Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday presented its budget for the financial year (FY) 2023-24, in which the expenditure outlay was Rs 2.79 lakh crore, about 20 per cent of this allocated for Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Welfare schemes, an increase of 11 per cent over the previous year.
Assembly elections are due in the state next year.
Of the total expenditure, revenue expenditure was pegged at Rs 2.28 lakh crore, while capital expenditure (CapEx) stood at Rs 31,061 crore.
of any state Budget Usually its revenue is split between expenditure and CapEx. Revenue expenditure includes allocation for salaries, interest payments and welfare schemes, and CapEx is money spent on infrastructure projects, education, health sector, agriculture projects.
While revenue expenditure does not bring any benefits to the government, the focus on CapEx is expected to yield returns, albeit in the long run.
While there is no exact limit on how much the state should spend on CapEx, it is advisable to spend around 30-40 per cent of the budget on CapEx. Andhra’s capex (2023-2024) was 35 per cent less than theirs Estimated Rs 47,996 crore In the financial year 2022-23.
The fiscal deficit for the financial year 2023-24 was pegged at Rs 54,587 crore, 3.77 per cent of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product), while the revenue deficit was estimated at Rs 22,316 crore, 1.54 per cent of GSDP.
Fiscal deficit is a measure that indicates the difference between income and expenditure, and Andhra’s fiscal deficit has been on the rise for the last four years. The fiscal deficit in 2022-23 was 3.64 per cent of GSDP.
The debt for 2023-24 has been pegged at Rs 53,610 crore against an estimate of Rs 48,545 crore for FY 2022-23. The total debt of Andhra Pradesh is Rs 4.83 lakh crore.
of Andhra Pradesh fiscal health There has been a concern and the state government has been facing criticism for mounting debt, low revenue and rising expenditure, especially on welfare. Analyzing the financial health of states, the Reserve Bank of India last year named Andhra Pradesh as one of the top 10 states with high debt.
controller And the Auditor General (CAG) noted that Andhra is using a significant amount of its borrowings to service mounting debt.
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Schemes under DBT
The government has allocated Rs 54,228 crore for Direct Benefit Transfer (Cash Transfer Scheme-DBT) for the financial year 2023-24, which is 11 per cent higher than Rs 48,668 crore in the previous year.
A total of 22 schemes come under the DBT category and most of them have seen an increase in their budget allocation.
To enable students from economically weaker sections to pursue higher education, the government increased the allocation Jagannath Vidya Deevena’ The plan was reduced by 12 per cent to Rs 2,841 crore.
It increased the allocation for the ‘YSR Cheyutha’ scheme, which provides financial assistance to women aged 45 to 60 years, by 20 per cent to Rs 5,000 crore for the financial year.
Other schemes under the category include ‘YSR Kapu Nestam (financial assistance to eligible women from Kapu, Balija, Telaga communities)’, ‘YSR Vahan Mitra (financial assistance to self-employed auto, taxi drivers)’, and ‘YSR Matsyakara Bharosa’. Are included. Providing financial assistance to the families of deceased fishermen and those with permanent disability).
Ever since YS Jagan Mohan Reddy took over as chief minister in 2019, the Andhra Pradesh government has spent around Rs 1.97 lakh crore on DBT schemes, according to the budget document.
“Our previous government built castles in the air. He talked about Microsoft, Bill Gates, Bullet train and what not. But, my journey is with the common man, with the economically weaker sections.
,My goal is to eradicate poverty, so my economics is different. Economically weaker sections will be strong only then the society will be strong and then the state. I have believed in it, followed it and implemented it.
“This is my economics, politics and this is what I learned from my father as history.”
He also announced an increase in the monthly pension amount from Rs 2,750 to Rs 3,000.
Sectors such as education, municipal administration, health, roads and buildings also saw an increase in the budgetary allocation for the financial year 2023-24. The budget allocated for the welfare of backward classes and development of SC/ST has also been increased.
As per the budget details, the GSDP for FY 2023-24 is estimated at Rs 14.49 lakh crore as against the revised estimate of Rs 13.17 lakh crore in FY 2022-23, which is an increase of 10 per cent.
(Edited by Geetalakshmi Ramanathan)
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