Karnataka Govt Spends ₹97,813 Crore on Guarantee Schemes

Speedy Summary

• The State government has spent ₹97,813 crore on implementing five guarantee schemes since 2023.
• Gruha Lakshmi Scheme (financial support for women heads of families): ₹50,005 crore benefitting 1.24 crore women.
• Gruha Jyothi Scheme (free electricity): ₹18,139 crore supporting 1.64 crore households.
• shakti Scheme (free travel for women): ₹13,903 crore benefiting 544 crore beneficiaries in total trips.
• Anna Bhagya scheme (5 kg free rice per person per month): ₹11,821.17 crore helping 72.02 crore beneficiaries cumulatively across months.
• Yuva nidhi Scheme (financial aid for unemployed graduates and diploma holders): ₹623 crore covering 2.55 lakh individuals so far.

Additional directives were issued by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah:

• Officials are tasked with identifying and removing deceased beneficiaries via panchayat-level data collection processes and passing the info to banks.
• Beneficiary eligibility updates include removing ineligible persons from benefits such as Gruha Lakshmi payments and BPL card access based on GST filings or other set criteria.
• Action against illegal rice sales was ordered while exploring the possibility of supplying alternate food grains depending on geography.

indian Opinion Analysis

The release of expenditure figures under Karnataka’s five guarantee schemes highlights the scale of funds allocated towards social welfare initiatives as their inception in 2023-especially Gruha Lakshmi contributing nearly half the total cost-to empower economically disadvantaged individuals and support household-level stability across multiple fronts including food security, electricity access, transport convenience, and unemployment relief programs.

However, steps taken by CM Siddaramaiah to streamline beneficiary identification and remove inefficiencies such as deceased participants or fraud cases demonstrate a commitment toward fiscal prudence amidst extensive spending-a critical factor both to maintain public trust in governance mechanisms and ensure resources are optimally utilized without misuse.

These measures also indicate early practical challenges that accompany large-scale welfare rollouts: from accurate data maintenance at grassroots levels like panchayats to aligning benefit distribution guidelines with socioeconomic realities like GST compliance or geography-based nutritional needs rather of dependence solely on rice supply chains-all requiring robust administrative focus moving forward.

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