The Karnataka government, led by Siddaramaiah, has announced its budget for 2024-25. They plan to spend ₹3,71,383 crore this year, which is more than the ₹3,12,708 crore they spent last year. 
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has set aside ₹52,000 crore for five guarantee schemes named Shakti, Gruha Jyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuva Nidhi, and Anna Bhagya for the year 2024-25. He mentioned that each family receives an average of ₹50,000 to ₹55,000 every year through these schemes, and he strongly supports them.
Understanding Karnataka Budget
Out of the total budget of ₹3,71,383 crore for 2024-25:
- The government expects to receive ₹2,63,178 crore as revenue.
- This includes ₹1,89,893 crore from taxes collected within the state, and ₹13,500 crore from other sources like fees and fines.
- They also anticipate receiving ₹44,485 crore through tax sharing with the central government and ₹15,300 crore as grants.
- Apart from these, they plan to borrow ₹1,05,246 crore, receive non-debt capital of ₹38 crore, and get back loans worth ₹213 crore.
- In total, they estimate their receipts to be ₹3,68,674 crore for the year 2024-25.
For the year 2024-25, the total spending planned is ₹3,71,383 crore:
- ₹2,90,531 crore will go towards regular expenses like salaries and maintenance (revenue expenditure).
- ₹55,877 crore is earmarked for investments in infrastructure and assets (capital expenditure), which is slightly higher than last year.
- Additionally, ₹24,974 crore will be used to repay loans taken in the past, which has also increased
compared to the previous budget.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah hasn’t raised taxes in his budget. Instead, he aims for higher revenue goals compared to before. However, he plans to adjust the tax rates for Indian Made Liquor (IML) and beer to match those of neighboring states, making them more competitive.
Siddaramaiah’s budget special focus on Minorities
In this budget, Rs. 200 crores have been allocated for the Christian community, Rs. 100 crores for WAQF properties, Rs. 10 crores for the construction of the Mangalore Haj Bhavan, and Rs. 50 crores for the development of the Jain Pilgrimage site.
Special focus will be given to the protection and conservation of protected monuments maintained by ASI. Additionally, Rs. 20 crores will be allocated to provide basic facilities at major pilgrimage destinations.
The opposition BJP attempts to criticize the government for appeasing the minority, but the government’s counterattack would be that it has taken into account the needs of all communities. Funds have been allocated for the Hindu community as well.
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