AP chugs on 'positive' growth engine

HYDERABAD: Describing the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday as satisfactory and growth-oriented, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said the budget was aimed at correcting the mistakes of the previous UPA government and long-term goals.

Reacting to the NDA government's first budget, Chandrababu Naidu, whose party is part of the NDA government, said the measures taken in the budget to improve the current financial situation is appreciable. 'We can see a positive trend coming up. The budget would help the government put the country back on the track', he remarked.

He said the government's initiative to promote entrepreneurship in the country is a positive sign and will go a long way in boosting the economy. The budget has mentioned about taking up safe drinking water schemes but there is more to be done in this area, Naidu observed.

Expressing happiness over Andhra Pradesh being allocated three prestigious national level institutes -- an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and an Agriculture University, the Chief Minister said that there was a need for more such institutes in the State.

He said that he was also happy that a National Academy of Customs Excise & Narcotics has been sanctioned in Hindupur. He said that the Visakhapatnam-Chennai industrial corridor, Hardware park in Kakinada and a smart city at Krishnapatnam will boost the economy of that region.

He said the East Coast would be developed into a 'logistic hub' on the lines of West coast hub in Gujarat. Though disappointed with the allotment of a meager amount of `1180 crore for the state in the union budget, he said that the state was expecting `16,000 crore in the budget but got much less than the expected. 'We would take up the matter with the Centre and see that the state get its due share', he remarked.

'Till Andhra Pradesh develops on a par with other progressing states of the country, the Centre has to support the State in all aspects', he demanded.

He said that he was not even aware how much the state's revenue is and how much is going to come. 'Until we know about our revenues how can we allocate funds for various sectors?' he questioned in reply to a query.

He said that he was confident that the Centre would help the state in overcoming crisis and allocate sufficient funds and schemes.