Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will present a record 16th Budget in the Legislative Assembly on Mar. 7, marking his eighth as CM and the rest in his tenure as the State’s Finance Minister.

With an already strained infrastructure set to face extreme summer heat and monsoon challenges, residents are wary of potential tax and price hikes. The key challenge will be balancing development with mounting cost of social welfare schemes, particularly 5 guarantees while managing borrowings.

In the previous Budget, Karnataka’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was projected at Rs. 28.09 lakh crore, with borrowings at Rs. 1.05 lakh crore — marking a 23 percent rise from FY 2023-24. This year, GSDP is estimated to touch Rs. 32 lakh crore, pushing borrowings past Rs. 1.5 lakh crore.

The State’s debt burden is projected to hit Rs. 6.65 lakh crore by end of 2024-25, nearing 25 percent borrowing limit under the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act. The Budget size is expected to exceed Rs. 4 lakh crore, up from Rs. 3.71 lakh crore last year. The allocations for guarantees may cross                     Rs. 52,000 crore.