Welfare, development push: Andhra govt presents Rs 3.32 lakh cr budget for 2026-27

Amaravati (PTI): Striking a balance between welfare and development, the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday presented a Budget of over Rs 3.32 lakh crore for 2026-27, up by Rs 10,000 crore from FY26, with an estimated revenue expenditure of Rs 2.56 lakh crore and capital expenditure of nearly Rs 54,000 crore.

While presenting the Budget in the state assembly, Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav said the estimated revenue deficit would be around Rs 22,000 crore (1.11 per cent of the GSDP) and the fiscal deficit is pegged at nearly 76,000 crore (3.84 per cent of the GSDP).

“From the financial standpoint, we are yet to come out of the woods. Things are not all that rosy. I still have my times of struggle while sorting the financial mess left behind by the previous regime. But our intentions are uncompromising,” said Keshav.

According to the Finance Minister, the southern state will launch an ‘AP (Andhra Pradesh) Wealth Fund’, which tomorrow ‘will become big’ like the Norway and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds – possible enough to run the whole state.

As per FY27 budget figures, the state government is expected to raise Rs 76,000 crore through open market loans and Rs 19,000 crore from the Centre, while the GSDP during 2026-27 is pegged at Rs 19.75 lakh crore.

The public debt is estimated to be Rs 7.11 lakh crore in fiscal 2026-27, rising from Rs 6.35 lakh crore in FY26, Rs 5.68 lakh crore (FY25) and Rs 4.91 lakh crore (FY24).

Public debt as a percentage of GSDP is expected to remain 36 per cent in the financial year 2026-27, maintaining the same level seen in the past two financial years and 35 per cent in FY24 at Rs 4.91 lakh crore.

The budget proposed Rs 51,021 crore for the BC component, while School Education has been allocated Rs 32,308 crore.

It allocated Rs 19,306 crore for the Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department. The Panchayati Raj & Rural Development Department, held by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan received nearly Rs 23,000 crore.

Allocations to major departments include Rs 19,306 crore for Health, followed by Water Resources (Rs 18,224 crore), Municipal Administration and Urban Development (Rs 14,539 crore), Agriculture (11,745 crore), Social Welfare (11,119 crore) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) Welfare (Rs 10,700 crore).

Pertaining to welfare schemes, the southern state earmarked Rs 27,719 crore for the NTR Bharosa scheme, which offers Rs 4,000 welfare pension to eligible beneficiaries per month.

Besides, the budget allocated Rs 2,601 crore to Deepam 2.0 scheme, which offers three free cooking gas cylinders per annum and Rs 2,320 crore as economic support to various communities.

Stree Shakti, a free bus journey scheme for women received an allocation of Rs 1,420 crore, followed by free and subsidised power for weaker sections (Rs 600 crore), among others.

Thalliki Vandanam, which offers Rs 15,000 rupees per annum per schooling-going child got an allocation of Rs 9,668 crore, followed by Woman and Child Welfare (4,581 crore) and scholarships (Rs 3,838 crore).

Annadata Sukhibhava, which offers Rs 20,000 per annum to farmers, received an allocation of Rs 6,600 crore.

Likewise, Higher Education received Rs 2,566 crore, PM Schools for Rising India (Rs 707 crore) and Youth Advancement and Sports (Rs 438 crore), among others.

Other major allocations include nearly Rs 10,000 crore to major irrigation projects (other than Polavaram Project), Polavaram Project (Rs 6,105 crore) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (Rs 1,927 crore), among others.

In his speech, Keshav said a short span of two years is certainly not enough to rebuild a state which has faced catastrophic events since its inception.

Firstly, the irrational bifurcation in 2014, and then an even bigger shock of "misrule" from 2019-24.

The former deprived us of a vibrant capital city, growth engines, and buoyant services sector which generated revenue for the State.

The latter compounded the agony by policy paralysis and financial recklessness, he said.

Keshav described the Budget as not just an account of figures, but as a roadmap aimed at fulfilling the dreams of five crore people.