HYDERABAD: The economic growth of the sibling Telugu States is tremendous. With the presentation of the Budget for the year 2018-19 by two Telugu States this month, they surpassed all other states in the country in the growth and size of the budget. The total budget estimates of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana put together touched Rs 3.65 lakh crore in 2018-19. This is next to Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.The UP Budget is Rs 4.28 lakh crore and Maharashtra budget is Rs 3.67 lakh crore and the total budget of AP and TS put together is Rs 3.65 lakh crore in 2018-19.
“No other State’s Budget touched Rs 3 lakh crore mark in the country, except Maharashtra. If Andhra Pradesh was undivided, its budget size would be next to Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra,” an official in the finance department explained to Express.It may be recalled that the then finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy presented the last budget for the combined Andhra Pradesh in 2013-14. The combined AP’s last budget size was Rs 1.61 lakh crore.
However, after the bifurcation of the State, TS and AP had their own separate Budgets.
Now, the combined budget of AP and TS in 2018-19 is more than Rs 2 lakh crore than the combined AP’s last budget in 2013-14. The combined AP’s last but one Budget presented in 2012-13 was Rs 1,45,854 crore. “The revenues of both AP and TS are increasing. The growth rate of AP and TS is good. TS’ growth rate is above the national average right from the formation of the separate Telangana. That is the reason, why the size of the Budgets of AP and TS put together stood in third place in the country,” official sources explained.