The share of capital expenditure to the total outlay of the Budget Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented on Friday has come down to 15% from 16.5% in the Budget he presented in July 2023. Before that, in the Budget presented by Basavaraj Bommai in February 2023, just before the Assembly polls, the share of capital expenditure to the total outlay was 19.8%, the highest in a decade. This was a Budget prior to the introduction of the guarantee schemes.
But, contrary to popular perception, it is not the guarantee schemes alone, but salaries, pensions, and interest payment on loans that have ballooned significantly reducing funds for capital expenditure.
