Andhra Pradesh Budget 2024-25: Loan for Amaravati, Liquor Boost

Hyderabad:Budgetary provision for the prestigious Amaravati capital project in the form of a Central loan, partial allocations for financial assistance to school-going children, silence on rest of the poll guarantees and an abnormal increase in revenue anticipated from liquor sales were the highlights of Andhra Pradesh’s regular budget for 2024-25.

The N. Chandrababu Naidu-led alliance government, which came to power in the beginning of the second quarter of the current fiscal, carried forward with a vote on account budget till now.

As anticipated, the financial assistance from the external agencies for Amaravati will be a loan but the state could keep it off the FRBM regulations since it would be routed through the Centre.

“We made a budget provision of `6500cr for Talliki Deevena, a scheme for providing a financial assistance of `15,000 per annum per school-going child. Other super six assurances will be fulfilled in a phased manner by tying up funds,” a senior finance official told Deccan Chronicle.

As of now, the government did not allocate funds for unemployed allowance, the `1500 per month scheme for women between 19-59 years, and for the free bus travel for women. Against an anticipated requirement of `13,500cr to cover all the 88 lakh school-going children, the government allotted `6500 crore.

As for the revenue receipts, the government made a budget estimate of `2.94 lakh crore, of which devolution of central taxes will be `50,391cr, state’s own tax revenues (SOT) `1.09 lakh crore, up from the 2023-24 Revised Estimate of `85,978cr, and a whopping debt of `93,253 crore, of which `71,000 crore will be raised from open market borrowings.

Significantly, the government projected a nearly `10,000 crore increase in the excise revenue, mostly from the sale of liquor. While a BE of `14,7798 crore was made by Jagan-led government, it put the revised estimate at `15,997 crore against which the present Naidu government made a BE of `25,597 crore.

“We revised the excise policy. The revenue was suppressed earlier due to extraneous reasons and now it will be streamlined,” the official pointed out.

Sources said the government was also anticipating an increase in consumption due to availability of standard liquor, that too of reputed brands, which were off the shelves during Jagan Reddy’s rule of the state.

The budget also dropped hints of a marginal increase in SOT revenues, which could come in the form of an additional cess. The state’s taxes on sales and trade registered an average annual growth of `6,500 crore in the last two financial years but the Naidu government projected a growth of `7,000 crore more.