Karnataka Cabinet clears Negila Yogi scheme, drone testing facility, AI hub

The Karnataka Cabinet on Wednesday approved a scheme to provide free cultivation services to farmers owning up to three acres by hiring private tractors, besides clearing proposals for a drone testing facility, an AI hub and a Shakti Smart Card, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said.

Under the Chief Minister's Negila Yogi scheme, the government will hire private tractors to cultivate the land of eligible farmers. If required, it will purchase tractors for use under the scheme, Parameshwara said.

"We are introducing the Chief Minister's Negila Yogi (tiller ascetic) scheme. There are villages where five or so people own tractors, who cultivate their land and leave the tractors idle. The government will hire those tractors and use them to cultivate other farmers' land," Parameshwara told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.


"If a village does not have tractors, we will supplement them from elsewhere. If necessary, the government will purchase tractors. We may purchase 500 or 1,000 tractors depending on the requirement," the Deputy CM said.

He added that the government would provide cultivation services free of cost to farmers owning up to three acres. According to him, there are around 59 lakh farmers in the state.

The scheme will initially be launched as a pilot project in 31 taluks, with one project in each selected taluk.

The government has already made a provision of Rs 152 crore for the scheme, Parameshwara said.

If the pilot is successful, the scheme will be expanded to the remaining taluks from next year, he added.

"We want to increase agricultural production, create employment and help farmers. The service will be systematic and free for poor farmers," he said.

The state government has decided to deploy drones, artificial intelligence, satellite imagery and robotics for disaster management.

Whenever new technology emerges, the private sector usually adopts it first. By the time the government adopts it, newer technologies have emerged, Parameshwara said.

The initiative will cover technologies such as geospatial analytics, robotics for high-risk rescue operations, artificial intelligence and decision-support systems, as well as early-warning systems and last-mile connectivity, he added.

"Therefore, we want the government itself to become an early adopter of new technologies," said Parameshwara, who also holds the Revenue portfolio.

There is no incentive involved in this because the government itself will be using the technology, he added.

Parameshwara further said Karnataka would establish a drone testing facility in Chikkaballapur, which he claimed would be the first of its kind in the country.

"Drone technology is advancing rapidly. Medicine delivery by drones has already started in Bengaluru. In the future, drones could be used to transport people over short distances, and testing is already taking place in different countries," Parameshwara said.

The testing facility will not be limited to a laboratory inside a building, but it will facilitate field testing, he added.

The Cabinet decided to set up an Artificial Intelligence Hub at the International Institute of Information Technology, Bengaluru (IIIT-B), he said.

The AI Hub will offer practical training, internships, mentorship, real-world case studies and modular programmes for students, fresh graduates and job seekers, Parameshwara said.

It will provide seed funding, incubation support and technical facilities.

"Once the AI University is established, the hub will be shifted there. The government has approved Rs 35 crore for setting up the AI Hub," he said.

The Karnataka government decided to introduce the Shakti Smart Card for women beneficiaries of the Shakti scheme.

The Shakti scheme is one of the five pre-poll guarantees of the Congress government and provides free travel to women across the state on non-luxury state-owned buses.

The Shakti Smart Card project is estimated to cost Rs 237 crore and will be implemented under a public-private partnership model, he added.

The government will contribute Rs 100 crore, while the private partner will be responsible for maintaining the system, the Deputy CM said.

"When the card is swiped, we will receive travel data, like how many people travelled, where they travelled from and to, and the distance travelled. Such data is currently not available systematically," Parameshwara told reporters.

"The card will be free. We will only need the beneficiary's identification details," he added.

The Cabinet approved the New Textile and Readymade Garments Policy 2026-31.

Parameshwara said Karnataka had introduced three textile policies earlier-the Suvarna Vastra Policy for 2008-13, the New Textile and Readymade Garments Policy for 2013-18 and another policy for 2019-24.

"We have now modified and continued the policy according to current technology, the present ecosystem and current requirements. The silk industry has been included this time, which was not included in the earlier policies," Parameshwara said.

"We expect the government to invest between Rs 4,000-5,000 crore over five years and attract Rs 20,000 crore from investors," he added.