Karnataka’s Debt Burden is as Much the Size of its Budget
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore
Bangalore, Mar 27: The accumulated debt of Karnataka is almost equal to the size of the annual budget.
Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said the state’s accumulated debt is estimated to be Rs 1,02,561 crore on March 31, up from Rs 95,192 crore a year ago.
Responding to Appaji alias Channabasavaraj Shankarrao Nadagouda (Congress) during question hour in the Legislative Assembly, the Chief Minister, however, stressed that the state’s borrowings were still ''within permissible limits of 3 % of GSDP as stipulated by the Centre.”
Last week, he presented the 2012-13 state budget facilitating a total expenditure of Rs 1,02,742 crore, an increase of 20.42 % over the budget of Rs 85,319 crore in the previous fiscal, exceeding the budget size of Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time.
In 2011-12, till January this year, the government has borrowed loans to the tune of Rs 5,154.72 crore, Sadadananda Gowda, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said.
According to the Economic Survey of Karnataka 2011-12, advanced estimates of the state’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at constant (2004-05) prices show that the state’s economy was expected to grow at 6.4 % and reach Rs 2,97,964 crore in 2011-12 (from Rs 2,79,932 crore in 2010-11).
Karnataka’s economy is showing encouraging trends due to a strong services sector, which grew by 10.6 % during 2011-12.
However, there has been a slowdown in the agriculture and allied sectors (minus 2.9 % in 2011-12) attributable to a decline in crop area due to drought and floods, the Economic Survey said.
“The growth rate of the industry sector is estimated to have decreased to 3.6 % during 2011-12, largely due to adverse impacts of the overall economic slowdown.
The significant growth rate of the service sector from 9.1 % in 2010-11 to 10.6 % in 2011-12 is a key driver of the growth in the current year’s GSDP,” the survey said
People in Karnataka can soon apply for social security pensions online.
Terming the suggestion of N L Narendra Babu, Congress MLA, in this regard as ''appropriate,” the Chief Minister said the government would certainly take this step.
Narendra Babu sought to highlight the plight of a woman who had lost her husband 15 years ago and was running from pillar to post for getting social security pensions.
According to government officials, during 2011-12, the long overdue of physical verification of social security pensioners was undertaken and over 8 lakh cases of duplicate, non-existent and ineligible pensioners have been found and suspended from the disbursement.
The Chief Minister said the eligible had the opportunity to get their application verified again by a higher official in case it had been suspended.
Gowda said the government intends to fix a time-line for disposal of applications for
such pensions.
In the budget presented in the legislative Assembly last week, Sadananda Gowda had said social security pensions for eligible persons in 65 to 80 years age group would be hiked from Rs 400 per month to Rs 500 from April 1 this year.
“This increase will benefit almost 30 lakh beneficiaries. Total outlay of Rs 2,310 crore has been made for this purpose,” Gowda had said.