Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu today forcefully pushed for increased state revenue, directly challenging widespread claims that the economy is struggling. He asserts that the state is poised for significant financial growth, strongly denying any suggestion of a “dead economy” amidst ongoing discussions about the region’s economic health. Naidu’s determined stance comes as his administration faces scrutiny over its fiscal plans and aims to reassure citizens about the state’s financial future, emphasizing a clear path to prosperity.
Boosting the State’s Money Income
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has firmly stated that the state is on a path to stronger money income, pushing back against ideas of a weak economy. He has called for every government department to work towards better results and to find new ways to bring in money. The Chief Minister has made it clear that reducing the state’s money owed and getting enough money for welfare programs are top goals. He asked officials to look for new money sources, beyond just state taxes and money from the central government. The state government has set a target for all departments to meet their own money collection goal of ₹1,37,412 crore for the current money year. Looking ahead, Andhra Pradesh has set a goal of increasing its money income by 29 percent for the 2025-26 money year, aiming for a total of ₹1,34,208 crore from areas like commercial taxes, excise, stamps and registration. mines and forests.
Andhra Pradesh Showing Good Growth
Recent figures show positive signs for Andhra Pradesh’s economy. The state recorded a Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) growth rate of 8. 21 percent for the 2024–25 money year at constant prices. This makes it the second fastest-growing state in the country during this period. Tamil Nadu was first with a 9. 69 percent growth rate. The GSDP at current prices for the 2024-25 money year reached ₹15,93,062 crore, showing a growth of 12. 02 percent compared to ₹14,22,094 crore in the 2023-24 money year. The money per person (per capita GSDP) also went up to ₹2,98,058 in 2024-25, from ₹2,66,995 in 2023-24. Chief Minister Naidu has expressed happiness with these figures, calling them a “shared success of the people.” He highlighted that the state’s progress has been strong across different areas such as farming, making goods. services. There have also been vital money inputs in computer technology, electronics, cars. clean energy. The Chief Minister has set an overall goal of a 15 percent growth rate for Andhra Pradesh. As part of the “Swarnandhra Vision 2047,” the state also aims to become a $2. 5 trillion economy by the year 2047.
New Plans for More Money
To boost the state’s finances, Chief Minister Naidu has stressed the need for new ways of thinking and using modern tools. He directed officials to use technology to fix problems in money collection and increase income. A key part of this strategy is using computer intelligence (AI) to improve tax systems and stop people from avoiding taxes. Mr. Naidu suggested using AI to combine data from taxpayers, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system. other state data centers to make things work better. He also proposed using AI for sending out notices and dealing with complaints to make government work faster. The state’s new policy for alcohol sales has shown good results. It brought in ₹4,330 crore between October 2024 and March 2025, which is a 33 percent increase in income from alcohol sales. For the entire 2024-25 money year, the income from alcohol sales was ₹28,842 crore, which is 14. 84 percent more than the year before. This income is expected to reach ₹33,882 crore this year. The Municipal Department also collected more than ₹500 crore in extra money in 2024-25 compared to the year before. But, the Chief Minister has noted that money from non-tax sources has not met expectations. There are still about ₹2,500 crore in unpaid taxes, mostly from properties owned by government bodies and empty land. To help with this, a special offer of a 50 percent interest waiver in March led to ₹240 crore in property tax collections in just six days. Mr. Naidu also called for strict actions to stop illegal movement of alcohol into the state from nearby areas and to ensure honest alcohol sales. He wants all sales tracked in real time. In a meeting with bank officials, Chief Minister Naidu presented an yearly plan for lending money amounting to ₹6. 60 lakh crore for 2025-26, which is a 22 percent increase from the previous year’s target. He asked banks to fully support this plan and help the growth of various groups, including women’s self-help groups, tenant farmers. other social groups.
Dealing with Past Financial Problems
Chief Minister Naidu has talked about the financial challenges faced by Andhra Pradesh, attributing them to the policies of the previous government. He stated that past policies led to a “state of distress” and put Andhra Pradesh at the bottom in terms of financial health. He alleged that the previous government’s five-year rule led to a money loss of up to ₹7 lakh crore and that the state’s money owed increased from ₹3. 75 lakh crore in March 2019 to ₹9. 74 lakh crore by June 2024. The Chief Minister noted that the previous government spent future money and did not put enough money into big projects, creating bad conditions. He also pointed to a drop in money collected because of policies like giving away sand for free. When the current government took power in June 2024, it faced issues like being the only state in India that had not presented its budget for the 2024-25 money year. The government operated under a temporary financial plan (vote on account) to assess the state’s money situation, which showed a debt of ₹10 lakh crore. During the period from April 1 to May 11 in the current money year, there was a drop in money collected from commercial taxes and forests. Also, the money received from the central government went down by 26 percent during this time. Mr. Naidu has met with central leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, to discuss the state’s money problems and to seek more help from the central government. He thanked the Prime Minister for restarting money for projects like Polavaram and Amaravati, the state capital. The Union Budget for 2024-25 included ₹15,000 crore in financial help for Amaravati, which is seen as a big relief for the state.
Different Views on the Economy
While Chief Minister Naidu has presented a positive picture of the state’s economic progress and India’s overall growth, there are other views. On the national stage, Chief Minister Naidu strongly disagreed with US President Donald Trump’s comment calling India a “dead economy.”
“US President said ours is a dead economy. No, it is the only economy moving ahead fast in the world. Nobody can compete with it.”
He added that India, once seen as a “poor country,” is now becoming a very strong nation globally, moving from the 11th largest economy to the 4th, with plans to be the 3rd largest by 2028. He gave credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for this rise. Naidu also stated that countries trying to stop Indians from getting jobs would soon realize they cannot grow without Indian talent. He also mentioned that barriers like increased taxes would not stop India’s progress. In Andhra Pradesh, the opposition has questioned the Chief Minister’s claims about economic growth. Botcha Satyanarayana, a leader from the YSRCP, called the Chief Minister’s projection of GSDP growth “political trickery.” He stated that the state’s own tax money collection grew by a very small 2. 16 percent in the 2024-25 money year (up to February 2025). He also pointed out that non-tax money went down by 33. 35 percent and that money spent on big projects (capital expenditure) fell by 42. 78 percent in the first 11 months of the 2024-25 money year. Former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy also criticized the current government for the delay in presenting a full budget.
