₹5,300 crore central aid to Karnataka for irrigation in election year

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the centre will provide ₹5,300 crore assistance to the drought-prone regions of Karnataka for irrigation purposes. Sitharaman was speaking in Parliament while presenting the union budget for the fiscal year 2023-24. This is the last full-year budget before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

The ₹5,300 crore assistance to the poll-bound southern state was part of the centre's second priority: ‘reaching the last mile’. “The centre will provide ₹5,300 crore assistance to drought-prone central region of Karnataka,” announced Sitharaman.

Karnataka is set to go into assembly elections in April - May this year.

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The finance minister is expected to tweak income-tax slabs to provide relief to the middle class, apart from which, the top priorities in the budget would be: inclusive development, infrastructure and investment, “unleashing the potential”, green growth, youth power and financial sector.