Karnataka's annual plan size for 2008-09 has been fixed at Rs 25,952.53 crore which include an additional Rs 100 crore-central assistance for projects of special interest of the state.
The annual plan size was agreed today at a meeting between the state Chief Minister Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia after a review of the financial performance.
"This is the third highest plan size after Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh," the Chief Minister said after the meeting.
While pointing out that the state's tax to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) ratio was among the highest in the country, Ahluwalia said, "efforts should be made to improve infrastructure through public private partnership."
Asking the state to address problems in the health sector, he said, incidence of anemia and malnutrition was high in Karnataka.
Briefing the Commission about the steps being taken by Karnataka to encourage growth and development, Yediyurappa said, "state intends to achieve a growth rate of nine per cent during the Eleventh Plan."
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He further said that Karnataka has been able to restrict fiscal deficit to less than three per cent of GSDP and has been achieving revenue surpluses every year since 2004-05. Karnataka Chief Minister also demanded "inclusion of Cauvery basin irrigation projects in the Prime Minister's package for distressed farmers without inciting on clearance from Cauvery Tribunal."
Between 1994 and 2004, the manufacturing and service sectors grew at 7.50 per cent and 10.61 per cent respectively, while the growth in the primary sector regressed to 0.6 per cent per annum.
The state, he said, would try to achieve a growth of over four per cent in primary sector.