Indian states: social parameters
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Karnataka
Karnataka, like Gujarat, lags in social parameters
Sujit John, TNN | Aug 17, 2013
BANGALORE: Karnataka has had a lost decade, says Prof Narendar Pani of the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore. This may sound bizarre to Bangaloreans who have lived through a period that has seen the most rapid rise in prosperity in the city's history. But, in many ways, Pani cannot be more correct.
Karnataka is a bit like Gujarat. Its social development has painfully lagged behind economic growth. And even the somewhat reasonable economic growth numbers are largely because of the growth in and around one location: Bangalore.
The number of people below the poverty line in Karnataka stands at 23.6%. This places the state at the 20th spot among 32 states and Union territories ranked in order of increasing poverty ratios. For comparison, among major states, Kerala's poverty ratio is 12 and Punjab's 15.9. The monthly per capita expenditure in rural areas, another measure of poverty, is lower in Karnataka than the all-India average.
The infant mortality rate - the number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1,000 live births - stood at 35 in 2011, placing the state 19th among 35 states and Union territories ranked in order of increasing rates. In comparison, Kerala had an infant mortality rate of 12 and Tamil Nadu 22.
Nutrition deficiency among children in Karnataka is acute. A few years ago, about 40% of children up to age 3 in the state were underweight or stunted (too short for their age). In different measures of nutrition deficiency, Karnataka was placed 18th to 21st among 29 states and Union territories ranked in order of increasing deficiency percentages. Kerala and Tamil Nadu fared much better than Karnataka, and even Andhra Pradesh had a better record. In late 2011, the woman and child welfare department said that in Raichur district alone, 2,689 children died due to malnutrition in the previous two years.
D Muralidhar, former president of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FKCCI), attributes the problem to the highly skewed development in Karnataka. "Bangalore accounts for over 56% of the state GDP. In Andhra Pradesh, the Hyderabad region accounts for a much lower 45%. Tamil Nadu, too, has a far better distribution of industry by region," he says.
Karnataka has failed singularly in spreading the fruits of Bangalore's development to the rest of the state. It remains one of the few states to have just one city, Bangalore, with more than 1 million people. Kerala has seven, Tamil Nadu has four, Andhra three and Maharashtra six.
" North Karnataka has been untouched by development. Even in a place like Shimoga (in central Karnataka), the facilities are so poor that no industry wants to go there," says Muralidhar.
