Kamal Ghorui
BENGALURU: Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said the state government is planning a social media ban for children below 16 years while presenting the state budget for 2026–27.“Social media will be banned for children under the age of 16 to prevent the adverse effects of increasing mobile usage. The ban is aimed at preventing the negative impact on children caused by increasing mobile phone usage, ” Siddaramaiah said.“AI and Tech park under IISC will set up a robotics and AI campus called Bangalore Robotics and AI innovation zone in collaboration with ISRO and Keonics,” he added further. Presenting his 17th budget, Siddaramaiah also criticised the Centre, saying it was doing injustice to the state by not adhering to the federal system of governance as laid out in the constitution. He said the state government was pursuing a development strategy that balances welfare programmes with investments in infrastructure and long-term economic transformation, while urging the Union government to be more sensitive to the state’s demands.Siddaramaiah said Karnataka remains at the forefront of the nation’s development and is among the largest contributors of tax revenues to the country. “Our state is at the forefront in all sectors of the nation’s development; it is one of the key states that contributes the highest tax revenues,” he said. Total expenditure for 2026–27 is estimated at Rs 4,48,004 crore, Siddaramaiah said. State budget of Rs 4,48,004 croreA state budget of Rs 4,48,004 crore for the financial year 2026–27, outlining plans centred on technology-driven growth, infrastructure development and environmental sustainability.CM said Karnataka continues to play a distinctive role in national and global trade and that rapid advances in artificial intelligence are transforming production systems worldwide. He added that scientific and technological innovation is increasingly shaping the state’s development trajectory. In that context, the chief minister said the budget had been framed with “responsibility and foresight” and with a resolve to “turn fire into light”. However, he also flagged concerns over falling revenue growth following the rationalisation of rates under the Goods and Services Tax in September 2025. According to the government, Karnataka’s average monthly GST revenue growth in 2025–26 was about 10% before the changes, after accounting for refunds. After the revised rates came into effect, the average monthly growth slowed sharply to around 4%. The restructuring is expected to reduce the state’s GST collections by roughly Rs 10,000 crore in the current financial year and by about Rs 15,000 crore in the next year. Among the key announcements was a plan to establish an artificial intelligence centre in Bengaluru. Two centres of excellence will be set up in collaboration with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms and NASSCOM at a cost of Rs 16 crore. The government also announced the establishment of a leopard rehabilitation facility at Bannerghatta Biological Park. The Rs 5-crore centre will house and rehabilitate leopards captured from residential areas on the outskirts of the city. To tackle urban flooding, the state will implement disaster management projects in Bengaluru under the Karnataka Water Security and Resilience Programme, a World Bank-funded initiative. The programme will run for five years with an estimated outlay of Rs 5,000 crore. The chief minister also said the excise department had introduced digital counselling for the transfer of Group-C cadre officers, including excise inspectors and constables, in an effort to improve transparency. The system will now be extended to transfers of deputy superintendents and superintendents in the department.
