VIJAYAWADA: Accusing the Opposition of misinterpreting the State’s financial situation, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy said that the public could not be deceived by distorting data to show the State in a poor light. In a press release, the minister criticised his predecessor Yanamala Ramakrishnudu for misleading the public.
Drawing a comparison with the previous government, Buggana said in 2018-19, the growth rates in agriculture, industrial and services sectors were 3.57%, -0.19% and 8.24 %, while the Gross State Domestic Product was 4.88 %per cent. However in 2019-20, the GSDP was 7.23%, and the growth rates in agriculture, industrial and services sectors were 7.91%, 10.24% and 6.20 %.
He said that by the end of the TDP term, the growth rate of GSDP had been declining, whereas the growth rate of 10.09% between 2017-18 had fallen to 4.88 % in 2018-19, registering the lowest among the major states. However, under the leadership of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the State achieved a positive growth rate in spite of the Covid impact.
Further, the minister said that AP was ranked third in the Sustainable Development Goals Index for 2020-21 and as per Niti Aayog’s report, the State ranked 5th and 6th in Poverty Eradication and Inequality Reduction. The State stood at 4th place in SDG index of 2018-19 next to Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. He stated that the unemployment rate declined from 5.7% in 2018-19 to 5.1% in 2019-20.