There have been longstanding pleas from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after the bifurcation of the combined state, but the Budget seems to ignore almost all the demands of both the states.
Allocations to Telangana and Andhra have been minimal in Union Budget 2023. File photo shows Telangana CM KCR with Andhra CM Jagan Mohan Reddy (Twitter/TRSPartyOnline)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Union Budget 2023, has announced attractive incentives and rebates in the new income tax regime, and a steep hike in capital investments.
The rebate limit in the new tax regime has been increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹7 lakh. There has also been a corresponding easing of the tax slabs along with the enhancement of the maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme from ₹15 lakh to ₹30 lakh, which benefits nearly 30% of Indian families that can be accounted under the middle-income group category.
Similarly, the FM has proposed an increase in capital expenditure by 33 percent to ₹10 lakh crore. States are also being incentivised to spend more on infrastructure.
Then there is the biggest-ever outlay in the Railways of ₹2.4 lakh crore, which too will help in making India a ₹5 trillion dollar economy by 2025. This Budget was announced when all the states were hoping to get some support that they badly require in the post-pandemic period.
President Droupadi Murmu and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with the Union Budget 2023 (Twitter/nsitharaman)
The announcements about three specialised AI centres and a national data governance policy will support the generation of new knowledge. Further, the announcements about a special digital university, training support to teachers on digital education, and enhancement of educational TV channels for students from 12 to 200 channels in the respective regional languages under the PM e-Vidya would support and provide supplementary education to students.
The allocation of ₹7,200 crore for the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana and a ₹646 crore allocation announced for the Ayushman Bharat Health Infra Mission, along with a mission to eliminate sickle cell anaemia by 2047, would provide health support for people, especially in the middle and lower-middle-income group.
The training and support mission for improving technical skills under ‘Vishvakarma’ has long been awaited, and will lead to skill enhancement and more opportunities for the youth. The announcement of the ‘Agriculture Accelerator Fund’ for rural areas, ‘Vivad-se-Vishwas-I’, and allocation of ₹2 lakh crore for MSMEs would provide the necessary encouragement for them in the post-Covid period.
However, no specific allocations were announced in the Union Budget 2023 for both the Telugu states — Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — except for the ₹40 crore allocation announced for the tribal universities in both and the ₹50 crore allocation to the Andhra Pradesh Central University.
The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research will get ₹374 crore and the “Sree Anna” support will be given to IIMR, Hyderabad, for making it a global hub for millets.
There have been longstanding pleas from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after the bifurcation of the combined state, but the current Union Budget 2023 seems to ignore almost all the demands of both the states.
There has been a longstanding demand from Andhra Pradesh for special status and a separate railway zone. Similarly, Andhra was also requesting a huge allocation of ₹10,900 crore to complete the Polavaram project’s pending works, along with a financial support package for the backward regions of Rayalaseema and Uttarandhra.
There is also a demand for supporting the Krishna-Godavari connectivity project.
Similarly, Telangana has been demanding a tribal university, Bayyaram Steel Plant, an IIM, an ITIR project, and national status for the Kaleshwaram project.
Telangana has also wanted a textile park, coach factory, and a support package for Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya, but the Union Budget 2023 seems to ignore almost all the demands of both the states.
The current allocations made for the tribal universities and central universities too are minimal.
The amount that is allocated to the eastern states of the country is ₹76 lakh crore, which is ₹8,000 crore more than last year’s allocation. Had Andhra Pradesh been given state special status, the state would also have received similar huge grants.
Both the Telugu states have huge potential for growth and development. They have the resources and manpower.
Telangana, with its IT and industrial sectors, has the potential to become a biotechnological hub in Asia. Similarly, an IT corridor, tourism infrastructure, and special industrial parks could be developed in Andhra.
Both the states require allocation for industry, infrastructure, and improving people’s skill sets. An increased Budget allocation for these states could have led to double the dividend for the country in the near future.
(Radha Raghuramapatruni teaches economics and international business at GITAM. She is also a regular speaker/trainer/consultant for the industry in various programmes organised by the Chamber of Commerce, CII, DGFT, and DRDO on contemporary issues related to international trade and economics)
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