Chandrababu Naidu asks PM Modi to ease help debt on Andhra Pradesh

Andhra CM Naidu held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Capital for the first time since his state got a major boost in the Union Budget.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday appealed to the Centre to consider rescheduling of loans taken during the previous YSR Congress party government to ease the burden on the debt-ridden state.

Naidu held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Capital for the first time since his state got a major boost in the Union Budget. The TDP, a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA government, has been vocal about the state’s financial distress and seeking increased central support to tide over the fiscal challenges.

According to a senior TDP leader privy to the development, Naidu told Modi that a major portion of the state’s revenues was going towards debt servicing for the loans obtained by the previous government. “If the Centre can help rescheduling the loans by the Reserve Bank of India, it would provide some relief to the state from its immediate debt repayment obligations,” Naidu requested the Prime Minister.

During his meeting with Modi, the TDP chief also thanked him for key budgetary allocations to Andhra Pradesh, including ₹15,000 crore funding for the development of new capital city Amaravati, and the Polavaram project.

The chief minister also made a similar request to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman during a meeting later in the day. The TDP chief informed Sitharaman about Andhra Pradesh’s poor financial health and sought enhanced support under various schemes for rebuilding of the state.

Official data shows Andhra Pradesh’s public debt has risen from 31.02 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2019-20 to 33.32 per cent in 2023-24, indicating worsening fiscal health over the last five years.

Naidu also met Union home minister Amit Shah and discussed state issues.