A political potboiler
From TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu being arrested to JSP president Pawan Kalyan finally announcing his decision to ally with the yellow party and YSRC president and Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announcing a rejig in his party in a bid to achieve the ‘Why Not 175’ target, the year 2023 was filled with intense political drama.
The TDP upped its ante months before the 2024 Assembly elections with party general secretary Nara Lokesh taking up his Yuva Galam Padayatra in January. Meanwhile, Jagan went ahead with his welfare agenda and disbursed the enhanced pension of Rs 2,750 from the earlier Rs 2,500 on January 1. He also released financial assistance under various schemes through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) throughout the year.
The sailing was smooth for the YSRC till the party lost two seats under the Graduates Quota in the elections to the Legislative Council. The party, however, maintained that its candidates were never in the fray. Later, the YSRC suspended four of its MLAs for going against the party whip and voting in favour of the Opposition TDP’s candidate in the elections to the Legislative Council under the MLA's Quota, triggering speculation of dissidence within the party. The leadership brushed off all reports and asserted that all was well in the party.
In August, the TDP launched a programme to tour irrigation projects that remained incomplete.
During one such tour to Angallu in Annamayya district and Punganur in Chittoor district, clashes erupted between activists of the TDP and YSRC, injuring around 50 police officers.
On September 9, Andhra Pradesh woke up to the news of the TDP chief being arrested for his alleged involvement in the Skill Development Corporation scam. This was the first time a former chief minister of the State had been arrested. Subsequently, Naidu was named as an accused in six cases. He was lodged at the Rajamahendravaram Central Jail for 52 days before being granted bail.
While Naidu’s arrest forced his son Lokesh to suspend his walkathon, it also saw his wife Nara Bhuvaneswari, and daughter-in-law Brahmani actively participating in the party’s programmes.
On September 14, JSP chief Pawan Kalyan met Naidu in jail and announced that his party would fight the 2024 elections with the TDP to “dethrone YSRC”.
As the year drew to a close, the ruling YSRC initiated an internal reshuffle to choose its winning team. Ministers were shifted to other seats, MLAs were dropped based on their performance, and new faces were selected to represent the party in a few segments.
While regional parties took centre stage in State politics, the only major development that the BJP witnessed was the appointment of former union minister and TDP founder Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao’s daughter Daggubati Purandeswari as the State chief of the saffron party. And lastly, the buzz of YS Sharmila’s entry into the Congress makes this year a real potboiler.
Transforming students into futuristic citizens
The year has seen the right concord of education with modernity in preparing children as world-class students by reframing the curriculum to suit the contemporary needs with English medium, tabs, IFPs, IB and other advanced teaching modules coming into play.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has redefined the concept of education and changed the learning and teaching methods, which have been widely acclaimed all over the country.
Apart from constantly motivating the students to pursue their academic interests, the Chief Minister never missed an opportunity to take stock of the progress of reforming the educational system with the digitalisation of classrooms, renovation of schools under Nadu-Nedu, the introduction of AI (Artificial intelligence) and IB (International Baccalaureate) curricula in government schools and colleges.
The Chief Minister has given a multi-front thrust to education to enhance the Gross Enrolment Ratio and reduce the dropout rate in schools and colleges while helping students improve their English communication skills and turn themselves into global products equipped with knowledge of emerging technologies. The results are tangible in the GRE reaching 100.8% in 2023 from 84.48% in 2018. Across the State, 1,49,515 students have rejoined schools in 2023 due to the vibrant schemes being implemented by the government, standing testimony to the Chief Minister’s vision.
With more than Rs 66,722 crore being spent on educational reforms, Andhra Pradesh is ahead of several other States on the educational front and on the verge of setting unprecedented standards in learning and teaching methods, and transforming the students into futuristic citizens.
Major thrust to green and renewable energy
The energy sector in Andhra Pradesh got a big boost in 2023 with the launch of several power projects. Once the new projects are completed, AP is poised to become a power surplus State. In August, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually laid the foundation stone for three renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of 5,314 MW in the Kurnool district. Greenko will set up a 2,300 MW solar power project at Junuthala village. At Kandikayapalle village, AM Green Energy has taken up an establishment of a 1,014 MW project, comprising a 700 MW solar power plant and 314 MW wind power plant.
