Siddu Managing Fiscal Health Among Promises

It has been well-recognised that CM Siddaramaiah is a perceptive finance minister and an accomplished budget manager, which he has repeatedly proved with his long experience of being in the fiscal discipline and managing the state's finances.

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This is one of the budgets that exemplifies the political and management skills of the finance minister. Fiscal management was crucial as more resources were needed to fulfil the welfare promises (guarantees) and maintain the tempo of growth at the same time, maintaining the state's fiscal stability.

Karnataka stands at the 10th place in the Fiscal Health Index, issued by the NITI Ayog recently and that is a good achievement by the state.

The total expenditure for 2025-26 estimated in this budget is Rs 4.09 lakh crore with revenue expenditure of Rs 3.11 lakh crore, capital expenditure of Rs 71,000 crore and loan repayment of Rs 26,000 crore. The revenue receipts are estimated at Rs 2.92 lakh crore with own tax revenue of Rs 2.08 lakh crore, non-tax revenue of Rs 16,500 crore and central receipts of Rs 67,000 crore.