Mangaluru, April 27: In a bid to retain power in Karnataka, the ruling Congress on Friday promised to create one crore jobs across the southern state in its manifesto for the May 12 Legislative Assembly elections.
"We aim to create at least 15-20 lakh jobs each year in the state and provide programmes for skill development, encouraging entrepreneurship and increasing youths' employability quotient," said the manifesto released by party President Rahul Gandhi in this port city.
Terming its 47-page manifesto a "people's manifesto", the party said it wants to create a hut-free Karnataka and would build 50 lakh houses in the rural parts of the state.
"We are committed to address the urban housing challenge and propose to build 15 lakh houses (3 lakh houses per year) for the people of the state," it said.
Claiming to the first state in the country to roll out the "Arogya Karnataka" universal healthcare scheme, the Congress said it will increase the budget allocation for health from the current 0.9 per cent to at least 1.5 per cent.
On March 2, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had unveiled the state's public healthcare scheme, that is expected to benefit about 1.43 crore households, by providing free treatment to all below poverty line (BPL) families at government hospitals.
The party also promised to provide free education to all students from grades 1 to 12 across all the state-run schools in the state. Presently, the state gives free elementary education to all children from class 1 to 8 in state-run and government-aided schools.
In a bid to promote girl child education, Siddaramaiah had said on February 16 while announcing the state Budget that all girls will get free education up to post-graduation in state-run institutions.
All college-going students in the state will receive a smartphone, the manifesto added.
Information Technology (IT) will be made an important driver of the state economy by increasing the field's contribution from the current $60 billion to $300 billion, the ruling party said.
Currently, the state capital Bengaluru alone, which is home to over 750 multinationals and 2,000 IT firms, contributes about 40 per cent of the total IT exports done by the country.
"We will build a talent pool to cater to over 3 million IT jobs in the state by skill upgradation and IT-driven curriculum," added the manifesto.
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Jaipur, Mar 28: Young Riyan Parag showed why he is considered a precocious talent as he struck a stunning 84 not out off 45 balls to set up a 12-run win for Rajasthan Royals against Delhi Capitals in their IPL match here on Thursday.
Sent in to bat, RR were reduced to 36 for 3 in the eighth over but the 22-year-old Parag single-handedly took the home side to 185 for 5 with a magnificent unbeaten knock studded with seven fours and six sixes.
Parag, who was promoted to number 4 by the team management this season and made 43 in the previous match, took 25 runs off veteran South African pacer Anrich Nortje with scores of 4, 4, 6, 4, 6, 1 in the final over to hit his highest T20 score.
Chasing 186 for a win, DC could only manage 173 for 5 in 20 overs though South African youngster Tristan Stubbs (44 not out off 23 balls) kept them in the hunt till the final over from which they needed 17 runs.
Avesh Khan conceded just four runs to help RR win their second consecutive match.
South African pacer Nandre Burger and Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets apiece to also contribute in the RR win.
"Definitely disappointed. The best thing to do from here is to learn from it. The bowlers did well through the 15-16 overs. But the batters did well at the death, hopefully we do better in the next game," DC skipper Rishabh Pant said.
DC were reduced to 34 for 2 in the fourth over with Burger taking two wickets in three balls in a fine display of fast bowling.
Burger, who was brought in as Impact Sub for Shimron Hetmyer, dismissed opener Mitchell Marsh (23 off 12 balls) and Ricky Bhui (0) in the fourth over.
DC captain Rishabh Pant came out to bat at the fall of Bhui's wicket and along with senior batter David Warner built the innings without taking too much risk. Delhi were 89 for 2 at the halfway stage.
Warner was the more aggressive one as he got the boundaries to keep DC in the hunt. The senior Australian batter fell one run short of his fifty courtesy a brilliant diving catch by Sandeep Sharma off the bowling of Avesh in the 12th over.
Warner and Pant were involved in a crucial 67-run partnership for the third wicket.
Playing in his 100th IPL match and 14 months after a horrible car crash, Pant tried to build the innings with occasional boundaries. But he got out for a 26-ball 28 as Chahal induced a faint lower edge for Sanju Samson to do the rest behind the stumps in the 14th over.
The asking rate shot up to more than 13 runs an over and DC needed 66 from the last five overs.
Stubbs kept DC in the game with two consecutive sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin in the 17th over, but in the end the Delhi side were short by 12 runs.
They needed 34 runs from the final two overs which they could not get. It was DC's second consecutive loss.
Earlier, Parag shared 54 and 52 runs respectively with Ravichandran Ashwin (29) and Dhruv Jurel (20) after RR made a shaky start.
Royals captain Samson struck three consecutive boundaries in the fourth over bowled by pacer Mukesh Kumar before nicking a Khaleel Ahmed delivery two overs later to Pant to get out for 15.
RR were 30 for 2 by then as Mukesh had given DC their first breakthrough with the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal (5).
The Royals were in more trouble after wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav literally forced his captain Pant to take a review, which later proved to be successful, to dismiss Englishman Jos Buttler for an LBW decision.
Ashwin came out to bat at number five and he lofted a Kuldeep delivery for a six to help RR reach 58 for 3 at halfway stage. He gave Nortje even a harsher treatment with two sixes in the next over that yielded 15 runs.
Ashwin, however, holed out to Tristan Stubbs near the boundary ropes for a 19-ball 29.
Parag then made his presence felt, striking two boundaries and a six off Ahmed to take RR past 100 in the 15th over.