Karnataka's Guarantee Model: A Template for Inclusive Growth

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urges the Centre to adopt Karnataka's 'Guarantee Model' for national development, emphasizing five progressive welfare schemes aimed at addressing social inequality. Karnataka's model is positioned as an effective alternative to trickle-down economics, promoting inclusive, bottom-up growth. Siddaramaiah seeks recognition and fiscal support from the union government.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called on the central government to adopt Karnataka's 'Guarantee Model' as a blueprint for national development. Speaking at the Fiscal Policy Institute, he emphasized the state's five welfare schemes as tools for inclusive growth, aimed at bridging social inequalities and strengthening cooperative federalism.

The five schemes include free power for households, monthly assistance for families, additional rice for BPL households, financial aid for unemployed youth, and free bus travel for women. Siddaramaiah stresses these are not mere populist measures, but essential policy correctives addressing the failures of trickle-down economics.

Despite criticism labeling these initiatives as fiscally irresponsible, Siddaramaiah contends they have stimulated local demand and reduced unemployment without burdening the exchequer. He advocates for the Centre to acknowledge Karnataka's financial model, claiming it as a pioneering form of Universal Basic Income that prioritizes growth and justice.

(With inputs from agencies.)