VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has asked the Finance and Planning Department to prepare an outcome-based budget targeting 15% growth in coming fiscal.
The Chief Minister also wanted the departments to take a cue from Kerala and Norway while preparing the budget. Kerala and Norway stand out of the crowd as far as the Human Development Index (HDI) was concerned. They have the highest HDI and can be taken as benchmark, he said.
Mr. Naidu was addressing a review meeting on ‘finance and planning’ at the Interim Government Complex at Velagapudi near here on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said the gross value added (GVA) sustainable development goals (SDG), family development and society development, key performance indicators (KPI), would have to be taken into consideration while preparing the budget.
The budget should give a direction to achieve sustained development and 15% growth rate, he said.
Focus on horticulture
Focus should be on to get more funds from the Centre for creating infrastructure in the State. National highways, railways, ports and inland waterways were some of the areas where the Central funds could be tapped. The Central government was implementing 73 schemes. Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSP) and Central-assisted schemes were the other area that needed attention. Those schemes could be used to achieve the goals set for Andhra Pradesh’s development. “With this,” he said, “it will be helpful and easy to prioritise the requirements in our budget.”
Revenue generated by the horticulture, which is an allied sector of agriculture, was 33%. The target for coming fiscal should be 60%. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) funds can be utilised in the horticulture sector. The targets should give a stimulus and activate the non-performing departments, he added.
Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu, Chief Secretary S. P. Tucker, and Special Chief Secretary (Finance) Ajeya Kallam were among those present.
