Rs 944 crore approved for student kits in Andhra: Cabinet

Amaravati, Jan 8 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet, headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday approved Rs 944 crore for student kits to be distributed to government school students for the 2024-25 academic year.

Of the total amount, the Centre’s share is nearly Rs 300 crore, while the state’s contribution is over Rs 652 crore. Nearly 40 lakh students benefited, with kits distributed between June 16 and August 8, 2024.

"Cabinet approved Rs 944.5 crore for procuring student kits for classes one to 10 for the academic year 2024-25," a press release said.

The Cabinet also approved allowing the commissioner of the Capital Region Development Authority to deposit consultancy charges into the DDO account, enabling easier payments to international agencies in British pounds.

In other decisions, the Cabinet approved the construction of the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy at Picchikatapalem village in the greenfield capital city of Amaravati at a cost of over Rs 165 crore.

The Cabinet also cleared land incentives for Aarna Coastal Resorts and other hotel projects to set up an ITC-branded five-star coastal resort at Suryalanka in the Bapatla district.

Additionally, the Andhra Pradesh Cluster Development Programme (AP-CDP) was approved with a budget of Rs 200 crore, aiming to establish at least 45 MSME common facility centres over the next five years.

The Cabinet also ratified recent decisions of the State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) and removed the additional retail excise tax (ARET) previously imposed on bars, among other measures. PTI STH SSK