Here are the big stories from Karnataka today
The Hindu
Karnataka Today newsletter: Siddaramaiah presents revenue-deficit State Budget with outlay of ₹3.71 lakh crore, and more
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, presented a revenue-deficit Karnataka Budget for 2024-25 on February 16 with a total outlay pegged at ₹3,71,383 crore, as against a revised estimate of ₹3,12,708 crore for 2023-24.
Mr. Siddaramaiah earmarked ₹52,000 crore for the implementation of five guarantee schemes of Shakti, Gruha Jyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuva Nidhi and Anna Bhagya in 2024-25. “An average of ₹50,000 to ₹55,000 is transferred to each family every year through guarantee schemes,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said while putting up an impassioned defence of the schemes.
The the deficit has been pegged at ₹27,354 crore. While the Chief Minister has not increased any taxes, the net borrowings have crossed ₹1 lakh crore, perhaps for the first time in a year.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has proposed to develop a dedicated economic corridor between Bengaluru and Mangaluru besides announcing feasibility study to construct an international cruise and tourism port in Dakshina Kannada district. However, the CM has not made any budgetary provision for this.
On the lines of the Mumbai-Chennai economic corridor, the government has planned similar corridors between the New Mangalore Port and Bengaluru, as well as Bidar and Bengaluru. The Mangaluru corridor would ensure speedy access to the port and significantly reduce the freight transport time to Europe and the Middle East.
The healthcare sector in Karnataka received a boost as Siddaramaiah’s Budget announced new projects for Mysuru, Kodagu, and Chamarajanagar districts to improve medical and patient care. The budget has provision for an exclusive outpatient block in the premises of K.R. Hospital at a cost of ₹75 crore.
This is part of the commemoration of the centenary celebrations of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI), one of the oldest medical colleges in India. K.R. Hospital — a teaching hospital of MMCRI in Mysuru — handles over 9 lakh outpatients annually, perhaps the highest by a State-run hospital in Karnataka.
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