VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has said the government must work towards achieving a 15 per cent annual growth rate.
Officials must implement new policies across various sectors to drive economic growth, as statistics reveal a decline in the per capita income’s growth rate over the past five years, he said on Thursday.
“Make various wings to work hard and bring all sectors back on track by adopting the latest policies so as to achieve a high growth rate for the state,” Naidu told officials while chairing a review meeting on the progress of agriculture, allied sectors, industry and the services sector.
He rubbished the YSRC rule by saying “almost all the sectors moved in reverse direction due to its destructive policies. As a result, the economic sector of AP has totally collapsed.”
When the officials explained in detail the condition of their respective departments in the past 10 years, Naidu said, “We are now adopting new policies across all sectors. You should achieve economic progress by implementing these policies.”
“Do things in such a way that there is no additional burden on the people. The expenses in farming can be brought down considerably by adopting comprehensive mechanisation, “ the officials were told.
The CM said, “The primary responsibility of a government is not just extending welfare measures to the people but also increasing the revenue of the people by strengthening the respective sectors.”
“The state achieved a growth rate of 13.7 per cent during 2014-19, despite the serious problems it faced in the post-bifurcation phase. But, thereafter, the growth rate fell down deeply to 10.59 per cent,” he said.
Naidu noted, “In 2019, the difference in growth rate between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was merely 0.20 per cent. This has gone up to 1.5 per cent by 2024. While the per capita income was 13.21 per cent during the last TD term, it fell to 9.06 per cent during the YSRC period.”
“ The living conditions of the people had hit hard with the fall in per capita income,” he lamented.
Informing officials that the P-4 system is being brought into implementation in January next, the CM said that, through this, “those who are at the top position financially should extend a helping hand to uplift at least 10 per cent of the people currently at the bottom level.”
The rich and the well-heeled organisations should act as mentors to improve the living conditions of the poor, he said.
