“My City My Budget” is a participatory budgeting initiative that invites citizens to suggest local civic works for inclusion in the municipal budget. Which state government launched this “My City My Budget” initiative?

Introduction / Context:
Participatory budgeting is a modern democratic practice in which citizens directly provide inputs on how a part of the public budget should be spent in their neighbourhoods. In India, one notable initiative of this kind is called My City My Budget. This question checks whether you know which state government launched the My City My Budget initiative, which has been implemented through urban local bodies to increase citizen engagement and transparency in municipal spending.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The scheme in question is called My City My Budget.
• It is associated with participatory budgeting in urban areas.
• The options list four states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
• We assume awareness that Bengaluru city and other cities in Karnataka have experimented with participatory budgeting exercises.

Concept / Approach:
My City My Budget has been prominently implemented in Bengaluru with the involvement of the municipal corporation and citizen groups. Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka, which gives a strong clue that the initiative belongs to the Karnataka state government. The approach to the question is to connect the name of the initiative with the city most frequently mentioned in news reports and awareness campaigns, and then select the corresponding state. This is a typical current affairs type question that blends governance with civic participation.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall where you have heard about My City My Budget. Most articles and reports link it to Bengaluru and other urban local bodies in Karnataka. Step 2: Recognise that Bengaluru is the capital of Karnataka, so a city level initiative there would fall under the Karnataka state government. Step 3: Examine the options. Option B mentions Karnataka, which fits with the known implementation of the scheme. Step 4: Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have undertaken various reforms but are not primarily associated with this specific My City My Budget brand. Step 5: Eliminate the other states because there is no strong link between them and the named initiative. Step 6: Conclude that Karnataka is the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, you can recall that My City My Budget was implemented by the municipal corporation of Bengaluru in partnership with a civic organisation. Citizens were invited to fill in budget suggestion forms or use digital platforms to propose neighbourhood works, such as footpath repairs or streetlights. These suggestions were then compiled and fed into the city budget process. This type of story is usually reported with clear mention of Bengaluru and Karnataka, reinforcing that the initiative originated there. Therefore, selecting Karnataka as the correct state fits both the branding and the known location of the pilot projects.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A: Uttar Pradesh has many urban programmes but there is no widely known initiative branded as My City My Budget associated with it.

Option C: Telangana, with Hyderabad as its capital, has its own civic schemes, but the specific initiative called My City My Budget is not typically linked to it.

Option D: Andhra Pradesh has focused on other model town programmes and digital initiatives, but again the named scheme My City My Budget is not widely associated with this state.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes guess state based current affairs questions using random elimination without connecting the scheme to a known city or region. Another common mistake is to mix up similar sounding participatory schemes or assume that every innovative urban initiative belongs to the largest or most talked about state. To avoid these issues, it is helpful to form mental associations such as My City My Budget with Bengaluru and Karnataka, or similar schemes with their own flagship cities. Repeated revision of such associations through newspapers and summary notes can significantly improve accuracy in current affairs based polity questions.

Final Answer:
Karnataka.