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Welcoming the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium industries Murugesh R. Nirani has said the announcement of the Central assistance of Rs 5,300 crore for Upper Bhadra Project in the drought-prone region of Karnataka will provide sustainable micro irrigation and filling up of surface tanks for drinking water.

Nirani said that the announcement in the Union Budget to enhance the export competitiveness of marine products, particularly shrimps, by reducing duty on key inputs for domestic manufacture of shrimp feed will contribute to the growth of marine exports from Karnataka.

"The state has produced approximately 1,000 tonnes of Tiger Shrimp in 2021 and has also been dealing with a decline in our overall marine exports," the Minister said.

"The announcement for relief in customs duty on the import of certain parts and inputs like camera lenses and continue the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries for another year, and the decision to reduce the basic customs duty on parts of open cells of TV panels to 2.5 per cent will further add to state's electronics manufacturing, as Karnataka continues to have lion's share in India's electronics and mobile phone manufacturing revolution," he added.

Pointing out on Budget's focus on promoting green energy, Nirani said the target to achieve an annual production of 5 MMT of Green Hydrogen by 2030, as well as allocation of 35,000 crore for priority capital investments towards energy transition will be in tandem with Karnataka's growth in Green Energy, which attracted the highest investments during the Global Investors Meet held on November last year.

Touching upon tax benefits, the Minister said the decision to extend the date of incorporation for income tax benefits to the start-ups till March 2024 will be a booster shot for furthering the development of Karnataka's fledgling hub of start-ups and entrepreneurs.

The Union Budget 2023 has also announced systematic measures and strategies which set the infrastructure for making India future ready, focusing on enhancing the capacity of our youth, industrial ecosystem, and contributing to the vision of India's 'Panchamrit' for making India a net-zero country by 2070.