Andhra Pradesh to Receive Rs 80,000 Crore Central Funds Boost

Addressing the media in Guntur on Sunday, Union minister of state for rural development, Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, said,”No one had expected that the Centre would give as high as Rs 15,000 crore for construction of Amaravati capital. Times are changing.”

Justice was meted out to AP in the central budget this time. AP has been included in the list of states that would be given special funds for infrastructure development and development of the eastern sector.”

Chandrasekhar said, “For the past five years, there was less clarity about the funds flow from the Centre. But, when the alliance came to power in AP, the state was blessed with Rs 15,000 crore for Amaravati. Substantial funds would come to the state also through the railway allocations in the budget.”

Praising the Modi government, the minister said that the GDP increased to 8.2 per cent for FY 2023-24 from 3.9 per cent in FY 2019-20. A physical deficit of 9.2 per cent of GDP in 2021 has come down to 5.6 per cent by 2024.

The inflation dropped to 5.4 per cent by 2023 from 6.2 per cent in 2020 and the level of non-performing assets (NPA), or bad loans, of the nationalised banks has declined, he said.

As for the allotments to AP in the Union Budget, the Railway sector in the state got Rs 2,500 crore, some Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 crore for construction of the outer ring road, Rs 15,000 crore for Amaravati capital construction and Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 crore for Polavaram.

Funds have been earmarked also for development of AP’s backward districts, the Kopperti Node in the Visakhapatnam – Chennai Industrial Corridor, and for the Hyderabad-Bangalore Industrial Corridor’s Orvakallu node under infrastructure-related arrangements.

He said that along with Prakasam district, Rayalaseema and Uttarandhra (north Andhra) have been identified as backward districts.

Chandrasekhar said, “For employment opportunities, the central government plans to spend Rs 2 lakh crore for 4.1 crore youths in the next five years. Under this, 1000 industrial training institutes will be developed.

For the establishment of micro, small and medium scale enterprises through credit guarantee scheme, without mortgage, there would be up to Rs 100 crore of loans for disbursement. Mudra Loans limit per individual increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh, he said.

The Internship opportunities would arise in 500 mega industries for one crore youths in next five years. A sum of Rs 6000 for the first time and Rs 5000 per month is offered under internships to students.”

As for industrial development, the minister said the Union government proposed to develop fully equipped industrial parks in 100 cities and is also working on the development of 12 national industrial corridors.

The development of two industrial corridors in AP, for industrial development under the AP Reorganisation Act, is envisaged. Funds have been allocated for the construction of roads in 25,000 rural areas under the Vikasit Andhra Pradesh-Vikasit Bharat scheme.

He said that under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana 2.0 scheme, funds for the construction of homes for 2 crore rural and 1 crore urban poor alongside facilities for water supply, sewage treatment, solid waste management projects in another 100 major cities were proposed in the central budget.