For the first time after the bifurcation of the state in 2014, the Andhra Pradesh government presented the Budget at Amaravati, the new capital in Guntur district, on Wednesday, with the proposals amounting to ₹1,56,999 crore, 15 per cent higher than in last year’s Budget.

One of the important proposals was allocation of ₹500 crore for giving allowances to jobless youth.

Priorities set Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu said the state, even though facing great challenges, was going ahead with great resolve and vision towards achieving the main objectives of building a world-class capital city at Amaravati, building the mega Polavaram project on the Godavari and developing the industry and agriculture in the state to make it one of the premier states in the country.

He said the revenue expenditure amounted to ₹1,25,912 crore and the capital expenditure ₹31,087 crore. The fiscal deficit amounted to ₹23,054 crore and the revenue deficit ₹416 crore. The growth rate amounted to 11.61 per cent and the objective was to maintain a growth rate of 12 per cent in tune with Vision 2029 prepared by the state government.

The Finance Minister said that from this Budget, the state government was doing away with the concept of Plan and non-Plan expenditure, which he said was “a significant structural reform in tune with the best practices in the world.”

Agriculture Budget For agriculture and allied sectors, ₹9,091 crore was allocated in the state Budget and a separate budget for agriculture was later presented by Agriculture Minister P Pulla Rao. The growth in the agriculture sector was put at 14 per cent. For fisheries ₹282 crore was allocated and for agricultural loan waiver ₹3,600 crore. For irrigation, the allocation was ₹12,770 crore.

Welfare funds Ramakrishnudu said the State government was laying thrust on welfare, with allocation of ₹10,000 crore to backward classes and ₹9,847 crore to scheduled castes. For scheduled tribes’ welfare, ₹1,814 crore was allocated. For the Kapu Corporation, ₹1,000 crore was allocated and for Brahmin Corporation ₹75 crore. For Christian Finance Corporation ₹35 crore was allocated.

Rural development For rural development, ₹19,565 crore was set aside and for the power sector, ₹4,274 crore. For industry, the allocation was ₹2,086 crore and for the IT sector, ₹364 crore. A sum of ₹1,600 crore was allocated for capital re-infusion into DWCRA (self-help) groups of women.

Smart cities The state government made a special allocation of ₹450 crore for the smart cities identified by the Centre – Visakhapatnam, Kakinada and Tirupati. For 13 other cities identified by itself for development, the state government allocated ₹150 crore. For the development of the capital region at Amaravati, ₹1,000 crore was allocated.

For Anna canteens, named after NTR and based on the TN model of Amma canteens, the state government allocated ₹200 crore. For the Vijayawada metro, ₹100 crore was allocated.

The Finance Minister said the aim was to build 10 lakh houses in the next two years. He also expressed the confidence that there would be no fund constraints for the construction of the capital city and also the Polavaram project. The latter is being funded by the Centre as a national project. He said the Polavaram headworks may be ready by 2018.

Later, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the Budget accurately reflected the aspirations and vision of the state government. The Centre will have to release some more funds under the special package announced for the state, he added.

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