Bengaluru, Oct 14 (IANS) Union Finance Nirmala Sitharaman will be on a two-day visit to Karnataka, beginning Wednesday, during which she will participate in various programmes.

She will arrive in Karnataka on Wednesday and participate in various programmes across Kalaburagi, Bidar, Koppal, Ballary, Raichur, and Yadgir districts.

During her visit, she will interact with farmers and farmer cooperatives. She will also visit agricultural training centers and agricultural product processing centres to hold discussions.

Taking to social media X, on Tuesday, FM Sitharaman stated, “Travelling through Kalyan Karnataka from tomorrow, shall participate in visiting the various Farmers’ Training and Common facility centres for Agro Processing which have commenced production.”

“Using funds from my Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), have set up one unit in each of the following seven districts.

Vijayanagara: Peanut Butter, Roasted Peanut, Peanut Chikki, De-seeded Tamarind blocks and Tamarind Pulp (Peanut- 200kgph; Tamarind- 100 kgph); Ballari: Chilli Flakes and Chilli Powder (Chilli – 250 kgph); Koppal: Fruit Pulp, Fruit Juices and Amchur Powder (Fruit – 500 kgph)

Raichur: Chila Premix, Channa and Tuar Dal Mill (Dal- 350 kgph); Yadgir: Peanut Butter, Roasted Peanut and Groundnut Oil (300 kgph); Kalaburagi: Millet Flakes, Millet Pops, Millet Flour and Whole Millets (Millet- 500 kgph); Bidar: Soybean tofu and flavoured soy milk (Soyabean- 300 kgph)”

She further stated, “During this visit, shall inaugurate manufacturing units in four districts of Vijayanagara, Bellary, Koppal and Raichur.”

“Looking forward to meet the farmers, farmer producer organisations and their families who will benefit from these Training and Common Facility Centres for Agro Processing, set up across the seven districts of Kalyana Karnataka,” she underlined.

She has also put out a social media post on X in Kannada, announcing her trip to Karnataka.

Kalyana Karnataka region is considered as most backward region in the state with social, economical and academical parameters remaining at the bottom. Despite the region’s rich natural resources, it remains the least developed in Karnataka. The government has approved a separate secretariat for the Kalyana Karnataka region to streamline development efforts.

Kalaburagi, one of the districts in Kalyan Karnataka region is the native of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge. Kalaburagi district had the lowest SSLC pass percentage in Karnataka for the 2024-25 academic year, with a pass rate of 42.43 per cent. This result placed it at the bottom of the state’s performance ranking.

Priyank Kharge, son of Mallikarjun Kharge, is in-charge Minister for Kalaburagi district and he also holds Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) portfolio along with IT and BT.

–IANS

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