Karnataka government decides to waive interest on overdue loans

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on Friday that the Karnataka government has chosen to waive interest on medium- and long-term past-due loans from District Cooperative Central and Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development banks. The announcement was made with the assertion that more than 57,000 farmers would profit from the move.

He announced the creation of an Agriculture Development Authority, chaired by the Chief Minister, during his presentation of the 2024–25 budget to the Bangaluru Assembly. This will enable the efficient execution of policies concerning agriculture and associated fields. CM Siddaramaiah declared, "Even though I have presented a revenue deficit budget, I have increased allocation for welfare programs to Rs1,20,373 crore." According to him, the budget for this year is Rs3,71,383 crore.

The announcement of the Karnataka budget took place from roughly 10:15 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Siddaramaiah offered significant funding for women's, minority, and child welfare in his speech that lasted more than three hours. He also discussed Bengaluru's growth, including traffic management and infrastructure, as well as the Congress party's five primary poll guarantees.

By March 2025, the 74 kilometers of current metro line will have an additional 44 km added, according to the CM. The Namma Metro Rail project, one of the greatest metro systems in the nation, is essential to Bengaluru's transportation network. Over eight lakh people use metro services daily, he said.The budget included plans to carry out projects totaling Rs 5,000 crore.