Education, welfare in focus of ₹2.94 lakh-cr Andhra budget
Finance minister Payyavula Kesav told the state legislative assembly that the budget included revenue expenditure of ₹2,35,916 crore and capital expenditure of ₹32,712 crore
The Telugu Desam Party-led National Democratic Alliance government in Andhra Pradesh on Monday presented its first full-fledged budget of ₹2,94,427 crore for 2024-25, five months after coming to power.
Finance minister Payyavula Kesav told the state legislative assembly that the budget included revenue expenditure of ₹2,35,916 crore and capital expenditure of ₹32,712 crore. The remaining ₹25,798 crore is for public debt, loans and advances disbursements. The outlay is 5.40% more than last year’s ₹2,79,279 crore.
The estimated revenue deficit is ₹34,743 crore and fiscal deficit ₹68,742 crore. Kesav said the fiscal deficit will be 4.19% of the GSDP, while revenue deficit will be 2.12%.
The previous YSR Congress government had presented an interim budget of ₹2.86 lakh crore in February. The NDA government under chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, which took charge on June 12, used an ordinance in July to get approval for ₹1.29 lakh crore expenditure from August 1 to November 30.
Key allocations include ₹29,909 crore for school education, ₹16,739 crore for panchayat raj and rural development, ₹18,421 crore for health, ₹18,497 crore for SC welfare, and ₹39,007 crore for OBC welfare.
Kesav said the new government faced challenges due to “mismanagement of state finances” by the previous government, including “diversion of resources, erosion of revenues through looting of natural resources and flawed excise and sand mining policies.”
He alleged the previous government had discounted 25 years of future income, borrowed at high interest rates violating central guidelines, and diverted Centrally Sponsored Scheme funds.
“The state economy is on the brink of collapse. It is in the hands of this generation now to restart and rebuild Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
The government has implemented key pre-election promises like enhanced monthly pensions ranging from ₹4,000 to ₹15,000 and three free gas cylinders annually. Other promised schemes include farmer investment support through Annadatha Sukhibhava-PMKISAN, free bus travel for women and enhanced school assistance under Thalliki Vandanam.
The budget projects tax revenue of ₹1.60 lakh crore for 2024-25, up from the revised estimate of ₹1.31 lakh crore for 2023-24. Non-tax revenue is projected at ₹10,576 crore, compared to ₹7,432 crore. Central grants and tax devolutions are estimated at ₹34,701 crore, down from ₹46,834 crore in 2023-24.
No new taxes were announced.