Seeking to balance welfare with development, the Andhra Pradesh government presented a budget of over ₹3.32 trillion for 2026-27, stating that the state's finances were still recovering from the previous YSRCP regime's challenges.
The budget size was ₹10,000 crore higher than the previous fiscal year, with an estimated revenue expenditure of ₹2.56 trillion and capital expenditure of nearly ₹54,000 crore.
Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav, while presenting the budget, said the estimated revenue deficit would be around ₹22,000 crore, which is 1.11% of the state's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
"From a financial perspective, we are still in the process of recovery. Things are not yet fully stable. I am still addressing the financial challenges left behind by the previous regime. However, our intentions remain firm," Keshav stated.
The government highlighted its plan for the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER), which includes seven growth drivers, translating into 41 high-impact projects with an estimated investment of ₹28,000 crore, including metro rail projects.
The southern state will launch the "AP Wealth Fund," aiming to become a major sovereign wealth fund like those in Norway and Abu Dhabi, to manage the state's finances.
Keshav said the AP Wealth Fund will have a seed corpus of ₹100 crore.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating the legislation to give statutory status to the new capital city of Amaravati, Keshav said that administrative approval had been granted for 97 projects worth ₹57,868 crore there.
The budget projects the state government to raise ₹76,000 crore through market loans and ₹19,000 crore from the central government, with a GSDP of ₹19.75 trillion for 2026-27.
The projected public debt for 2026-27 is ₹7.11 trillion, up from ₹6.35 trillion in the previous fiscal year.
The budget allocated ₹51,021 crore for the Backward Classes (BC) component, and ₹32,308 crore for School Education.
₹19,306 crore was allocated to the Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department.
The Panchayati Raj & Rural Development Department, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, received nearly ₹23,000 crore.
Key allocations include ₹18,224 crore for Water Resources, followed by Municipal Administration and Urban Development (₹14,539 crore), Agriculture (₹11,745 crore), Social Welfare (₹11,119 crore), and Economic Weaker Sections (EWS) Welfare (₹10,700 crore).
Regarding welfare schemes, the southern state has allocated ₹27,719 crore for the NTR Bharosa scheme, which provides a monthly welfare pension of ₹4,000 to eligible beneficiaries.
In addition, ₹2,601 crore is allocated for the Deepam 2.0 scheme, offering three free cooking gas cylinders per year and ₹2,320 crore in economic support for various communities.
The Stree Shakti scheme, providing free bus travel for women, received an allocation of ₹1,420 crore for the next financial year, along with ₹600 crore for power subsidies for weaker sections.
Thalliki Vandanam, which provides ₹15,000 per annum per school-going child, received ₹9,668 crore, followed by Woman and Child Welfare (₹4,581 crore) and scholarships (₹3,838 crore).
Annadata Sukhibhava, which provides ₹20,000 per annum to farmers, received an allocation of ₹6,600 crore.
Similarly, Higher Education received ₹2,566 crore, while ₹707 crore has been allocated for PM Schools for Rising India and ₹438 crore for Youth Advancement and Sports.
Other key allocations include nearly ₹10,000 crore for major irrigation projects, the Polavaram project (₹6,105 crore), and the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (₹1,927 crore).
The budget also allocated ₹8,365 crore for the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Grameen (VB G-RAM-G) scheme, aimed at rural employment.
Further, it allocated ₹5,451 crore for Housing (Urban and Rural) and ₹4,000 crore each for the Dr NTR Vaidya Seva Trust and Jal Jeevan Mission.
Keshav stated that the TDP-led government aims to provide 25 lakh house plots and houses to EWS under the PMAY (U) – NTR Nagars scheme.
Among the 10 major initiatives, the budget listed free power to weavers, city economic regions specific to Visakhapatnam, Amaravati, and Tirupati, Rayalaseema Global Horticulture Hub, free bus service for disabled men, quantum computing, 3,000 new police vehicles, and others.
He noted that the Rayalaseema Integrated Development Plan includes expanding the horticulture area from 8.41 lakh hectares to 14.41 lakh hectares by 2030.