Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has begun presenting his 14th budget in Bengaluru’s Vidhana Soudha, as the one presented by former CM Basavaraj Bommai is only valid till the end of the month. Siddaramaiah is expected to announce measures for the implementation of the Congress party’s election guarantees, among others.

Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, is expected to touch on fund allocations for the implementation of the Congress party’s poll promises.
Siddaramaiah, who holds the finance portfolio, is expected to touch on fund allocations for the implementation of the Congress party’s poll promises.
This is his seventh budget as a chief minister. It will also be the highest number of budgets presented by any chief minister or finance minister in the state so far.

The Karnataka CM had earlier said the size of the state’s budget is likely to be ₹3,35,000 crore, which is bigger than the previous budget’s size by ₹25,000 crore. The size of the budget tabled by the earlier BJP regime was ₹3.08 lakh crore.

The Congress government has increased the budget size to accommodate additional expenses for the implementation of their poll promises, Siddaramaiah had said. The government will need around ₹59,000 crore to ₹60,000 crore annually to implement the poll promises without hindrances, according to the CM.

The budget to be tabled today will be in place effectively from August 1. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.