South star: Karnataka economy grew 132% since 2011

Karnataka’s economy expanded a good 132% between 2011-12 and 2018-2019, the highest among the south Indian states and only behind Gujarat when compared with the industrially prosperous states of the country.

Karnataka’s economy rose to Rs 14.08 lakh crore at the end of 2018-19 from Rs 6.06 lakh crore in 2011-12, data from the Reserve Bank of India and the state budgets showed.

Though Tamil Nadu’s economy was bigger in size than Karnataka’s, its growth in the current decade in percentage terms was much lower at 101%. The neighbouring Andhra Pradesh grew at a handsome 129% from 2011-19, but the size of its economy remained much smaller and almost half of that of Tamil Nadu.

Highlighting Karnataka’s prosperity and its sustained consumption pattern, personal loans or credit to housing, car and white goods increased by 218% in the nine years to 2019. It grew from Rs 61,300 crore in 2011 to Rs 1.95 lakh crore in 2019, the RBI data showed.

Growth in personal loan segment indicates that the price rise in the economy is not acute and the households are able to save for their capital expenditure. It also shows that the inflation expectation of the masses is well entrenched.

Loans in the personal segment did not grow as rapidly in the case of Tamil Nadu although it expanded 143% in the period under review.

Personal loan growth was the highest in Gujarat, where it rose 306% in nine years since 2011.

Adding another feather to its cap, the social sector spending of Karnataka grew nearly 186% from 2011 to 2019. This was the highest among all Indian states. Social sector spending includes housing, education, health, sanitation and urban development among others.

Karnataka, which spent Rs 92,300 crore on its social sector in 2018-19, up from Rs 32,300 crore in 2011-12. Maharashtra, with a 142% rise in spend on its social sector in nine years, came a remote second.

The data showed that Karnataka’s social sector spending grew rapidly between 2014-15 and 2018-19.

Industrial loan, too, fared well in Karnataka, the IT hub of the country and home to the fourth largest technology cluster in the world. Karnataka credit to industry grew 86% between 2011-12 and 2018-2019, as compared to 45% growth in Tamil Nadu and a decline of 57% in Andhra Pradesh in the same period.