Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is rolling up her sleeves for a two‑day trip to Karnataka’s Kalyana Karnataka region. Starting Wednesday, she will visit district hubs in Kalaburagi, Bidar, Koppal, Ballary, Raichur and Yadgir, meeting farmers, farmer‑producer groups and visiting agro‑processing centers.
Sitharaman wants to show how the government is boosting local agriculture. She will tour training facilities that turn raw produce into market‑ready products – from peanut and tamarind goods in Vijayanagara to chili flakes in Ballary, fruit juices in Koppal, and soy‑milk blends in Bidar. In each of seven districts, the ministry has already launched units using funds from the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). The projects handle volumes ranging from 200 kg per hour of peanuts in Vijayanagara to 500 kg per hour of millet flour in Kalaburagi.
During her visit, the Finance Minister will open manufacturing units in four districts—Vijayanagara, Bellary, Koppal and Raichur—highlighting the progress of the Kalyana Karnataka development drive. She’s eager to meet farmers and their families who will benefit from the new training and common facility centres across the region.
The Kalyana Karnataka area is one of Karnataka’s most under‑developed regions, lagging behind in social, economic and educational metrics. Although it has rich natural resources, the region has struggled to rise above the front page headlines about the lowest high‑school pass rates and poor infrastructure. In 2024‑25, Kalaburagi recorded the state’s lowest SSLC pass rate at just 42.43 %.
The state government has set up a dedicated secretariat to streamline development in Kalyana Karnataka, aiming to lift the region out of its back‑log. Minister Priyank Kharge, son of former AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, heads the district and also carries the Rural Development and IT portfolios.
Finance Minister Sitharaman’s trip signals a fresh push to transform Kalyana Karnataka’s agricultural landscape, bring value‑added processing to local farmers, and spur overall growth in this historically disadvantaged region.
Source: ianslive
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