The Budget has a strong focus on healthcare infrastructure, with 14 Critical Care Blocks of 50-bed capacity constructed across the state and a 100-bed Critical Care Block in Bengaluru.
Published Mar 07, 2025 | 5:14 PM ⚊ Updated Mar 07, 2025 | 5:15 PM
The government has allocated ₹320 crore for a mission-mode programme aimed at reducing the maternal mortality rate. (Supplied)
Synopsis: In a first in the country, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced a policy to provide treatment to women suffering from burns. The state Budget, presented on Friday, has emphasised strengthening the medical infrastructure and providing access to quality health care.
Karnataka has become the first state in India to introduce a policy aimed at preventing and treating burns in women.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced the policy while presenting the Budget for the financial year 2025-26 in the state legislative assembly on Friday, 7 March.
With an estimated total expenditure of ₹4,09,549 crore, the Budget emphasised strengthening the healthcare infrastructure, reducing the maternal mortality rate, and improving access to quality medical services in the state.
Siddaramaiah said the government would introduce a pioneering policy focused on preventing and treating burns in women, making Karnataka the first state in the country to implement such an initiative.
Additionally, the honorarium of ASHA workers will be increased by ₹1,000. A major programme to diagnose rare metabolic disorders in prenatal and infant stages will be implemented on a pilot basis in Kalyana Karnataka and other mining-affected areas.
“We believe that a healthy population is a prerequisite for building an equal society. We are committed to ensuring quality health services from birth to all age groups without discrimination at affordable rates. It is our resolve to reduce the preventable maternal mortality rate to zero,” Siddaramaiah said.
To achieve this goal, the government has allocated ₹320 crore for a mission-mode programme aimed at reducing maternal mortality rate.
Hospitals will be equipped with advanced technology to treat and prevent postpartum hemorrhage, while nutrition kits, financial incentives, and Vatsalya Kits will be provided to pregnant women in backward districts to prevent anemia.
Maternal and Child Care specialists will be deputed in every taluka hospital, and “maternal mortality cases in the state will be subject to the audit of the State Technical Expert Committee, and its recommendations will be submitted to the State Empowered Committee. Programmes to reduce maternal mortality will be formulated based on the Committee’s directives,” the chief minister said.
The Budget has a strong focus on healthcare infrastructure, with 14 Critical Care Blocks of 50-bed capacity constructed across the state and a 100-bed Critical Care Block in Bengaluru.
Approval has been given for 50-bed Mother and Child Hospitals in Athani, Hunagunda, and Mudhol. Under the AshaKiran National Blindness Prevention Programme, eye tests have been conducted for 1.4 crore people, leading to the distribution of 3.3 lakh free eyeglasses and 93,800 cataract surgeries.
The Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (KaBHI) has conducted 2.61 lakh check-ups in collaboration with NIMHANS, providing treatment to 32,630 neurological patients.
To expand this initiative, ₹20 crore has been allocated. Additionally, Wellness Centres for mental health patients will be set up in district hospitals in collaboration with non-government organisations.
Further health infrastructure improvements in 2025-26 include the construction of a state-of-the-art, 200-bed hospital in Bengaluru North Taluk at a cost of ₹150 crore. Several taluka hospitals, including those in Maluru, Magadi, Kushalanagar, and others, will undergo renovations at a total cost of ₹650 crore.
A new medical college will be established at Puttur by upgrading the existing 100-bed taluka hospital. Additionally, a 200-bed hospital will be constructed in Molakalmuru, Chitradurga district, while Virajapete in Kodagu district will see the establishment of a 400-bed hospital.
In Mysuru, the Community Health Centre at Tagaduru will be upgraded to a 100-bed hospital.
Recognising the need for improved healthcare access, the Budget allocated ₹873 crore for the Kalyana Karnataka Comprehensive Health Scheme.
Cashless treatment of up to ₹5 lakh will be provided to more than three lakh government employees and their dependents under the Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust, with a monthly contribution of ₹100 from employees and ₹200 from the government.
“To prevent cervical cancer in women, a programme will be formulated to vaccinate women of 14 years of age with HPV vaccine in 20 taluks of mining-affected areas and Kalyan Karnataka region in the first phase at a cost of ₹9 crore,” the chief minister announced.
Meanwhile, the ‘Gruha Aarogya Scheme,’ piloted in Kolar to screen and treat six non-communicable diseases, will be expanded statewide at a cost of ₹100 crore.
To improve emergency healthcare, the Aarogya Kavacha (108 ambulance service) Command Control Centre will be brought under the Health and Family Welfare Department.
A special mission-mode programme, with an allocation of ₹50 crore, will be implemented to control communicable diseases like chikungunya, dengue, and Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD).
The Budget has set aside ₹12 crore for the Shravana Sanjeevini Programme, which will facilitate cochlear implant surgeries and the maintenance of hearing implants.
The Budget also included a plan to deploy 100 TrueNAT machines in high-TB caseload health centres.
Food safety is another crucial aspect covered in the Budget. Mobile laboratories will be used to analyse food samples to ensure quality, and legal action will be taken against suppliers of unsafe and substandard food.
“Karnataka will introduce a pioneering policy focused on preventing and treating burn injuries among women. This will be a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country,” Siddaramaiah said.
Medical education in Karnataka will see a major boost, with 114 modular operation theatres installed at a cost of ₹177 crore and 64 anesthesia workstations installed at an estimated cost of ₹34 crore.
A super-specialty cardiac unit with a Cath lab has been set up at Gadag Medical College for ₹10 crore, and a Mother and Child Hospital has been established in Kalaburagi at a cost of ₹92 crore, while Jayadeva Cardiology Hospital has been launched there at a cost of ₹304 crore.
The Nephro-Urology Institute in Bengaluru, built at a cost of ₹26 crore, will soon be dedicated to public service.
“It is envisaged to establish a constituent medical college of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences in Bagalkot and a Medical College on a PPP basis in Kolar,” the chief minister said.
Additionally, a cancer diagnosis unit will be started at Bidar Government Medical College.
To further improve medical education, fully equipped trauma care centers will be set up in Badami Taluka and Chitradurga.
Allied Health Science Courses will be introduced in 22 medical colleges, while Regional Endocrinology Centres will be established at Mysuru and Kalaburagi Medical Colleges at a cost of ₹100 crore.
Institutes modeled on NIMHANS will be created at Mysuru and Kalaburagi Medical Colleges, each with an investment of ₹100 crore.
A super-specialty hospital under the Koppal Institute of Medical Sciences will be set up at a cost of ₹100 crore, while new nursing colleges will be established in Yalburga, Jevargi, and Yadgir.
A ‘Comprehensive Health Programme’ will be implemented over the next three years under the Brand Bengaluru Plan at a cost of ₹413 crore to make Bengaluru a city of global health standards.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
