<div>The celebrations of Karnataka’s 60th year of formation have just completed. Given the linguistic history of the formation of states, it is not surprising that the focus of Rajyotsava celebrations was always on the pride for one’s language – Kannada and its culture. <br /><br />Indeed, it is a commendable achievement that one of the most ancient languages of the sub-continent has nurtured literary giants who have won us eight Jnanpith awards, the most for a regional language in the country and boasts of rich musical legacy which is a perfect amalgamation of the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. <br /><br />Karnataka in the 1990s was regarded to be a progressive state which seized the opportunities of the reforms period and witnessed stupendous growth. The political leadership of D Devaraj Urs, Ramakrishna Hegde and S M Krishna need to be commended and acknowledged as they built the institutional and administrative framework for the state’s economic and social progress. <br /><br />The tradition of economic progress which was crafted by the erstwhile Wodeyars under the able leadership of the Diwans of the Mysore state is still a story in progress as reflected by the ability of Bengaluru to be the magnet city for first generation entrepreneurs. A hallmark of Karnataka’s progress has been its ability to attract the best of talent and ensure their assimilation into the mainstream in all walks of life. <br /><br />The negative backlash and the sense of shame which Bengalureans felt after the violence of Black Monday – September 12 – are symbolic of the local culture which looks down upon regional chauvinism and sectarian divisions. <br /><br />But on this Rajyotsava, we also should not miss an important ranking that was out- the 2016 all India State/UT-wise Ease of Doing Business rankings in which Karnataka was not among the top 10 states.<br /><br />On a 340-point scale, the state was ranked 13th and bracketed with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal under the category of “aspiring leaders”. For a state which prides at being the cradle of IT revolution, startup culture and the “poster boy” state in a sense for 1991 reforms, this is a huge shocker, a big blow and a warning signal. <br /><br />The World Bank along with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has ranked <br />the states on 10 parameters – construction permits, environmental regulation, labour regulations, getting electricity connections, online tax returns filing, inspection reforms, access to information and transparency, single window clearance, availability of land and commercial dispute resolution. <br /><br />Karnataka is not among the top three states on any of these parameters. And this is worrisome. Most of these parameters require a strong efficient responsive government mechanism. For the state which initiated single window clearance system in India, not being among the top players on any of the parameters is an indicator of the poor quality of governance. The inability of political leadership in the last decade to focus on building a transparent, efficient, effective administrative mechanism is evident. <br /><br />Construction permits and environmental laws are being flouted by the government machinery heeding to the wishes of their political masters; transparency in administration is a far cry as seen in the latest steel bridge controversy which is a classic example of how political bosses are focusing on their own lobbies – real estate, tree mafia, steel manufacturers... well the list can go on. <br /><br />Political leadership drives the economic prospectus of any state. It is the lack of proactive political leadership which saw Karnataka miss out on big ticket projects like Posco, Tata Nano and Hero Motors in the last decade. <br /><br />Growth model<br />Manufacturing-led growth is essential for the state if we need to move away from the Bengaluru-centric growth model and achieve regional growth parity. Even the much hyped Global Investors Meet has not translated much on ground in terms of investment and employment creation. <br /><br />For a state which took a lead in setting up land bank, land availability for projects is also a hindrance given the eternal agriculture versus industry debate and the real estate ambitions of politicians and bureaucrats. Another prime reason for the investors moving away from Karnataka is basic infrastructural shortages. The collapsing infrastructure of Bengaluru is symbolic of this. <br /><br />An aspiring State has the potential to become a progressive leader State, but in our context we have made the reverse journ-ey of being a progressive econo-mic leader to an economic lagg-ard which scores between 70% to 90% on all the 10 parameters. This regression needs to be addressed with top priority as we celebrate our 60th anniversary.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the change in fortunes is largely dependent on political and administrative leadership. Hope the leadership is as open, forthcoming and progressive as its citizens to realise their responsibilities and ensuring that Karnataka’s legacy of being a model state and economic leader is not lost forever. <br /><br />(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru)</div>
