Karnataka budget for 2023-24 has a total outlay of ₹3.27 lakh crore; borrowings of over ₹86k crore draws opposition ire.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year on Friday. (supplied)
On Friday, 7 July, when Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented Karnataka’s budget for 2023-2024, there was little doubt that the five poll guarantees of the Congress were his government’s priority.
The implementation of the guarantees will come at the cost of higher revenue generation targets — to be achieved through an increase in additional tax on liquor, and a proposal to revise the guidance value of immovable properties — along with additional borrowings.
With a budget of ₹3.27 lakh crore, Siddaramaiah committed ₹39,575 crore this fiscal to implement four of the poll guarantees promised by the Congress, while maintaining that all five could cost the exchequer ₹52,062 crore annually.
The cost for this fiscal is marginally lower as the implementation of the schemes takes effect after the first quarter.
Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, presented a record 14th budget of his political career, overtaking former chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde.
Friday’s budget was also the first time that Siddaramaiah — otherwise known to be fiscally prudent — presented a revenue deficit budget, a key norm of the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2002.
Heavily focused on social welfare schemes and being critical of those deriding them as “freebies”, Siddaramaiah insisted that his government was committed to the upliftment of the marginalised classes.
The budget saw an increase in size by ₹62,027 crore, up 23 percent when compared to the 2022-23 budget, where the size was ₹2.65 lakh crore.
Siddaramaiah told reporters: “Of the total expenditure, revenue expenditure is ₹2,50,933 crore and capital expenditure is ₹54,374 crores. The revenue expenditure has increased by 23 percent and capital expenditure has increased by 16 percent compared to the 2022-23 budget.”
“We have budgeted a total borrowing of ₹85,818 crore for the current fiscal year. The revenue deficit for 2023-24 is estimated at ₹12,523 crore.”
“Fiscal deficit is estimated at ₹66,646 crore, which is 2.6 percent of the state GDP, and total outstanding liabilities of the state is estimated to reach ₹5,71,665 crore at the end of fiscal year, which is 22.3 percent of state GDP.
“As per the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2022, fiscal deficit has to be within 3 percent of state GDP and total outstanding liabilities within 25 percent of state GDP,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the state government had fulfilled both the criteria mandated under the aforementioned act.
The budget, however, is a revenue deficit budget, violating the Act.
Interestingly, Siddaramaiah announced the restoration of various schemes and project launched by his government in its last tenure, that were either discontinued or not implemented by the previous BJP government.
Siddaramaiah said about ₹52,000 crore would be the estimated cost to implement the five poll guarantees of the Congress. For the 2023-24 fiscal year, however, only ₹39,575 crore has been set aside for four of the five guarantees — Shakti, Gruha Lakshmi, Gruha Jyothi and Anna Bhagya.
No estimate was made for Yuva Nidhi in the budget, though the scheme was frequently mentioned.
Siddaramaiah said: “The Shakti scheme will help in promoting the economic growth of the state by increasing women’s participation in employment opportunities. Around 49.6 lakh women will benefit from the Shakti scheme and allocation of ₹2,800 crore has been made for the current fiscal year.”
ಅವಕಾಶಗಳ ಜಗತ್ತನ್ನು ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸಲು ಮಹಿಳೆಯರಿಗೆ ರೆಕ್ಕೆ ನೀಡಲಿದೆ ‘ಶಕ್ತಿ’.#ಜನಸಾಮಾನ್ಯರಬಜೆಟ್ #ಕರ್ನಾಟಕಬಜೆಟ್ #KarnatakaBudget2023 pic.twitter.com/UP3gLrCm2F
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 7, 2023
“This scheme has been in effect since 11 June. The scheme has received overwhelming response as more than 13.65 crore trips have been taken by women in the state for free since its launch,” added the chief minister.
Stating that about 99 percent of the total domestic consumers will benefit from Gruha Jyothi scheme, Siddaramaiah said: “Under this scheme, 200 units of free electricity per month is provided to improve the quality of life of common people.”
