It's Time Siddaramaiah Ups His Game

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will present his record 16th Budget—the third as the CM in his second tenure—on March 7.

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The big question is whether the budget will have any concrete measures to dispel the opposition's campaign that the state is bereft of funds to take up development works while the economy is bogged down by the burden of guarantee schemes.

In the 2024-25 budget with an outlay of Rs 3.71 lakh crore, the CM had allocated Rs 52,000 crore for the five guarantee schemes. Despite many Congress leaders admitting that the schemes have caused a financial strain on the state and suggesting the need to relook at some of them, the government assured the continuation of the five flagship schemes. With zilla panchayat, taluk panchayat, and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike [BBMP] elections likely to be held this year, the government may not make any changes in the schemes.

Focusing on the welfare initiatives while providing adequate financial allocations for infrastructure development would be a tightrope walk for the CM. The challenge is to do that without burdening the middle class and the poor and also maintaining fiscal discipline. Any measure that burdens people will not bode well with the image of the government that is facing flak over rising prices.