Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented a record 14th budget on July 7. As on expected lines, priority areas of his budget are fulfilling five guarantees announced by Congress prior to the assembly election, Bengaluru development, health care, etc.
In his budget speech CM announced that to implement five guarantees approximately Rs. 52,000 crore required and it is expected to reach about 1.30 crore families. This translates into an average additional financial assistance of Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 5,000 monthly to each household, which is about Rs. 48,000 to Rs. 60,000 every year. This is done with the objective of providing a Universal Basic Income for our citizens.
The major budget announcements
Bengaluru Development
- “Brand Bengaluru” theme is centered on safety and convenience of the residents of Bengaluru city.
- Rs.1,000 crores for commuter railway.
- Rs.3,400 crores to dispose of legacy waste.
- Rs.100 crores to set up Indira canteens.
- Rs. 100 crores to the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Corporation Limited (BSWMCL).
- Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will upgrade 20 Sewage Treatment Plants by March, 2026 at a cost of Rs.1,411 crore.
- New flyover to connect Sir M. Visveswaraya Terminal.
- Rs.800 crores to whitetap 100 kilometers of road in the city.
- 83 kilometer high density traffic roads will be upgraded at an estimated cost of Rs.273 crores.
- Construction of ambitious Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road.
- In the next three years, the metro network will be increased from 70 km to 176 km i.e., 2.5 times the present network coverage.
- A new proposal to construct a new metro line of 37 km, from Hebbala to Sarjapura, at an estimated cost of Rs. 15,000 crores.
- Karnataka Aerospace Technology Centre at the Aerospace and Defence Park in Devanahalli, Bengaluru.
- Global Innovation Alliance – Market Access Program (GIA-MAP) for Start-Ups at the cost of Rs. 3 crores.
- A Centre of Excellence in Health-Tech and Med-Tech.
- A Centre of Excellence in Wireless and Wired Technologies in Karnataka (COEWWT) under Public Private Partnership.
- Setting up of Centre of Excellence in Design.
- Setting up of Karnataka State Research Foundation (KSRF).
School education
- New state specific education policy.
- Four innovation labs at an estimated cost of Rs.20 crores.
- Planting of 50 lakh saplings in school campuses.
- New toilet complexes will be constructed in 5775 schools and 150 colleges, in proportion with student’s strength. The project will be taken up in convergence with MGNREGS.
- 3833 old, dilapidated and rain damaged school buildings and 724 pre-university college rooms will be renovated at a cost of Rs.100 crores.
- A grant of Rs.20,000 to Rs.45,000 is provided to each government Primary and High School in the state for maintenance and upkeep of the buildings.
- Egg for students between classes I and X twice a week.
- Rs.80 crores to improve the learning deficiencies among government school students.
Higher education
- Rs. 25 crore to provide infrastructure facilities to University of Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Bengaluru.
- Launching of the Academic Bank of Credits.
- The textile technology department in S.K.S.J.T.I. Engineering college, Bengaluru, will be upgraded as a Smart and Technical Textile Centre under National Technical Textile Mission and PM-Mitra scheme.
Health and family welfare
- Launchof ‘Brain Health Initiative’ in collaboration with NIMHANS in three districts.
- Launching ‘Single Use Dialyzers’ in all district and taluka hospitals. Additionally, 173 existing dialysis centers in the state will be increased to 219 centers.
- Installation of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in memory of Karnataka Ratna, Dr. Puneet Rajkumar in all district hospitals and taluka hospitals to aid in the prevention of sudden cardiac arrest.
Medical education
- A new medical college at Kanakapura.
- Fibro scan for detection of cirrhosis and cancer in patients suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to NIMHANS.
- A new 200-bedded Mother and Child Hospital at Kalaburugi.
Agriculture sector
- Rs.100 crores for Krishi Bhagya
- Agri Startup scheme ‘Navodyama’ to add value to crops: Rs.10 crores.
- Branding of Nandini milk, and Nandini milk products: Rs.10 crores.
- Five crore rupees will be provided to support FPOs, Start-Ups and micro food processing entrepreneurs.
Horticulture sector
- Branding of Karnataka coffee and encourage coffee eco-tourism.
- New program to promote production, research, marketing and branding of the Mysuru Mallige (Jasmine), Nanjangudu Rasabale (Banana) and Mysuru Veelyadele (Beetle Leaf) of Mysuru.
Animal husbandry
- To provide for supply of protein rich quality meat and eggs to consumers at affordable rates, projects to promote and process animal products besides value addition units and modern markets with private participation.
Fisheries
- A subsidy of Rs. 50,000 per fishing boat
- Special scheme to promote Katla and Rohu fish seedlings.
- Doubling of cold storages available to fishermen.
Water resources
- This year, approximately 39,134 hectares of command area will be stabilized by completing Kulahalli-Hannooru, Thimmapura, SasalattiShivalingeshwara and Mantooru Mahalakshmi lift irrigation projects.
- Completing 19 tank filling projects at a cost of Rs. 770 crores.
- Balancing Reservoir near Navale in Koppala District to address the problem of contraction in water storage capacity of Tungabhadra Dam.
Women and Child Welfare
- Interest subsidy scheme for women entrepreneurs.
- 10 residential schools for children with intellectual disability.
- Self employment scheme for women acid victims.
Labour
- Insurance scheme for GIG workers.
Infrastructure
- In order to provide industrial connectivity from Devanahalli- Vijayapura –H.Cross – Vemagal – Maluru, to border of Tamilnadu; four and six lane roads, totaling a length of 123 km will be developed by the Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,826 crore under Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM).
- New civil aviation policy.
- Airstrips in Kodagu, Dharmastala, and Chikamagaluru.
- A new city gas distribution policy.
- New policy for agro processing industries.
- Comprehensive development of tourist destinations of Kitturu Karnataka Region namely, the Savadatti Yellammana Gudda, Devara Gudda, Kappattha Gudda, Badami Banashankari, Lakkundi and also the Magadi Bird Sanctuary in Gadag District.
- Film city in Mysuru under Public Private Partnership.
- Installation of Doppler Weather Radar Surveillance system from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF).
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