Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said on Wednesday raising revenue without levying taxes on the people and cutting down unproductive expenditure were among the immediate priorities of the government.
Soon after he was allocated the important Finance subject during the distribution of portfolios by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, he told The Hindu that plugging loopholes in revenue collection, extracting financial assistance as grants from the Union government in accordance with the commitments made in AP Reorganisation Act and also through policy matters would also be high on the agenda of the State government.
A seasoned politician and former Speaker , Mr. Ramakrishnudu is not new to the job and held the Finance portfolio earlier. This time around, he, however, will be starting on a challenging note with the Andhra Pradesh State having a budget deficit of Rs.15,000 crore. He said pressure would be exerted on the Centre for extending maximum help to Andhra Pradesh and added that both the Centre and State government were sailing together.
On the commitments made by the State government regarding waiver of crop, weaver and DWCRA loans, he expressed confidence that all the promises would be fulfilled.
Mr. Ramakrishnudu said the 14 Finance Commission was likely to visit the State in the near future. The problems faced by the State in the wake of bifurcation would be placed before the commission so that “we are going to get some advantage”.
