BENGALURU : The Karnataka government has announced a ₹ 1,610 crore relief package for people who have been the hardest hit by the lockdown, including flower growers, washermen and women, barbers, construction workers, auto and cab drivers, MSMEs, and weavers. “We are stopping all development activities and prioritising this," chief minister BS Yediyurappa said.
Karnataka, like the rest of the country, is gradually exiting the covid-19-induced lockdown that has brought economic activity to a near standstill since 24 March.
With limited avenues for revenue, states have been forced to make difficult and unpopular choices that further place the burden on the taxpayer in the battle against the pandemic outbreak.