AP CM Naidu meets FM Sitaraman ahead of state budget for 2026-27

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister in a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman at Parliament in New Delhi on Tueday

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi and sought the Centre’s financial support for various infrastructure projects in the state.

Naidu, who met the Finance Minister at Parliament, raised matters related to Andhra Pradesh’s development priorities, central assistance, and financial support for state projects, according to official sources.

Naidu also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and discussed key state-related issues, including ongoing and proposed projects, and sought the Centre’s support on funding and approvals.

State Budget

Naidu’s meeting with Nirmala Sitharaman assumed significance as the Budget sessions of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly are scheduled to commence from February 11, 2026.

The NDA government in the state will have to balance the expenditure to be incurred on account of the implementation of the Super Six welfare schemes, all of which were launched in a phased manner after the government won the mandate in mid-2024.

For the current financial year (FY26), which will end on March 31, 2026, the state government pegged the Budget outlay at ₹3,22,359 crore.

In the first full-year Budget presentation made in February 2025, state Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav estimated revenue expenditure at ₹2,51,162 crore and capital expenditure at ₹40,635 crore. The fiscal deficit was projected at 4.38 per cent while the revenue deficit was at 1.82 per cent.

Balancing act

As the state government had already commenced construction works of the greenfield capital city at Amaravati, the need for mobilisation of funds is expected to be higher in the upcoming financial year 2026-27. The NDA’s pre-poll promises include completion of the construction of the new capital as well as Amaravati in a phased manner by 2029.

The state government would also need significant investments for infrastructure in projects such as the Visakhapatnam Economic Region.

The new Budget to be presented is expected to balance the need to meet expenditure for continuing the implementation of the Super Six welfare schemes and to ensure GSDP growth by investment in infrastructure.

Though the state government made many requests to the Centre for greater allocations before the Union Budget FY27 presented on February 1, the Centre was cautious in allocations for the state, which would require greater focus by the state government on increasing both tax and non-tax revenues.

The Union Budget made direct allocations of ₹5,600 crore to Andhra Pradesh. Out of this, the Polavaram and Amaravati projects secured ₹3,320 crore and ₹780 crore respectively. The allocations for Amaravati were mainly for integrated urban development, drinking water and storage improvements, and road and bridge reconstruction in the capital region.

Published on February 10, 2026