AP reboots economy

Vijayawada: The Government of Andhra Pradesh on Monday presented a budget of Rs 2.94 lakh crore for the year 2024-25 with Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav asserting that it took five months to “restarting the financial wheels of the state".

Finance Minister Keshav said while the TDP government from 2014 to 2019 had adopted a multi-pronged strategy across agriculture, industries, irrigation, service sector, roads and buildings and employment generation. The economic policies of the previous government in the last five years had eroded the confidence of the investors, confused people with the disastrous 3-capital model, stalled the Polavaram project and works on the capital city Amaravati and chased away the established industries resulting in breakdown of economic activity, he said. Quoting Kautilya, Finance Minister Keshav said, “The root of wealth is the economic activity and lack of it brings material distress. In the absence of fruitful economic activity, both current prosperity and future growth are in danger of destruction.”

Keshav said, keeping all these issues in mind, he was presenting a Rs 2.94 lakh crore budget with special emphasis on agriculture, panchayat raj and rural development, school education, healthcare and family welfare.

The FM said Rs 16,739 crore were allocated for PR and rural development, Rs 29,909 crore for school education and Rs 18,421 crore for health.

The budget allotted Rs 16,739 crore for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, a portfolio held by Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, Rs 29,909 crore for school education and Rs 18,421 crore for Healthcare and Family Welfare.

Presenting the budget in the Assembly, when only a little over four months are left in the fiscal, Keshav said the estimated revenue deficit is around Rs 34,743 crore (2.12 per cent of the GSDP) and the fiscal deficit is estimated at around Rs 68,743 crore (4.19 per cent of the GSDP) for the financial year.

The revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs 2.36 lakh crore and capital expenditure at Rs 32,713 crore. To eradicate poverty and extend welfare for the marginalised, the finance minister allocated Rs 18,497 crore SC component, Rs 7,557 crore ST component, Rs 39,007 crore BC component and Rs 4,376 crore minorities welfare component.

Allocating Rs 11,490 crore to the Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Keshav said the government is committed towards planned and sustainable urban development. For the 'dream capital city of Amaravati', an allocation of Rs 16,705 crore has been made.

Similarly, Keshav allocated an amount of Rs 8,207 crore for the Energy Department. He said a new comprehensive AP (Andhra Pradesh) Integrated Clean Energy Policy 2024 has been notified for promoting sustainability, energy transition and clean energy technologies in the state.

Further, he allotted Rs 9,554 crore to the Department of Transport, Roads and Buildings, which also includes allocations to the State Disaster Mitigation Fund and State Disaster Response Fund.