The Andhra Pradesh State Assembly Budget session will commence from Monday (February 5). The State government will present an interim budget for the 2024-25 financial year during the session. The State government will be presenting the last budget as its term comes to an end in a couple of months as the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are fast approaching.
The Interim Budget 2024-25 will be a vote-on-account that will authorise the government to spend certain sums of money till a new government comes into office after the April-May Assembly elections.
The session would begin with the Governor’s address on Monday. Governor S. Abdul Nazeer would address a joint session of the A.P. Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council at 10 a.m. It will be followed by the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting.
A motion of thanks to the Governor’s speech will be presented on February 6 (Tuesday). The budget may be presented on the same day or its following day. The schedule is yet to be announced. Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy will table the Finance Bill, 2024, and a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the government (Interim Budget) for the year 2024-25. The Vote on Account budget will be for the first three months (April 1 to June 30).
Mr. Rajendranath may present the budget on February 6 or 7 while the session will be conducted up to six days. The BAC will decide the number of working days.
It is learnt that the State government is planning to continue its focus on the welfare schemes and programmes, and make necessary allocations accordingly in the budget. The expenditure on the welfare schemes and programmes may go up by 10 to 15 per cent. While the ruling YSRCP is gearing up to highlight the welfare schemes and development programmes taken up by the government during the last five years, the opposition TDP is preparing to expose the failures of the government on various fronts. The State government presented a ₹2.91 lakh crore budget for the 2023-24 financial year. This time, the budget may cross the ₹3 lakh-crore mark. The full budget would be presented by the new government after the elections.
