Date:17/02/2008 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/02/17/stories/2008021751010300.htm

Back AP annual Plan pegged at Rs 43,203-cr

Sets target of Rs 37,866-cr from tax collections; Rs 709-cr surplus seen

At a glance
As per estimates, the revenue receipts for 2008-2009 is expected to be Rs 70,927 crore, and capital receipts Rs 29,509 crore with total revenue expenditure of Rs 70,217 crore.
The State is likely to have revenue surplus of Rs 709 crore in 2008-2009 as per budget estimates, which is about 0.2 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product.

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Feb. 16 Andhra Pradesh on Saturday pegged the annual State Plan at Rs 43,203 crore, which is higher by Rs 13,185 crore over the previous year, reflecting an increase of over 32 per cent.

Together with non-plan expenditure of Rs 51,885 crore (an increase of 8 per cent), and Centrally sponsored schemes Rs 5,348 crore (up 81 per cent) and Plan Rs 43,203 crore (up 44 per cent), the total budget for 2008-2009 is up 24 per cent at Rs 1,00,436 crore.

The State Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, presenting the fifth consecutive State Budget today, said that plan size is the highest among States in the country for the last two years —2006-2007 and 2007-2008.

As per estimates, the revenue receipts for 2008-2009 is expected to be Rs 70,927 crore, and capital receipts Rs 29,509 crore with total revenue expenditure of Rs 70,217 crore.

The State is likely to have revenue surplus of Rs 709 crore in 2008-2009 as per budget estimates, which is about 0.2 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product.

As per allocations, the irrigation sector has received Rs 16,500 crore followed by housing Rs. 5,850 crore and panchayat raj Rs 3,838 crore with allocations for various welfare measures.

Subsidy

Significantly, the budget has provided Rs 1,980 crore for rice subsidy scheme, which the Government expects to launch next fiscal. This along with power subsidy of Rs 2,385 crore and scholarships of Rs 480 crore, accounts for about Rs 6,345 crore for the overall subsidy.

The Government has set a target of Rs 37,866 crore from tax collections during 2008-2009, a growth of over 20.6 per cent over the last budget estimate this fiscal.

The Finance Minister said Andhra Pradesh ranks second among the States in the country with total investment intentions of Rs 25,173 crore for 2006-2007 next only to Gujarat as per CII survey.

The per capita income at current estimates for 2007-2008 is Rs 33,970. The State debt is set to go up to Rs 93,595 crore in 2008-2009 up from Rs 83,887 crore in 2007-2008.

Reacting to the budget, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said the budget seeks to focus on development across various sectors such as irrigation and housing, health and education, with thrust on infrastructure. The State budget was larger than that of Bangladesh.

Opposition leaders maintained that several of the announcements were populist in nature. The TDP leader, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, described it as disappointing and being funded through borrowings.