Andhra Pradesh   

A.P. economy on an upswing: Governor

Special Correspondent

Cites good monsoon and better performance in core sector as `indicators'

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Governor Rameshwar Thakur has painted a bright picture of the State's economy by projecting a growth rate of 7.55 per cent in the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for the current fiscal — the highest in the recent past — against 6.39 per cent last year.

In his maiden address to the State Assembly on the opening day of the budget session on Tuesday, he attributed the upswing in the State's economy to the good monsoon, improved performance in the core sector and a positive showing in all other economic indicators.

A key indicator of the economic buoyancy was the rise in credit deposit ratio of scheduled commercial banks to 77 per cent as on September 30 last year from 62 per cent two years earlier. In respect of rural branches, it had increased from 86 to 108 per cent during the same period.

The hour-long address by the Governor was punctuated with shouts by TDP members and counter-shouting by ruling benches. TDP and TRS members also displayed placards when Mr. Thakur referred to `Jalayagnam'— the Congress Government's ambitious irrigation programme — while Congress MLAs greeted with thumping of desks whenever he made a mention of the Government's achievements.

Heavy flak

The Governor's address drew heavy flak from the Opposition, which described it as `drab', directionless and bereft of any new ideas or announcements. The TDP took serious exception to Mr. Thakur lauding the Government for the smooth conduct of a political event such as the AICC plenary here last month.

Mr. Thakur announced that the Government would very soon implement a health insurance scheme designed to meet the needs of the poor. It was also embarking on a Rs. 860-crore DFID-aided health sector reform plan over the next five years to improve access to quality healthcare for the poor.

The Government had decided to set up a constituent engineering college of JNTU at Pulivendula, Assembly constituency represented by Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, from the next academic year. It had also resolved to set up three new State Universities at Nizamabad, Rajahmundry and Kadapa, a medical college called the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, also at Kadapa, and super-speciality hospitals at Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

Reiterating the Government's commitment to providing a transparent and clean administration and achieving all-round growth with equity, Mr. Thakur touched upon various initiatives taken to improve the lot of farmers, women, SCs, STs, BCs and minorities. Referring to the progress of irrigation projects, he said that an additional area of 71.00 lakh acres would be provided with water while the existing ayacut of 21.32 lakh acres would be stabilised.

Dig at TDP

Taking an indirect dig at the erstwhile TDP Government, he highlighted the increase in cropped area in spite of the deficit rainfall. All that the Government did was to declare that agriculture and rural development were priority areas. "It was the same officers, same scientists and the same farmers who had effectively beaten the unprecedented drought."

Outlining details of the `Indiramma' scheme for saturating all villages and towns with basic infrastructure and welfare programmes in a focussed manner in three years, he said that weaker section housing programme would be the main focus area under it, aiming at "hut-less villages" in the next three years.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

A.P. economy on an upswing: Governor
Briefly

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu