(Greetings in Kannada language)

Karnataka is the land of saints and sages. Karnataka has always strengthened the great Indian tradition of spirituality, knowledge and science. Tumkuru holds a special place in this too. Siddaganga Math plays a major role in it. Today Shri Siddalinga Mahaswami is taking forward the legacy left behind by Pujya Shivakumara Swami ji of 'Trividha Dasoha' i.e. "Anna", "Akshara'' and "Ashraya". I bow down to the respected saints. I also bow down to Shri Chidambara Ashrama and Lord Channabasaveshwara located in Gubbi!

Brothers & Sisters,

With the blessings of the saints today, projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees have either been inaugurated or their foundation stones laid, providing employment to the youth of Karnataka, providing facilities to the villagers and women and strengthening the country's army and boosting the idea of 'Made in India'. Today a huge helicopter factory in the country has been inaugurated in Tumakuru. Today, the foundation stone of Tumakuru Industrial Township has also been laid and along with this work has also started on drinking water schemes for hundreds of villages in Tumakuru district and I congratulate all of you for the same.

Friends,

Karnataka is the land of young talent and youth innovation. From drone manufacturing to making Tejas fighter planes, the world is witnessing the strength of Karnataka's manufacturing sector. The double engine government has made Karnataka the first choice for investors. The helicopter factory which was inaugurated today is an example of how the double engine government works. I had the privilege of laying its foundation stone in the year 2016 with a resolution that we have to minimize our dependence on foreign countries for our defence needs. I am glad that today hundreds of such weapons and defence equipment, which are being manufactured in India, are being used by our forces. Today, everything from modern assault rifles to tanks, cannons, aircraft carriers for the Navy, helicopters, fighter jets, transport aircrafts, is being manufactured by India herself. Before 2014, remember this figure! The investment made in the last 8-9 years is five times the amount of investment made in the aerospace sector in the 15 years before 2014. Today, we are not only providing 'Made in India' weapons to our army, but our defence exports have also increased manifold as compared to 2014. Hundreds of helicopters are going to be manufactured here in Tumakuru in the coming time and this will result in a business of about Rs 4 lakh crore here. When such manufacturing factories are set up, not only the strength of our army increases, but also creates thousands of employment and self-employment opportunities. Tumakuru's helicopter factory will also give a boost to many Small Scale industries and trade.

Friends,

When work is done with the spirit of nation first, then success is definitely achieved. In the last 8 years, on the one hand, we improved the working of government factories and government defence companies by making them stronger, while on the other hand, we opened doors for the private sector as well. We can also see how much the HAL - Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has benefitted. And today I would like to remind you of the things that happened a few years ago. I am sure Media will also take note of it. It's the same HAL which has been used as an excuse to put various false allegations against our government. It's the same HAL against which conspiracies were hatched to provoke people and people were instigated. They wasted hours after hours of Parliament on this issue, but my dear brothers and sisters, no matter how big the lie is, no matter how many times it is told and to how many important people, but at the end of the day it is bound to be defeated before the truth. Today this helicopter factory of HAL, the growing power of HAL, is exposing the many old lies and false accusers. The reality is speaking for itself. Today the same HAL makes modern Tejas for Indian armed forces and is the centre of attraction of the world. Today HAL is articulating India's self-reliance in the defence sector.

Friends,

Today the work for Tumakuru Industrial Township has also started here. This is another important gift to Tumakuru after the food park and helicopter factory. This new industrial township will develop Tumakuru as a major industrial centre not only of Karnataka but the whole India. It is a part of the Chennai-Bangaluru Industrial Corridor. At present, work is underway on the Chennai-Bangaluru, Bengaluru-Mumbai and Hyderabad-Bangaluru industrial corridors. It forms a large part of Karnataka. I am also glad that the Tumakuru Industrial Township is being constructed under the PM Gatishakti National Master Plan and that it is being linked with such multi-modal connectivity as Mumbai-Chennai Highway, Bengaluru Airport, Tumakuru Railway Station, Mangaluru Port and gas connectivity. Due to this, a large number of employment and self-employment opportunities are going to be created here.

Friends,

The focus of the double engine government is not only on physical infrastructure, we are laying equal emphasis on social infrastructure as well. In the past years, we have given priority to 'Niwas ke Neeru, Bhumige Neerawari' i.e. water to every house, water to every field. Today there is unprecedented expansion of the drinking water network across the country. This year, the budget for Jal Jeevan Mission has been increased by more than Rs. 20,000 crore as compared to the previous year. When water reaches every household, the poor women and little daughters become the greatest beneficiaries. They do not have to travel far from their homes to collect clean water. In the last three and a half years, the coverage of tap water in the country has increased from 3 crore rural households to 11 crore households. Our government is constantly laying emphasis on 'Niwas ke Neeru' as well as 'Bhumige Neerawari'. About Rs 5,500 crore has been allocated for the Upper Bhadra project in the budget. This will benefit large drought prone areas of Central Karnataka including Tumakuru, Chikmagaluru, Chitradurga and Davanagere. This shows the double engine government's commitment to provide water to every farm and every household. This will be of great benefit to our small farmers, who have been dependent on rain water and irrigation water for agriculture.

