Doing business in Karnataka
States in India > Doing business in Karnataka
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Karnataka is one of the southern states of India. It was originally known at the State of Mysore. It was renamed as Karnataka in 1973. The official language spoken here is Kannada while Hindi and English are widely used along with Tamil and Telugu.
The public sector
The public sector (government-owned industry) has a large presence in Karnataka. The state has several leading corporations such as National Aerospace Laboratories, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Indian Telephone Industries, and Hindustan Machine Tools.
Technology
Research and technology play a large role in the economy of Karnataka. Leading research institutes found in this state include the Indian Space Research Organization, the Central Power Research Institute, the Bharat Electronics Limited, the Central Food Technological Research Institute, and the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited.
The state is also a major hub of information technology in the country. Firms such as Wipro, Infosys, Microsoft, Dell, and Accenture have large campuses in Bangalore, Mysore and, Hubli. Karnataka also has the largest cluster of biotech companies in the country. Almost 50% of India’s biotech firms including big names such as Biocon have facilities here. Agriculture employs about 50% of the state’s workforce. One of the major agricultural products is silk, and the state is famous for its silk saris.
Infrastructure
The government of Karnataka is constantly taking on new projects to improve its infrastructure. It currently has two international airports, one at Bangalore and the other at Mangalore. There are smaller airports located in Shimoga, Hassan, Bijapur, Gulbarga, and Mysore. The parent company of Kingfisher Airlines (which also bought out the low-cost carrier Air Deccan) is headquartered in this state. Mangalore is the main sea port for Karnataka on the Arabian Sea coast. The state has 10 other minor ports and is also connected by the South Western Railway network and the Konkan Railway Network.
