Opinion | A budget focusing on job generation

In his Budget speech, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy focused on employment generation, Rural Development and Urban Development.

He mentioned that Karnataka is the biggest non-rainfall area after Rajasthan and in the past 17 years, the state has not received regular rainfall, with 150 taluks having drought-recognised areas.

In the loan waiver scheme for farmers, commercial banks came forward for one-time settlement. Suddenly, they backed out of the scheme. In the budget presentation, there is a lucrative point for all-round development of the state - whether it is industry, agriculture, horticulture or service sector. In his presentation, he has proposed to develop water banks in almost all the villages by earmarking Rs 1,680 crore.

For the first time, the Chief Minister has given thrust on almost all taluks whether it is south, north, east and west. In addition to ‘Compete China’, nine districts have been identified with the cluster support which will support the farmers. It will also lead to creation of huge employment, one lakh per district. The initiative to develop Vasanthanarasapura Industrial Area is also admirable.

Creation of four new taluks - Harohalli, Chelur, Kalasa, Terdal- will definitely benefit the state.

Expenditure of Rs 638 crore under Ksheera Bhagya cheme for schoolgoing children and Rs 405 crore for Anganawadi children will encourage more children to enrol and continue their education. The Rs 125-crore grant for Shivamogga city and Rs 150-crore grant for Mysuru city should be utilised and spent on infrastructure development.

Development of Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga airstrips under PPP model and new airport in Hassan will attract more tourists to these places, but speedy completion of these projects is more important, since it is pending for many years now.

Helping of startups in Bengaluru City by strengthening the “Incubation Centre” is a welcome move since Bengaluru is one of the leaders in start-ups.

The grant of Rs 5 crore to launch six Double Decker open buses from KSTDC in line with London Big Bus for sightseeing of famous tourist places of Mysuru will attract more tourists to Mysuru and can be extended to other tourist towns based on the feedback from the tourists. Kolar, which is one of the largest tomato markets in the country, will get tomato processing unit. Food processing units should be established in all districts/taluks of the state as the farmers lose a lot of fruits, vegetables since they cannot sell or transport them, during harsh weather conditions.

(The writer is the President of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry)