Andhra Pradesh Government

Ambedkar statue at Vijayawada to cost Rs 400 cr: Andhra Pradesh Minister

The construction of B R Ambedkar statue at PWD Grounds in Vijayawada, expected to be completed by July, may touch Rs 400 crore, said Andhra Pradesh Minister Merugu Nagarjuna on Tuesday. The amount spent for the 125-feet tall statue has already reached Rs 380 crore from Rs 268 crore and the State government will not back off how much ever be the cost, the Minister for Social Welfare said. "Unlike the previous TDP government which planned to build the statue in a nondescript place at Rs 100 crore, our government under Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has allotted a plot worth hundreds of crore of rupees," asserted Nagarjuna in a statement. Besides the statue, the Minister said Rs 106 crore additional funds, including Rs 6 crore from the Municipal department, were allotted for more buildings around the memorial of the architect of the Indian Constitution. He said the construction work at the site is progressing day in and out in conjunction with a similar project going on in Haryana.

Andhra govt can exceed 2026 education targets, says World Bank official

The Andhra Pradesh government can exceed the targets set for 2026 in the education sector, said World Bank's Country Director, Auguste Tano Kouame. Kouame made these observations after an extensive visit of the state, trying to understand its schemes and programmes in detail. He (Kouame) specifically talked about some segments where targets can be revised upwardspercentage of students in class 4 who will become proficient in mathematics by the end of 2026, said a state government statement on Tuesday night. The World Bank official noted that schools' physical and digital education infrastructure can be improved by revising the targets and also incorporating community audits as well as enhancing leadership quality in headmasters. AP's schemes and programmes are in the correct direction with potential to exceed targets fixed earlier, the statement quoted him as saying. Considering the World Bank official's stamp of approval as a major validation of AP's schemes, the government liste

Andhra Pradesh CM Reddy disburses Rs 6,419 cr under YSR Asara scheme

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday disbursed Rs 6,419 crore under the third tranche of YSR Asara scheme, benefiting as many as 74.94 lakh women. Under Asara scheme, outstanding bank loans of eligible women Self-Help Groups will be written off to enable them to stand on their own feet. Reddy released these funds by the click of a button, reiterating that the State government would continue to work for the educational, social, economic and political empowerment of women. He noted that the southern state has spent upto Rs 2.25 lakh core towards women's welfare through various programmes such as 'Amma Vodi', 'Cheyuta', 'Kapu Nestam', 'EBC Nestam', 'Vidya Devena' and others. According to the Chief Minister, more than 9.8 lakh women have launched their own business units such as stores, poultry farms, food processing units, vegetable shops and others through Asara scheme. Besides collaborating with corporates like L&T, Reliance, P&G, ITC, Amul and ...

Andhra CM launches ragi malt drink in govt schools, at cost of Rs 86 cr

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday incorporated an additional nutrient supplement, ragi malt drink, into the menu of government school students, at a cost of Rs 86 crore. With this new addition into the menu of the existing Jagananna Goru Mudda scheme, more than 37.6 lakh students studying in as many as 44,392 government and aided schools will reap the nutritional benefits of getting iron and calcium through their school meals. Making the announcement, Reddy said, "These practices are to make the Gorumudda even better. This food provides useful iron and calcium which helps the growth of children." According to the Chief Minister, the state government's expenditure on the mid-day meal scheme will rise from Rs 1,824 crore per annum to Rs 1,910 crore, on adding ragi malt to the menu at Rs 86 crore. Out of the Rs 86 crore required, Satya Sai Central Trust chipped in with Rs 42 crore. He said schemes like these are aimed at reducing school dropouts, providin

Eye on 2024 polls, Andhra Budget allocates lion's share for welfare

Keeping its interests in mind ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for 2024, the Andhra Pradesh government has allocated the lion's share of the state Budget -- more than Rs 54,000 crore of the total Rs 2,79,279 crore -- to Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes, targeting potential voter segments such as pensioners, farmers, students and women. Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath tabled the 2023-24 Budget in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. Andhra Pradesh has for long focused on governance that balances both welfare and development, and its budgetary allocation of as much as Rs 54,228 crore for DBT schemes is in keeping with that model. The increase of about 10 per cent in the allocation, from Rs 48,882 crore in 2022-23, indicates that the government has its eye on the upcoming elections next year. The DBT schemes include YSR Pension Kanuka (Rs 21,435 crore) for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and transgender persons; YSR Rythu Bharosa (Rs 4,020 crore), which

Godrej Agrovet inks pact with AP govt to set up edible oils refining plant

Godrej Agrovet Ltd has proposed to invest Rs 100 crore to set up a refining plant for edible oils in Andhra Pradesh. In a statement, the company said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government on the sidelines of Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit (APGIS) 2023. As a part of the MoU, Godrej Agrovet's oil palm business will be making an estimated investment of Rs 100 crore to set up a manufacturing facility for edible oil refinery and solvent extraction plant. The company already has 45,000 hectare area of oil palm plantation area in Andhra Pradesh (AP). The proposed new plant will have a projected refining capacity of 400 tonnes per day and will be set up in Seethanagaram, Eluru District in AP. This is company's first downstream project for value-added products in oil and fats. Balram Singh Yadav, Managing Director of Godrej Agrovet, said, "The MoU is in line with Godrej Agrovet's long-term strategy to be the catalyst in India's oil mission thro

Andhra Pradesh to install 1.8 million smart meters on farm motors in a year

The Andhra Pradesh government will install as many as 18 lakh smart meters on farm electric motors within a year, including spending Rs 4,000 core to procure allied material, said an official. The state will follow the guidelines issued by the Central Government and Central Electricity Authority (CEA), even as these smart meters are aimed at arresting power theft among several other benefits, he said. The official highlighted that farmers do not have any doubts over them and asserted that the government has received their stamp of approval. "Nearly 16.5 lakh farmers have extended support to smart meters and the government will bear the cost of installing them," K Vijayanand, special chief secretary, Energy Department, said in a statement on Tuesday night. He noted that the Centre will give a grant of Rs 1,600 crore for the smart meters and allied materials while a pilot project under this scheme tested in Srikakulam district had succeeded with only 6.6 per cent out of the 29,000 ..

Paytm signs MoU with Andhra govt to empower merchants, street vendors

Paytm plans to extend its platform for providing e-government services, which will be conveniently accessible to all Paytm Super App users

AP investors summit sees Rs 1.17-trn MoUs on Day 2; RIL inks Rs 50k-cr pact

Amongst the major investors, Reliance has signed one MoU with an investment of Rs 50,000 crore which will generate employment for 10,000 people

Hetero to invest Rs 1,000 crore in AP in over 2 years to expand pharma biz

Drug maker Hetero Group will be investing Rs 1,000 crore to expand its pharmaceutical and specialist business in Andhra Pradesh, its Managaing Director Vamsi Krishna Bandi said on Saturday. Speaking at Global Investors Summit 2023 here, he said post-Covid pandemic, more countries are looking at India as a partner of choice in pharmaceutical sector, and Andhra Pradesh is ideally placed to take advantage because of a well-established ecosystem. "We are committed to Andhra Pradesh and will continue to expand our presence here. We'll be investing about Rs 1,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh over the next two years to grow our pharmaceutical and specialty business. This will generate an employment of a minimum of 3,000 people," he said. Bandi further said the USD 2.5 billion pharma group employs over 10,000 people directly and indirectly in Andhra Pradesh, and supplies about 40 per cent of global HIV medicines that are manufactured in the state.

