Karnataka has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country: CM to PM

Karnataka has been able tomaintain ''one of the lowest'' unemployment rates in the countryat 3.6 per cent, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa told PrimeMinister Narendra Modi on Saturday.

The Chief Minister also requested the Prime Ministerto declare Upper Bhadra Project and Upper Krishna Project asnational projects.

Speaking during the virtual meeting of the NITI Aayogchaired by Modi,he said despite the coronavirus pandemic allthe fiscal indicators of the state have been contained withinthe limits of the Karnataka Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2002.

''The Prime Minister was briefed about the initiativestaken by the State for Industrial development such as NewIndustrial Policy 2020-2024, Affidavit based clearance system,steps taken to promote exports, MoUs made withe-commerce players like Amazon and Flipkart to boostmarketing of local products etc,'' the CMO said in a statement.

The Chief Minister also listed various farmer andfarm sector related initiatives like setting up of a taskforce to promote integrated farming system, making FarmersContact Centresas a single point of contact for regionspecific input supplies and advisories and also regardingconserving local breeds of cattle.

According to the statement,the government intends toset up a scientific marketing intelligence cell in order toshift focus on income based policy to increase farmers income.

It is also intended to create an online marketingplatform for surplus fruits and vegetables supported byinfrastructure facilities under the Atmanirbhar scheme.

The state government plans to follow NITI Aayog's 49aspirational indicators to monitor the progress of 114backward taluks, Yediyurappa said.

''Under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, 3,409hospitals have enrolled, which is the maximum in the country.'' ''Under Atmanirbhar Scheme, we have proposed to createsuper-speciality treatment facilities in government hospitalsin district centres,'' Yediyurappa said.

The government will focus on improving nutritionalstatus in 67 taluks in 16 districts, he added.

During the meeting, the Chief Minister also requestedthe Centre to approve 6 proposals worth Rs 6,673 crore undermodernisation of canals project and additional grants werealso sought for river diversion projects.

It was also requested to set up a mechanism to fasttrack disposal of litigation in courts as infrastructureprojects are hampered due to litigation and environmentalprotests, the statement said.

The Centre was also requested to provide Rs 4,300 croreto create optical fibre network to provide networkconnectivity to all government offices.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)