The Andhra Pradesh Government unveiled 2015-16 Budget with a marginally higher outlay of Rs.1,13,049 crore, no new tax burden and plans to explore possibilities of increasing non-tax revenue.
“We propose to forge ahead undaunted by setbacks,” Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu declared in his first-ever full budget for A.P. after division of the State on Thursday. The setbacks, he listed, were severe resource constraints consequent to the State reorganisation and the 14th Finance Commission not considering the special problems faced by Andhra Pradesh post bifurcation.
He said that the releases to the State from the Centre during the current fiscal and allocation in the Budget for 2015-16 are “not up to our expectations.”
Constraints
“We are constrained to present a Budget with a modest increase” of mere 1.1 per cent, compared to the Rs.1,11,823 crore in 2014-15, he said, assuring the members that “it is a realistic and practical” budget.
The increase in Plan Budget layout from Rs.26,672 crore to Rs.34,412 crore, which is 29.02 per cent and capital budget going up by 38.88 per cent from Rs.7,069 crore to Rs.9,818 crore, Mr.Ramakrishnudu said, is “significant achievement.” The State Government, he added, had been able to bring down non-plan expenditure from Rs.85,151 crore to Rs.78,636 crore. The non-plan revenue expenditure was also brought down from Rs.78,976 crore to Rs.73,223 crore.
Revenue, fiscal deficit
In 2015-16, non-plan expenditure is estimated at Rs.78,637 crore and plan expenditure at Rs.34,412. The estimated revenue deficit is Rs.7,300 crore and fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs.17,584 crore. The fiscal deficit works out to 3 per cent of GSDP whereas the revenue deficit works out to 1.24 per cent.
According to the revised estimates, the revenue deficit in the current financial year will be Rs.14,242 crore. The fiscal deficit in 2014-15 is estimated at Rs.20,320 crore, which would be 3.88 per cent of GSDP.
Revenue surplus in 2013-14
The accounts for 2013-14, however, showed a revenue surplus of Rs.344 crore and a fiscal deficit that is well within the FRBM Act, at Rs.18,000 crore, which is 2.11 per cent of GSDP.
On the plans, he said that the State had already engaged experts for the purpose of exploring the possibilities of increasing non-tax revenues. “We are also in the process of studying the excise policy of Tamil Nadu to see whether there is any lesson to learn.”
Attracting private investment
Andhra Pradesh Government, Mr.Ramakrishnudu said, is also engaged in the process of attracting private investment in to projects for improving productive capital expenditure. “We will not spare any effort in doing effective follow-up with the Government of India to ensure that the promises made at the time of bifurcation and the entitlements contained in the Reorganisation Act are realised in full.”
The Finance Minister also expressed confidence that the Government will be able to mop-up additional resources during 2015-16 and be in a position to increase the allocations to the schemes already announced and take up new schemes wherever possible.
