Andhra CM visited Shah to discuss state’s budget issues

Chandrababu Naidu went on Tuesday to meet union minister Amit Shah to discuss the budget matters of Andhra Pradesh. This meeting happens ahead of the presentation of union budget on 23 July 2024. Naidu had to visit Shah to enlighten him on the fiscal condition of Andhra mainly due to the loopholes in policies made by the earlier government led by Congress.

Naidu appealed to the union government to bring certain changes in fiscal policy or allocate budget accordingly to bring the economy of Andhra Pradesh on track. The CM went to Delhi for the visit for 2 days.

After the visit. CM posted on twitter that he had visited New Delhi to meet with Amit Sah to discuss the worsening conditions of Andhra’s fiscal situation. He says he also discussed the debt situation that had accumulated over the past five financial years. According the post Naidu claimed that the irrevocable damage had been caused by the previous government through mismanagement and corruption.

The Telangana Desam Party leader who was familiar with the situation expected that the Chief Minister would also visit the finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman regarding the matter. However, this assumption was not true. TDP leader Vijay Kumar says that union budget may not include a separate allocation of money for the state. However, the government is hopeful for the projects of cities like Amravati and Polavaram. Andhra Pradesh would like budget allocations for infrastructure, roads, highways in Amravati while irrigation project in Polavaram, report says.

Around 47 thousand crore borrowings are allowed for the state in the first six months of the year, however, it is possible that relaxation may be provided under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget management Act to borrow another 40 thousand crore- according to Vijay Kumar.

One of the major developments that the state is hopeful for is the making of oil refinery at 60 thousand crore cost. To raise this issue, Naidu visited Prime Minister and Petroleum minister on his earlier visit on 4 July 2024. On 10 of July, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited came in Amravati to discuss this setting of oil refinery. Naidu has also allocated around 5000 acres of land for the project.  

Meanwhile the Andhra Pradesh Government has also taken funds for the National Health Scheme with cost around one thousand crores.

Previous Visits by other CM

In the previous month, similar visit was made by the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar who is also one of the biggest allys of Modi. Nitish Kumar demanded around 30 thousand crore worth of allocation from the union. However, till now Prime Minister has not nodded to any commitments over the budget.

This time is quite crucial for the states as well as the central government as budget 2024 is on the verge of implementation. States from all over the country are thus trying to allocate funds for their respective states.

 About Budget 2024

The interim budget of 2024 will be release by Nirmala Sitaraman on 23^rd of July. With just a week before the great announcement, citizens apprehend about the new changes in fiscal policy. It is being expected that this time some sort of relief may be given in terms of income tax payment. Relaxation may be given to the salaried income tax payers.

One important thing that can be included in the new interim budget is the tax on life insurance. It is a necessity for middle class rather than a luxury, thus this time insurance may have 0% tax rate. Apart from this, it can be noted that allocations will be made for the gross capital investments like infrastructure to boost the GDP of the nation.