Friends,

This year's poor-friendly and middle class-friendly budget is being discussed all over the world. This budget provides a strong roadmap to ensure how everyone can unite and make efforts to try to build a developed India. This year's budget has further strengthened the foundation of that strong India which will celebrate 100 years of Independence. This budget is a major step in the direction of capable India, affluent India, self-reliant India, powerful India and dynamic India. In this ‘Azadi Ka Amritkaal', this budget has made a huge contribution in fulfilling the resolutions of a developed India while discharging its duties. Major decisions have been taken in this budget for the villages, poor, farmers, deprived, tribal, middle class, women, youth and senior citizens. This is a popular budget. It is an all-encompassing budget, all inclusive budget, an all-pleasing budget and a budget that touches all. This is a budget to give new employment opportunities to the youth of India. This is a budget to increase the participation of India's women power. This is a budget to modernize India's agriculture and villages. This is a budget to give global strength to small farmers as well as to 'Shri Anna'. This is a budget to increase employment in India and to encourage self-employment. We have taken care of ‘अवश्यकते, आधारा मत्तु आदाया’ i.e. your needs, assistance and your income are being taken care of. Every family in Karnataka will be benefitted out of this.

Brothers & Sisters,

Since 2014, the effort of the government has been to empower that section of the society, who earlier found it very difficult to get government assistance. Government schemes either did not reach this class, or it was looted by middlemen. You see, over the years, we have extended government assistance to every section, which was earlier deprived of it. In our government, for the first time every such class of 'worker-labour' has got the facility of pension and insurance. To help the small farmers, our government has given the power of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi. For the first time, we have given collateral-free loans from banks to street vendors. This year's budget takes this spirit forward. For the first time, a scheme has also been formulated in the country for our Vishwakarma sisters and brothers. Vishwakarma means, those of our friends who build something with their skills and hands, and with the help of a hand tool, create and promote self-employment like our ‘Kumbara, Kammara, Akkasaliga, Shilpi, Garekelasdava, Badgi’ (artisans) etc. who are all our companions. PM-Vikas Yojana will now help lakhs of such families to further enrich their art, their skills.

Friends,

During this pandemic, our government has kept the poor families free from the worry of spending on ration. Our government has spent more than Rs 4 lakh crore on this scheme. An unprecedented 70 thousand crore rupees have been allocated in the budget to provide a pucca house to every poor family in the villages. Due to this, many poor families of Karnataka will get pucca houses and their lives will change.

Brothers & Sisters,

In this budget, unprecedented decisions have been taken in the interest of the middle class. There is a lot of enthusiasm in the middle class due to zero income tax on income up to Rs 7 lakh. Every month more money is going to be saved in the accounts of particularly youngsters below 30 years, whose job is new, business is new. Moreover, the deposit limit for retired employees, who are our senior citizens, has been doubled from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. This will further increase the returns they get every month. The tax exemption on leave encashment for friends working in the private sector was only Rs 3 lakh for a long time. Now leave encashment of up to Rs 25 lakh has been made tax free. This will bring more money to lakhs of families in the country including Tumakuru and Bengaluru.

Friends,

Financial inclusion of the women of our country is one of the top priorities of the BJP government. Financial inclusion of women strengthens their voice in households and increases their participation in household decisions. In this budget, we have taken major steps for our mothers, sisters and daughters, so that more and more of them can have access to banks. We have come up with 'Mahila Samman Bachat Patra'. Under this, sisters can invest up to Rs 2 lakh, on which the maximum interest will be 7.5 percent. This will further enhance the role of women in the family and society. After Sukanya Samriddhi, Jan Dhan bank accounts, Mudra loans and houses, this is another major initiative for women's economic empowerment. An important decision has also been taken in the budget to increase the potential of women Self-Help Groups in villages.

Brothers & Sisters,

Rural economy has the maximum focus in this budget. There is a lot of focus on helping farmers at every step through digital technology or expanding cooperatives. This will benefit farmers, cattle herders and fishermen. The sugarcane farmers of Karnataka will be greatly benefited as a result of special assistance being provided to the sugarcane cooperatives. In the coming days, many new co-operative societies will also be formed and a large number of stores will be built across the country for the storage of food grains. With this, even small farmers will be able to store their grain and sell it at a better price. Not only this, thousands of help centres are also being set up to reduce the cost of small farmers in organic farming.

Friends,

All of you in Karnataka understand the importance of millets or coarse grains very well. That's why all of you already call coarse cereals 'Siridhanya'. Now the country is taking forward this spirit of the people of Karnataka. Now across the country, millets have been given the identity of 'Shri-Anna'. Shree-anna means the best of 'grains'. In Karnataka, Shri Anna Ragi, Shri Anna Navane, Shri Anna Same, Shri Anna Harka, Shri Anna Korale, Shri Anna Udlu, Shri Anna Bargu, Shri Anna Sajje, Shri Anna Bidijoda - the farmer produces many such Shri Anna. Who can forget the taste of 'Ragi Mudde', 'Ragi Roti' from Karnataka? In this year's budget, a lot of emphasis has been laid on the production of food grains. Small farmers in drought-affected areas of Karnataka will be benefited the most.

Friends,

Due to the sincere efforts of the double engine government, today the confidence of the citizens of India is at a great height. We are working day and night to secure the life of every countryman and to make the future prosperous. Your continuous blessings are the energy and inspiration for all of us. Once again, I congratulate all of you for the budget and for the inauguration and foundation stone laying ceremony of the development projects in Tumakuru today. You have come here in such large numbers today and showered your blessings. So, I also express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you.

Thank you !

DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of PM’s speech. Original speech was delivered in Hindi.

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DS/IG/AK