The State Cabinet is meeting on Friday amid expectations on a decision to implement the five pre-poll ‘guarantees’ given by the Congress.
While the Finance Department on Wednesday provided multiple options to implement these guarantees through a presentation to the Council of Ministers, the final contours would be known on Friday. Would the guarantees be aligned with the Budget or launched before the Budget is likely to be known.
On Thursday, it is learnt that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who holds the Finance portfolio, met several Cabinet colleagues while Finance Department officials were involved in the preparation of the Cabinet note that would set the tone for discussion on the guarantees at the meeting on Friday.
The definition of the beneficiary for Gruha Lakshmi, identifying beneficiaries for 200 units of free power, and micro-contours of implementing the unemployment dole are among the many vexed issues before the Cabinet. The total annual outgo for the guarantees is estimated to be between ₹55,000 crore and ₹60,000 crore, and is also dependent on how the guarantees are implemented. While suggestions have been made to implement the guarantees in phases to space out the financial burden, the Cabinet will take a call on whether to implement all at one go or implement them in phases.
