Liquor, beer to cost more in Karnataka    

Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Friday offered a further dose of reliefs such as lowering VAT on different commodities and grants to various communities and organisations to the tune of roughly Rs 35 crore.

He imposed additional excise duties on Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL), beer and other low alcohol beverages to net Rs 820 crore more revenue from the excise during the coming year. The exact amount of the additional excise duties on liquor is yet to be worked out and will be notified shortly in view of the commencement of the excise year from July 1.

In a reply to the debate on the budget proposals for the year 2009-10, which were presented in the state assembly on last Friday, the chief minister announced reduction in VAT on Kannada software development, plastic tarpaulin and converters of organic waste from the present 12.5% to 3%, hike in honorarium to the nearly 56,000 village accountants from the present Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 and Rs 9,500 a quintal as the support price for arecanut and Rs 5 crore for taking up a lift irrigation project in Malavalli taluk.

Other major decisions included: 

• Loans at at 3% interest from cooperative institutions and commercial banks to the backward and numerically large Idiga community, which is quite predominant in Shimoga, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts who lost jobs due to ban of arrack.

• Rs 3 crore to Arya Idiga Math in Solur in Magadi taluk

• Rs 3 crore to Chalavadi community for construction of community buildings in Bangalore, Shimoga and Bidar districts besides a site in Bangalore.

•  Sops of Rs 1 crore  each have been announced for Kodavas, construction of Jagannathrao Joshi memorial at Nargund, Mogaveeras for a community building and math at Bennekudra in Barkur and Pandarapur yatri nivas construction in Maharashtra.

• Rs 2 crore for distribution as subsidy at Rs 10 lakh each to 50 Kannada films.

• Rs 1 crore from Kannada film workers welfare trust

• Rs 5 lakh additional subsidy to Kannada films winning national awards besides annual grants of Rs I crore for celebrating Basava utsav at Basavakalyan a major pilgrim centre of Lingayats

• Rs 50 lakh to Kuvempu foundation in Kuppalli for honouring the Jnanapith award winning Kannada writer

• Rs 20 lakh for organising cultural activities at Sanehalli in Chitraduga.