During 2017–2020, a team of researchers at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements conducted a series of primary and secondary studies on land record modernisation initiatives in five states and union territories of India. Based on extensive on-ground research, this work is part of a five-volume set that presents findings from Delhi, Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, with a focus on urban land and property records and the associated complexities. This volume on Karnataka highlights the state’s early gains in using technology platforms to modernise land records, including Bhoomi and the Urban Property Ownership Record (UPOR). UPOR remains one of the most important initiatives for creating denovo property records in urban areas. The volume also takes a more nuanced approach to modernisation of land records, and consequent privatisation of associated services, within the larger context of the political economy of land
