Here are key takeaways from Karnataka Budget 2024

News Network
February 16, 2024

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Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday presented his record 15th Budget as Finance Minister, and the second under the present Congress regime. In his address to the Karnataka Assembly, he emphasised that his government was striving to establish a new standard of development, known as the 'Karnataka Model of Development,' based on the principles of justice, equality, and fraternity enshrined in the Constitution.

Agriculture:

1) Siddaramaiah announced the implementation of ‘Karnataka Raitha Samruddhi Yojane’ to encourage integrated farming by consolidating various pro-farmer schemes.

2) He also announced the formation of Agriculture Development Authority to facilitate effective implementation of policies related to agriculture and allied activities coming under various departments.

3) Establishment of food parks at airports in Sogane of Shivamogga, Ittangihala of Vijayapura and Pujenahalli of Bengaluru Rural district.

Horticulture:

1) Setting up of Kissan Malls in select districts to provide farmers with horticulture-related technical guidance, market connectivity, farming implements and agro-products under one roof.

2) State-of-the-art international floriculture market to be established in Bengaluru city under Public-Private Partnership.

Animal Husbandry:

1) Construction of new building to 200 veterinary institutions which are in dilapidated condition at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

Fisheries:

1) Rs 7 crore for purchase of sea ambulance for protection of fishermen.
2) Financial assistance to 10,000 houseless fishermen for construction of houses under various housing schemes.

Co-operation:

1) Target of providing record crop loan of Rs 27,000 crore to more than 36 lakh famers in the state.

2) The Karnataka government will also urge the Centre to announce MSP for important crops such as arecanut, onion, grapes, mango, banana and other horticultural crops and to fix MSP based on the formula of cost of cultivation plus 50 per cent profit as per the report by Swaminathan panel.

Water resource:

1) Rs 365 crore project of flowing water from Bhima and Kagina Rivers to Bennetora reservoir to provide drinking water to Kalaburagi city.

School Education and Literacy:

1) 2000 Government Primary Schools to be converted as bi-lingual medium schools to enhance quality of education.

2) NEET/ JEE/ CET coaching to be imparted to 20,000 science students of Government PU Colleges.

Higher Education Department:

1) Rs 100 crore to develop University Visveswaraya College of Engineering on the lines of IIT.

2) Rs 30 crore to upgrade 30 women’s colleges and government women’s polytechnics.

Health:

1) Rs 187 crore to construct critical care block buildings in seven districts.

2) 50 new blood storage units to be established in North Karnataka in next two years.

Medical Education:

1) Rs 20 crore for robotic surgery facility in Institute of Nephro-Urology in Bengaluru.

2) Health repository to be created under Digital Health Society to make treatment details available from single source.

Woman and Child Development:

1) Rs 28,608 crore allocated for Gruhalakshmi gurarantee scheme.

2) Rs 90 crore to be spent on providing 75,938 smartphones to Anganwadi workers and supervisors.

3) Rs 200 crore to construct 1,000 Anganwadis.

4) Enhancement of Pension under Maithri scheme to the linguistic minorities from Rs 800 to Rs 1,200.

Social Welfare:

1) Monthly food allowance to be enhanced by Rs 100 per student for students studying in residential schools and hostels under the social welfare, tribal welfare, backward classes and minority welfare departments.

2) A corpus fund of Rs 35 crore to be set up to bear the cost for treatment of rare diseases and expensive treatments for SC and ST communities.

Scheduled Tribe Welfare:

1) The Ashram schools working under Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department to be re-named as Maharshi Valmiki Adivasi Budakattu Vasathi Shale, and Class 6 & 8 will be started in schools with Class 5 and 7 respectively. The student strength to be enhanced from 25 to 40 in each class.

2) Rs 15,000 stipend to be paid to 200 engineering graduates who got admission in IISc, IIT and NIT for short term professional training courses.

Minorities Welfare:

1) Rs 50 crore for Jain pilgrimage centres and Rs 200 crore for the development of Christian community.

2) Rs 2 crore for the welfare of Sikligar Sikh community, Rs 1 crore to gurudwara in Bidar.

3) Rs 10 crore to encourage minority women SHGs to take up self- employment activities

Housing:

1) Target of construction of three lakh houses this year.

Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs:

1) Rs 4,595 transferred to 4.02 crore beneficiaries under Annabhagya till January, 2024.

2) Anna-Suvidha programme to be launched to facilitate senior citizens above the age of 80 by door delivery of food grains.

