Governance and Development in Karnataka: One State, Many Worlds

Among all the Indian states, Karnataka stands for the hopes and aspirations; contrasts and contradictions of India. First, Karnataka is increasingly known for its status as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, making the other Indian states emulate its great success in developing information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITES); however, Karnataka also reflects the rest of India in terms of its growing regional, sectoral, and social inequalities and the environmental crisis. Thus, while Karnataka is emblematic of the hopes and aspirations of India’s burgeoning youth and is also characteristic of India’s continued developmental laggardness. The development, so far, has no doubt led to the growth of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) and the creation of an increasingly assertive middle class, the same has also been achieved leaving agriculture sector and backward regions of the state, such as Kalyana-Karnataka, far behind. In this context, the 15 papers in this volume, presented at a national seminar, organized by the Centre for Political Institutions, Governance and Development (CPIGD), the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), and the Indian Institute of Public Administration- Karnataka Regional Branch (IIPA-KRB), to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the ISEC, focus on four major themes: Regional Disparities within Karnataka; the Politics of Data; Ecological and Economic Governance in Karnataka; and the Welfare and Social Justice.