Provision for development of Amaravati hailed

Kakinada: Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party have said that the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reflects the Central government’s strong commitment to inclusive and sustainable growth and marks important steps towards achieving the long-term goal of Viksit Bharat.

Speaking to the media at the Mootha Club here on Sunday, BJP Kakinada district president Bikkina Visweswara Rao and senior party leader Duvvuri Subrahmanyam said the reduction of the fiscal deficit by 0.1 per cent compared to the previous year was encouraging and noted that the government’s target to bring the fiscal deficit down to 4.3 per cent in the current financial year sent a positive signal. They said the allocation of Rs 12.2 lakh crore for infrastructure development would significantly boost employment generation across sectors.

They pointed out that special economic incentives for cities with a population of over five lakh, the establishment of five medical hubs across the country and the provision of hostels for girls in every district were among the positive features of the budget.

Referring to Andhra Pradesh, they said the proposal to provide Rs 1,128 crore through the Asian Development Bank for the development of Amaravati was a major support. They also welcomed the allocation of Rs 155 crore to promote natural farming in the state, around Rs 500 crore for rural road development, and Rs 800 crore for improving drinking water supply and wastewater management in Andhra Pradesh.

Party leaders Datla Sahithi Varma and Pendem Sridevi were also present.