Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on November 11. He invited the Prime Minister to Karnataka in December to lay the foundation stone for the Bengaluru suburban rail network, inauguration of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE) University building in Jnana Bharati campus of Bangalore University, and inauguration of 180 industrial training institutes that have been upgraded.
During an hour-long meeting with Mr. Modi, the Chief Minister also discussed various decisions taken by his government during the first 100 days in office.
Briefing mediapersons after the meeting, Mr. Bommai said, “I invited the Prime Minister to Bengaluru for inauguration of four programmes. The PM suggested splitting the programmes into two, and he would visit Bengaluru two times in December. The Prime Minister’s office would decide on detaiuls of the visit of Mr. Modi to Bengaluru in December.”
Mr. Bommai said the Prime Minister appreciated many of the government’s decisions, particularly the ‘Chief Minister Raitha Vidya Nidhi’, a scholarship programme for children of farmers from 2021-22 academic year. The government has set aside ₹1,000 crore for providing scholarships, ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹11,000 per year.
The Prime Minister told the Chief Minister to make efforts for successful implementation of the scholarship programme. Based on the outcome, the programme would be replicated in other States as well, the Chief Minister said.
Mr. Modi appreciated the decision to set up a committee headed by a retired High Court judge to scrutinise the tendering process of various development projects, which would ensure transparency and eliminate unrealistic estimations.
The Prime Minister enquired about implementation of the New Education Policy and suggested implementing the policy by involving all stakeholders. When they touched upon implementation of Amruta Scheme, the Prime Minister suggested bringing in reforms by establishing better coordination between Central and State government schemes.
On providing houses to the houseless and sites to the poor, the Prime Minister told the CM to involve gram panchayats in identification of beneficiaries and utilise funds from the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PM housing scheme).
Mr. Bommai said the Prime Minister suggested formulation of new schemes for upliftment of women belonging to SC/ST and OBC categories for their economic empowerment. When Mr. Bommai cited the lack of interest shown by banks in lending, the Prime Minister assured that he would issue suitable directions to banks on the matter.
Mr. Bommai apprised the Prime Minister about the State Government’s plan to formulate new policies on electric vehicles, employment, renewable energy, aerospace and R&D. The PM suggested involving youngsters in R&D.
The Chief Minister informed the Prime Minister about the results of the recent byelections to two Assembly constituencies (Sindgi and Hangal) in Karnataka. The Prime Minister suggested providing a good and responsive administration to the people of Karnataka keeping in mind the 2023 Assembly elections, the Chief Minister said.