1. I rise to present the Budget of the Government of Andhra Pradesh for the year 2003-04. While presenting last year’s Budget a year ago, I had reported to this august house the innovative exercise of releasing the ‘draft budget’ to invite public participation, and how the government had modified its allocations to several departments on the basis of the feedback received. I had also conveyed the commitment of the state government to make this a regular practice every year and to further improve the format of the Budget presentation and the interactive process. To achieve these objectives, we had commissioned the Centre for Good Governance to study last year’s process and make suggestions to make it simpler and easier for transparency and participation by the experts and the common man alike. The result was another pioneering exercise by the government of linking budget with policy and performance through ‘Draft Performance Budget for 2003-04’.

2. As part of the draft performance budget exercise, the state government decided to split the ‘draft Budget’ for 2003-04 into two parts. The Annual Fiscal Framework 2003-04 focused mainly on the overall fiscal indicators and Sectoral allocations to reflect the developmental priorities of the state government. Then every department presented their own performance report for last year, achievements so far and targets for next year and sought public response to department’s strategy, plans, priorities, schemes, programs and performance targets in a transparent budgeting exercise. All departments with similar activities were clubbed into eight groups for easy presentation and eliciting public participation. We trust that people’s close participation in the budgeting process would result in better value for money in the form of efficient delivery of services to them. Through the Performance budget, government aims to establish linkage between development goals, development plans and performance, which would lead towards achieving the economic and social objectives of the State. We consider Performance budgeting as an important tool to drive the government towards achieving our Vision 2020 objectives.

3. In the Annual Fiscal Framework, and the Draft Departmental Performance Budgets, we had given indicative budgetary allocations to all departments keeping in view our overall resource constraints. We have taken certain crucial policy decisions to give enhanced allocations to Irrigation and Agriculture since the State has been facing severe drought for the last two years. Honourable Members are aware, that our State is primarily an agrarian economy and the growth in the industrial sector is intricately linked to the performance of the agriculture sector. Thus, the allocations to Irrigation, Agriculture and Horticulture had been raised substantially so as to effectively tackle the drought situation as well as to improve the productivity in the agriculture sector. Drip irrigation is being taken as a top priority program to irrigate about 2.5 Lakh hectares in the state during the coming year.

4. The Honourable Chief Minister released the Annual Fiscal Framework 2003-04 on January 22, 2003. The concerned Ministers released the Group Reports on Departmental Performance Budgets from January 23-27, 2003. Public response was received through several channels. Print and electronic media comments, e-mails and letters, ‘Dial Your CM’, and face-to-face interactive sessions were used. The state government organized District level Workshops from January 27-31, 2003. These were followed by State level Seminars from February 3-7, 2003. A Cabinet Sub Committee scrutinized the responses received from the public and the departments, and final guidelines for modifications were considered by the Council of Ministers on February 10, 2003.

5. In terms of financial allocations to various sectors from state’s own resources, the important modifications for 2002-03 and 2003-04 allocation ceilings were Rs. 12 crores in favour of Agricultural University; Rs. 101 crores for Medical & Health sector, particularly primary health care; Rs. 105 crores for General Education sector; Rs. 59 crores for Welfare of SCs/BCs; Rs. 50 crores for Irrigation sector; Rs. 16 crores for Rural development sector; and Rs. 10 crores for Transport sector. Besides, Rs. 10 crores was given to General Economic Services sector and another Rs. 55 crores to General Services sector. Based on the actual receipts up to end of January, and further streamlining of tax administration, the government revised its estimates of Receipts for Tax revenues for RE and BE by Rs. 258 crores and Sale of Urban Land Ceiling lands by Rs. 115 crores, and restructured other allocations to cover the gap.

6. Under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes also, the government raised the allocations for some departments due to the decision of the Government of India to route their funds through the Consolidated Fund of the State. Thus Rs. 400 crores for School Education; Rs. 200 crores for Panchayat Raj; Rs. 110 crores for Women and Child Welfare; and Rs. 100 crores for Rural Development sectors were allocated additionally. Information Technology & Communication sector got an allocation of Rs. 110 crores from an externally aided project. Thus, overall, the government modified the allocations for over Rs. 1338 crores, with commensurate increase and restructuring of resources.

