Amaravati, Feb 28 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav on Friday presented a Budget of Rs 3,22,359 crore for the financial year 2025-26.  The outlay is about 9.48 per cent higher than the previous year. The budget size for 2024-25 was Rs Rs. 2,94,427 crore. The revenue expenditure is estimated at Rs 2,51,162 crore and the capital expenditure at Rs 40,635 crore. The estimated revenue deficit is around Rs 33,185 crore, and the fiscal deficit is estimated at around Rs 79,926 crore. “The revenue deficit will be around 1.82 per cent, and fiscal deficit will be around 4.38 per cent of GSDP,” he said. This is the second full-fledged Budget presented by the TDP-led NDA government after it came to power in June last year.

In November, Keshav presented a Rs 2.94 lakh crore Budget for 2024-25. For agriculture, a separate budget of Rs 48,000 crore was presented by Agriculture Minister K. Atchannaidu. For school education, the Finance Minister allocated Rs 31,805 crore, up from Rs 29,909 core in the previous budget, while the allocation for agriculture and allied sectors stands at Rs 13,487 crore against Rs 11,855 crore allocated in 2024-25. For the welfare of Scheduled Castes, the government allocated Rs 20,281 crore, up from Rs 18,497 crore. It earmarked Rs 8,159 crore for the welfare of Scheduled Tribes. The allocation for STs in the previous budget was Rs 7,557 crore.

The coalition government proposes to spend Rs 47,456 crore for the Backward Classes' welfare. This allocation was Rs 39,007 in 2024-25. The government also increased the allocation for minorities' welfare from Rs 4,376 crore to Rs 5,434 crore. The allocation for women and child welfare also increased from Rs 4,285 crore to Rs 4,332 crore. The Finance Minister proposed an allocation of Rs 1,228 crore for skill development, Rs 2,506 crore for higher education, Rs 19,264 crore for health, Rs 18,847 crore for Panchayat Raj and rural development and Rs 13,862 crore for municipal administration and urban development.

The government has proposed an expenditure of Rs 6,318 crore for housing, Rs 18,019 crore for water resources, Rs 3,156 crore for industry and commerce, Rs 13,600 crore for energy, Rs 8,785 crore for roads and buildings, Rs 469 crore for youth affairs, tourism and culture, Rs 2,800 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission and Rs 6,705 crore for Polavaram project. The government has made allocations to implement some of the schemes it promised in the elections. For the NTR Bharosa pension scheme, which is already under implementation, the Finance Minister proposed an allocation of Rs 27,518 crore.

The government has also earmarked Rs 9,403 crore for Thalli Ki Vandanam, a scheme to be implemented during the current financial year. Under this scheme, Rs 15,000 will be given annually to every school-going student. The amount will be credited to the bank account of the student’s mother. For Annadata Sukhibhava, under which every farmer will be given Rs 20,000 every year, Rs 6,300 crore have been allocated.

/IANS