Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah is expected to meet Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi Thursday to discuss the reduction in loans to Karnataka from National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard). He is likely to urge her to intervene and increase the quantum of short-term loans disbursed by the bank.
Nabard reduced the quantum of loan to Karnataka for the current fiscal to Rs 2,340 crore from Rs 5,600 crore last year, triggering shock by the state govt. Last week, Siddaramaiah wrote to Sitharaman and Union cooperative minister Amit Shah seeking an increase in the state’s loan quota. Both ministers are yet to reply.
On Tuesday, agriculture minister N Cheluvarayaswamy and cooperation minister KN Rajanna said the state had planned to disburse Rs 25,000 crore crop loans to 35 lakh farmers and Nabard’s move will truncate its plan.
Siddaramaiah, who said he has sought an appointment with Sitharaman, said he is going to New Delhi to launch Nandini milk and curd products, including idli and dosa batter, in the national capital as Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), seeks to expand its footprint.
KMF aims to capture a share of the competitive north Indian dairy market, which is currently led by brands such as Amul, Mother Dairy, Madhusudan, and Namaste India. This expansion places Nandini in direct competition with Amul, the flagship brand of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation.
To ensure a smooth supply chain, KMF conducted successful trial runs, transporting milk from Mandya Milk Union to Delhi in insulated road tankers. The federation plans to deploy 2,190 tankers to transport 1lakh kilograms of milk daily over the 2,500km trip. Three tankers capable of transporting 33 kilolitres (KL) will be deployed daily, supported by additional standby tankers.
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CM may discuss cabinet rejig
During his visit to the national capital, chief minister Siddaramaiah is expected to meet the party high command to discuss a possible rejig. Siddaramaiah is reportedly considering dropping a few non-performing ministers over the past one-and-a-half years since the govt was formed, and inducting others waiting in the wings.
Asked if he will meet the Congress high command, Siddaramaiah said: “I will have to return (to state) by tomorrow evening. If I get time, I will meet.”