7. This year, the exercise was extremely intensive and the quality of public debate and concrete suggestions was very high. The whole government at all levels was totally engrossed in the preparation and conduct of this public dialogue for almost a month. We hope to further improve the quality of transparency and public participation in future also. It is my privilege to present the result of this effort to this august house in the form of the final Budget proposals.

8. The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of our state is heavily dependent on agriculture. The primary sector including agriculture and allied services contributes about 30% to the GSDP of the state while secondary and tertiary sectors contribute about 24% and 46% respectively. The annual average GSDP growth rate has been 5.32% during the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-1998 to 2001-2002), as against the all India growth rate of 5.46% making Andhra Pradesh one of the four fastest growing states in the country. The average annual per capita income growth has been 3.99% during the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-1998 to 2001-2002) as against the all India average growth rate of 3.61%. The real per capita income of A.P. has increased from Rs.8214 in 1997-1998 to Rs.10313 in 2001-2002 at constant prices against the all India per capita income of Rs.10754 in 2001-2002.

10. In his address to this august house, His Excellency the Governor of Andhra Pradesh has already outlined the policies and priorities of the government. Based on these, my colleague Ministers too will place before this House their respective departmental policies, priorities, achievements and further plan of action at the time of presenting their departmental grants. Therefore, I shall only be sharing the highlights of the overall allocations for the major sectors to present the broad contours of the budget. Table II annexed gives the overall sectoral allocations under Plan and Non-Plan Actuals for 2001-02, Budget and Revised Estimates for 2002-03, and Budget Estimates for 2003-04. Some of the highlights of these Sectoral allocations are given below.

11. Our government had substantially increased plan allocation for irrigation from Rs.1792.89 crores in 2002-03 to Rs.2178.92 crores for 2003-04 to provide assured irrigation facilities and to complete the projects that are at an advanced stage. This has enhanced the percentage of plan funds to 16.54 percent to irrigation sector in 2003-04 from 15.87 percent in 2002-03.

12. The allocation to this important sector has gone up from Rs. 794.56 crores in 2001-02 to Rs. 1166.21 crores in 2003-04 reflecting an increase from 1.86 percent of total expenditure in 2001-02 to 2.68 percent in 2003-04. Government now proposes to promote micro irrigation projects in a big way through drip irrigation systems for which Rs.100 crores are separately provided in this year’s budget.

13. This sector covers Panchayat Raj and Rural Development programs aimed at poverty alleviation and providing basic minimum services. The government has taken up an important poverty alleviation program called Velugu II, which will extend to the remaining 16 districts not covered by Velugu I. Consequently, the allocations for poverty alleviation, particularly for SCs, STs, BCs and other weaker sections have also gone up. Government will continue to strengthen the women’s self help groups and Neeru Meeru program. The overall allocations for this sector have gone up from Rs.2620.36 Crores in 2002-03 Revised Estimates to Rs. 3567.50 Crores in 2003-04.

14. We have increased the plan provision for this important sector to meet the likely commitments for the setting up of Hyderabad International Airport through public private partnership in addition to other ongoing projects. The overall percentage share in the total expenditure for this sector will go up from 3.98 percent in 2002-03 to 4.19 percent in 2003-04.

15. During this year we have launched the Mid Day Meal scheme in January 2003 and a provision of Rs.250.00 crores has been made for this in the budget for 2003-04. The percentage share of education sector in the total expenditure has substantially increased in the past three years due to our emphasis on ‘Education for All’. We have also appointed a large number of schoolteachers in last two years, which pushed up the non-plan expenditure under this sector from Rs. 3299.38 crores in 2001-02 to an estimated Rs. 3797.71 crores in 2003-04.

16. Our government is always committed to the welfare of weaker sections. Government will continue to improve the quality and reach of the programs to benefit maximum number of weaker sections. We propose to introduce scholarships for the economically backward classes also. We have increased the allocation to welfare from Rs. 1340.84 crores in 2002-03 to Rs. 1538.26 crores in 2003-04 reflecting an increase of 14.72 percent. The overall percentage of this sector in the total expenditure will go up from 3.40% in 2002-03 to 3.54% in 2003-04.

