VIJAYAWADA: Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav on Friday presented the Andhra Pradesh Budget for 2025-26 in the Legislative Assembly with an outlay of Rs 3,22,359 crore.
The revenue expenditure has been estimated at Rs 2,51,162 crore, while the capital expenditure has been shown at Rs 40,635 crore. The revenue deficit is Rs 33,185 crore (1.82% of GSDP), while the fiscal deficit is Rs 79,926 crore (4.38% of GSDP).
The revised estimates of revenue expenditure for the financial year 2024-25 are Rs 2,24,342 crore, while the capital expenditure is Rs 24,072 crore. The revenue deficit for 2024-25 is Rs 48,311 crore (3.01%), whereas the fiscal deficit is Rs 73,362 crore (4.57% of GSDP).
As asserted by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the budget proposals seem to have struck a fine balance between welfare and development. Besides enhancing the capital expenditure to Rs 40,635 crore from Rs 24,072 crore compared to the revised estimates of 2024-25, the TDP-led NDA government has laid more emphasis on welfare. An allocation of Rs 20,281 crore has been made for SC welfare, Rs 8,159 crore for STs, Rs 47,456 crore for BCs, and Rs 5,434 crore for minorities.
The NDA government, which is already implementing Deepam 2.0 scheme (providing 3 LPG cylinders to women beneficiaries a year free of cost), one of the promises made under Super Six, is set to launch two more major schemes, including Thalliki Vandanam (Rs 15,000 for mothers of schoolgoing children) and Annadata Sukhibhava (Rs 20,000 financial aid to farmers, including Rs 6,000 given by the Centre under PM Kisan in three installments per year). While Rs 9,407 crore has been proposed for Thalliki Vandanam, Rs 6,300 crore has been earmarked for Annadata Sukhibhava.
In his speech, the Finance Minister has announced the innovative Viability Gap Funding (VGF) scheme for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects for up to 20% of the project cost of any department, beyond the existing budgetary allocation. It has been proposed to set up a corpus of Rs 2,000 crore for the VGF scheme. Besides allocating Rs 10 crore for the development of Telugu language, it has also been proposed to provide free power to government schools.
No allocation made for Banakacherla link proj
Despite being mentioned in the Budget, no funds have been allocated for the Godavari-Banakacherla project, which aims to divert 200 TMC of Godavari water from Polavaram to Banakacherla.
Presenting the State Budget, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav said it was a complex task due to financial mismanagement by the previous regime.
Citing a NITI Aayog report, he said Andhra Pradesh’s debt sustainability had reached zero, making it the only State unable to take further loans.
Keshav drew inspiration from Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, saying, “If Hiroshima, which was devastated by a nuclear attack, could rise again, why can’t we rebuild Andhra Pradesh after this economic devastation?”
Explaining capital expenditure, he said it should focus on irrigation, roads, and infrastructure that generate returns, not on extravagant projects.
He accused former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy of misusing Rs 650 crore to print his image on survey stones and construct lavish palaces, terming it “personal expenditure disguised as capital expenditure.”
Keshav criticised the previous government’s economic policies, stating, “We have heard of school dropouts, but under the YSRCP regime, industries, employment, and jobs also dropped out. Their leaders have now dropped out of the House, and soon, they will drop out of public life.”
He assured that the NDA government would prioritise meaningful capital expenditure to drive economic recovery and ensure fiscal responsibility.
