VIJAYAWADA : Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy proposed an interim budget (vote on account) with an estimated outlay of Rs 2,86,289.27 crore for the financial year 2024-25 in the State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday.
While the proposed revenue expenditure is Rs 2,30,110.41 crore, the capital expenditure has been pegged at Rs 30,530.18 crore. The revenue deficit is estimated to be 1.56%.
As per the revised estimates for financial year 2023-24, revenue expenditure stood at Rs 2,28,237.77 crore and capital expenditure at Rs 27,308.12 crore. The revenue deficit for the period is 2.19%, whereas the fiscal deficit grew at an alarming 4.18%. However, the finance minister exuded confidence of bringing the fiscal deficit to 3.51% for FY24-25.
In his 44-page budget speech, Buggana elaborated on the various welfare schemes and development initiatives that the State government has taken up in the last five years.
The Finance Minister explained about the change the ruling YSRC has ushered in the various sectors that had been suffering from bifurcation blues due to the “inept handling of the previous government”.
Describing Andhra Pradesh as a “young State brimming with ambition and energy, but handicapped by the bifurcation-related disruption and losses”, the FM noted that being a new State has provided it with an opportunity to start over.
He added, “Over the last five years, our government has harnessed this opportunity with several path-breaking initiatives that have had a transformational impact on the lives of people. These initiatives are in close alignment with the intent of the Sustainable Development Goals and have delivered positive outcomes.”
Drawing a comparison between the previous TDP regime and the current YSRC government, Buggana said the State ranked 14th as it recorded 11% GSDP in 2018-19. In 2022-23, Andhra Pradesh stood 4th with a growth of 16.2%, he pointed out. Further, he added that the State has been categorised as ‘Top Achiever’ in Ease of Doing Business for 2020-21.
Pointing out that Andhra Pradesh ranked 12th in 2018-19 with an agriculture CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 8.3%, he said the State ranks 6th currently with a CAGR of 13% in agriculture.
In line with the budgets introduced in the past years, the State government has proposed to invest heavily in human capital this time too.
Govt lays emphasis on people’s empowerment
An estimated Rs 30,978.23 crore has been proposed to be allocated for school education and advance grant (for April to July period) of Rs 10,326.09 crore has been sought. For higher education, Rs 2,331.23 crore has been proposed and Rs 777.10 crore has been sought as advance.
The State government has proposed to allocate Rs 1,412.25 crore for skill development and training and an advance grant of Rs 777.10 crore.
Another sector that has been prioritised is health with the State government proposing to allocate Rs 17,916.55 crore and seeking an advance grant of Rs 5,972.19 crore. With agriculture and farmer welfare being another priority, he proposed to allocate Rs 11,424.51 crore and sought an advance grant of Rs 5,559.17 crore.
Highlighting the reforms in education, health, social welfare, housing, agriculture, irrigation, industries and infrastructure, Buggana spoke about the initiatives launched in the education sector, including introduction of English as a medium of instruction in government schools and CBSE affiliation, that further helped in increasing the gross enrolment ratio in schools. Further, he explained how the recruitment of 53,126 healthcare staff brought down vacancies for specialist doctors in public hospitals to 4% as against national average of 61%.
Stating that the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government has diligently followed the cardinal principle of fulfilling promises made to the people, the Finance Minister noted that the most important requirement for good governance and development is decentralisation and empowerment of people. “Subsequently, the State government established 15,004 gram and ward sachivalayams, recruited 1.35 lakh staff to man them, 2.66 lakh volunteers to take governance to people’s doorstep, reorganised 13 districts to 26, and 52 revenue divisions to 77, set up new police sub-divisions, Disha police stations and 20 tourist police stations,” he pointed out.
Elaborating on schemes such as Amma Vodi, Sunna Vaddi and Cheyutha, he explained how they have resulted in the social and economic empowerment of 78.94 lakh women belonging to 7.98 lakh self-help groups. He also highlighted the establishment of RBKs and implementation of programmes like Rythu Bharosa and PM Kisan, YSR free crop insurance and zero interest crop loans.