17. This sector covers welfare of women, children and physically handicapped. The special nutrition program launched this year will be continued next year with full funding. Consequently, there is a step up in their Plan allocation for 2003-04 over Revised Estimates of 2002-03.

18. A steep hike of 38.51% in the plan allocation for this sector in 2003-04 is mainly intended to meet the emerging needs for setting up of industrial infrastructure projects, including Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and Pharma city projects.

19. Our Government has taken up several important measures to streamline the functioning of urban local bodies and improve their resource base. We have now increased the allocation to urban local bodies as per the recommendations of the Second State Finance Commission. Further we have provided Rs. 100 crores for bringing Krishna Waters to Hyderabad city, which will be used as margin money by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board for raising institutional finance for the project. Their overall share in the total expenditure has gone up from 1.68 percent in 2001-02 to 2.16 percent in 2003-04.

20. During the course of public debate, several experts and others had given valuable suggestions on improving the fiscal situation of the state governments in general and Andhra Pradesh in particular. We are extremely grateful for the constructive suggestions and would like to assure the public of the commitment of the state government to make every effort to better its fiscal performance. Here, I would like to take this opportunity to explain the steps already taken by the state government in the past few years, and our strategy for the coming years.

21. Honourable members are aware that there are four major fiscal indicators to judge the health of the state finances. These are Revenue Deficit, Fiscal Deficit, Debt and Guarantees. While the first two are relevant for a particular year, the latter two give a cumulative picture. These four indicators are related to the overall economic development of the state in terms of their ratio to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). While government policies can have an impact on the annual deficits, they are unlikely to make a major change in the cumulative profile of the state finances in the short term. Even, the annual revenues can only be improved within a certain small percentage due to their inelasticity. Similarly, the annual expenditures can only be marginally curtailed because of their non-discretionary nature. However, consistent efforts over a period of five to ten years can definitely bring about significant fiscal correction. That is why our government had published a Medium Term Fiscal Reforms Strategy, and a Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) from 2000-01 to 2006-07 in January 2002. Within this medium term framework, we also prepared the Annual Fiscal Frameworks (AFF) for 2002-03 and 2003-04. Table III annexed gives the MTFF targets and actual achievements so far. I will briefly outline the fiscal management reforms undertaken by the government in respect of each of the four major fiscal indicators.

22. Revenue Receipts: Revenue Deficit is the difference between the total Revenue Receipts of the state and the total Revenue Expenditure. Revenue Receipts comprise of State’s Own Tax and Non-Tax Revenues, and Central Tax Devolution and Central Grants. In the AFF 2003-04, we have shown how the Central Transfers have declined from 5.20% of GSDP in 1995-96 to a likely 4.89% in 2002-03. On the other hand, State’s Own Revenues have gone up from 6.32% of GSDP in 1995-96 to estimated 9.74% in 2002-03 and likely to reach 10.13% in 2003-04. Our own revenues have shown a Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 17.67% for the last five years up to 2001-02. This average is among the highest in the country, whereas the All States’ CAGR was only 12.16% for the same period. Consequently, total revenues have increased from 11.52% of GSDP in 1995-96 to 14.64% in 2002-03 and further estimated to go up to 16.06% next year. The state is fully prepared to introduce Value Added Tax (VAT) in lieu of Sales Tax from 1st. April 2003. The government expects full compensation from the Central government to cover likely losses in 2003-04 on account of transition to VAT regime.

