Karnataka
Karnataka is around 2000 km. away from our capital Delhi and consists of 5.05% population of India. It is quite famous for its culture and has the most number of GI Tags in India. So Karnataka is a state with an interesting history and culture.
| Topic | Data/Facts |
| 1 History | 1.1 Karnataka was formed on 1 November 1956. 1.2 Originally known as the State of Mysore and renamed as Karnataka in 1973. |
| 2 Geography | 2.1 Climate: (i) Karnataka experiences four seasons. (ii) The winter in January and February is followed by summer between March and May, the monsoon season between June and September and the post-monsoon season from October till December. (iii) Meteorologically, Karnataka is divided into three zones – coastal, north interior and south interior. 2.2 Agriculture: (i) Karnataka’s agricultural products includes raw silk which has the highest production range among all other states in India. (ii) The Kharif crops in Karnataka comprise millets, paddy (rice), maize, moong (pulses), groundnut, red chillies, cotton, soyabean, sugarcane, rice, and turmeric. (iii) The major Rabi crops of Karnataka are wheat, barley, mustard, sesame, and peas. (iv) Karnataka is one of the major producers of rice among all other states in India. Rice is the food crop harvested by Karnataka agriculture and sugarcane is the cash crop. Other cash crops sown in Karnataka agriculture apart from sugarcane are cashews, cardamom, betel (areca) nut, and grapes. (v) The eastern regions are widely known for producing a heavy number of sugarcanes, a bit of rubber plants, and fruits such as oranges and bananas. (vi) The north-western region of Karnataka has black soil which supports oilseeds, cotton, and peanuts (groundnuts). (vii) Karnataka is also highly potential for its horticulture production and it ranks second in this aspect in India. Horticulture generates 40% of the total income of the state. 2.3 Natural Resources: (i) Rich deposits of asbestos, bauxite, chromite, dolomite, gold, iron ore, kaolin, limestone, magnesite, Manganese, ochre, quartz and silica sand are found in the state. (ii) Karnataka is also a major producer of felsite, moulding sand (63%) and fuchsite quartzite (57%) in the country. (iii) Karnataka has two major centers of gold mining in the state at Kolar and Raichur. These mines produce about 3000 kg of gold per annum which accounts for almost 84% of the country’s production. (iv) Karnataka has very rich deposits of high-grade iron and manganese ores to the tune of 1,000 million tonnes. Most of the iron ores are concentrated around the Bellary-Hospet region. (v) Karnataka with a granite rock spread of over 4200 sq. km. is also famous for its Ornamental Granites with different hues. 2.4 Major rivers: Rivers drain into Arabian Sea: Sharavati, Mandavi, Kalinadi, Gangavalli, Aghanashini, Varahi, Chakra Nadi, Barapole and Netravathy. Rivers with Eastward Flow: Kaveri, Harangi, Hemavathi, Kabini, Shimsha, Arkavati, Suvarnavathi, Lakshmanatirtha, Bhavani, Noyyal, Lokapavani, Amaravati and Krishna. These Rivers flow towards east and then drain into Bay of Bengal through Andhra Pradesh. 2.5 Animals: Indian Roller, Indian Elephant, Leopard, Gaur, Sambar Deer, Chital, Bonnet Macaque, Slender Loris, Common Palm Civet, Small Indian Civet, Sloth Bear, Dhole, Striped Hyena, Bengal Fox, Golden Jackal, The Great Hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill, Ceylon Frogmouth, Herons, Ducks, Kites, Eagles, Falcons, Quails, Partridges, Lapwings, Sandpipers, Pigeons, Doves, Parakeets, Cuckoos, Owls, Nightjars, Swifts, Kingfishers, Bee-Eaters and Munias. 2.6 Neighbouring States: Goa – North-West Maharashtra – North Telangana – North-East Andhra Pradesh – East Tamil Nadu – South-East Kerala – South Arabian Sea – West 2.7 Capital city: Bengaluru (Largest City and formerly known as Bangalore) 2.8 Total Land Area: (i) Total Area is 191,791 sq. km. (ii) It is the 6th largest state in India in land area |
