Karnataka one of the fastest-growing states, contributes 8.4 pc to GDP: CM in budget speech

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who presented his record 16th budget on Friday, started his speech by quoting from poet laureate Kuvempu and Gopal Krishna Adiga. “The budget reaffirms the government’s commitment to fulfil’ the dreams of every citizen of the stateand honouring our promise to ‘walk the talk”, he said.

“By balancing economic development with people’s welfare, we are shaping Karnataka’s development model through the concept of Universal Basic Income. Many of the welfare programmes we offer, including the Five Guarantees, are not merely freebies; I can confidently say that these are strategic investments made on economic and social principles. We have launched welfare programmes with the aim of increasing people’s purchasing power”, he said.

The CM said this year’s budget will focus on implementing programmes across six key development dimensions:  welfare programmes, agriculture and rural development, development-oriented, prioritizing urban development, investment and job creation, governance reforms, new strategies to eliminate regional disparities, strengthen education and health sectors, ensure an efficient transport system, and maintenance of law and order.

“Karnataka is one of the fastest-growing states in India contributing 8.4% to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Karnataka has continued its impressive growth trajectory in the year 2024-25 and is poised to achieve a GSDP growth rate of 7.4%, outpacing the national growth rate of 6.4%”, he noted.

“Agriculture sector has registered a positive growth of 4% in 2024-25, after clocking a growth rate of negative 4.9 percent in previous year. It has also outpaced this year’s all India agricultural growth rate of 3.8%. The positive growth rate in 2024-25 is due to the government’s proactive interventions to encourage Kharif sowing, which was aided by a normal monsoon and adequate reservoir levels. The state government had allocated Rs 44,000 crore to various departments for farmer welfare schemes last year. In the current year, a total of Rs. 51,339 crore has been allocated for the farming sector”, the CM said.

“Karnataka is known for its investor-friendly ecosystem for Industry. Our government is committed to job-centric and inclusive development of the Industrial and manufacturing sector. State government has launched a new Industrial Policy 2025-30, aiming to achieve a 12 percent industrial growth and creation of 20 lakh jobs by 2030. Industrial sector has achieved 5.8% growth in current year. In order to attract large investments, the Government has made a commitment towards financial assistance and subsidies totaling to Rs. 13,692 crore”, the CM said.

“The service sector is now the dominant component of the economy of Karnataka. The service sectors share in the economy is 66 percent in terms of gross value addition. The sector has achieved an impressive growth rate of 8.9 percent in the year 2024-25, exceeding the national average growth rate of 7.2 percent”, he said.

“The government has implemented several policies in various service sectors, including information technology, tourism and biotechnology to promote economic growth and generate more employment opportunities. These policies will promote more investments in various sectors along with efficient use of human resources. All these policies are expected to generate Rs 1 lakh crore of investment in the state. To facilitate investments in these sectors, the government has made a commitment towards subsidies and financial assistance totaling Rs 13,500 crore”, the CM noted.

“The government’s focus on economic growth has been successful in attracting foreign investments worth $4.4 billion up to the end of December 2024-25, ranking 3rd in the country”, he added.

Budget Overview

Budget estimate (Consolidated Fund) Rs. 4,09,549 crore.
Total receipts – Rs.4,08,647 crore; Revenue receipts Rs 2,92,477 crore; Capital receipts – Rs. 1,16,170 crore including public debt of Rs. 1,16,000 crore.
Total expenditure – Rs. 4,09,549 crore; Revenue expenditure – Rs. 3,11,739 crore: Capital expenditure – Rs. 71,336 crore and Loan repayment – Rs. 26,474 Crore.
Total SCSP-TSP – Rs. 42,018 crore has been allocated under SCSP Rs. 29,992 crore and under TSP Rs. 12,026 crore.
Allocation under Gender budget – Rs 94,084 crore.
Allocation for Child Budget – Rs 62,033 crore.