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New airports, cheaper cinema tickets, liquor in Karnataka
Set to face the Assembly polls in a year, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah unveiled in the state budget proposals to set up subsidised food canteens, provide seven kg free food grains per poor person and 100 per cent preference for Kannadigas in certain private sector jobs.
By
migrator
migrator
Bengaluru
This is the last ‘full term’ budget presented by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government before going to polls in early 2018, in which it is expected to face a fierce bid from BJP to stage a comeback to power that it lost in 2013. It was also Siddaramaiah’s 12th budget as Finance Minister and fifth as Chief Minister. He had earlier served as Finance Minister under the ministries headed by H D Deve Gowda and late J H Patel.
The 2017-18 budget presented in the Assembly does not propose any major changes in the rate structure in tax proposals, keeping in view the expected roll out of GST from July 1 this year.
“On demand from people,food grains being distributed under Annabhagya scheme will be increased from five kg to seven kg per person,” he said. To encourage higher education, the government proposed that free laptops will be supplied to students getting admission in 2017-18 to Engineering, Medical, Polytechnic and First Grade Colleges.
Around 1.5 lakh students will be benefited from this. In a move considered as “linguistic appeasement”, the budget states that government will take steps to ensure 100 per cent preference in employment of Group C & D jobs to Kannadigas and five per cent for differently abled in the private sector.
Pointing out that there are 17 declared slabs of Additional Excise Duty, Siddaramaiah said that as a measure of rationalisation, it is proposed to increase Additional Excise Duty on two slabs by six per cent and on the remaining 15 slabs by 10 per cent and 16 per cent.
He said in view of these changes, VAT on liquor, including beer, fenny, liqueur and wine will be removed with effect from April 1, 2017. Noting that there was a demand by government employees for pay revision, Siddaramaiah announced that a pay commission would be formed to examine it.
AT A GLANCE
- To regulate multiplexes by making the maximum entry fee at Rs 200
- Lifts VAT on beer, wine and hard liquor
- New airports to be built in Karwara, Madikeri and Chikkamagaluru
- 150 Electric Buses will be introduced in Bengaluru City and 50 in Mysuru
- Saviruchi mobile Canteens in all 30 districts in state
- Rice quota under ‘Anna Bhagya scheme’ increased to 7kg from 5kg.
- Separate toilets for women staff in police stations
- Enhancement of financial assistance to 25,000 HIV infected and affected children
- Free laptops for 1st year engineering, medical, polytechnic and first grade
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