Andhra Pradesh government has pegged an expenditure of ₹2.56 lakh crore in the annual budget for the year 2022-23 compared to ₹2.29 lakh crore in the previous year.
In his Budget presentation in the State Assembly in Amaravati on Friday, Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath said the revenue expenditure and capital expenditure would stand at ₹2,08,261 crore and ₹47,996 crore respectively.
The revenue deficit is estimated at ₹17,036 crore and the fiscal deficit at ₹48,724 crore. The fiscal deficit will be around 3.64 per cent of the GSDP, whereas the revenue deficit will be around 1.27 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
The main focus of the Government in terms of allocation is on welfare schemes. “In last three years, our Government has set in motion transformational changes in the State through the Navaratnalu and manifesto schemes. Through sustained efforts of our Government, institutional strengthening and social inclusion, this process has gathered the momentum to make Andhra Pradesh a leader in all Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),’‘ the Minister said.
While ₹29,143 crore has been earmarked for welfare schemes for Backward Castes (BC-Sub Plan), ₹18,000 crore is allocated for YSR Pension Scheme. Other major allocations in the Budget include Health and Family Welfare (₹15,384 crore) and Rural Development (₹15,846 cr)
Agri Budget
The separate agriculture Budget presented had an outlay of ₹43,052 crore. The Rhythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) were allocated ₹18 crore while ₹7,020 crore was for the Rythu Bharosa PM Kisan scheme.
Other important allocations included YSR Corp Insurance (₹1,802 crore), ₹500 crore for YSR Zero Interest crop loans, ₹200 crore for subsidised seeds, ₹2,000 crore for Natural Calamities Fund and ₹1,612.62 crore for investment subsidy to farmers. The Budget has allocated ₹5,000 crore to power subsidy, ₹8,328 crore for linking MGNREGS to agriculture and ₹11,450 crore for irrigation.