Skill Development:

1) Café Sanjeevini, rural canteens and 2,500 coffee kiosks to be established for women.

2) 50,000 Women SHG owned micro-enterprises to be developed in next two years.

Rural Development and Panchayath Raj:

1) Solar street lights to be installed in 50 panchayaths and systematic metering to be done in 200 panchayaths to reduce electricity charges.

2) Circular economy to be encouraged for sustainable solid waste management in rural areas.

3) The monthly incentive to freed persons from bonded labour system to be increased to Rs 2,000.

Urban Development:

1) Brand Bengaluru launched to develop Bengaluru as a world class city.

2) Efforts to ease traffic congestion will be made by completing white topping works, tunnel to be constructed in Hebbal Junction on pilot basis and installing Area Traffic Signal Control System in 28 importance junctions of the city.

3) Peripheral ring road to be developed under new concept as Bengaluru Business Corridor.

4) 250 meter tall sky-deck to be built in Bengaluru city.

5) 44-km length to be added for the Bengaluru Metro Rail network by March 2025.

6) Feasibility report to extend Metro to Tumkur from BIEC and to Devanahalli from KIAL.

7) 1,334 new electric buses and 820 BS VI diesel buses to be added to the fleet of buses in BMTC.

8) The Cauvery Stage 5 project at a cost of Rs 5,550 crore providing drinking water to 12 lakh people will be commissioned by May 2024.

9) The curbs on businesses during night time to be extended till 1 am in Bengaluru and 10 city corporations in the state.

10) The towns on the outskirts of Bengaluru such as Devanahalli, Nelamangala, Hosakote, Doddaballapura, Magadi and Bidadi will be developed as satellite towns with road and train connectivity.

Energy:

1) 1.65 crore consumers registered under Gruha Jyoti Scheme.

2) Under Phase II of solarisation of IP set feeder, 4.30 lakh IP sets to be solarised by implementing solar projects of 1,192 MW.

PWD:

1) 875-km state highway development at a cost of Rs 5,736 crore with the assistance of external financial institutes under KSHIP-4 in the current year.

2) Construction of six railway overbridges at a cost of Rs 350 crore.

3) Action to construct dedicated economic corridors from Mangaluru port to Bengaluru and Bidar to Bengaluru.

Commerce and Industries:

1) A grant of Rs 50 crore for supplemental infrastructure to the mega textile park project establishing in Kalburgi district in collaboration with state and central government.

Kannada and Culture:

1) A grant of Rs one crore to undertake literature survey, collection, publication and propagation programmes including Tatvapada, Keerthana Sahitya and Bhakti movement through Saintpoet Kanakadasa Study Centre.

2) Steps will be taken to ensure that 60 per cent of signage is in Kannada in the nameplates of all offices, shops and various commercial enterprises under Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act.

Forest, Ecology and Environment:

1) To address man-animal conflict, measures to form one new task force in Bandipur this year. Allocation of Rs 10 crore to strengthen these task forces.

Excise:

1) IML and beer slab to be revised by rationalising the declared slabs of liquor.
 

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News Network
January 20,2026

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Karnataka DGP (Civil Rights Enforcement) K Ramachandra Rao was suspended with immediate effect, as per a state government order issued on Monday, 19 January. The order cited conduct unbecoming of a government servant and causing embarrassment to the state administration.

The Karnataka government suspended Rao after a purported video showed him in a compromising position with a woman inside his official chamber. The video went viral on social media. Rao rejected the videos outright, terming them "fabricated and false".

Who is K Ramachandra Rao?

Rao is a DGP-rank officer who was heading the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement until his suspension. He was promoted to DGP in September 2023 and assumed office in October 2023, the Sunday Guardian reported.

He also served as the Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka State Police Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited.

His stint as the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the Southern Range was also marred by controversy. In 2014, during a cash seizure near Mysuru’s Yelwal, officials claimed the seized amount was ₹20 lakh, while the accused (Kerala-based merchants) claimed it was around ₹2.27 crore.

Rao, who was present during the seizure, denied all allegations. However, he was transferred soon after.

Allegations of collusion with a businessman surfaced, and a senior police officer was quoted by The Sunday Guardian as saying, “In Rao’s case, the CID has clearly mentioned that there was a great degree of lapse on the part of Rao and a deputy superintendent of police after it was brought to their notice that a few policemen, including a gunman attached to the IGP, were involved in the robbery.”

Rao had denied all wrongdoing in that incident. Despite past controversies, he rose to the state’s top police position, the Sunday Guardian reported.

