Jobs, Education & Safety: 10 Pro-Women Initiatives In Karnataka Budget 2018

On Friday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah presented the State Budget 2018-19 at Vidhana Soudha, the last one ahead of the Assembly elections.

Many different sectors ranging from employment, healthcare, agriculture and development have been given their share under the 13th budget encompassing ₹2,09,181 crores, which was prepared by the minister, who also holds the finance portfolio of the state.

However, it was the inclusion of many women-centric initiatives in areas such as education, employment as well as the police department with a budget outlay of ₹ 5,371 crores, which became the highlight of the budget.

Here is everything you need to know about the various pro-women schemes and proposals put forth by Siddaramaiah for Karnataka:

1. To inculcate a positive mindset about women and provide a safe atmosphere for women, the government aims to raise gender awareness in all spheres of life including government employees, community policing volunteers, resident welfare associations, students and colleges, especially boys and has set aside ₹2 crores for the same.

2. To ensure that no break in higher education occurs due to financial liabilities, one of the most important announcements in the budget was that fees would be waived for all female students studying in government pre-university (PU), degree and postgraduate colleges. With an allocation of ₹95 crores, around 3.7 lakh students across the state are expected to benefit through this scheme.

3. To encourage more women to be part of the police department, the minister mentioned that the government aims to boost the representation of women in the force by 25 percent in the next five years.

4. Every police station and offices are to be equipped with toilets for women and all women police stations in district headquarters have been marked for upgradation to one-stop service centres in the budget.

5. The Transport department has been asked to train about 100 women in light motor vehicle (LMV) driving at institutes in Bengaluru and Dharwad. A similar responsibility has been given to BMTC who will train 1,000 women candidates.

6. The ‘Udyogini’ scheme assists women in gaining self-reliance through self-employment, especially in the trade and service sector, and this year, the maximum limit of loan has been raised from ₹1 lakh to ₹3 lakhs. Others changes include subsidy at 30 percent of the loan amount, increase of the income limit of the family to ₹1.5 lakh and increase of age limit for all categories from 45 to 55 years.

7. An amount of ₹1 crore has been earmarked to kickstart a comprehensive information resource portal for women that will communicate relevant information about schemes and facilities.

8. Exclusive transit hostels will be built in association with voluntary organisations and private partners, to ensure that women who come to Bengaluru for employment opportunities and entrance examinations have access to safe accommodation.

9. For the protection and care of women infected with HIV/AIDS women, ₹1 crore has been set aside to establish Ashraya centres by non-profit organisations at division-level.

10. To encourage more women entrepreneurs, preference will be given to self-help and women entrepreneurial groups for public procurement (catering, housekeeping, solid waste management in the local areas of the cities, etc.)

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