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Lalita Iyer
Lalita Iyer

ANDHRA PRADESH

AP govt's first budget at Amaravati focuses on education, rural development

INDIA-RELIGION/EDUCATION [File] A provision of Rs 20,384 crore has been made for general education and Rs 765 crore for technical education | Reuters

The Andhra Pradesh government's first budget from the new capital of Amaravati was presented on Wednesday. Finance Minister Y. Ramakrishnudu presented the Rs 1.57 lakh crore budget for 2017-18 with an increase of 15.71 per cent in the outlay. This comprised revenue expenditure is Rs 1.26 lakh crore and capital expenditure is Rs 31,087 crore.

The budget has focussed on education and rural development, giving a major share of funds and has also made provision for assistance to unemployed youth. Ramakrishnudu said that the state government had made a provision of Rs 500 crore as "assistance" to unemployed youth, without specifying if it was 'dole'. 

A provision of Rs 20,384 crore has been made for general education and Rs 765 crore for technical education. Rural development has got an assurance of Rs 19,565 crore while Rs 12,770 crore was sanctioned for irrigation and flood control. Welfare too has got a major chunk with Rs 11,361 crore, while healthcare got Rs 7,020 crore, an increase of 15% over the previous year. Agriculture and allied sectors got Rs 9,090 crore. The budget has provided Rs 3,600 crore for waiver of farm loans. The state has so far provided Rs 11,000 crore for the scheme.

The state also got a 'gender budget,' with the objective being to save women and girls from discrimination and neglect in matters of development, progress, security and human rights the finance minister said in his speech. "The government will undertake a comprehensive set of actions to improve the lives of women across all human development indicators," the minister said in his budget speech.

"This budget is a reflection of the commitments of our government for the realisation of the goals enshrined in Vision 2029," Ramakrishnudu said at the beginning of his speech, while admitting that the shifting of the state capital and "the unforeseen consequences of demonetisation put tremendous stress on the financial resources of the state" during 2016-17. The minister also said that though demonetisation caused a lot of hardship, the people of Andhra took it in their stride, and the state, in fact, was leading the country in adopting digital payment methods.

An amount of Rs 1,061 crore has been allocated for the development of the new state capital. The minister assured the assembly that funds would not be a constraint in giving shape to the dream capital, which will stand as a model for the country.

 

Other highlights of the budget

  • Skill Development scheme: Rs 398 crore
  • Agriculture budget to increase by 7.73 percent
  • Andhra Pradesh pollution control board: Rs 4,183 crore
  • Distribution of solar pump sets to farmers at subsidised prices
  • Forest department - funds allocated: Rs 383 crore.
  • IT and Electronice: Rs 382 crore.
  • Christians who are willing to visit Jerusalem: Rs 40,000.
  • Pensions: Rs 4376 crore.
  • Free LPG connection for poor: Rs 350 crore.
  • Women empowerment: Rs 400 crore
  • Unemployment honorarium: Rs 500 crore
  • Brahmin welfare: Rs 97 crore
  • Education sector: Rs 20,384 crore
  • Welfare of disabled: Rs 89 crore
  • NTR Vaidya Seva: Rs 1,000 crore
  • Anna canteens: Rs 100 crore
  • Development of village roads: Rs 260 crore
  • Safe drinking water project NTR Sujala Sravanthi: Rs 100 crore
  • Agriculture loan waiver Rs 3600 crore, SHG loan investment: Rs 1,600 crore 
  • Smart cities: Rs 450 crore, other smart cities: Rs 150 crore
  • Agriculture sector: Rs 8790 crore
  • Small and medium scale industries: Rs 125 crore
  • ST component fund: Rs 3,528 crore
  • Women finance corporation: Rs 400 crore
  • Power subsidy for poor increased from 50 to 75 units
  • Revenue deficit—Rs 1,25,911 crore, the highest for any state
  • Capital region development authority: Rs 1,061 crore; SAAP: Rs 195 crore
  • Unemployment allowance gets Rs 500 crore
  • Ambedkar Smritivanam in Amaravati gets Rs 97 crore
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Topics : #Andhra Pradesh

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