Bengaluru: Faced with a mammoth financial challenge, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who holds the Finance portfolio, presented the Karnataka Budget for the 2021-22 fiscal this morning at the Legislative Assembly. 

His Budget speech — Karnataka Vikasa Patra 2021 — began at 12.05 pm. Yediyurappa presented the eighth Budget in his political career and the third during his present term as the Chief Minister since July 2019. Before presenting the Budget, Yediyurappa visited Sri Raghavendraswamy Mutt at Seshadripuram and offered pujas.

As soon as the CM rose to present the Budget, Congress, under the leadership of former CM Siddharamaiah, disrupted the proceedings and staged a walkout and claimed that the Government had no “moral right” to present the Budget.

CM’s Budget address: “No taxes, including Karnataka State Sales Tax on Petrol and Diesel, have been increased and the Budget has been formulated in such a way that there will be no increase in the financial burden on the common man,” the CM said. 

On the occasion of International Women’s Day today, the CM announced a slew of measures for women empowerment. At the outset, he announced special women bus pass ‘Vanitha Sangathi’ with rebate and also special loan up to Rs. 2 crore with 4 percent interest rate to women entrepreneurs of service sectors. The CM announced 6,000 micro enterprises under RDPR to generate employment to 60,000 women; Branding and online market assistance would be provided to such enterprises. Women and Children’s Budget will be implemented under Panchayat Raj. 

Continuing the women-friendly initiatives, the CM said that Safe City Project to be speeded up and 7,500 CCTV cameras will be installed in Bengaluru. Tech-based e-beat will be introduced during night hours to ensure women’s safety.

Markets will be provided for products of women entrepreneurs in major cities of the State and unique products of women will be exhibited for a week in the cities. The CM also proposed establishment of e-markets.

“Excellence Centre to help women who are subjected to harassment and abuse; NIMHANS and NLSIU to be roped in for this initiative. The Government will upgrade Anganwadis to Shishu Palana Kendras (crèches) and to help women, such centres will be opened at all district offices,” the CM said. 

State revenues will not meet last year’s Budget targets. Will admit that there is an imbalance in expenditure and revenue, he said. “Tax revenues of both State and Centre are down. As a result, the tax share of States has decreased. GST devolution funds for the year reduced by around Rs. 8,000 crore compared to Budget estimates,” he said.

“We handled natural disasters and COVID pandemic efficiently, despite revenue shortage. We managed committed expenditures at the period of crisis without delaying payment of salaries and other expenses. Due to lockdown, Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has declined. According to estimates, GSDP has dropped 2.6 percent compared to 2019-20 fiscal. Agricultural sector has grown 4 percent. Services and industry sector are down 3 percent and 5 percent,” he said. 

Kannada language tech: CM Yediyurappa announced the development of a suite of technical tools for Kannada language at an expenditure of Rs. 2 crore to enable use of Kannada in Information Technology. 

Meanwhile, digitisation of all works from the times of Adikavi Pampa to Muddanna are to be made available through internet. 

The CM also announced the construction of new Anubhava Mantapa at Basavakalyana at a cost of Rs.500 crore; works to start soon. A grant of Rs.5 crore will be provided for the development of the birth place of Jagajyothi Basavanna at Ingaleshwara village in Basavanabagevadi taluk.

What Mysuru has got

Regional Cancer Centre like Kidwai Hospital in Bengaluru

Temporary residential facility for construction workers

Rs. 1 crore for staging Dr. S.L. Bhyrappa’s ‘Parva’ play through Rangayanas 

Integrated theme park at downstream of Kabini Dam under PPP model at a cost of Rs. 50 crore

Weekend Tourism Circuits to be identified around Bengaluru

Bonanza for Women

Special women bus pass ‘Vanitha Sangathi’

Loan up to Rs. 2 crore with 4 percent interest

6,000 micro enterprises to employ 60,000 women

Safe City Project to be speeded up for women’s safety

Tech-based e-beat during night hours

HIGHLIGHTS

• Stamp duty for first registration of apartments costing Rs. 35 lakh to Rs. 45 lakh to be reduced to 3 percent from 5 percent

• CM sets target for Stamps and Registration Department to Rs. 12,665 crore

• Excise revenue target for 2021-22 fiscal is Rs. 24,580 crore. Target for Transport Department is Rs. 7,515 crore

• Two new townships on Bengaluru-Mumbai & Bengaluru-Chennai corridor

• Rs. 850 crore budgeted this year for Sub-Urban Rail Project 

• State to float ‘Swiss Challenge’ tender to take up Peripheral Ring Road 

   works around Bengaluru 

• Bengaluru Signature Business Park to come up next to Kempegowda

   International Airport Limited

• Water testing labs in 26 AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban 

   Transformation) cities at a cost of Rs. 17 crore

• Material Recovery Centre of 10-tonne capacity at five City Corporations to 

 dispose of non-biodegradable waste. Project to cost Rs. 11 crore

• State to establish Venture Capital Fund of Rs. 100 crore

• Karnataka to construct Yathri Nivas at Ayodhya at a cost of Rs. 10 crore; UP Government to provide 10 acres of land for construction of Yathri Nivas

• Rs. 3,000 crore fund for reviving lakes and ponds across Karnataka

• Rs. 500 crore to be allocated for food start-ups to encourage organic farming;  New Food Park to come up in Vijayapura

• Increase reservation for farmers’ children from 40 to 50 percent in  Agriculture University

• For small food processing units, Government to increase subsidies to 50 percent; Rs. 50 crore set aside. Horticulture Technology Park at Koppal

• One gaushala in each district

• To encourage ayurvedic medicine in Veterinary Science, a new research institute at a cost of Rs. 2 crore at Veterinary College, Shivamogga

• Rs. 30 crore allocated to set up fish sale units and Matysa Darshinis

•  APMCs to be computerised at a cost of Rs. 198 crore

• Rs. 100 crore to develop 50 Schools under the Kendriya Vidyalaya model. 

• Rs. 100 crore for providing toilets construction in Schools and Colleges. 

• Under a new ‘Samarthya-Sarathya’ programme, Rs. 5 crore allocated for training five lakh students for competitive exams

• More ICUs to come up in Hospitals across Karnataka

• ICUs of 25-bed and 6-bed capacities will be established in 19 districts and 

  100 Taluk Hospitals at a cost of Rs. 60 crore in the next two years

• Anti-microbial resistance unit for Rs. 1 crore. Laboratories at Rs. 10 crore 

 to detect hereditary metabolic diseases in Bengaluru and Ballari to reduce infant mortality rate

• Rs. 2 crore for Tele-ICU facilities. Ayurvedic College in Shivamogga to be upgraded to Ayush University

• Regional cancer centres along the lines of Kidwai Hospital at Mysuru and Shivamogga at a cost of Rs. 100 crore.

• 75% subsidy for sucking and jetting machines; Rs. 2 crore grant for purpose

• Kolhapur Footwear Cluster at Nippani, Belagavi district

•  Rs. 500 crore grant for Development Corporations of backward communities

• Rs. 1,500 crore allocated for welfare of minority communities. Rs. 200 crore for renovation/repair of churches, assistance to orphanages, and others

• Rs. 20 crore for infrastructure facilities at Shravanabelagola

• Government to set up 25 mobile check-up centres for construction workers

• Government to modernise ITIs in the State with collaboration with Tata

• Around 150 Government ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) to be upgraded at a cost of Rs. 4,636 crore to create trained human resources

• Various engineering divisions of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj to be merged into one to reduce administrative expenditure

• Rs. 1,500 crore grant for Kalyana Karnataka Development Board