Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the State budget on Friday, July 7, announcing that Rs 52,000 crore has been allocated for the five guarantees announced by the Congress in its election campaign in the state. It is part of the total budget of Rs 3.27 lakh crore.
This is the first budget since the Congress came to power in the state and all eyes were on Siddaramaiah and the Congress over the five pre-poll guarantees of Congress.
Decrying the dismissal of the five guarantees as ‘freebie’, Siddaramaiah said, “I would like to address those members of the opposition who are criticising our five guarantees, spreading false news about them and creating confusion among people. Those who are commenting that guarantee schemes are mere freebies may look once at the lives of our poor people and workers. Carry out your responsibility as the opposition party; but, I request you not to insult the wisdom of the common people. People are intelligent. They are wise. They will not believe in such illogical criticism.”
The estimated cost of the five guarantee schemes is Rs 52,000 crore. Key announcements in the budget include the formation of a new education policy to replace the National Education Policy. The government will adopt a new policy which will focus on the local cultural, economic and social conditions. Students from Classes 1 to 10 will now get either egg, peanut chikki or banana twice a week instead of once a week. Indira Canteens will also be restarted along with new ones being constructed in the new wards made after delimitation and Rs 100 crore allocated for this purpose.
Other highlights from the budget speech include excise duty on Indian-made liquor being hiked by 20% and the additional excise duty on beer has been increased from 175% to 185%. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been allocated for Indira canteens. Delivery partners of e-commerce companies like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon and others will get life and accident insurance of Rs 4 lakh. A new medical college will be established in Kanakapura and the new medical college in Chitradurga will commence admissions in the present academic year.
The government has also decided to drop the controversial ‘deemed expenditure’ clause [(Section 7(d)] of the Karnataka Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act. The government will also be revising the guidance value of all immovable properties in the state.
In his speech, Siddaramaiah also accused the Union government of withholding the state’s share of taxes. “The Union government has denied Karnataka our rightful share of taxes and has withheld recommended funds under the 15th Finance Commission,” he said. Further adding, “The Union government doesn't share cess and surcharge with states. A total of Rs 5.20 lakh crore has been held by the Union government under cess and surcharge which has reduced the tax share of state governments,” he said.
For the year 2023-24, the government is expecting to receive a total of Rs 2.38 lakh crore as revenue. The total receipts for the year are estimated to be Rs 3.24 lakh crore. The total budget outlay is Rs 3.27 lakh crore.