23. Planning Commission classifies Revenue Expenditure into developmental and non-developmental components. While increasing developmental revenue expenditure, there is a need to curb non-developmental revenue expenditure. Major components of Revenue Expenditure are Salaries, Pensions and Interest Payments. Ever since the enactment of Act 2 of 1994, the state government has followed a consistent policy of need-based recruitment, particularly in critical services like Health and Education sectors (which are considered developmental in nature) and Law & Order maintenance. We have also resorted to contractual appointments for temporary technical assignments on market rates, and outsourcing of support services to service provider agencies at very cost effective rates. This has resulted in keeping the Salary bill within reasonable limits, despite the pay revision in 1999-2000. On the other hand, our pension bill has been increasing at a much faster pace than the salaries due to more retirements and liberal benefits of Pay Revision Commission report. We have engaged the services of a professional consultancy company to study the problem in depth and suggest a long-term institutional arrangement to finance this expenditure. Their preliminary report is expected shortly. Over time, despite the non-discretionary nature of this expenditure in many departments, we have managed to bring down the establishment cost as a percentage of Total Revenue Receipts from 48.75% in 2000-01 to 43.04% in 2001-02. This compares very favourably to the All States’ average of 52.53% for 2001-02. For Andhra Pradesh, this is estimated to further go down to 36.32% in 2003-04. We will continue the present practice. We also plan to infuse some fresh talent in executive cadres in the near future. However, we expect the employment cost to reach around 35.0% of Total Revenue Receipts by 2005-06.

24. Interest payments have been growing at an average of 20% per year from 1995-96 to Rs 5158 crores in 2001-02 because of our decision in 2000-01 to take over the debt servicing liability of Rs. 575 crores of Vidyut Bonds issued by the Power Utilities to the extent of Rs. 4113 crores. Despite these, the interest payments constituted 23.6% of our Total Revenue Receipts for 2001-02, which was almost on par with the All States’ average of 23.5% (As per their Revised Estimates) for the same year. However, the growth rate of interest payments is likely to come down to 17.41% in 2002-03. This deceleration has been possible due to declining interest rate regime. Taking advantage of the current trends, the state government has already undertaken debt swapping to the extent of Rs. 3696 crores so far during the current year. We are planning to swap another Rs. 800 crores by the end of February 2003. This process will continue next year also. We estimate that the growth rate of interest payments will further go down to 14.31% in 2003-04. As the honourable members are aware, almost 53% of our outstanding debt is owed to Government of India. We are vigorously pursuing with them to permit debt swapping of earlier high-cost central loans, and further reduce their interest rates on fresh loans in line with market rates. Hopefully, with prudent fiscal management over time, we will be able to reduce the interest burden to reasonable limits, and free up more resources for developmental purposes.

25. On the whole, Salaries, Pensions and Interest Payments together constituted 66.66% of the Total Revenue Receipts for 2001-02. This compared favourably with the All States’ average of 76.05% (As per their Revised Estimates) for the same year. During the current year this percentage is likely to come down to 66.57%. We estimate further fall in this percentage to 59.95% during 2003-04. Similarly, our overall Revenue Deficit has come down from 2.58% of GSDP in 2000-01 to 1.92% in 2001-02 and estimated to further go down to 1.17% by 2003-04. Our MTFF target is to eliminate Revenue Deficit altogether by 2005-06. I am confident that we will be able to achieve this goal.

26. Fiscal Deficit is the difference between Total Expenditure (Revenue Expenditure + Capital Expenditure) and Total Revenue Receipts. Net borrowings and non-debt Deposits are used to finance the Fiscal Deficit. Capital Expenditure comprises of Capital Outlay by Government to build permanent assets plus Net Lending to Public Enterprises etc. Ideally, Revenue Surplus should be used to finance capital expenditure. But in the absence of revenue surplus, governments should borrow only to the extent of building capital assets that generate enough revenues to repay the loans.

27. Two fiscal indicators are, therefore, important to assess the proper utilization of the state loans. These are Capital Expenditure as percentage of GSDP, and Revenue Deficit as percentage of Fiscal Deficit. In our case, Capital Expenditure was 2.56% of GSDP in 2001-02. This compares favourably with the 15 Major States’ average of 2.18% for the same year (As per their Budget Estimates). We estimate AP’s percentage to further go up to 2.85% of GSDP in 2003-04. Our MTFF target is 3% by 2005-06. Similarly, our Revenue Deficit as percentage of Fiscal Deficit was 49.2% in 2000-01. It came down to 42.8% in 2001-02 and likely to be 29.05% in 2003-04. This compares favourably with the All Major States’ average of 55.72% for 2001-02 (As per their Budget Estimates). This means that more and more of our borrowings are being used for capital formation, which is also reflected in the Gross Fixed Capital Formation as a percentage of GSDP in the state going up from 18.61% in 1998-99 to 20.61% in 2000-01, compared to All India figure of 19.13% for 2000-01. I am confident that we will be able to achieve our targets for both these indicators. This will also mean that by 2005-06, our capital expenditure will be more than our fiscal deficit, and would be partly financed by revenue surplus.

