Bengaluru, March 7 : The Karnataka government on Friday announced that Bangalore City University will be named after former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah made the announcement while presenting the budget for the financial year 2025-26. He said Bangalore City University will be renamed Dr Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University. To make this a model university in the country, Government Arts College and Government R.C. College will be made constituent colleges of this University.

While mentioning the school education, he stated that the eggs/bananas being given to 53 lakh school children two days a week to mitigate malnutrition amongst school children has been extended to six days a week with support from the Azim Premji Foundation at a cost of Rs1500 crore. This programme will be continued in 2025-26.

Shri Sathya Sai Annapoorna Trust is distributing Sai Sure Ragi Health Mix powder mixed with hot milk to schoolchildren three days a week. This programme will be extended to five days a week with a total cost of Rs100 crore. 25 per cent of this project cost will be borne by the state government, he stated.

Karnataka Public Schools, established during the previous tenure of our government with the purpose of providing quality education from pre-primary level up to PU level under one roof, will be expanded. 500 new Karnataka Public Schools will be started for Rs 2,500 crore with assistance from the Asian Development Bank. The monthly honorarium given to the cooks working in government schools will be enhanced by Rs 1,000.

He stated that the AI-based 'Kalika Deepa' Programme, in collaboration with the Ek-Step Foundation, will be extended to students in 2,000 schools with the objective of enabling the students to learn the Kannada and English languages confidently and acquire early mathematical competencies.

'Vidya Vijeta' Programme to provide CET/NEET/JEE training to 25,000 students of government pre-university colleges has already been implemented. Rs 5 crore will be provided in the current year to continue this programme. Bilingual sections will be started in 4,000 government schools in the state to enhance students' fluency in the English language as well as in their mother tongue," he stated.

Under the initiative to strengthen women's higher education institutions, action has been taken to upgrade 31 such institutions during the last year. Infrastructure in the remaining 26 institutions will be upgraded for Rs 26 crore, the CM said.

Karnataka will introduce a pioneering policy focused on preventing and treating burn injuries among women. This will be a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, he stated.

/IANS