| 3 Forestry | 3.1 Forest (i) Forest Cover: 38,575.48 sq. km. (20.19%) (ii) Very Dense Forest: 4,501.15 sq. km. (iii) Moderately Dense Forest: 21,048.09 sq. km. (iv) Open Forest: 13,026.24 sq. km. (Data as per ISFR 2019 assessment) 3.2 National Parks: (i) Anshi National Park, Anshi, Uttara Kannada (ii) Bandipur National Park, Bandipur (iii) Bannerghatta National Park, Bengaluru (iv) Kudremukh National Park, Chikkamagaluru (v) Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park, Kodagu and Mysore 3.3 Wild Life Sanctury: (i) Kaveri Wildlife Sanctuary (Spread Over Three Districts, Namely, Chamarajanagar, Mandya and Ramanagara) (ii) Adichunchanagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Mandya (iii) Arabithittu Wildlife Sanctuary, Mysore (iv) Biligiriranga Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Chamarajanagar (v) Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, Chikkamagaluru and Shimoga (vi) Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Kodagu (vii) Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttara Kannada (viii) Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Bellary (Sloth Bear Conservation) (ix) Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Chamarajanagar (x) Melukote Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, Mandya (xi) Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, Udupi (xii) Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary, Mysore (xiii) Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Kodagu (xiv) Ranibennur Blackbuck Sanctuary, Haveri (xv) Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, Shimoga (xvi) Shettihalli Wildlife Sanctuary, Shimoga (xvii) Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Udupi (xviii) Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary, Kodagu (xix) Tungabhadra Otter Conservation Reserve, Hampi 3.4 Birds Sanctuary: (i) Attiveri Bird Sanctuary, Uttara Kannada (ii) Gudavi Bird Sanctuary, Shimoga (iii) Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Mandya (iv) Mandagadde Bird Sanctuary, Shimoga (v) Kaggaladu Heronry, Tumkur (vi) Kokrebellur Pelicanry, Mandya (vii) Magadi Bird Sanctuary, Gadag (viii) Bankapura Peacock Sanctuary, Haveri (ix) Bonal Bird Sanctuary, Shorapur, Yadgir (x) Ramadevarabetta Vulture Sanctuary, Ramanagara (xi) Ghataprabha Bird Sanctuary, Belgaum 3.5 Tiger Reserves: (i) Kali Tiger Reserve (Dandeli-Anshi), Uttara Kannada (ii) Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Mysore and Chamarajanagar (iii) Brt Tiger Reserve, Erode (iv) Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, Mysore and Kodagu (v) Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Chikkamagalur |
| 4 Economy | 4.1 Major Economic Data: (i) GDP Growth: 7.8% (2019–20) (ii) GDP: ₹18.05 trillion (US$250 billion) (2019–20) (iii) GDP Rank: 4th (iv) Per Capita Income: ₹251,246 (US$3,500) (2019–20) 4.2 Industries: Major industries are as under: – (i) Karnataka has vibrant automobile, agro, aerospace, textile and garment, biotech, and heavy engineering industries. (ii) The state has sector specific Special Economic Zone (SEZs) for key industries such as IT, biotechnology, and engineering, food processing and aerospace. (iii) Karnataka is the IT hub of India and home to the fourth largest technology cluster in the world. |