“About 99 percent of the total domestic consumers will benefit from this scheme. A total of ₹9,000 crore is allocated for this scheme in the current fiscal year,” the Chief Minister said, adding that over one crore people have enrolled for the scheme.
Announcing that the enrolment process for Gurha Lakshmi will kick-start from 16 July, Siddaramaiah pointed out: “This scheme will help in poverty alleviation, women empowerment, improvement in health and nutrition of mother and children, and economic self-reliance of women within the household.”
“The direct cash transfer will not only boost the local economy through multiplier effects, but also help to create employment. Around 1.3 crore women will benefit from this scheme. A total grant of ₹17,500 crore has been allocated for this fiscal year,” the chief minister said.
The scheme will be launched either on 15 or 16 August, he added.
Lashing out at the Union government for halting the supply of rice to the state governments, Siddaramaiah said: “The Anna Bhagya scheme will make Karnataka a hunger-free state and will help to eradicate malnutrition. The scheme will benefit about 4.42 crore people.”
“An allocation of ₹10,275 crores has been provided for this scheme.”
“As the Food Corporation of India (FCI), which is under the control of the Union Government, has abruptly decided to stop sale of food grains to the state, a cash equivalent to the cost of 5 kg of food grains will be transferred to the card holder’s account until the required amount of rice is procured,” the chief minister said.
He added that the scheme would be extended to 40 lakh BPL card holders that were not approved by the Union government.
In what came as a surprise, Siddaramaiah did not allocate any grants to implement the Yuva Nidhi scheme in the budget. However, he told reporters that the state government has allocated ₹250 crore to implement the scheme for this fiscal year.
“This scheme is intended to provide moral support to unemployed youth by providing financial assistance to degree and diploma holders for a period of two years. Around 3.7 lakh youth will benefit from this scheme,” the chief minister said, though he is yet to announce its launch date.
Asserting that the five guarantees are aimed at implementing the concept of Universal Basic Income, Siddaramaiah said: “By implementing all five guarantee schemes, about ₹52,062 crore will be disbursed to approximately 1.30 crore families in a year.”
“Hence, approximately, financial assistance of ₹4,000 to ₹5,000 per month to each family — an average of ₹48,000 to ₹60,000 annually — would be given. These guarantees are aimed to implement the concept of Universal Basic Income for the first time in the country and create a new model of development,” added the chief minister.
ನಾಡಿನ ಏಳು ಕೋಟಿ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೂ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಯಾವುದಾದರೊಂದು ಯೋಜನೆಯ ಫಲಾನುಭವಿ ಆಗಬೇಕು ಎಂಬ ಸದಾಶಯದೊಂದಿಗೆ ರೂಪಿಸಿರುವ ಸರ್ವರನ್ನೂ ಒಳಗೊಂಡ, ಸರ್ವತೋಮುಖ ಪ್ರಗತಿಯ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಮಾದರಿಯ ಬಜೆಟ್ ಇದಾಗಿದೆ.
ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಪೂರ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ನೀಡಿದ್ದ 5 ಗ್ಯಾರೆಂಟಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಅನುದಾನ ಒದಗಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ನುಡಿದಂತೆ ನಡೆದಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು… pic.twitter.com/v2KbwiFBCE
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 7, 2023
Siddaramaiah announced the restoration of many schemes, including Krishi Bhagya and Anugraha that were either discontinued or not effectively implemented by the previous BJP government.
Apart from Krishi Bhagya and Anugraha, these schemes are Krishi Yantradhare Kendra, Arivu, Vidyasiri and the APMC Act.
Announcing the restoration of Krishi Bhagya, Siddaramaiah pointed out: “Krishi Bhagya scheme, launched by our government earlier, was very popular and helpful to farmers. In convergence with Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme, this will be launched again with an allocation of ₹100 crore.”
“In the previous tenure of our government (2013-18), Krishi Yantradhare Kendra (custom hiring centres) were established to provide agricultural equipment on rent,” the chief minister said, restoring the agriculture-centric scheme.
