Please-all budget

Balancing the tight-rope of Karnataka8217;s urban-rural divide, the JDS-BJP coalition in Karnataka presented its maiden budget on Monday 8212; a please-all, populist, light-weight, rustic budget featuring reduced interest rates on agricultural loans and new schemes aimed at ending Bangalore8217;s traffic woes. Propelled by increased central outlays and a healthy fiscal, BJP deputy CM and Finance Minister BS Yediyurappa announced a slew of social and farm sector initiatives to grab the attention of the voting populace while leaving tax structures undisturbed. The state is targeting an eight to 10 per cent growth rate in GDP 8.1 per cent growth in 2005-06 and a four per cent growth rate in the agricultural sector, despite the growth unfriendly budget.

Popular schemes presented in the budget by the JDS-BJP Karnataka Development Front:

8226; Insurance scheme for agricultural workers

8226; Rs 50-lakh grant to all MLA constituencies

8226; Waiver of Rs 82 crore dues under rural electrification schemes

8226; Rs 10,000 deposit in the name of every girl child born after March 31, 2006 withdrawable by the girl herself at the age of 18

8226; Subsidies up to 75 per cent for drip irrigation

8226; Increased grants for minorities SC/ST and backward classes

8226; Increased pensions for widows and the disabled

8226; Bicycle for every girl student sent to study beyond the seventh standard by below poverty line families