Vijayawada: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said his father and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had changed the course of AP's history in agriculture, education, health and housing sectors.
Presenting the YSR Lifetime Achievement and YSR Achievement Awards, 2023, along with Governor S. Abdul Nazeer at a programme here on Wednesday, the CM said the state government has been following the tradition of felicitations of great personalities and institutions by presenting them awards for their contributions in enriching and influencing the society in multiple ways.
Awards went to 27 individuals and institutions for their invaluable contributions to the fields of agriculture, arts and culture, Telugu language and literature, sports, medical and health, media and social service for the third consecutive year, coinciding with AP Formation Day.
Congratulating the awardees, the Chief Minister said his father was an embodiment of Telugu culture, pride and courage and worked hard for the uplift of the poor and the villages. It was a matter of pride that several great persons who had carved a niche for themselves, enriched the society in their respective fields and won the awards. They contributed majorly in agriculture, handlooms, folklore, drama, rationalism, public service etc, he noted.
He said social justice had been rendered in the selection of the recipients. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy’s wife and the Chief Minister’s mother, Y.S. Vijayalakshmi was present at the event.
Governor Abdul Nazeer said YSR had won the hearts of the Telugus through his development of the agriculture and other sectors and for implementing pro-poor welfare programmes on a saturation basis. Several programmes like Aarogyasri, social pensions, the 108 Ambulance, free power to farmers, houses to weaker sections, fee reimbursement etc were being continued till today.
He said YSR was also remembered for launching the Jala Yagnam project, taking up the massive drive for construction of 30 major and 18 medium irrigation projects to cultivate one crore acres land in united AP, sanctioning the construction of 78 lakh houses and for pioneering the 108 Integrated Emergency Response Ambulance Service under public-private partnership.
The Governor said AP witnessed an overall growth rate at 16.22 per cent in 2022-23 mainly in three major sectors -- agriculture and allied sectors, industries and services. The per capita income registered an impressive growth rate at 14.02 per cent in 2021-22 while year-on-year GSDP growth rate was registered at 11.43 per cent, the highest among all states.
Government adviser (communications) G.V.D. Krishna Mohan said the selection of awardees was done on merit and thanked the CM for giving full liberty to the screening committee in the selection process.
Dr YSR Lifetime Achievement Award carried a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, a bronze figurine of Dr YSR, a memento and a citation while the Dr YSR Achievement award has a cash prize of '5 lakh, a memento and a commendation letter.
