Andhra Pradesh govt presents Rs 2.24 lakh crore budget for FY 2020-21

The Andhra Pradesh government on Tuesday presented a Rs 2.24 lakh crore budget for the financial year 2020-21, a decrease of 1.4 percent over last year, with an estimated revenue deficit of Rs 18,434 crore and fiscal deficit of a whopping Rs 48,295 crore.

Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath presented the Budget estimates in the Legislative Assembly on the first day of the brief budget session.

The 1.4 percent decrease in the budget estimates was on account of major economic slowdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finance Minister said.

The state's debt burden increased to Rs 3.02 lakh crore at the end of March 2020, up from Rs 2.59 lakh crore a year ago.

In the 2020-21 fiscal, the state's debt is further estimated to shoot up to Rs 3.48 lakh crore.

The state's revenue shortfall was a staggering Rs 68,000 crore as the revised estimates for 2019-20 showed receipts of only Rs 1.10 lakh crore as against the estimated Rs 1.78 lakh crore.

However, the Finance Minister projected a revenue of Rs 1.61 lakh crore in the 2020-21 fiscal.

He proposed an overall expenditure of Rs 2.24 lakh crore during 2020-21, with revenue expenditure alone estimated at Rs 1.80 lakh crore and capital expenditure, including loan repayments, at around Rs 44,396 crore.

"There is nothing more important to this government than the comprehensive development of AP and its positioning at the very top in terms of human development. It is the constant endeavour of our government to not just live up to the expectations of people but outgrow them by bridging the gulf between lost opportunities of the past and promises of the future," he added.