Context
Baseline: 2026
Population30.0L, 476/km²
Per Capita Income₹2.69L
GDDP₹99,527 Cr
State Rank17/31
HDI0.625 (rank 14/30)
Literacy72.79%
Economy65.2% services, 17.7% agri, 17.1% industry
Strengths
5th-largest district economy in Karnataka - GDDP Rs 99,527 crore (2024-25), 3.5% of state GSDP, and one of its most services-heavy districts (services 65.2%)
Karnataka's 2nd-largest software exporter and the anchor of the KDEM 'Beyond Bengaluru' Mysuru cluster (Tier-2 hub for IT/ITeS, ESDM, cybersecurity, GCCs and startups)
Home to Infosys' 337-acre Mysuru campus and Global Education Centre - described as the world's largest corporate training centre (~14,000 trainees at a time)
India's heritage-tourism capital - Mysuru Palace drew ~40.6 lakh visitors in 2023-24 (incl. ~34,600 foreign tourists), the highest in a decade, anchored by the Dasara festival
Diversified manufacturing base - BEML, JK/Vikrant Tyres, L&T, Automotive Axles, Rane and Kirloskar across eight KIADB industrial areas and two Special Investment Regions (Hebbal ~3,799 acres, Thandya ~3,198 acres)
Water-secure by Karnataka standards - all nine taluks now in the Safe groundwater category (Mysuru taluk, Semi-Critical under GEC 2020, recovered to 62.49% Safe by GEC 2024), with irrigation ~71% canal-fed from the Cauvery and Kabini
Deep knowledge base - University of Mysuru, CSIR-CFTRI, JSS and NIE, with ~40,000 engineering and degree students in the cluster (KDEM)
GI-tagged heritage industries - Mysore Silk (KSIC), Mysore Sandalwood lineage, and Nanjangud Rasabale banana
Challenges
Per-capita income only Rs 2.69 lakh (2024-25) - about 70% of the state average of Rs 3.86 lakh, ranking 17th of 31 districts despite the large aggregate economy
Credit is urban-concentrated - the CD ratio is a healthy 81.63% (31.03.2025, above the state's 77.25%), but about 73% of advances sit in Mysuru city, leaving rural taluks (Hunsur, H.D. Kote, Periyapatna) under-served
IT growth beyond the Infosys anchor is still early - the wider GCC, startup and ESDM base needs depth to reach the KDEM 2030 targets
Sharp rural-urban divide - rural literacy ~63.3% against urban ~86.1%, and ~54% of workers are still in agriculture
Tourism is seasonal and Dasara-concentrated, with visitor pressure on heritage assets and limited high-value/overnight tourism spread
Agriculture is exposed to Cauvery-basin water-sharing cycles and to FCV-tobacco demand and regulatory pressure in Hunsur/Periyapatna
Post-harvest storage gap - about 9 lakh MT capacity against an estimated 15 lakh MT requirement (NABARD PLP)
Industrial data is dated - the last District Industrial Profile (DIC/MSME) is from 2010-11; current MSME, employment and turnover figures need a fresh survey
Opportunities
Convert the KDEM 'Beyond Bengaluru' push into a genuine second tech city - GCC and ESDM parks targeting a USD 10 billion digital economy and ~1.5 lakh digital jobs by 2030
Lift per-capita income toward the state average by deepening high-value services (IT, GCCs, tourism) and modern manufacturing on the existing base
Deepen rural and MSME/manufacturing credit - the district's healthy CD ratio (81.63%) is concentrated in the city, so extending agri-value-chain and enterprise lending into the rural taluks is the opportunity
Grow high-value, year-round and heritage/eco/wellness tourism circuits (Palace, Chamundi Hills, Nagarhole, Kabini, Srirangapatna) beyond the Dasara peak
Expand agro-processing and FPO-led value chains and close the storage gap - CFTRI-backed food processing, Nanjangud banana, sericulture and dairy
Leverage water security and the Cauvery-Kabini canal network to modernise irrigation and diversify cropping while other Karnataka districts face groundwater stress
Build ESDM / electronics manufacturing in the Thandya and upcoming Kochanahalli industrial areas, adjacent to the IT and skilling ecosystem
Roadmap
Goals
HDI 0.625 → 0.681
