Amaravati, February 14 – In a move aimed at balancing development and welfare, the Andhra Pradesh government on Saturday presented a budget of over ₹3.32 trillion for 2026-27, an increase of ₹10,000 crore from the current fiscal year, with projected revenue expenditure of ₹2.56 trillion and capital expenditure of nearly ₹54,000 crore.
Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav, while presenting the budget in the state assembly, stated that the estimated revenue deficit would be around ₹22,000 crore (1.11% of the state's gross domestic product), and the fiscal deficit is estimated at nearly ₹76,000 crore (3.84% of the GSDP).
"From a financial perspective, we still need to address several challenges. The situation is not entirely stable. I am working to resolve the financial issues left behind by the previous government. However, our intentions are firm," Keshav said.
According to Keshav, the state will launch the "AP Wealth Fund," which, similar to sovereign wealth funds in countries like Norway and Abu Dhabi, will be used to manage the state's finances.
"The AP Wealth Fund, with an initial corpus of ₹100 crore, is planned," Keshav announced.
Keshav also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating the process to introduce legislation for the statutory recognition of Amaravati as the new capital city. He said that administrative sanction had been given for 97 projects worth ₹57,868 crore in Amaravati.
The budget projects that the state will raise ₹76,000 crore through market loans and ₹19,000 crore from the central government, while the GSDP for 2026-27 is estimated at ₹19.75 trillion.
The estimated public debt for 2026-27 is ₹7.11 trillion, up from ₹6.35 trillion in the previous fiscal year, ₹5.68 trillion (FY25), and ₹4.91 trillion (FY24).
Public debt is expected to remain at 36% of the GSDP in the financial year 2026-27, maintaining the level seen in the past two fiscal years, and at 35% at ₹4.91 trillion in FY24.
The budget allocates ₹51,021 crore to the BC component, while education receives ₹32,308 crore.
₹19,306 crore has been allocated to the Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department.
The Panchayati Raj & Rural Development Department, led by Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, has received nearly ₹23,000 crore.
Major departments receive allocations including ₹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 Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) Welfare (₹10,700 crore).
Regarding welfare schemes, the southern state has earmarked ₹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 to the Deepam 2.0 scheme, which provides three free cooking gas cylinders per year, and ₹2,320 crore for economic support to various communities.
The Stree Shakti scheme, which provides free bus travel for women, has been allocated ₹1,420 crore, and ₹600 crore has been designated for power subsidies for the economically weaker sections.
Thalliki Vandanam, which provides ₹15,000 per annum per school-going child, has been allocated ₹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, has been allocated ₹6,600 crore.
Similarly, Higher Education has been allocated ₹2,566 crore, ₹707 crore has been set aside for PM Schools for Rising India, and ₹438 crore for Youth Advancement and Sports, among others.
Other key allocations include nearly ₹10,000 crore for major irrigation projects (excluding the Polavaram Project), ₹6,105 crore for the Polavaram project, and ₹1,927 crore for the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, among others.
The budget also includes ₹8,365 crore for the rural employment guarantee program, Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Grameen (VB G-RAM-G).
Further, ₹5,451 crore has been allocated for Housing (Urban and Rural), and ₹4,000 crore each for Dr NTR Vaidya Seva Trust and Jal Jeevan Mission, among others.
Keshav said that the TDP-led government aims to provide 25 lakh house pattas and houses to EWS under the PMAY (U) – NTR Nagars scheme.
Among the 10 major initiatives, the budget lists 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.
Highlighting that the government has developed an economic master plan for the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER), Keshav said it involves seven growth drivers, which translate into 41 high-impact projects with a proposed investment of ₹28,000 crore, which also includes metro rail projects.
He noted that the Rayalaseema Integrated Development Plan includes expansion of the horticulture area from 8.41 lakh hectares to 14.41 lakh hectares by 2030.