YSRCP chief Jagan releases manifesto with strong welfare flavour, promises pension hike, Vizag as executive capital

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The amplified version of Navaratnalu

*Social Security: The most popular scheme of the party – payment of pensions to the poor under Navaratnalu – to be hiked to ₹3,500 per month in two instalments.

Volunteers will continue to deliver the money to the beneficiaries at their doorsteps. The state government has so far distributed ₹88,650 crore to beneficiaries under this scheme.

* Development: Emphasis to continue on infrastructure, good governance, ports, fishing harbours, airports, industrial corridors, nodes,       Jalayagnam, village and ward secretariats.

* Education: Amma Vodi, tabs to school children, Vidya Kanuka, Goru Mudda, English Medium instruction in schools and digital learning to continue with more vigour.

Amma Vodi, which Jagan Mohan Reddy claimed as one that is close to his heart, as it is meant for the children, will see an enhancement in   the amount payable to mothers by ₹2,000, taking the total amount payable to ₹17,000. Of this amount, the mother gets ₹15,000 and the   remaining ₹2,000 will be for the improvement of facilities at schools.

* Medical and Health: To continue initiatives such as Arogya Sree, Arogya Aasara and Jagananna Arogya Suraksha, village Clinics, provision of family doctors and construction of 17 new government medical colleges.

* Agriculture: YSR Rythu Bharosa amount to go upto ₹16,000 per year and the scheme would be made applicable to the tenant farmers as well.

Under YSR Zero Interest Scheme, the YSRCP to facilitate sanction of loans upto ₹3 lakh. The government to pay the interest component     and  provide nine hour power supply to the farm sector during day time.

* Higher Education: Jagannnan Vidya Deevena (fee reimbursement), Jagannna Vasati, Job- oriented curriculum to continue.

* Naadu, Nedu: Further improvement of Schools and hospital infrastructure

* Housing: Sanction of houses for those who have no place to live. The government to sanction house sites to the landless poor.

* Women Empowerment: YSR Chyutha scheme is all set to go upto ₹1.5 lakh from the present ₹75,000 in eight instalments, YSR Kapu Nestham is set to double from ₹60,000 to ₹1.2 lakh, and EBC Nestham amount will increase from ₹45,000 to ₹1.05 lakh in four instalments.

Also Read: CM Jagan lists out welfare schemes; seeks people’s mandate again

Other assurances, schemes

Apart from Navaratnalu, the chief minister also promised the completion of Polavaram project, construction of 17 medical colleges, Bhogapuram Airport, Aqua and Law Universities, Tribal Engineering College and Tribal University, introduction of IB syllabus in one class in each year in the English Medium schools being run by the government.

“So far we have transferred to women beneficiaries ₹1,89,519 crore through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and ₹94,347 crore through Non DBT, totaling ₹2,83,866 crore,” CM Jagan said with a sense of satisfaction.

He said that at the rate of ₹24,000 crore, the state government had paid ₹88,650 crore per year to the beneficiaries during the last five years, which is the highest in the entire country, ” adding that he government will “increase the present ₹3,000 to ₹3,500 in phases”.

The chief minster also announced that every year recruitment to Group I and II and other services would be made on a regular basis and that a skill development university would be set up in Tirupati to help the youth acquire skills and make them employable.

Referring to the welfare of the SCs, STs and BCs, CM Jagan said that his government had rolled out several schemes for them.

For SCs, during the last five years, the government had transferred ₹45,412 crore through DBT and ₹23,469 crore through non-DBT to the for their empowerment.

For STs, the amount transferred was ₹13,389 crore through DBT and ₹5,963 crore to non-DBT. For BC welfare, the government had transferred ₹1.28 lakh crore through DBT and ₹53,000 crore through non DBT.

Also Read: Jagan giving father figure status to Botcha Satyanarayana who abused YSR: Sharmila

‘YSRCP manifesto like Bible, Quran and Gita’

Jagan Mohan Reddy described the YSRCP manifesto as the Bible, Quran, and Bhagavad Gita for him.

“I take an oath that I will implement it to the fullest. The last 58 months will be etched forever in our country’s history as over 99% of the manifesto promises have been successfully implemented by YSRCP over the last five years” he said.

“We’ve deposited ₹2.68 lakh crore directly into beneficiaries’ accounts through DBT and ₹1.78 lakh crore through non-DBT methods. We’ve allocated ₹26,067 crore for the Amma Vodi scheme, ₹4275 crore to the Jagananna Vasati Devena, ₹12,609 crore to the Jagananna Vidya Deevena, and ₹34,378 crore to YSR Rythu Bharosa.”

He said that despite challenge posed by the COVID-19, the government had not floundered on implementation of the manifesto.

Before unveiling the manifesto , the chief minister spent a major part of his time in pointing out how TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu had failed in implementing the promises he had made during his five year rule from 2014 to 2019.

CM Jagan also cited how he had not only implemented all the promises in YSRC manifesto but also brought in several other welfare measures. The manifesto, however, was silent on what the YSRCP’s policy would be on liquor, going forward.

Also Read: AP has future only if NDA comes to power, says Chandrababu Naidu

‘Naidu, a failure in managing the state’s finances’

Jagan Mohan Reddy sought to nail Naidu for talking big and delivering little in his five-year rule on all parameters of the state’s economy as well as in the implementation of the welfare schemes.

He said, “We can’t compete with Chandrababu Naidu in making fraudulent promises, but we can show our commitment to the people. This government is different from the previous one – we don’t make empty promises. We deliver, and that’s our legacy.”

Lashing out at the former chief minister, Jagan said that the TDP chief was a failure in managing the state’s finances.

“Chandrababu Naidu says he knows how to create wealth. What wealth did he create in his 14 year-long tenure as the chief minister? Almost every year, there was revenue deficit. Where is the wealth that he has created?” he asked.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said that on the contrary, the public debt has increased during Naidu’s regime.

“Debts increased by 21.8 percent during Naidu’s tenure but YSRC government had restricted it to 12.13 percent. The state’s contribution to the GSDP when Naidu was in power was 4.47 percent but during the last five years when YSSRCP was in the saddle, it was 4,83 percent,” he said.

Even on the tax front, it was during Naidu’s time that taxes were the highest. “The tax burden during Naidu’s tenure was 6.57 per cent of the GSDP, while it was 6.35 percent during my tenure,” Jagan Mohan Reddy said.

(Edited by Shauqueen Mizaj)