Similarly, Ecoren Energy will set up a 2,000 MW project with solar and wind power plants of 1,000 MW capacity each at Muddavaram village. Further, APGENCO signed an MoU with the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation to promote Pumped Storage Power Projects.
In November, Jagan laid the stone for power projects worth Rs 6,500 crore. In a bid to strengthen the distribution network, 12 power substations across the State worth Rs 620 crore have been inaugurated, besides the setting up of 16 substations for Rs 2,479 crore.
An MoU was signed with HPCL for Rs 10,000 crore investment in renewable and green energy projects in the State. Andhra Pradesh is one of the leading States in solar power generation. With a cumulative solar power capacity of 4,552.12 MW, AP has stood fifth, generating 8,140.72 MU in 2022-23 as disclosed by the Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy in Rajya Sabha.
Polavaram project, water-sharing hit hurdle
Andhra Pradesh, which is already facing headwinds in completing the Polavaram project, suffered another setback with the Union Cabinet deciding to revisit the distribution of Krishna River water between the Telugu States.
The Centre is yet to clear the revised cost estimates of Rs 55,548 crore for the Polavaram project. On October 4, this year, the Union cabinet approved the new ToR for Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal- II. Objecting to the same, the AP government approached the Apex Court and filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP). The row over the sharing of Krishna water from Nagarjuna Sagar Project led to a confrontation on November 30 with police forces of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh having a face-off.
Girl power puts AP on top in sports arena
Female sportspersons from Andhra Pradesh made it big at the international arena in 2023 with the likes of archer Jyothi Surekha, athlete Jyothi Yerraji, chess champion Koneru Humpy and cricketer B Anusha leaving a mark at the 19th Asian Games held in China.
At the 17th Khelo India Youth Games, too, girls from AP, including weightlifters Sri Lakshmi and B Harika, Kayaking champion Nagidi Gayathri, boxer Meherunissa Begum, and badminton players Jahnavi and Navya Kanderi, brought home medals.
Ravani Valasanaina, a year-old visually impaired girl from the tribal hamlet of Rangasingipandu in Alluri Sitarama Raju district, etched her name in history as she joined 16 other players to form the Indian women’s team and successfully competed against Team Nepal in their inaugural international match of the T20 bilateral cricket held in April 2023. Sports received a fresh impetus with the government announcing the launch of Aadudam Andhra.
Govt emphasizes preventive healthcare
The State government introduced several initiatives towards improving the public healthcare system in 2023. Programmes such as Jagananna Aarogya Suraksha and Family Doctor Concept gave a boost to preventive healthcare, especially in rural areas.
Emphasis was also laid on improving healthcare infrastructure as Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy inaugurated five medical colleges at Vizianagaram, Machilipatnam, Rajahmundry, Eluru and Nandyala, taking the total medical seats in government colleges to 2,935 from the existing 2,185. Besides, the kidney research centre and super-speciality hospital at Palasa in Srikakulam district were also inaugurated in a bid to end the people’s woes of rising incidence of kidney ailments in the Uddanam area. Around 13 lakh people underwent free medical treatment this year under Aarogyasri, registering a 25% surge compared to last year.
Dry spells, unseasonal rains hit agri sector
2023 was a difficult year for farmers as delayed monsoon coupled with unseasonal rains in the form of Cyclone Michaung severely affected agriculture yield. While total food production in 2022-23 stood at 1,68,49,000 tonnes, 2021-22 recorded 1,54,85,000 tonnes of food output. However, food production was hit in 2023 as the Kharif season saw delayed monsoons resulting in prolonged dry spells.
Drought sets off migration
With monsoon playing truant, nearly 80% of standing Kharif crops in Kurnool withered. As a result, farm workers were rendered jobless and they began migrating to other places in search of livelihood. Even as farmers were yet to come to terms with the reality of drought, Cyclone Michaung left a trail of destruction in Nellore, Guntur, Krishna and Godavari districts, causing substantial damage to crops.