Andhra Pradesh received Rs 13 trillion as investments: CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said the state has received investment proposals worth Rs 13 lakh crore with an employment opportunity for six lakh people. Speaking at the inaugural session of the Global Investors Summit 2023 being held here, the Chief Minister said MoUs worth Rs 11.85 lakh crore will be signed today and the rest would be formalised on Saturday. He also said the investment proposals are from Reliance, Adani Group, Aditya Birla group, ReNew power, NTPC and Aurobindo Group among others. Reddy reiterated that Visakhapatnam would become the executive capital of Andhra Pradesh in the days to come and he will be moving over to the port city. "It is a proud moment to announce that the state has received 340 investment proposals with an investment of about Rs 13 lakh crore providing employment to almost six lakh people across 20 sectors," he said. He further said 2023 is an important year for India as the country is hosting the G20 summit unde

Andhra investors summit likely to attract up to Rs 2 trillion investment

The Andhra Pradesh Global Investors Summit (GIS) is scheduled to be held on March 3 and 4

We want to make Andhra a logistics hub for south Asia: CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

The State is working towards integrated logistics-based infrastructure development, says YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh govt expects investors' meet to power green boom

Sitting on potential RE of 44 Gw of wind and 38 Gw of solar energy

All you need to know about Andhra Pradesh's Guaranteed Pension Scheme

GPS: The scheme, which was proposed for the first time in April 2022, offers a guaranteed pension of 33 per cent of the last drawn basic pay without any deduction to the state government employees

Ban on road rallies: SC remits back to Andhra HC state govt's plea

At the outset of a brief hearing, Vaidyanathan referred to the sequence of events in the high court and highlighted the procedural infirmities

Andhra Pradesh govt appoints inquiry commission to probe recent stampedes

The Andhra Pradesh government late on Saturday night constituted a one-man Commission of Inquiry to probe into the circumstances that led to two incidents of stampede in which 11 persons were killed in recent days. The Commission of Inquiry (CoI) will be headed by Justice B Seshasayana Reddy, a retired judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, an order issued by Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy said. The CoI has been asked to submit its report in a month. Eight persons were killed in a stampede at Kandukuru town in SPS Nellore district on December 28, 2022 during a political meeting of Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu. On January 1, three persons were killed in a stampede at a free gift distribution programme, wherein the tragedy occurred some time after former chief minister Naidu had left the venue. The state government has now appointed the CoI to inquire into the "circumstances leading to the stampedes and the persons responsible therefore and whether there were any

AP government buys 19 new SUVs for CM Jagan Mohan Reddy's convoys

The Andhra Pradesh government has purchased 19 new SUVs for use by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, official sources said. Of the 19 Toyota Fortuner vehicles, four will be made bullet-proof and two more will be fitted with jammers as part of the VIP security measures, sources in the Intelligence Security Wing said. With many ministers claiming that Reddy would soon start functioning from the port city of Visakhapatnam which the YSR Congress government wants to make the Executive Capital of the state half of the newly-procured fleet would be stationed there for the Chief Minister's use, the sources said. A new fleet of seven convoy vehicles for the Chief Minister was purchased in mid-2019 after Reddy assumed power. "These vehicles are in a fit condition as they have not been used much. But, with the Chief Minister likely to shift his base to Visakhapatnam, we need another set of vehicles. Accordingly, the new vehicles have been bought," a senior security official said. One

Andhra govt not letting party leaders visit violence-hit Macherla: TDP

TDP leader Varla Ramaiah asks why his party leaders are not allowed to meet the victims of violence in Macherla

Andhra govt accords civic reception to President Murmu in Vijayawada

President Droupadi Murmu was on Sunday felicitated by the Andhra Pradesh government at a civic reception in Vijayawada, on her maiden visit to the state. Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy welcomed the President and presented her the portraits of Sri Venkateswara Swamy. Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy, High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and other dignitaries attended the event. The President arrived in Vijayawada on Sunday morning on a two-day trip to Andhra Pradesh. The Governor, Chief Minister, the Union Minister and Chief Secretary K S Jawahar Reddy accorded a warm reception on her arrival in the Vijayawada airport at Gannavaram. She later proceeded to the Raj Bhavan in Vijayawada where the Governor hosted a banquet in her honour.