Karnataka State budgets: how far they have promoted inclusiveness

Inclusiveness and inclusive development have been the key focus areas in the Indian policy-making arena, and with the Eleventh Five-Year plan, this goal attracted further commitments and targets. The primary condition for the accomplishment of these developmental goals is derived from the allocation and spending patterns of the central and state governments in this area which will help in realization of the targets in the six key areas, viz., income and poverty, education, health, women and children, infrastructure and environment. This paper analyses the inclusive philosophy underlying the budget allocation and spending under different political parties in the state of Karnataka, India. Special programs like Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan, Tribal Sub-Plan, Mahila Abhivrudhi Yojane, etc., which were conceived with increased allocation of resources, were, however, hampered by serious issues such as actual expenditure falling far short of allocation, considerable bunching with close to fifty percent of the expenditure incurred in the last quarter, and lopsided regional distribution of resources. We also examine the nature of spending over time in achieving inclusiveness in terms of regional development, women empowerment and development of different social groups. We argue that proper execution of the schemes and good planning of expenditure is need of the hour to realize the developmental outcomes envisioned.