The Mysore State was renamed
Karnataka in 1973. Agriculture and allied activities provide livelihood
to almost 65 per cent of the people. About 5.5 million hectares of land
is under irrigation. Rice, maize, wheat, groundnut, potato, oilseeds and
fruits constitute the major agricultural produce of the State. Forests
cover around 16.08 per cent of the land area. Some of the heavy
industries in the State are electrical and electronic, aeronautic,
machine tools, telephone, chemicals and fertilizer, steel, textiles,
sugar, paper, computers and software. Karnataka has rich mineral
deposits of iron ore, copper, manganese, limestone, granite and gold.
Silk and sandal wood products are important cottage industries. All
villages have been electrified. The State has a long coastline of nearly
400 km. The State has a mild climate throughout the year and the average
rainfall is 173 cm.