Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the 16th Budget of the state on Friday, with a total outlay of Rs 4.095 lakh crore.
The Karnataka Budget allocated Rs 51,034 crore for the five guarantee schemes promised by the Congress government in the state. Following are the key highlights of the Karnataka Budget 2025-26:
– An amount of Rs 82,000 crore is allocated for for capital investment. This makes Karnataka one of the highest capital investment making states.
– A 4 per cent reservation for members of Muslim community has been introduced in government tenders and contracts.
– Grants worth Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for the comprehensive development of Jain, Buddhist and Sikh communities. In addition Rs 250 crore has been allocated for the development of Christian community. And a Sannati Development Authority will be established in the ancient Buddhist centre of Sannati in Chittapura taluka of Kalaburgi district.
– Annual salary of temple priests will be increased from Rs 60,000 to Rs 72,000. The honorarium given to Jain priests, Chief Grantis of Sikhs and Pesh-Imams of mosques will be enhanced to Rs 6,000 per month. The honorarium given to Assistant Granti and Muezzin has been increased to Rs 5,000 per month.
– The government has also announced construction of an additional building in Haj Bhavan at Bengaluru to provide with facilities and amenities to Haj pilgrims and their relatives.
– The government of Karnataka has committed to float a new OTT to help develop Kannada language programmes.
– The Budget allocated Rs 94,084 crore for women-centric programmes.
– For children-centric programmes, Rs 62,033 crore has been provided. Furthermore, National Foreign Student Scholarship amount given to the minority students will be enhanced from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
– Minority youth will be encouraged to launch new start-ups through the Karnataka Minority Development Corporation. Rs 150 crores has been provided for repairing and renovating Waqf properties, providing infrastructure, and protecting Muslim burial grounds.
– CM Siddaramaiah announced that multiplexes across Karnataka will now have a maximum ticket price cap of Rs 200. “The cost of the ticket of each show in all theatres of the state including multiplexes will be capped at Rs 200,” the Budget document stated.
– Monthly pension for journalists facing hardship will be increased from Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 and family pension from Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,500.
Bengaluru
– The budget allocation for Bengaluru is increased to Rs 7,000 crore. A total of Rs 1,800 crore has been earmarked for 21 projects under the Brand Bengaluru initiative.
– A ‘Comprehensive Health Programme’ will be implemented over the next three years under Brand Bengaluru Plan at a cost of Rs 413 crore with the goal of making Bengaluru a city of global health standards.
– A 40.5 km double decker flyover will be constructed at a cost of Rs 8,916 crore along with Namma Metro Phase – 3 Project to mitigate vehicular congestion and intended to make major roads of Bengaluru ensure smooth movement of traffic.
– A network of 300 km additional roads will be constructed at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore, utilising canal buffer zones.
– The arterial and sub-arterial road network in BBMP area measuring 460 km will also be developed at a cost of Rs 660 crore.
– Flyovers and Grade Separators of length 120 km will be built in the Bengaluru city.
– Rs 3,000 crore was allocated to address weather-related challenges and enhance the city’s drainage and sewage treatment infrastructure.
– Another Rs 555 crore was allocated for the fifth phase of the Cauvery water supply project, which aims to provide drinking water to 110 villages.
– The Bengaluru Metro network will also be expanded to 98.60 km, with improved connectivity to Devanahalli.
– 200-bed hospital will be constructed at a cost of Rs 150 crore in Bengaluru North.
– A new satellite market will be established in the outskirts of Bengaluru in view of the increasing vehicular congestion in the market committees in Bengaluru.
– Bangalore City University will be renamed as Dr. Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University.
