Hyderabad: Telugu states rank within the top five in the growth rate of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
In Telangana state, the growth rate in employment-intensive sectors was 7.0 and in Andhra Pradesh 6.8. The report said that the fiscal situation has been deteriorating for all states since 2013.
The combined fiscal deficit of states crossed the 3 per cent of GSDP threshold set under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget management (FRBM) Act in both fiscals, 2016 and 2017. In 2018 fiscal year also the same situation continued in almost all states. Regarding Telugu states, in fiscal 2018 the fiscal deficit in Telangana was 3.2 per cent, whereas in Andhra Pradesh it was 3.4 per cent.
Gujarat has well controlled the fiscal deficit with 1.7 per cent of GSDP. Interestingly, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have highest GSDP growth in 2018 and also fiscal deficit of over 3 per cent of GSDP.
In the capital expenditure also, Telangana state is ahead of Andhra Pradesh.
Between 2015 and 2018, in the total capital expenditure, the average share of Telangana state was 6.8 per cent and the share of Andhra was 4.7 per cent. In the total capital expenditure, Telangana’s own average spending was 22.5 per cent and Andhra’s 12.8 per cent only.
Both the Telugu states suffer from poor road connectivity and lower focus on spending on roads. In the irrigation sector, Telangana state got first rank and Andhra second rank in spending of funds.
