NEW NAIDUNOMICS TO REVIVE ANDHRA PRADESH

IT is a great feeling when you get what you want, when you need it the most.

- SATYA NAGESH AYYAGARY

More so for a politician trying to sustain power. Satisfied, euphoric, smug? Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu would not have been mishearing the tune if all three emotions were flowing through him after the presentation of the Union Budget.

So what did AP get in Budget 2024-25? Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated ₹15,000 crore for this year and promised additional amounts in the future for Naidu's pet project of building Amaravati, the new state capital.

Second, a special package-with an unspecified amount-was mentioned for completing the remaining works on the Polavaram irrigation project, which has a revised cost estimate of ₹17,144 crore. The project would be a lifeline for AP and is expected to augment the country's food security. Naidu recently claimed that over 70 percent of the project had been completed in his earlier term, but the deadline had been pushed back because of his successor's lopsided priorities. Things should again speed up towards completion if there are no unexpected hurdles.

Third, Sitharaman promised to help develop the Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor (VCIC) on a priority basis. This is part of the Centre's Purvodaya plan covering Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. It should pave the way for development of the backward northern Andhra districts and the Orvakal (Kurnool) node along the HyderabadBengaluru industrial corridor. Naidu had also requested the inclusion of the Koparthy industrial node of the VCIC.