CM Siddaramaiah to present budget today

Bengaluru, Feb 16 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is all set to present the state budget on Friday in the Assembly here.

This will be his 15th budget presentation and eighth as the chief minister, which is the highest by any CM in the state.

All eyes are on the revenue generation mechanism for the five guarantee schemes which are expected to cost the government Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore annually.

The opposition BJP and JD(S) have been claiming that the guarantee schemes have drained the treasury of the state and the government is unable to take up any development work.

CM Siddaramaiah had presented a budget with a total outlay of 3.27 lakh crore in 2023-24. According to sources, the CM is all set to present the budget with an outlay of Rs 3.80 lakh crore. The credits are expected to cross Rs 1 lakh crore.

The CM is also likely to announce the creation of new districts from existing Belagavi and Tumakuru districts.

Ahead of the budget presentation, the CM will chair a special cabinet meeting to get the approval for the budget.

BJP's state President B.Y. Vijayendra said that they have no expectation from the state budget. Taking to social media, he said on Thursday that the state budget will be a "bundle of lies and loans".