic infrastructure is something that Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy understands. Kumaraswamy, who has logged more than five lakh kilometres crisscrossing the state since he took over in February 2006, says he wants to showcase the state as a key destination. He says he has set targets for his officials to follow but one of the state's youngest chief ministers is busy juggling time between his powerful father, his equally ambitious cabinet minister brother and the BJP coalition partner. Development of the state has become a part of the overall external management programme. There are civil servants who are also doing their mite to make north Karnataka equally attractive. In the north, in the twin towns of Hubli-Dharwad, the latter the home of Bhimsen Joshi, Gangubhai Hangal, Girish Karnad, Commissioner P. Manivannan is changing the civic landscape and services earning a rare ISO certification for deliverables. Tech companies have moved in there. There is an airport that is operational. And even the state Revenue Minister Jagadish Shettar, a BJP legislator from Hubli, is gung-ho about the region's development. Former industry minister R.V. Deshpande has also been quietly wooing the business world to set up factories in that part of the region. He also admits despite it being a long process, it is something that will be done sooner or later. "You will need to move out of cities like Bangalore as it is already under strain," he says. So cities like Bangalore wait to get their infrastructure repaired. Thanks to the small airport being choked to capacity, there are frequent traffic jams in the air apart from them making their presence felt on the roads. A 15-km drive to the airport from the city centre may take hours during rush hours. The prime reason behind this is the state Government's apathy towards making it look anything but part of the just-in-time global economy. Bangalore, cruising at a supersonic speed on the it highway, is choked to death as two lakh tech workers often spend two to three hours inching their way to work from home. Business executive Archana Muthappa slices open the startling paradoxes of the emerging economic superpower when she says, "There are two kinds of development, the industrial and the political willed development." | | THE MOVERS AND... | | |  NANDAN NILEKANI, CEO, INFOSYS
TWO WRONGS: Regional disparity/lop-sided development in the state. Infrastructure did not keep pace with the IT boom. THREE THINGS TO DO: Improve the agricultural supply chain. Relax labour laws in garment sector. Create adequate infrastructure for the entire state.
| |  ASHOK SOOTA, MD, MINDTREE CONSULTING
TWO WRONGS: Excessive dependence on one city-Bangalore. Has not fulfilled its tourism potential. THREE THINGS TO DO: Stop being an obstacle for the NICE corridor. Direct air links between tourism locations. Become a leader in biotech and nanotechnology. | |  M.P. SHYAM, PRIVATE BANKER
TWO WRONGS: No long-term vision. Lack of integration among Government departments. THREE THINGS TO DO: Pride needs to be instilled in our bureaucrats. Boost needed for agricultural economy. Strong infrastructure needed for manufacturing and services sector.
|  DR DEVI SHETTY, HEART SURGEON TWO WRONGS: Lack of private initiative in north Karnataka. Poor connectivity by train through the state. THREE THINGS TO DO: Create educational centres. Provide health insurance for all. Build infrastructure for developing Bangalore as a healthcare destination. |  TEJASWINI S. GOWDA, MP TWO WRONGS: Regional imbalance with a clear north-south divide. No overall development plan for the state. THREE THINGS TO DO: Boost the agricultural economy. Govern-ment should have time-frame to create more cities. Greater emphasis on integrating rural sector. | |
| | ...THE SHAKERS | | |  ASHOK KHENY, MD, NICE
TWO WRONGS: Lack of political will. Apathetic attitude towards private-public partnership THREE THINGS TO DO: Govern-ment support for mega infrastructure projects. Long-term vision for infrastructure development. More emphasis on road infrastructure.
| |  RAJ KONDUR, CHAIRMAN, NIRVANA
TWO WRONGS: Administrative complacency. Long-term vision is lacking. THREE THINGS TO DO: Physical infrastructure needs to be improved. Soft infrastructure should be taken care of. Parallel growth for both urban and rural areas. | |  NANDINI ALVA, DANSEUSE, ENTREPRENEUR
TWO WRONGS: Lack of support to enterprise and entrepreneurship. No support for providing training for alternative professions. THREE THINGS TO DO: Balanced growth in all sectors. Physical infrastructure for villages. A city-based terminal which will cater to the new Devanahalli airport.
|  M.V. RAJEEV GOWDA, PROFESSOR, IIM-BANGALORE TWO WRONGS: Unfulfilled potential in key areas. Regional imbalance and inclusive growth: we need to share the growth. THREE THINGS TO DO: Capitalise on knowledge economy. Proactive planning to deal with urbanisation. Active involvement of private sector in social causes.
