Budget for coalition parties: FM Sitharaman grants 'special' wishes of Naidu's Andhra Pradesh and Nitish's Bihar

India's Budget today opened up its wallet to boost projects in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, which are ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party's key allies Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting India's Budget for this fiscal year, proposed to give special financial support of Rs 15,000 crore to Andhra Pradesh via multilateral agencies for the development of the state's capital city. The Budget also proposed to allocate additional amounts to Chandrababu Naidu-ruled Andhra Pradesh in future years.

The Budget also proposed to allocate more than Rs 3 lakh crore for schemes benefiting women and girls. Sitharaman also said the government is fully committed to complete and finance Polavaram irrigation project.


"Our government has made concerted efforts to fulfil the commitments in Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. We are recognising the state's need for a capital. We will facilitate special financial support through multilateral development agencies. In the current financial year, Rs15,000 crore will be arranged with additional amounts in future years," Sitharaman said while presenting the Budget.

Meanwhile, the Budget also proposed to allocate Rs 26,000 crore for building highways in Bihar. Sitharaman also proposed to expedite the requests of Nitish kumar's Bihar government for loans from multilateral banks.

The Finance Minister said that Bihar is often plagued by floods and efforts to construct flood control infrastructure in Nepal have not advanced significantly. To address flood-related disasters in Bihar, the government has pledged financial assistance totaling Rs 11,500 crore. Furthermore, the government will support the transformation of Nalanda in Bihar into a tourist destination.

Sitharaman mentioned that under the AP Reorganisation Act, funding will be allocated to support industrial growth by developing crucial infrastructure like water, power, railways, and roads. Additionally, grants will be provided for underdeveloped areas in Rayalaseema, Prakasam, and North coastal Andhra Pradesh, as mandated by the Act.

Sitharaman also proposed while presenting the Budget more power projects for Bihar, including 2400 MW power plant at Pir Payanti will be taken up at Rs 21,400 crore.

The Budget also announced provisions to construct new airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in the state of Bihar.

While Nirmala Sitharaman was expected to stick to fiscal prudence in Budget, speculations were rife that the Modi government was perhaps facing demands from key coalition allies - particularly Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar - to allot more funds to their states.

Bloomberg had reported that Naidu may have asked for more than Rs 1 lakh crore allocation for Andhra Pradesh in Budget 2024, while Nitish Kumar was said to be demanding Rs 30,000 crore from India Budget.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman returned to power for a third straight term, but with a weaker mandate as BJP failed to secure a majority on its own and had to rely on allies such as Naidu and Nitish to form the government.