The chief minister has managed to pull off a coup, by presenting a budget that has something for everyone, viz. industry & start-ups, farm sector, ordinary workers, irrigation projects, tourism, social welfare, and the common man, by not increasing any taxes.
The expected 9.5% GSDP rides on the resilience of revenue growth exceeding the expectations.
FKCCI’s proposal to make sizable allocation for Kalyana Karnataka region has been accepted, with allocation of Rs 3,000 crore to the Region. Rural roads are also set to get a better look and shine with Rs 1600 crore allocation.
Bengalureans have a lot to smile about, with allocation of Rs 8,409 crore, apart from Rs 11,250 cr for phase-3 of Bengaluru Metro. The push for the Mekedatu project with Rs 1000-cr allocation will ease the city’s water scarcity.
Infrastructure has been given major thrust, spanning roads, rail, ports, airways, heliports, ropeways.
Indeed, if the four corridors of 148 km-sub-urban railway project is completed as per the target by 2026 at a cost of Rs 15,267 crore, the chief minister will be remembered with much affection by the ever-suffering commuters of the city.
Industry will eagerly look forward to the contours of the promised integrated employment policy and the framework of the incentives for labor-intensive industries. The push to construct futuristic integrated industrial townships in plug & play mode in each revenue division is an ambitious policy and if implemented in the right spirit in mission mode, it will give great dividends in the form of creating jobs across the state and it is a suggestion that we have been making to the government for many years.
It is a matter of pride that Karnataka has attracted 40% of Foreign Direct Investment during April-December 2021 and is number one in the country, and further, Bengaluru will get another distinction as the Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions (MICE) hub. We hope the infrastructure upgrade too will match up to its status as the start-up hub.
Another interesting mention in the budget is about the constitution of a pre-tender scrutiny committee to be headed by retired High Court Judge to scrutiny tenders of more than Rs 50 crore. This can usher in transparency in the tender process and thus relieve the concerns of a lot of businesses.
Overall, the budget definitely has something for everyone, or at any rate does not hurt most sections of the people!
(Dr I.S. Prasad is president of FKCCI)