| 5 Transportation | 5.1 Air, Rail, Road Routes by Buses, Cars and Sea Ports. 5.2 Other Important facts: (i) The total lengths of National Highways and State Highways in Karnataka are 3,973 and 9,829 kilometres (2,469 and 6,107 mi), respectively. (ii) Karnataka has a railway network with a total length of approximately 3,089 kilometres (1,919 mi). Until the creation of the South-Western Railway Zone headquartered at Hubballi in 2003. (iii) The state has 3 Railway Divisions at Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli, with the remainder under the Southern Railway zone and Konkan Railway Zone, which is considered one of India’s biggest railway projects of the century due to the difficult terrain. 5.3 Major Railway Stations (i) Bengaluru (ii) Mangalore (iii) Mysore (iv) Shimoga (v) Hubli (vi) Chamarajanagar 5.4 Major Air Ports: International Airports: (i) Kempegowda International Airport (Bengaluru) (ii) Mangalore Internatoinal Airport Domestic Airports: (i) Belagavi Airport (ii) Hubballi Airport (iii) Kalaburagi Airport (iv) Bidar Airport (v) Jindal Vijaynagar Airport (Ballari) (vi) Mysore Airport Indian Air Force Stations: (i) HAL Airport (Bengaluru) (ii) Yelahanka Air Force Station (Bengaluru) (iii) Sambra Air Force Station (Belagavi) (iv) Bidar Air Force Station (Bidar) |
| 6 Infrastructures | 6.1 Power installed Capacity: (i) Total: 29980.73 MW (ii) Thermal: 10308.15 MW (iii) Nuclear: 698.00 MW (iv) Hydro: 3586.60 MW |
| 7 Census and Demography | 7.1 Demographic Data: (i) Population: 61,095,297 (ii) Male: 30,966,657 (iii) Female: 30,128,640 (iv) Population Growth: 15.60% (v) Percentage of total population of the country: 5.05% (vi) Density: 319/sq. km. (vii) Rural Population: 37,469,335 (61.33%) (viii) Urban Population: 23,625,962 (38.67%) (ix) 8th most populous state in India. (x) Gender Ratio: 973 females per 1000 males. (Based on 2011 census) 7.2 Major Religion followers: (i) Hinduism: 51,317,472 (84%) (ii) Christianity: 1,142,647 (1.87%) (iii) Islam: 7,893,065 (12.92%) (iv) Jainism: 440,280 (0.72%) (v) Buddhism: 95,710 (0.16%) (vi) Sikhism: 28,773 (0.05%) (Based on 2011 census) |
| 8 Culture | 8.1 Literature: Literary work is majorly found under categories: (i) Sanskrit (ii) Kannada 8.2 Major Poets & Authors: (i) Kuvempu (ii) D. R. Bendre (iii) Shivaram Karanth (iv) Masti Venkatesha Iyengar (v) V. K. Gokak (vi) U. R. Ananthamurthy (vii) Girish Karnad (viii) Chandrashekhara Kambara 8.3 Major Festivals: (i) Mysore Dasara (Nada Habba) (State Festival) (ii) Bangalore Karaga (2nd Most Important Festival) (iii) Ugadi (Kannada New Year) (iv) Makara Sankranti (the harvest festival) (v) Ganesh Chaturthi (vi) Gowri Habba (vii) Ram Navami (viii) Nagapanchami (ix) Basava Jayanthi (x) Deepavali (xi) Balipadyami 8.4 Folk Dance: (i) Veeragase (ii) Kamsale (iii) Kolata (iv) Dollu Kunitha (v) Bharatanatya 8.5 Major Religious Places: (i) Shri Agnidurga Gopalakrishna Mahakala Bhairava Temple, Karamogaru,Mangaluru (ii) Shri Kadri Manjunatha Temple, Mangaluru (iii) Shri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangapatna (iv) Navagraha Jain Temple, Hubli (v) Shri Mangaladevi Temple, Mangaluru (vi) Sri Kollur Mookambika Temple, Kollur (vii) Shri Subramanyeshwara Temple, Kukke Subramanya (viii) Shri Rajarajeswari Temple, Polali (ix) Shri Durga Parameshwari Temple, Kateelu (x) Gokarnanatheshwara Temple Kudroli, Mangaluru (xi) Sri Mahalakshmi Lakkamma devi Temple,Keresanthe. Kadur