Karnataka budget to focus on women’s welfare

BENGALURU: As Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa prepares to present the State Budget for 2021-22 on March 8, which also marks International Women’s Day, he has promised to give priority to women’s welfare, apart from laying emphasis on tourism, irrigation and Bengaluru’s development.“This time, we have decided to give more emphasis and priority to women’s welfare in the budget which will be presented on International Women’s Day,” the CM told mediapersons during his pre-budget interaction on Friday evening.

In the light of the the severe financial constraints due to the Covid-19-induced lockdown and shortfall in revenue receipts, the CM, over the last few weeks, has held a series of meetings with ministers, senior officials, industry representatives and stakeholders from various sectors to finalise the budget proposals. The process was completed on Friday.

“We completed the exercise today and sent the budget document for printing,” said the CM, who looked relaxed and satisfied with the exercise. “We will present a better budget compared to last year,” he said.

During his interaction, the CM thrice spoke about laying emphasis on women’s welfare in his budget. He, however, did not spell out the women-centric programmes he plans to announce on Monday. Development of the tourism sector in the state, giving push to irrigation projects and taking up infrastructure projects in the state capital will be among the priorities in the budget.