The results of state assembly elections will decide whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his government will have much time to implement the new programmes announced in the budget to be presented on Friday. However, people of Karnataka have their wishlist ready ahead of Siddaramaiah presenting the sixth and the last budget of his current Congress government. While farmers expect government support to make agriculture more sustainable, start-ups are asking for free office space. Healthcare professionals expect more investments for institutional arrangements for continuous skill upgrading. We spoke to people from different sectors to find out what they want from the budget, and here is the long list of demands
ENTREPRENEUR
Anil G, co-founder,WickedRide, a urban mobility startup
The government should set aside bigger budgets for supporting startups
Promote shared mobility services like ours
Exempt road tax on commercial vehicles engaged in shared mobility
A cell to support startups
Competition/ hackathon for startups
TRADER
Sajjan Raj Mehta,
Trade activist
Abolish BBMP trade license
No different set of rules in e-way bill in southern states
Better facilities for 15,000 traders Improve infrastructure around Bengaluru.
Traders with small income have already run out of money because of demonetisation and GST. A package must be given to ensure they can continue operating.
FARMER
Khadarsab Mullanavar, owner of six acres land in Kusugal village near Hubballi
Separate fund for crop loss due to natural calamities
Ensure regular income for the farmers and labourers
Provide cold storage facility for farmers to store their produce till they get fair price
Expanding irrigation facility by implementing Kalasa-Banduri project
STUDENT
Vidyun Raj A, student of MBA (Finance) at Christ University, Bengaluru
A policy which monitors implementation of government schemes and programmes
Financial empowerment of women
Employment opportunities
Building better infrastructure in tier- II cities
Better public transport facilities
DOCTOR
Dr Giridhar R Babu, Additional Professor, Public Health Foundation of India
Engage technical experts in health think-tanks
Investments related to public health actions including HR for dietary salt restriction etc
Investments are needed skill upgrading and multidisciplinary public health workforce
Disease information should flow from Accredited Social Health Activists