Tq ,Chikkamagaluru (dist ). (xii) International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Temple, Bangalore (xiii) Sri Hasanamba Temple, Hassan (xiv) Sri Chennakesava Temple, Belur, Hassan (xv) Sri Mahantheshwara Mata Karegudda (xvi) Sri Hoysaleswara Temple, Halebidu, Hassan (xvii) Padutirupathi Venkataramana Temple, Karkala (xviii) Kudalasangama (xix) Sringeri Sharada Peetham, Sringeri (xx) Sri Gude mahalineshrawara Temple, Herenjalu Kundapura tq, Udupi dist (xxi) Santhoor Subramanya Temple (xxii) Mandyada Shri Shiradi Sai Baba Mandir, Mandya, Mandya District, Karnataka (xxiii) Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Temple, Gadag, Gadag District, Karnataka (xxiv) Narasimha swamy Temple, Seebi, Tumkur (xxv) Shri Kalaseshwara temple, kalasa, Chikkamagaluru district (xxvi) SriKshetra horanadu, chikkamagalur district (xxvii) Mahatobara Idagunji Mahaganapathy Devastana, Honnavara, Uttara Kannada |
| 9 Education | 9.1 State Literacy Data: (i) Total: 40,647,322 (75.36%) (ii) Male: 22,508,471 (iii) Female: 18,138,851 9.2 Major Universities: (i) Christ University, Bengaluru (ii) Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum (iii) University of Mysore, Mysore (iv) National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (v) Azim Premji University, Bengaluru (vi) Bangalore University, Bengaluru (vii) University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (viii) Jain University, Bengaluru (ix) Mangalore University, Mangalore (x) Karnatak University, Dharwad (xi) University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad (xii) Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru (xiii) Central University of Karnataka, Gulbarga (xiv) Karnataka State Law University, Hubli (xv) Kannada University, Vidyaranya (xvi) University of Horticultural Sciences, Bagalkot (xvii) University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur 9.3 Major Institutions: (i) IISC Bengaluru (ii) IIIT Bengaluru (iii) NIT Mangalore (iv) Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal (v) Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bengaluru (vi) National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru (vii) Karnataka Janapada Vishwavidyalaya, Shiggaon |
| 10 Tourism | 10.1 Karnataka has been ranked as the fourth most popular destination for tourism among the states of India. Karnataka has the second highest number of nationally protected monuments in India, second only to Uttar Pradesh. 10.2 Major Tourist Spots: (i) Bandipur National Park (ii) Coorg (iii) Hampi (UNESCO World Heritage Site) (iv) Mysore Palace (v) Badami Cave Temple (vi) Bidar Fort (vii) St. Mary Island (viii) Nagarahole National Park (ix) Jog Falls (x) HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum (xi) Sandalwood Museum (xii) Omkareshwara Temple (xiii) Jamia Masjid, Bijapur |
| 11 Sports | 11.1 State Game: Cricket is by far the most popular sport in Karnataka 11.2 Major Stadium: (i) M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru (Established in 1969 and has capacity of 40,000 people) (ii) Mangala Stadium, Mangalore (iii) BR Ambedkar Cricket Stadium, Mangalore (iv) Sree Kanteerava Stadium, Bengaluru (v) KSHA Hockey Stadium, Bengaluru 11.3 International Players from Karnataka: Cricket: (i) Mamatha Maben – captain of Women’s cricket team (ii) Anil Kumble (iii) Brijesh Patel (iv) B S Chandrasekhar (v) E.A.S. Prasanna (vi) G.R. Vishwanath (vii) Javagal Srinath (viii) Rahul Dravid (ix) Robin Uthappa (x) Roger Binny (xi) Shantha Rangaswamy – Captain Women’s Cricket Team (xii) Sunil Joshi (xiii) Gundappa Vishwanath (GR Vishwanath) Hockey: (i) Arjun Halappa (ii) M.P. Ganesh (former India hockey team captain and former Director of Sport Authority of India. He was a member of the Indian team that won the World Cup in 1975) Tennis: (i) Mahesh Bhupathi (ii) Rohan Bopanna |
