K’taka sops for students, farmers
BENGALURU: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday announced a slew of schemes targeting farmers, women and students as he wooed a cross-section of voters ahead of the assembly polls slated for May.
Siddaramaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, even used a catchphrase of his political rival BJP to drive home his message to voters ahead of the polls, which many believe could throw up a huge challenge to the ruling Congress. “This is the real meaning of inclusiveness. This is sabka saath, sabka vikas (development for all and with all),” the chief minister told the media, using a slogan popularised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This is not an election budget, this is a sensible budget,” Siddaramaiah said. “It is prudent, keeping in mind the fact that we will be voted back to power and will have to implement it.”
The chief minister gave the biggest largesse to farmers in his budget for 2018-19, in a new scheme for dry-land farmers called the ‘Raitha Belaku’, under which seven million farmers will get ₹5,000 per hectare through direct bank transfer. The amount will be capped at ₹10,000 per person, he said, adding that Karnataka had the second-highest proportion of dry land, lower only to Rajasthan. The agriculture sector allocation was increased from ₹5,080 crore in 2017-18 to ₹5,849 this time around.
The CM said girl students studying in government colleges would be exempt from paying fees from the pre-university to the post-graduation level. Siddaramaiah also announced the rollout of a universal health coverage scheme called Aarogya Karnataka, although he said the modalities of the scheme would be announced in due course.
Under another scheme, the Mukhyamantri Anila Bhagya Yojana, the government will provide free LPG connections with twin burner stoves and two refills to three million beneficiaries, with an outlay of ₹1,350 crore.
The chief minister also proposed to launch a Basava Study Centre at the University of Mysore with a grant of ₹2 crore. There was also an increase in grants given for inter-caste marriages in the budget.
“For eradication of untouchability, incentive amount will be increased from existing ₹2 lakh to ₹3 lakh for a scheduled caste boy marrying a girl from another caste and from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh for a scheduled caste girl marrying a boy from another caste. In the same model, incentive of ₹5 lakh and ₹3 lakh will be given for the marriage of female and male children of Devadasis.”
The CM said the state’s GSDP had grown at 8.5%, as opposed to 7.5% in the previous year. “We have also maintained fiscal discipline as the deficit was 2.54%, and we have projected it at 2.49% in the coming financial year, much below the 3% mandated by the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act.” For the first time the budget crossed the ₹2 lakh crore mark in Karnataka. This was Siddaramaiah’s 13th budget.