Close half the gap to Bengaluru Urban (0.738)
₹2.69L → ₹3.86L
Close half the gap to Bengaluru Urban
2,00,000 New Jobs
From 4 industries + core programs
₹16,000 Cr Investment
Central Schemes 33%, State Budget 24%, Bank Credit 26%, Private Investment 17%
Core Programs
KDEM Beyond Bengaluru Cluster Build — GCC, IT and ESDM park capacity (Global Technology Centre 3,000 seats; Gopalan 1 million sq ft) (₹1,800 cr)
Heritage Tourism Infrastructure — Swadesh Darshan 2.0: Ecological Experience Zone (Rs 18.48 cr) and Tonga-Ride Heritage Zone (Rs 2.72 cr) (₹1,400 cr)
Skilling & Talent Pipeline — Schneider Electric Youth Impact Centre (Rs 16 cr, ~2,000 youth/year) (₹1,000 cr)
MSME Credit Deepening — Extend MSME and manufacturing credit into the rural taluks (city holds ~73% of advances) (₹1,000 cr)
ESDM & Advanced Manufacturing — Electronics / ESDM manufacturing in the Thandya and Kochanahalli industrial areas (₹2,600 cr)
Agro-processing & FPO Value Chains — CFTRI-backed food processing and cold-chain / storage (against the ~6 lakh MT storage gap) (₹1,800 cr)
Cauvery-Kabini Irrigation Modernisation — Canal efficiency, micro-irrigation and lake rejuvenation (especially Mysuru taluk) (₹1,400 cr)
Health Infrastructure Upgrade — New sub-centres and CHCs against the norm shortfall in Hunsur, H.D. Kote and Periyapatna (₹1,000 cr)
Digital Economy — Beyond Bengaluru
Mysuru - Beyond Bengaluru Cluster — 2,800 (KDEM database and Big Tech Show 2025; some KDEM documents cite 2,500) startups, 1,50,000 jobs by 2030
4 Industries (₹1,842 Cr)
IT / ITeS, ESDM & GCCs HIGHEST
jobs · ₹1,300 cr
· Operational
Karnataka's 2nd-largest software exporter: about Rs 5,000 crore a year in IT exports (Government of Karnataka, Mysuru Big Tech Show 2025). A private-research organic projection (MARC Insights, Jan 2024) sees Rs 8,223 crore by FY30 at 6% CAGR; the KDEM Vision 2030 aims far higher, at $4 billion. Home to 50+ IT firms, a growing ESDM electronics cluster at Kochanahalli (EMC 2.0), and anchored by Infosys' 337-acre Global Education Centre.
Heritage & Cultural Tourism HIGH
jobs · ₹66.58 cr
· Operational
India's heritage-tourism capital. Mysuru Palace drew about 40.6 lakh visitors in FY24 (including about 34,600 foreign), up from 33.9 lakh in FY23, anchored by the nine-day Dasara festival. About Rs 66.58 crore of central tourism funds is sanctioned for the district (PRASHAD Chamundeshwari Rs 45.38 crore and Swadesh Darshan 2.0 Rs 21.20 crore).
Automobiles, Engineering & Machine Tools HIGH
20,428 jobs · ₹476 cr
· Operational
Diversified manufacturing across 8 KIADB areas and two Special Investment Regions. Anchors include Automotive Axles Ltd (Rs 2,229 crore revenue FY24, about 989 employees per the FY25 annual report, India's largest independent rear-drive-axle maker), JK/Vikrant Tyres (Metagalli - India's first truck & bus radial plant, Rs 476 crore expansion) and the BEML Mysuru Complex.
Silk, Sericulture & Agro-processing MEDIUM-HIGH
jobs · ₹ cr
· Operational
Home to GI-tagged Mysore Silk (KSIC), the CSIR-CFTRI food-technology institute, FCV tobacco at Hunsur/Periyapatna and GI-tagged Nanjangud Rasabale banana. Sericulture farmers are organised through Mysuru Reshme FPCL.
Role-based Actions
District Collector
KDEM Beyond Bengaluru cluster build — 12% (₹1,800 cr)
KDEM Officer
GCC / IT / ESDM park capacity (Global Technology Centre, Gopalan) — 12% (₹1,800 cr)
KIADB Officer
ESDM & advanced manufacturing (Thandya/Kochanahalli) — 0% (₹2,600 cr)
Revenue Officer
Land assembly for Kochanahalli / Thandya expansion — 0% (₹800 cr)
Agriculture Officer
Agro-processing & FPO value chains — 0% (₹1,800 cr)
Water Resources
Canal efficiency & micro-irrigation — 0% (₹900 cr)
Health Officer
Rural sub-centre / CHC strengthening — 0% (₹1,000 cr)
Education Officer
IT/ESDM & GCC skilling pipeline — 10% (₹1,000 cr)
Minister
KDEM Beyond Bengaluru cluster & skilling — 12% (₹2,800 cr)