‘Look beyond Bengaluru’: IIMB and CII release vision document for Karnataka

The report also focuses on upgrading physical and social infrastructure beyond Bengaluru, especially in north Karnataka. “Infrastructure development in the low-income regions of Karnataka is an urgent task for them to connect seamlessly with the region’s major economic hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune. We also need focused initiatives to develop new economic clusters in Karnataka, particularly in tier-two cities such as Belagavi, Hubli-Dharwad, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, and Mangaluru leading to broader state-wide prosperity,” the document read.

The document also flags the lack of funding in the primary education sector even as funding has increased in the higher education sector. It points to an alarming decline from 69.76 per cent in 2018-19 to 58.82 per cent in 2020-21 in elementary education funding. Secondary education funding has decreased marginally. In contrast, budget allocation for university-level education has risen from 9.67 per cent in 2018-19 to 12.3 per cent in 2020-21.

The document was co-authored by Prof Jitamitra Desai, faculty member (decision sciences); Prof Prateek Raj, faculty member (strategy); Prof Anil B Suraj, faculty (public policy); and Prof Shanker Subramoney, faculty member (finance & accounting). Contributors include Prof Rishikesha T Krishnan, IIM Bangalore director and faculty member (strategy); Prof Arnab Mukherji, faculty member (public policy); Prof Trilochan Sastry, faculty (decision sciences); Prof R Srinivasan, faculty member (strategy); and Dayasindhu N, co-founder and CEO, Itihaasa Research and Digital and an alumnus of the IIM’s doctoral programme.

As for Bengaluru, the authors strongly supported the model of mayorship to boost urban governance. “It is important to empower the municipalities and the councillors to hold the right stakeholders accountable for the infrastructure problems in the urban setup. In fact, Bengaluru does not have proper metrics to measure what good infrastructure means. It is important to decentralise the powers and responsibilities instead of having a minister to interfere in urban governance,” said Subramoney.

The document also bats for recognising tourism as an “industry”, for tourism contributes 14 per cent to gross state domestic product. The document also calls for having divisional headquarters for tourism at the district level and devising key tourism themes like “agri tourism” and “coastal & beach tourism”.

On the economic and social impact of the five Congress’s poll guarantees, Suraj said, “The document specifically does not spell out anything related to the five guarantees. However, I think broadly they are glued into gender-based focus and what really matters to people in terms of electricity and other essentials. The guarantees, however, resonate with the larger priorities of the state.”

IIMB Director Prof RT Krishnan said, “Karnataka is a lucky state. Because a lot of good things have happened for Karnataka without necessarily having been deliberately thought about. That is the truth. It has nothing to do with any political party or government. That’s the story of the last several decades. But how much difference would it make if we actually did something deliberate to build on the foundation that’s needed. That’s the challenge and that’s what the vision document is about.”

He added, “The document emphasises sustainability and innovation as two key pillars for the balanced and inclusive growth of Karnataka. It is an invitation to all stakeholders of Karnataka from citizens to policymakers, from academia to the business community, to join hands and come together to build a green ecosystem in Karnataka, that shall put our state at the frontier of the global economy.”

In conclusion, the document calls for Karnataka to chart a path of economic and green growth through right interventions like investment, participation, Industry 4.0, innovation and governance. The document will also be submitted by CII to the state government and other stakeholders.