28. Thus I would like to reassure the honourable members that we are very conscious of our obligation to the future generations and will limit the borrowings to affordable levels. At the same time, we will ensure that the scarce resources are most productively utilized. Debt Profile.

29. One of the concerns voiced by many experts is the rapid rise in the overall debt position of the state government. While the outstanding debt was Rs. 35651 crores in 2000-01, it increased to Rs. 42492 crores in 2001-02. It is likely to go up to Rs. 57141 crores by the end of 2003-04. However, in terms of debt as percentage of GSDP, the corresponding figures would be 25.62% in 2000-01, 28.31% in 2001-02, 30.25% in 2002-03 and estimated 31.32% in 2003-04. The growth rate of Debt as percent of GSDP in 2001-02 was 11.76% over the previous year. For 2002-03, this growth rate has drastically come down to only 6.89% over the previous year, and is further estimated to come down to 3.54% in 2003-04.

30. In comparison to other states also, Andhra Pradesh has a relatively better position. The All States’ average of debt as percentage of GSDP for the period 2000-03 was 49.29%, while it was only 28.06% for Andhra Pradesh. As per the MTFF, the debt curve will peak out at 32.6% in 2004-05 and show a downward trend thereafter. Government has also set up a Sinking Fund as per the guidelines of Reserve Bank of India, and made annual contributions to the Fund to build up a corpus to meet any untoward contingency in which the government may have to suddenly redeem its debts. Therefore, we need not be unduly alarmed, as the government will continue to be very careful and prudent in its debt management, to ensure compliance with its own targets in the next few years.

31. Government has been extending guarantees to various public enterprises to borrow from the Banks and other financial institutions for their commercial operations. While there has been no single instance where any financial institution had invoked a government guarantee, it is felt prudent that the government should not be held fiscally vulnerable on account of the mismanagement of the public enterprises. Government has, therefore, initiated a process of rigorous risk assessment before giving guarantees as well as to take adequate precautions to ensure proper use of funds by the public enterprise to avoid devolvement of liability on the government. Further the government has set up a Guarantee Redemption Fund with the Reserve Bank of India to which contributions are made on the basis of risk assessment. Guarantee fees collected from the enterprises are also deposited with the Fund.

32. Our government has undertaken key initiatives, in the area of Public Enterprise reform and privatization. These were aimed at reorienting government away from direct participation in economic production, enhancing efficiency and reducing fiscal drain of public enterprises. The cabinet approved the decision to close/ privatize/ restructure 19 Phase-I enterprises. Seventeen of them have already been privatized/closed. Over 14000 employees have availed the option of Voluntary Retirement Scheme. Social safety net counseling and retraining of around 30 per cent of the employees who have taken VRS has been completed. We have also finalized the Phase II of the reform program and the detailed studies are underway. This enabled the government to finalize One-Time Settlements with the financial institutions, and thereby, reduced its outstanding guarantees.

33. On the whole, outstanding guarantees stood at Rs. 13339.71 crores in 2000-01, constituting 9.59% of GSDP. They went up to Rs. 14929.12 crores at 9.9% of GSDP, mainly on account of a guarantee of Rs. 4000 crores to Pension Trusts for power utilities’ employees as per the second transfer scheme. However, the outstanding guarantees have already come down to 8.73% of GSDP by end of December 2002, and are likely to further reduce to 8.61% by next year. The MTFF target for 2005-06 is fixed at 8%, which we should be able to meet quite easily.

