VIJAYAWADA: Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath has said the State government has borrowed more than permissible limits as the Centre gave relaxation due to the lockdown imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Speaking to the media here on Friday, he mentioned that the government gave priority to welfare over development and pumped money to revive the State economy. “Revenue receipts have increased in the 2020-21 financial year compared to 2019-20,” he pointed out.
“The State government did not hold back any welfare schemes despite having a decline in State revenue, as Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy clearly wanted the government to stand by the people in tough times,” he said.
Revenue collection in June 2019-20 was Rs 3,541 crore, while revenue collection in June 2020-21 was Rs 5,781 crore. The deficit narrowed to minus 12.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21, down from minus 5.5 percent in the third quarter and minus 3 percent in the last quarter. He said that Andhra Pradesh stood second in the country in GST revenue collections.