K'taka Govt to increase petrol and diesel prices

The Karnataka Government-led by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday announced a hike in petrol prices by Rs 1.14 and Rs 1.12 in diesel.

The Chief Minister has proposed to increase the rate of tax on petrol from the present 30% to 32% and diesel from 19% to 21%.

He said, "I propose to increase the rate of tax on petrol from the present 30% to 32% and diesel from 19% to 21%, so petrol price will be increased by Rs.1.14/litre and diesel by Rs 1.12/ litre."

Earlier, the Karnataka Government announced a partial loan waiver of Rupees 34,000 cr which will benefit farmers whose loans are less than Rs 2 Lakh.

The Kumaraswamy-led JD(S) had resolved to waive farm loans borrowed both from cooperative and nationalised banks within 24 hours of formation of a full-fledged government of their party.

The state has decided against waiving off higher value crop loan.

Kumaraswamy on Thursday presented the first budget of his Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government in the Vidhana Soudha.

On July 1, the Congress-JD(S) coordination committee was constituted to oversee smooth functioning of the government to approve the Common Minimum Programme, which includes waiver of farm loans, creation of one crore jobs and allocation of Rs. 1.25 lakh crore for irrigation over the next five years.

According to media reports, financial experts and some government officials have already expressed concern over the impact of loan waiver on the state's finances.