<div>The celebrations of Karnataka’s 60th year of formation have just completed. Given the linguistic history of the formation of states, it is not surprising that the focus of Rajyotsava celebrations was always on the pride for one’s language – Kannada and its culture. <br /><br />Indeed, it is a commendable achievement that one of the most ancient languages of the sub-continent has nurtured literary giants who have won us eight Jnanpith awards, the most for a regional language in the country and boasts of rich musical legacy which is a perfect amalgamation of the Carnatic and Hindustani traditions. <br /><br />Karnataka in the 1990s was regarded to be a progressive state which seized the opportunities of the reforms period and witnessed stupendous growth. The political leadership of D Devaraj Urs, Ramakrishna Hegde and S M Krishna need to be commended and acknowledged as they built the institutional and administrative framework for the state’s economic and social progress. <br /><br />The tradition of economic progress which was crafted by the erstwhile Wodeyars under the able leadership of the Diwans of the Mysore state is still a story in progress as reflected by the ability of Bengaluru to be the magnet city for first generation entrepreneurs. A hallmark of Karnataka’s progress has been its ability to attract the best of talent and ensure their assimilation into the mainstream in all walks of life. <br /><br />The negative backlash and the sense of shame which Bengalureans felt after the violence of Black Monday – September 12 – are symbolic of the local culture which looks down upon regional chauvinism and sectarian divisions. <br /><br />But on this Rajyotsava, we also should not miss an important ranking that was out- the 2016 all India State/UT-wise Ease of Doing Business rankings in which Karnataka was not among the top 10 states.<br /><br />On a 340-point scale, the state was ranked 13th and bracketed with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal under the category of “aspiring leaders”. For a state which prides at being the cradle of IT revolution, startup culture and the “poster boy” state in a sense for 1991 reforms, this is a huge shocker, a big blow and a warning signal. <br /><br />The World Bank along with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has ranked <br />the states on 10 parameters – construction permits, environmental regulation, labour regulations, getting electricity connections, online tax returns filing, inspection reforms, access to information and transparency, single window clearance, availability of land and commercial dispute resolution. <br /><br />Karnataka is not among the top three states on any of these parameters. And this is worrisome. Most of these parameters require a strong efficient responsive government mechanism. For the state which initiated single window clearance system in India, not being among the top players on any of the parameters is an indicator of the poor quality of governance. The inability of political leadership in the last decade to focus on building a transparent, efficient, effective administrative mechanism is evident. <br /><br />Construction permits and environmental laws are being flouted by the government machinery heeding to the wishes of their political masters; transparency in administration is a far cry as seen in the latest steel bridge controversy which is a classic example of how political bosses are focusing on their own lobbies – real estate, tree mafia, steel manufacturers... well the list can go on. <br /><br />Political leadership drives the economic prospectus of any state. It is the lack of proactive political leadership which saw Karnataka miss out on big ticket projects like Posco, Tata Nano and Hero Motors in the last decade. <br /><br />Growth model<br />Manufacturing-led growth is essential for the state if we need to move away from the Bengaluru-centric growth model and achieve regional growth parity. Even the much hyped Global Investors Meet has not translated much on ground in terms of investment and employment creation. <br /><br />For a state which took a lead in setting up land bank, land availability for projects is also a hindrance given the eternal agriculture versus industry debate and the real estate ambitions of politicians and bureaucrats. Another prime reason for the investors moving away from Karnataka is basic infrastructural shortages. The collapsing infrastructure of Bengaluru is symbolic of this. <br /><br />An aspiring State has the potential to become a progressive leader State, but in our context we have made the reverse journ-ey of being a progressive econo-mic leader to an economic lagg-ard which scores between 70% to 90% on all the 10 parameters. This regression needs to be addressed with top priority as we celebrate our 60th anniversary.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the change in fortunes is largely dependent on political and administrative leadership. Hope the leadership is as open, forthcoming and progressive as its citizens to realise their responsibilities and ensuring that Karnataka’s legacy of being a model state and economic leader is not lost forever. <br /><br />(The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru)</div>