Karnataka budget: Siddaramaiah announces expenditure of Rs. 3.27 lakh crore
Karnataka Chief Minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Friday presented a state budget of Rs. 3,27,747 crore. This includes Rs. 2,50,933 crore for revenue expenditure, Rs. 54,374 crore for capital expenditure, and Rs. 22,441 crore for loan repayment. Siddaramaiah also announced that the excise duty on liquor in the state has been hiked by 20% as well.
Why does this story matter?
This is the first budget since the Congress defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka in May. The budget presents Siddaramaiah with a unique challenge in mobilizing resources for the implementation of the "five guarantees" while making room for other development projects. In June, Siddaramaiah promised to fulfill the five guarantees, made before the election, in the current fiscal year.
Siddaramaiah government announces 11% budget allocation for education
Siddaramaiah also announced allocations for various sectors, including Rs. 24,166 crore for Women and Child Development and Rs. 37,587 crore for Education, which are 7% and 11% of the total 2023-23 state budget allocation, respectively. The state government also pledged to provide Rs. 14,950 crore, approximately 4% of the total budget, for Health and Family welfare.
Siddaramaiah keeps pre-poll promises in new budget announcement
As part of his government's five pre-poll promises, the Karnataka CM announced that each and every household in the state would receive an average of Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 5,000 in additional financial aid every month. Notably, these measures from the Siddaramaiah government aim to provide financial support and assist nearly 1.3 crore families in Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah government allots funds to improve Bengaluru's traffic woes
In addition, Siddaramaiah stated that Rs. 30,000 crore has been allocated to the Namma Metro of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) for further development to ease Bengaluru's ongoing traffic woes. Other than this, around Rs. 45,000 crore has also been allotted in the budget for the development works around the state's capital city.
Liquor excise duty hiked by 20% in Karnataka
As a tactical measure to secure additional revenue, the state government suggested a 20% hike in the current duty rates on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) across all 18 slabs. Furthermore, Siddaramaiah also announced a 185% increase in the duty on beer from 175%, which will result in a higher tax rate for beer in the state.
Siddaramaiah explains logic behind increase in excise rates
"Even after the increase in excise rates, the price of liquor in our state would be lower when compared to the neighboring states," Siddaramaiah said during his budget speech. "With these hikes and effective enforcement and regulatory measures, the revenue collection target for the Excise Department for the year 2023-24 is fixed at Rs. 36,000 crore," PTI quoted him as saying.