He added: “Further, to strengthen these centres, it is proposed to set up 300 high-tech harvester hubs in a phased manner and 100 hubs will be set-up at a cost of ₹50 crore in this fiscal year.”
Accusing the previous government of neglecting the Anugraha scheme, Siddaramaiah said: “This scheme was started by our government to redress the issues faced by the farmers due to livestock fatalities. But the previous government neglected it, reflecting the lack of sensitivity towards the plight of farmers.”
“The scheme will be reintroduced to provide compensation of ₹5,000 for the accidental deaths of sheep and goats, and ₹10,000 for cows, buffalos and bulls,” added the chief minister.
Stating that his government will relaunch Arivu scheme, Siddaramaiah said: “Under this scheme, education loans up to a maximum of ₹1 lakh at 2 percent interest was provided to the students belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) pursuing professional courses like engineering, medicine, and others.”
“Around 11,956 students were beneficiaries of this scheme during my previous government. Unfortunately, this scheme was discontinued by the previous government from 2020-21. Our government will now relaunch this scheme,” added the Chief Minister.
Alleging that Vidyasiri scheme was not properly implemented by the previous government, Siddaramaiah said: “Under this scheme, for the students who have not obtained admission in government hostels, an amount of ₹15,000 was provided for food and accommodation at an annual budget of ₹432 crore.”
Announcing the relaunch of the post-matric scholarship programme for OBCs, Siddaramaiah said: “In our previous tenure, to encourage enrolment of students belonging to OBCs in higher education, post-matric scholarship of ₹881 crore was granted to 24 lakh students.”
“But, the scheme was neglected by the previous government and not implemented in the last three fiscal years. The discontinued programme will be now relaunched,” added the chief minister.
Criticising the previous government for not showing any interest in continuing the Indira Canteen project and denying the benefits of the scheme to the poor, Siddaramaiah said: “In Phase-1, with a new menu, Indira Canteen scheme will be relaunched in BBMP and all other urban local bodies of the state.”
In order to finance the implementation of the five guarantees and fill the government coffers, Siddaramaiah has increased the revenue target of at least four departments in his budget.
The chief minister has set a target of ₹98,650 crores for the Commercial Taxes Department, where the actual receipts were ₹81,991 crore in 2022-23. Similarly, a target of ₹36,000 crore has been set for the Excise Department for the current fiscal year, where the actual receipts were ₹29,920 crore in the previous fiscal year.
A revenue target of ₹25,000 crore has been set for the Stamps and Registration Department, where the actual receipts were ₹17,726 crore. A revenue target of ₹11,500 crore has been set-up for the Motor Vehicle Department, where the actual receipts were ₹9,622 crore in the previous fiscal.
Additional excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) has been increased by 20 percent in all 18 slabs. The duty on beer has been increased from 175 to 185 percent.
“Since the outbreak of Covid-19, rates of immovable properties have not been revised after 2019-20. As there have been several physical changes in the properties, which has caused many anomalies in the guidance value of all immovable properties, it is proposed to revise the guidance value of all immovable properties from this fiscal year.”
ನಾಡಿನ ಏಳು ಕೋಟಿ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರೂ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಯಾವುದಾದರೊಂದು ಯೋಜನೆಯ ಫಲಾನುಭವಿ ಆಗಬೇಕು ಎಂಬ ಸದಾಶಯದೊಂದಿಗೆ ರೂಪಿಸಿರುವ ಸರ್ವರನ್ನೂ ಒಳಗೊಂಡ, ಸರ್ವತೋಮುಖ ಪ್ರಗತಿಯ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ ಮಾದರಿಯ ಬಜೆಟ್ ಇದಾಗಿದೆ.
ಚುನಾವಣಾ ಪೂರ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾವು ನೀಡಿದ್ದ 5 ಗ್ಯಾರೆಂಟಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಅನುದಾನ ಒದಗಿಸುವ ಮೂಲಕ ನುಡಿದಂತೆ ನಡೆದಿದ್ದೇವೆ. ರಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು… pic.twitter.com/4uQGZl7LC9
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) July 7, 2023
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