34. In order to make the Budget simpler and more transparent, we have further reduced the number of Sub Heads and also improved the format of presenting the Budget. The volume has also come down from over 5000 pages a couple of years back to less than 3000 pages this year. For the first time, we published the Receipts and Expenditures up to December 2002 along with the Annual Fiscal Framework. This constant monitoring is now done electronically, and has enabled the Finance Department to improve their cash management. While last year, we had drawn upon the RBI’s Overdraft facility for 173 days, this year we have gone into overdraft for only 17 days till December 2002.

35. The government has also provided greater operational flexibility to the line departments through suo moto issue of Budget Release Orders, delegation of authority for re-appropriation, and levying and retention of user charges by the departments. At the same time, we have issued orders for enforcing greater accountability and financial discipline by the line departments. We have recently prepared an Internal Audit Manual for implementation by all line departments and the treasuries. We have also commissioned Centre for Good Governance to undertake a State Financial Accountability Assessment and suggest systemic improvements. We have taken up the designing and installation of an Integrated Financial Information System (IFIS) that will link all treasuries, banks, departments, Accountant General and the Reserve Bank with Finance Department. This will also provide a two-way on-line communication system for better financial and accounting management. The IFIS will be operational in a few months’ time.

36. Our government has introduced several facilities for the departments, citizens and the employees by taking advantage of the automation in government and banking services. We were the first state in the country to use the electronic fund transfer services of private banks for immediate credit of our revenue collections. e-Seva centers have enlarged the scope to cover several other citizen services. The employees are today paid their salaries through bank accounts nearest to their place of work or residence. The banks have also extended several other credit facilities. We have introduced a scheme for sanctioning House Building Advances to employees by banks at the same effective rate of interest as in government. This will free up resources for the government while reducing waiting period for the employees. It is proposed to extend this scheme to other personal advances for the employees shortly. It is hoped that these innovations will provide the desired support to the line departments to focus on their performance targets and use their resources efficiently and effectively.

37. The final Accounts for 2001-02 reveal a revenue deficit of Rs.2881.28 crores. After taking into account the transactions on capital as well as public accounts, the year closed with a positive balance of Rs.64.39 crores.

38. Transactions as per the revised estimates of 2002-03 indicate a revenue deficit of Rs. 3165.67 crores against the budgeted revenue deficit of Rs. 2481.83 crores. The overall transactions of the year are estimated to result in a net deficit of Rs. 16.88 crores. After taking into account the opening cash balance of Rs. 64.39 crores, the year-end balance is estimated to be positive Rs. 47.51 crores.

39. The annual Plan Outlay includes two components: State Plan Budget and Plan Outlay of APSRTC and APTRANSCO/APGENCO/DISCOMS. State Plan Budget comprises of Normal State Plan and Centrally Sponsored Schemes, However, for the Planning Commission purposes, Annual State Plan includes only Normal State Plan and the Plan Outlay of APSRTC and Power sector utilities, and not Centrally Sponsored Schemes. Accordingly, the State Plan Budget (Normal State Plan plus Centrally Sponsored Schemes) for the year 2003-04 has been programmed with an outlay of Rs. 13175.56 crores as against Rs.11299.50 crores for 2002-03, which amounts to an increase of 16.60 percent. The revised estimates for 2002-03 for the State Plan Budget are now Rs. 9998.43 crores. Against the revised estimates, increase in the next year’s State Plan Budget will be 31.78 percent.

40. During the financial year 2003-04, we have programmed for an expenditure of Rs. 30304.88 crores under Non-Plan and Rs. 13175.55 crores under Plan. This will result in a revenue deficit of Rs. 2131.58 crores, which would be 1.17 percent of GSDP. After taking into account the overall transactions of the year, we will have a net deficit of Rs. 13.74 crores. The financial year is expected to end with a positive balance of Rs.33.77 crores.

41. With the approval of the allocation of financial and human resources to the departments, I fervently hope that the development goals, policies and programs of the government will be fulfilled in ample measure. In this context, let me share the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi with you. And I quote, “The layout of these monies must be, like the sowing of seed by the farmer, in the hope and with the intention that it would be returned a hundred fold to the sower.”