CM Naidu highlights Andhra's fiscal challenges under YSRCP regime, cites Niti Aayog report

Amaravati, Jan 27 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday highlighted the state’s poor fiscal health under the previous YSRCP government, citing a ranking of 17 out of 18 states for the fiscal year 2022-23, below Bihar, Odisha, and Jharkhand, which were also facing financial difficulties.

He also noted that the state was unable to even service its debt during this period.

During a press conference, Naidu presented findings from the Niti Aayog Fiscal Health Index Report 2025, which ranks 18 general category states based on data from 2022-23.

“They (YSRCP dispensation) caused devastation. Didn’t know what they did with the money. I told this many times and Niti Aayog has also confirmed this,” the CM said.

The report assessed states in five categories such as quality of expenditure, revenue mobilisation, fiscal prudence, debt index, and debt sustainability. Naidu pointed out that Andhra Pradesh ranked zero in debt sustainability.

He explained that a zero debt sustainability ranking signified the state's inability to repay its debts, which is why no one was willing to lend money to Andhra Pradesh.

According to the Niti Aayog report, only Punjab ranked lower than Andhra Pradesh across all these categories.

“Andhra Pradesh lies in the bottom category, facing significant fiscal challenges. Andhra Pradesh has fiscal deficits. AP (Andhra Pradesh) on average allocated only 10 percent of the total developmental expenditure to capital expenditure,” Naidu said, citing the think tank's report.

He noted that since 2018-19, capital expenditure had sharply declined in areas like social services and economic services, dropping by 84 percent and 60 percent, respectively.

In 2018-19, the combined expenditure on these two categories was Rs 19,061 crore, but it fell to Rs 7,044 crore in the following years.

Naidu added that the future of the state's people would remain bleak unless politicians focused on development and avoided corruption and inefficiency. PTI STH ROH

Source: PTI