Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Andhra Pradesh’s public debt mounts to Rs 42,000 crore

Syed Amin Jafri

The public debt of Andhra Pradesh government has mounted to Rs 42,000 crore (Rs 420 billion) from a level of Rs 16,000 crore (Rs 160 billion) in 1995, Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu admitted in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Ramakrishnudu, however, asserted at a media conference that the public debt had increased since Telugu Desam government, under Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu’s stewardship, had earmarked higher plan outlays for overall development of the state during the last seven years.

Citing facts and figures, he claimed that the state has forged ahead in gross state domestic product, per capita income, foodgrains production and literacy by recording higher growth rates than anytime during the earlier Congress regimes.

The performance of Andhra Pradesh during 1995-96 to 2001-02 has been appreciated by the Reserve Bank of India, Planning Commission and other agencies.

While the GSDP growth averaged 4.4 per cent per annum from 1961-62 to 1989-90, it was 4.8 per cent during 1990-91 to 1999-2000. But during 1995-99, it was a healthy 5.2 per cent per annum. In the year 2001-02, the growth in GSDP was 6.6 per cent.

During the ninth five-year plan (1992-2002), the growth is estimated at 6.5 per cent per annum. “The annual growth was below four per cent during 27 years of Congress rule and it has been 5.2 per cent under the present regime,” the Finance Minister pointed out.

Ramakrishnudu said that while the per capita income grew by 2.2 per cent annually between 1961-62 and 1989-90, the figure rose to 4.8 per cent per annum during 1990-91 to 1999-2000. During the year 2001-01, it was 4.4 per cent.

The Vision-2020 document envisaged an annual seven per cent growth in per capita income but this could not be achieved as the state suffered adverse seasonal conditions in three out of the last seven years.

At the same time, he pointed out the state achieved record foodgrains production of 16.10 million tonnes during 2000-01 crop year. In 1998-99, the output was 14.9 million tonnes. Even in 1999-2000, the output was 13.4 million tonnes.

“Thus, the state has set best production records in three out of last seven years inspite of severe drought and other natural calamities,” he claimed.

He said that the state accorded top priority to power and irrigation sectors. The annual outlay on the irrigation sector was Rs 4000 crore (Rs 40 billion). However, it was a fact that the state’s public debt had mounted due to the fall in central inflows to the state and higher plan outlays on the other.

“But the Congress leaders have no right to allege that we have pushed the state into a debt trap. Is it not a fact that they (the Congress governments at the Center) have pushed the country’s debt burden from just Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) at the time of Independence to Rs 500,000 crore ( Rs 5,000 billion) when they lost power?,” he argued.

Charging the Congress leaders with making false and exaggerated allegations against the Telugu Desam government, Information Minister S Chandramohan Reddy said that the outlay on information and publicity was only Rs 270 crore (Rs 2.7 billion), including Rs 78 crore (Rs 780 million) spent on salaries, Rs 24 crore (Rs 240 million) on administration and Rs 168 crore (Rs 1.68 billion) on publicity, during the last seven years.

But the Congress leaders had falsely claimed that the publicity budget Rs 2,550 crore (Rs 25.5 billion) during this period.

ALSO READ:
More Money Headlines