K'taka govt to spend Rs 52,000 cr schemes, retain fiscal deficit at 2.6%

The new regime raised the projection of nominal GSDP growth to 17.7 per cent against seven per cent by the previous BJP government for the current financial year

The Siddaramaiah government has projected to spend around Rs 52,000 crore in the Congress five poll guarantees but even then it managed to retain the fiscal deficit at 2.6 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP) for 2023-24, the same as was pegged by the previous Bommai government in the full budget for the current financial year.

The Congress government did this by raising excise duty on liquor, increasing the guidance value of properties, projecting more collections from the goods and services tax (GST) from the state component, cutting capital expenditure, and slashing revenue expenditure on heads other than