On Friday, Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah presented the last Budget for the State. Later this year, Assembly elections would be held and the next Budget will be given by the victorious party.
This year’s Budget primarily focused on agriculture subsidies, water conservation projects and farm loans. The CM allocated Rs. 5,849 crores for the agriculture sector in total. From this budget, Rs. 845 crores will be used under the Karnataka Raitha Surkasha Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana. Another Rs. 50 crores will be invested in organic farming and to build an agriculture college. The college will be set up in Chamrajanagar district in South Karnataka.
The Congress leader also announced a scheme called Raita Belaku to help the dry land farmers in the State. Under this scheme, 70 lakh dry farmers will receive an annual income of Rs. 5,00 to Rs. 10,000 per hectare of land. A total of Rs. 3,500 crores will be invested in this scheme.
Siddaramaiah also allocated Rs. 200 crores to the Christian community. He also announced Rs. 80 crores would be used to help in comprehensive developments in the Sikh and Jain communities.
A total of Rs. 26,846 crores will be dedicated to develop the education sector of Karnataka. This money will go towards updating libraries and setting up closed circuit television cameras in all government schools. This budget will also cover the education for all female students in government run institutions till post graduation. CM Siddaramaiah also announced free bus passes for all the students in the State.
