New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) The Central government has increased Karnataka’s share in central taxes to 4.131 per cent, said Union Minister for Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi, while dismissing allegations made by Congress leaders in the state.
Speaking to the media in Delhi, Joshi said Karnataka’s tax share, which earlier stood at 3.647 per cent, has now been raised to 4.131 per cent. With this increase, the state will receive tax proceeds amounting to several thousand crore rupees. He rejected the Congress leaders’ claims that Karnataka has been treated unfairly in the distribution of tax revenue.
As per the 2026-27 Union Budget, Karnataka has been allocated Rs 63,049 crore as its share in central taxes. The state will receive a higher tax share compared to the previous year, Joshi said.
He further stated that the 16th Finance Commission’s report has retained the overall tax devolution to states at 41 per cent. While there has been no change in the overall percentage of tax devolution, the individual shares of states have been revised, resulting in Karnataka receiving a higher share of central taxes, the minister clarified.
Earlier, he stated that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s economic roadmap for 2026-27 complements Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat and has emerged as a guiding light for building a grand future for India.
He said that this is a growth-centric budget with a focus on strengthening production capacity across seven key sectors. In particular, an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for the biopharma sector will provide a strong boost to innovation and manufacturing in healthcare.
Criticising the Union Budget for 2026-27 presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said it resembled a “municipality corporate budget” and termed it the most disappointing budget he has seen in his political career.
The Chief Minister said that in the 2025-26 budget, Union Finance Minister Sitharaman had promised an allocation of Rs 5.41 lakh crore for centrally sponsored schemes.
“However, in the current budget, this allocation has been reduced to Rs 4.2 lakh crore,” he added.
“This is the most disappointing budget I have seen in my political career. It is no better than a corporation budget. Karnataka has got nothing. As usual, Karnataka has been betrayed. The entire South India has got nothing from this budget,” Siddaramaiah said.
Referring to the announcement of two high-speed railway projects to Bengaluru-Hyderabad-Bengaluru and Chennai-Bengaluru, the Chief Minister said these projects would be of little benefit to Karnataka as they do not cover long distances within the state.
“If the Centre really wanted to help Karnataka, it should have announced Bengaluru-Mumbai and Bengaluru-Mangaluru high-speed rail projects,” he added.
Criticising the Union Budget for 2026-27, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stated that the state has received nothing, and “no high-speed rail will come to Bengaluru”.
Notably, the Centre has announced the launch of a bullet train between Hyderabad and Bengaluru. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called Bengaluru a global city. What significance has been given to this global city? Centre’s Budget has not helped Karnataka in any way,” Shivakumar stated.
–IANS
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