Ranya Rao’s stepfather

Rao is the stepfather of Kannada actress Harshavardhini Ranya alias Ranya Rao, accused of orchestrating the illegal import of gold worth over ₹12.56 crore from Dubai to India along with two others — businessman Tarun Raju, and jewellery dealer Sahil Jain.

‘Obscene video’ controversy

A viral video showed Rao behaving inappropriately with a woman inside his office while in uniform.

The Karnataka government said in its Monday order that “vide videos and news reports widely broadcast on public news channels and media platforms, it is observed that Dr K Ramachandra Rao has acted in an obscene manner which is unbecoming of a Government Servant and also causing embarrassment to the Government.”

The order said the matter was examined by the state government, which found that the officer's conduct amounted to a violation of Rule 3 of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968.

The government said it is prima facie satisfied that "it is necessary to place Rao under suspension with immediate effect, pending inquiry".

During the suspension period, Rao will be entitled to subsistence allowance as per Rule 4 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969.

The order also places restrictions on his movement, stating that during the period of suspension, the officer must not leave headquarters under any circumstances without the written permission of the state government.

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News Network
January 19,2026

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Donald Trump has linked his repeated threats to seize Greenland to his failure to win the Nobel Peace Prize, in a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The authenticity of the letter, in which Trump says he no longer feels obligated to “think purely of peace,” was confirmed by Støre to the Norwegian newspaper VG.

“Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars plus, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace,” Trump wrote, adding he can now “think about what is good and proper for the United States.”

Støre said Trump’s letter was in response to a short message he had sent earlier, on behalf of himself and Finland’s President Alexander Stubb.

Trump has escalated rhetoric toward Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory, insisting the US will take control “one way or the other.” Over the weekend, he tweeted: “Now it is time, and it will be done!!!”

On Saturday, Trump threatened a 10% tariff on imports from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Finland from 1 February until the US is allowed to purchase the island. EU diplomats met for emergency talks on possible retaliatory tariffs and sanctions.

In his letter, Trump argued Denmark “cannot protect” Greenland from Russia or China, questioning Danish ownership: “There are no written documents; it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago.” He added that NATO should support the US, claiming the world is “not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland.”

Trump’s stance has unsettled the EU and NATO, as he refused to rule out military action to take control of the mineral-rich island.

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the independent Norwegian Nobel Committee, not the government. Trump had campaigned for last year’s prize, which went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who dedicated her award to him.

Støre reiterated that the Nobel Prize decision rests solely with the committee.

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News Network
January 31,2026

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Bengaluru: The shooting incident involving CJ Roy, founder of the Confident Group, has once again put the spotlight on a businessman whose life has swung between flamboyant global success and persistent controversy at home.

Though Roy’s business interests extended across continents, his roots lay firmly in Karnataka. An alumnus of Christ School in Bengaluru, he later moved to Tumakuru to pursue an engineering degree. Those familiar with his early years describe him as intensely ambitious, beginning his career as a salesman at a small electronics firm dealing in computers.

Roy’s entry into large-scale real estate came through the Crystal Group, where he worked closely with Latha Namboothiri and rose from manager to director. However, the launch of the Confident Group in 2005 was clouded by industry speculation. Insiders speak of a fallout involving alleged “benami” properties and claims of deception that ultimately led to his independent venture—an episode Roy spent years trying to distance himself from, according to associates.

A tale of two cities

Roy’s professional trajectory diverged sharply across geographies.

In Dubai, he built a reputation as a bold and efficient developer, completing massive luxury residential projects in record time—some reportedly within 11 months. His rapid project delivery and lavish lifestyle in the Emirates earned him admiration and visibility in the real estate sector.

In Bengaluru, however, his image remained far more fractured. Sources say Roy stayed away from the city for several years amid disputes over unpaid dues to vendors and suppliers. Several projects were allegedly stalled, with accusations of unfulfilled commitments to cement and steel suppliers continuing to follow him.

Roy’s return to Bengaluru’s business and social circles began around 2018, marked by a conscious attempt at rebranding. His appointment as Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic added diplomatic legitimacy, which he complemented with visible CSR initiatives, including ambulance donations and high-profile charity events.

Heavy police presence in Langford Town

Following the incident, police personnel from the Central division were deployed outside the Confident Group building in Langford Town, which also houses the Slovak Honorary Consulate in Bengaluru.

The otherwise busy premises near Hosur Road wore a deserted look on Friday, reflecting the shock and uncertainty that followed the tragedy.

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