22.1State-led industrialisation
From the 1880s the Mysore government actively promoted industry: the Kolar Gold Fields were developed from 1880 and for decades supplied most of India's gold; the Shivanasamudra hydroelectric station (1902–1905) was among Asia's earliest and first powered the KGF mines and then Bangalore and Mysore; the Mysore Iron Works at Bhadravati opened in 1923.[1]
Sir M. Visvesvaraya's Mysore Economic Conference (from 1911) institutionalised planning, and the Bank of Mysore (1913), the University of Mysore (1916) and Krishnaraja Sagar (1932) all belong to this programme.[2]
22.2Silk and sandalwood
Sericulture, expanded under Tipu Sultan and revived with Japanese technical help in the twentieth century, remains a defining industry; Karnataka is India's largest silk producer and Mysore Silk carries a Geographical Indication.[3] Sandalwood oil distillation, begun as a state enterprise during the First World War when exports were blocked, produced Mysore Sandal Soap in 1916, still manufactured by Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd.[4]
22.3The contemporary mix
Today the Mysuru economy rests on tourism, education and health services, IT and BPO (with a major Infosys development centre), industrial estates at Hebbal, Hootagalli and Nanjangud, and agro-processing built on the Kaveri command area's sugarcane, paddy, and horticulture.[5]
References and footnotes
- [1]"Kolar Gold Fields", "Shivanasamudra Falls", "Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant", Wikipedia. Link
- [2]"M. Visvesvaraya", Wikipedia. Link
- [3]"Mysore silk", Wikipedia; Central Silk Board, Government of India. Link
- [4]"Mysore Sandal Soap", Wikipedia. Link
- [5]District Statistical Handbook, Mysuru; Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Karnataka. Link