Published Feb 01, 2026 | 6:13 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 01, 2026 | 6:13 PM
Karnataka Minister for Commerce and Industries MB Patil.
Synopsis: Karnataka Minister for Commerce and Industries MB Patil said the Union Budget 2026–27, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, offers little benefit to the state, arguing that the newly announced high-speed rail routes from Bengaluru to Hyderabad and Chennai barely run within Karnataka. He also said key demands raised by Karnataka, including national project status for the Upper Krishna River Project, were ignored despite the state’s contribution to the national economy.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced seven high-speed rail corridors connecting large cities across the country, including routes from Bengaluru to Hyderabad and Chennai, while presenting the Union Budget 2026–27 on Sunday, 1 February. The announcement drew praise from Karnataka BJP leaders.
Karnataka Minister for Commerce and Industries MB Patil said the proposal would bring little benefit to the state. He said trains on both announced routes would not run even 100 kilometres within Karnataka. He said a railway corridor should instead have been proposed between Bengaluru and Pune.
“Instead, such a corridor should come up between Bengaluru and Pune. For this, the state and Maharashtra MPs should raise their voices in a non-partisan manner,” he told reporters in Bengaluru.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced that the Centre would support states in creating five university townships near major industrial logistics centres, along with five regional medical tourism hubs.
Patil said these initiatives draw from the Karnataka government’s Knowledge, Wellbeing and Innovation City (KWIN City) model.
The 5,800-acre KWIN City project was unveiled by the state in 2024 to host global education and medical campuses, research centres and healthcare facilities. It is planned between Dabaspet and Doddaballapur on the north-western periphery of Bengaluru.
Patil said the first phase of the project is under way on 2,000 acres. Campuses of leading global universities, hospitals and research institutions will be set up as part of this phase, he said.
He said several agreements have already been signed, with the project expected to be fully realised within the next two years.
“By announcing similar projects in the Union Budget, the Central government has effectively followed Karnataka’s model,” he said.
The minister also pointed to another budget announcement he said draws from the state’s initiatives: the ‘Biopharma Shakti’ programme, which aims to strengthen domestic production of biologics and biosimilars.
“The biopharma hub proposal follows the State’s initiatives. Karnataka had already set up a dedicated vision group for this,” Patil said, adding that this shows the Union Budget is drawing from Karnataka’s development-led models.
Patil also said several demands raised by the state ahead of the Budget were missing from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech.
“Our demand was that the Upper Krishna River Project should be declared a national project and that the ₹5,600 crore already earmarked for the Upper Bhadra River Project should be released. There is no mention of these in the Budget. In addition, there is no scheme that would help the farming community,” he said.
Patil said the state had also sought approval for two defence corridors but had not been heard.
“Given the strong aerospace and defence industry ecosystem in the state, this should have been considered in the Budget. But Nirmala Sitharaman did not even raise a finger on this. This is injustice to us,” he said.
He said the state’s demands for more central support were fair, given Karnataka’s “substantial contribution in terms of tax revenue, industrial growth, and other areas.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
