Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday, 23 May 2026 marked three years of his Congress government in office, crediting every Kannadiga for the administration's achievements and detailing financial aid disbursed to handloom weavers under the Nekara Samman Yojane.

Context

Posting in Kannada, Siddaramaiah said, 'ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಜನರ ಆಶೀರ್ವಾದದೊಂದಿಗೆ ನಾವು ಅಧಿಕಾರಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದು ಮೂರು ವರ್ಷಗಳು ಪೂರೈಸಿರುವ ಈ ಸಾರ್ಥಕ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ' — 'On this meaningful occasion of completing three years in power with the blessings of the people of the state.' He dedicated all of the government's achievements to the people of Karnataka.

The Chief Minister also affirmed that his government had honoured every pre-election promise, stating it had 'walked the talk' and pledged to accelerate the work of building a 'strong, prosperous, and self-respecting Karnataka' — framed under the Nava Karnataka vision.

Policy Backdrop

The Nekara Samman Yojane is a state welfare scheme providing direct financial assistance and educational scholarships to handloom weavers and their families. In 2023-24, 1,44,975 beneficiaries received ₹72.48 crore; in 2024-25, 1,17,400 beneficiaries received ₹58.70 crore; and in 2025-26, 1,27,186 beneficiaries received ₹63.59 crore.

Over the same three-year period, 9,261 students from weavers' families received ₹4.08 crore in scholarships for higher education, disbursed through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Additionally, 1,16,924 weavers across 31 districts of Karnataka were issued smart cards to ease access to government benefits.

Support for handloom weavers was a prominent commitment in the Indian National Congress party's 2023 Karnataka assembly election manifesto. Siddaramaiah, who also served as Chief Minister from 2013 to 2018, has a record of directing scheme-based assistance toward backward-class artisans and traditional occupation groups.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are Karnataka's handloom weaving community — a group facing sustained pressure from mechanised textile production and shifting consumer markets. The combination of direct cash transfers, educational scholarships, and smart-card enrolment is designed to address both immediate income stress and longer-term upward mobility for weavers' children.

Across 31 districts, the smart-card rollout aims to reduce leakage and improve last-mile delivery of entitlements. The DBT mechanism for scholarships ensures funds reach student beneficiaries directly, bypassing intermediaries.

What's Next

With the three-year milestone now marked publicly, attention will turn to the 2026-27 budget cycle and whether disbursement targets under Nekara Samman Yojane are expanded. The Siddaramaiah government's broader Nava Karnataka agenda also raises the question of whether similar direct-benefit models will be extended to other artisan groups facing comparable economic pressures. How the government sustains and scales these commitments will be a key measure of its delivery record heading into the next electoral cycle.