Congress manifesto for Karnataka polls- 1 Cr jobs and free education

Mangaluru, April 28: The Congress, which is seeking to retain power in Karnataka, on Friday promised to create one crore jobs across the southern state across its term.

"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 for the May 12 assembly elections 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 state's rural parts - at the rate of 10 lakh per year.

The Congress also said that it was committed to address the urban housing challenge and propose to build 15 lakh houses (3 lakh houses per year) here.

Claiming to the first state in the country to roll out the "Arogya Karnataka" universal healthcare scheme, the party said it will increase the budget allocation for health from the current 0.9 per cent to at least 1.5 per cent.