| 12 Governance & Administrative Divisions | 12.1 Administrative divisions: (i) Number of Districts: 31 (ii) Number of Tehsils: 237 (iii) Number of Police Stations: 906 (iv) Number of Urban Towns: 281 (v) Number of Villages: 29,483 12.2 Official Languages: (i) Kannada (Script : Kannad) (ii) Regional Languages are Tulu and Kodava (iii) Other linguistic minorities in the state were Urdu (10.83%), Telugu (5.84%), Tamil (3.45%), Marathi (3.38%), Hindi (3.3%), Tulu (2.61%), Konkani (1.29%), Malayalam (1.27%) and Kodava Takk (0.18%). (iv) Hindi (v) English (Based on census-2011) 12.3 Constituent Facts: State Legislature: Bicameral (i) Number of Assembly seats: 224 (ii) Legislative Council : 75 (iii) Number of Rajyasabha Seats : 12 (iv) Number of Parliament seats: 28 (v) Number of Gram panchayat: 6022 12.4 Chief Minister: Siddaramaiah 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka) (from 20/05/2023 through 16th Assembly election, 2023) 12.4.1 1st Chief Minister (Mysore State) : Kyasamballi Chengalaraya Reddy (25/10/1947 to 30/03/1952) 12.5 Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot (11th Governor of Karnataka) ( From 21/07/2021) 12.5.1 1st Governor: Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar ( 01/11/1956 to 04/05/1964) 12.6 Judiciary: (i) The High Court of Karnataka was previously called the High Court of Mysore. It was established in 1884. (ii) Number of Judges: 62 (iii) Judge Retirement Age: 62 |
| 13 Other Important facts | 13.1 UNESCO World Heritage Sites: (i) Group of Monuments at Pattadakal, Bagalkot District (ii) Western Ghats, Kudremukh Sub-cluster (iii) Western Ghats, Talakaveri Sub-cluster (iv) Group of Monuments at Hampi, Vijayanagara District 13.2 Main Archeological Sites in Karnataka (i) Aihole (ii) Anegundi (iii) Bachinagudda (iv) Basaralu (v) Brahmagiri Archeological Site (vi) Chandramouleshwar Temple (vii) Chandravalli (viii) Hallur (ix) Hire Benakal (x) Sidlaphadi (xi) Sanganakallu (xii) Kanganahalli (xiii) Basaralu (xiv) Kupgal Petroglyphs (xv) Vijayanagara 13.3 GI Tags: (i) Mysore Silk (ii) Mysore Agarbathi (iii) Bidriware (iv) Channapatna Toys & Dolls (v) Mysore Rosewood Inlay (vi) Malabar Pepper (vii) Mysore Sandalwood Oil (viii) Mysore Sandal soap (ix) Kasuti Embroidery (x) Mysore Traditional Paintings (xi) Coorg Orange (xii) Mysore Betel leaf (xiii) Ganjifa cards of Mysore (xiv) Navalgund durries (xv) Karnataka Bronze Ware (xvi) Nanjanagud Banana (xvii) Mysore Malligae (xviii) Udupi Malligae (xix) Hadagali Malligae (xx) Ilkal Sarees (xxi) Molakalmuru Sarees (xxii) Coorg Green Cardamom (xxiii) Monsooned Malabar Robusta Coffee (xxiv) Devanahalli Pomello (xxv) Appemidi Mango (xxvi) Kamalapur Red Banana (xxvii) Sandur Lambani Embroidery (xxviii) Guledgudd Khana (xxix) Bangalore Blue Grapes (xxx) Bababudangiri arabica coffee (xxxi) Coorg arabica coffee (xxxii) Chikmagalur Arabica coffee (xxxiii) Sirsi Supari (xxxiv) Bangalore Rose Onion (xxxv) Udupi Saree (xxxvi) Kinhal Toys (xxxvii) Dharwad Pedha (xxxviii) Monsooned Malabar Arabica Coffee (xxxix) Bydagi Chilli 13.4 State Symbols: State Animal: Indian Elephant State Bird: Indian Roller State Flower: Lotus State Tree: Sandalwood Foundation day: Karnataka Formation day |
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