Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh government, at its 29th e-cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, approved the implementation of a new universal health policy to provide quality treatment free of cost to all BPL families in the state. The insurance companies will provide health insurance from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, while the NTR Vaidya Seva Trust will provide health coverage from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh to BPL families. Under this programme 3,257 health services will be covered. As per the new proposal, the approvals will be given within six hours after admitting a patient in a hospital and a control will be set up in NTR Trust to monitor the free health services.

Addressing media persons on cabinet decisions, Minister for Information and Public Relations K Parthasarathi said the cabinet also approved a proposal to launch 10 new medical colleges in PPP mode at Adoni, Madanapalli, Markapuram, Pulivendula, Penugonda, Palacole, Amalapuram, Narsipatnam, Bapatla and Parvatiuram, with the goal of starting admissions in them from 2027-28 academic year. Besides, the cabinet approved several key decisions to drive development in infrastructure and industry. The government approved measures to boost development in Amaravati and other urban areas. Stamp duty will be reimbursed for educational and healthcare institutions for allotted land in the capital to attract investments. A new scheme will be introduced to regularise deviations and 59,375 unauthorised buildings constructed up to August 31, 2025. The APCRDA Commissioner has been authorised to award contracts for trunk infrastructure in Amaravati.

The cabinet also approved the "Mangalagiri Gold Cluster Land Pooling Scheme" to create a gems and jewelry park. In addition, the cabinet decided to consider a proposal to increase the limit of highrise buildings to 24 metres against the present 18 metres height.

Several major investment proposals recommended by the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) were approved. These include the proposals of: Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable Pvt. Ltd, with Rs 427 crore investment and creating 180 jobs; Ace International Ltd, with Rs 786 crore investment and creating 2,500 direct and indirect jobs; Skyroot Aerospace Pvt. Ltd, with allocation of land for a new "space city" and manufacturing facilities; Apollo Tyres Ltd, with Rs 1,110 crore investment in Chittoor district and creating 500 jobs by December 2027; and of HFCL Ltd, with Rs 1,197 crore investment in Anantapur district and creating 870 jobs.

The Cabinet approved incentives for three new hotels: a Hilton-Garden Inn in Mantralayam, a Holiday Inn in Amaravati, and a Taj Vivanta at Bhogapuram International Airport.

Several proposals for solar, wind, and pumped storage projects were approved, including expanding the capacity of two pumped storage projects by Navayuga Engineering Company and Chintha Green Energy.

A draft bill to sub-categorize Scheduled Castes was approved to ensure equitable progress. The cabinet also approved a proposal to convert 5 kg LPG cylinders under the Deepam-2 scheme to 14.2 kg domestic cylinders, providing equal subsidy benefits to over 23,912 families of the agency region spread over 16 districts.

The cabinet approved allotment of lands proposed by various departments, including Industries and Commercial Taxes, Tourism and Youth welfare, and Electricity to encourage investors. It approved the allocation of Rs 5.7 cr towards repairs and maintenance of 392 irrigation structures. The cabinet also approved to allot 26.70 acres of land for the electronics companies which came forward to invest Rs 1595 cr in Naidupet to provide employment opportunity to 2,168 people.

The cabinet decided to also reduce green tax on vehicles and introduce a bill in this regard in the Assembly. The cabinet approved AP Drinking water supply schemes operation and maintenance scheme proposed by the Panchayat Raj department to supply safe drinking water in rural areas. The Cabinet commended the Union government for its recent GST reforms, which are expected to reduce taxes on essential goods and benefit various sectors.