Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said about Rs 52,000 crore would be spent annually to implement the five key poll promises of the Congress party as he presented the 2023-24 budget in the Legislative Assembly.

Siddaramaiah also proposed to hike additional excise duty on Indian Made Liquor (IML) and beer in the 2023-24 budget and said guidance values for all immovable properties across the state would be revised this year.

The five 'guarantees' are: free bus travel for women, 200 units of free electricity, 10 kg of free foodgrains to the poor, Rs 2,000 for the woman head of the household and unemployment benefits of up to Rs 3,000.

According to some political analysts, these pre-poll promises found resonance with the electorate leading to the Congress party's massive victory in the May Assembly elections. The Congress ousted the BJP from power, bagging 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly. The BJP secured 66 seats and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) was a distant third with 19 seats.

The 75-year-old Siddaramaiah created a record of sorts by presenting his 14th budget in the Assembly as Finance Minister, surpassing the mark of late Ramakrishna Hegde who had presented 13 budgets.

"Through our five guarantees, in a year approximately Rs 52,000 crore will be spent and it (the benefits) is expected to reach about 1.3 crore families", Siddaramaiah, who holds the dinance portfolio, said in his budget speech.

"This means we will be providing, on an average, additional financial assistance of Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 monthly to each household, which is about Rs 48,000 to Rs 60,000 every year", the chief minister said. "This is done with the objective of providing a Universal Basic Income for our citizens. This is the first such initiative in the entire country".

As per the budget estimates for 2023-24, total expenditure is estimated to be Rs 3,27,747 crore which includes revenue expenditure of Rs 2,50,933 crore, capital expenditure of Rs 54,374 crore and loan repayment of Rs 22,441 crore.

The chief minister said the government would mobilise the resources that are needed for implementing the 'guarantee' schemes without causing any burden to the people. "In this regard, our government will reform tax collection, prevent tax leakages along with controlling unnecessary government expenditure", Siddaramaiah said..

"Those who are commenting that 'guarantee' schemes are mere freebies may look once at the lives of our poor people and workers", the chief minister said.

Asserting that the 'guarantees' are not freebies, Siddaramaiah said that in this era of free market, as important as it is to attract huge capital investment and economic growth, it is equally important to address the huge divide created by widespread unequal distribution of resources.

"Our endeavour is to share the fruits of development with the poor, the oppressed and weaker sections," he said.

Speaking about minorities' welfare, Siddaramaiah said a Karnataka State Christian Development Corporation would be established for the holistic development of the community in the state, adding that Rs 100 crore would be provided in the current year for the purpose.

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