|  JOSE RAMAPURAM, DIRECTOR, ORANGE COUNTY TWO WRONGS: Bottlenecks in creating new infrastructure projects. Two-tier cities have not kept pace with development. THREE THINGS TO DO: Develop airports, roads in tier II cities. A clear vision 2020 should be drawn by the state. Tourism should be given priority. | | The new international airport in Devanahalli, 30 km from Bangalore, is still to be completed despite it being under construction in the past 12 years even as Bangalore is slated to emerge as the third busiest airport in the country by early 2007, according to Airports Authority of India. However, officers like M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda, commissioner of Bangalore Development Authority, are trying to complete all pending projects by engaging contractors and work is on 24x7. Gowda, whose agency built the Bangalore outer ring road and is completing some key underpasses and flyovers leading to the current airport, is hoping to put an end to traffic snarls and endless waiting on the roads. However, the Rs 6,300-crore Metro, meant to ease the ubiquitous traffic jam, is facing one roadblock after the other. Metro Managing Director V. Madhu has been putting 16-hour days himself and is hoping to get the Metro on track soon. But will it be a case of too little too late, asks social entrepreneur Sarasa Vasudevan, former state chief of Thai Airways. The Bangalore Metro will run 33 km in three years, while Beijing, is readying a similar Metro to run 560 km. | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | Several infrastructural projects in the state have been lined up. Many of them have been hit by roadblocks and have been pending for years. | | Not only this, governmental roadblocks continue to dog the state's first private tolled, 111-km-long six-lane expressway between Bangalore and Mysore. The same holds true for the 41-km tolled outer peripheral road linking NH 4 and NH 7 and five self-sustaining townships between the two cities, work on which is on from 12 years. "City zoning should be done for city needs, not based on personal or political interests," says Ashok Kheny, Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) managing director who has spent a decade trying to create the expressway. Air Deccan chairman and Managing Director Captain G.R. Gopinath says, "A state like this should have more than ten or 20 airports in all the main towns like Bidar, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Belgaum, Bellary, Mysore, Hassan and other places." The Government this time is listening. "We will have ten airports ready in the next few years under this public-private partnership (PPP)," exclaims V.P. Baligar, principal secretary, infrastructure department. He says the Government is willing to provide all help to the private sector if they sought to develop the regions along with the Government. Tourism is to Kerala what it is to Karnataka. However, thanks to the success of Kerala and Goa, the state officials are on a mission to replicate the success stories of these tourism stars here. "The good news is that the state is the fourth most-sought-after destination in India, and more than four lakh foreign tourists visit the state," says state Commissioner for Tourism Kumar Naik. "We have grown 20 per cent, year-on-year," he adds. Officers like Naik are doing their best to promote the state that is home to two world heritage sites-a 320-km coastline dotted with virgin beaches and a variety of tourist spots. Tourism, however, is not a priority in the state given the fact that there is no portfolio devoted to it. But the visitors are wading in. And hotels are reporting houseful. "This is a state with such a vast potential and it needs to be thoroughly explored and exploited," says hotelier Captain Krishnan Nair, who built Bangalore's costliest hotel, the Leela Palace. Several infrastructural projects pertaining to state highways, sea ports, airports, railways, power and tourism are lined up. For all its rich potential, there is only one major sea port at New Mangalore. A Rs 140-crore proposal to set up another one in Malpe closeby has been pending. The ports, instead of being handled by state infrastructure department, has been usurped by Public Works Department and Power Minister H.D. Revanna, the chief minister's brother. Industry Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, however, says a Rs 500-crore Infrastructure Upgradation Fund has been created to develop new industrial areas around Bangalore and other cities, adding that another 25,000 acres of land has been acquired for industrial development. All this is happening in a state that was home to visionaries like Sir M. Visvesvaraya, who built the first ever hydroelectric power station in 1902 and where Nobel laureate C.V. Raman became the first Indian director of the Indian Institute of Science. From a mud fort built by a local chief in 1537 to being a British administered military town to being a science and tech capital today, the city has symbolised the many contours of the state. For optimists, if Bangalore can make it, the state can make it too. Otherwise, it is time for the political leaders to get Bangalored, and log out of their work stations. Index |
NANDI INFRASTRUCTURE CORRIDOR ENTERPRISE: Beginning work in 1995, India's first private tolled 111-km six-lane expressway between Bangalore and Mysore is facing big roadblocks. Legal suits also dog the 20,000-odd acre infrastructure project.
NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Work is on at a feverish pace for an April 2008 opening of the Rs 2,600-crore, 11 million passengers per year capacity airport project in Devanahalli, but international standard approach road is taking time.
BANGALORE METRO: The Rs 6,395-crore 33-km rail network with 35 stations is to be ready by 2009. The Metro, expected to carry 8.25 lakh people daily, will also keep two lakh cars off Bangalore roads, which carry 25 lakh vehicles at any given time.
