Govt eyes transforming Karnataka into 3 trillion dollar economy

Bengaluru: Chief Minister D K Shivakumar disclosed an ambitious target to expand Karnataka’s economy six fold over the coming two decades during the Independence Day events. The announcement on August 16 in Bengaluru centred on transforming the state into a three-trillion-dollar GDP entity by 2047 and outlined multiple supporting programmes.

Two key schemes named Udyoga Sankalpa and Udyoga Nidhi form the core of efforts to create one lakh fresh employment opportunities in the near term. Entrepreneurs who generate new positions in the ten economically lagging districts will receive an incentive of Rs. 2,500 for each job created.

Complementary measures focus on artificial intelligence and schooling as government schools will begin teaching AI from the sixth standard, the nation’s first government-owned AI university will open in Bengaluru, and AI hubs will rise statewide to reinforce the technology ecosystem.

Under the Beyond Bengaluru programme, five global technology centres are planned for Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru and Mysuru. An advanced manufacturing cluster costing Rs. 20,000 crore is under construction at Doddaballapur and is projected to yield another one lakh jobs. Additional decisions include splitting the Bengaluru police commissionerate into five distinct units to reorganise urban policing, proposing a state-owned motor vehicle insurance corporation, introducing drones and imagery for crop surveys through the Raitha Chaithanya scheme, and offering small farmers a 50 percent subsidy on agricultural machinery under the Raitha Mitra scheme.

These steps concentrate on widening job avenues for young people and accelerating technology-driven expansion. Karnataka’s present economy stands close to 500 billion dollars, ranks among the country’s fastest-growing state economies, contributes roughly 9-10 percent to national GDP, and leads in GST collections and per-capita income, rendering the three-trillion-dollar objective realistic rather than unattainable.

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The Hans India