It has become official now. Andhra Pradesh will not be getting any special status. Instead, the Centre would be offering the residuary state a special incentive package that focuses on industrial development.
AP finance officials, who have come back after camping in Delhi for three days, reportedly said that Union finance minister Arun Jaitley had indeed cleared a special incentive package for AP instead of the special status promised by UPA and he has already signed this file that offers financial incentives to AP.
The Union finance ministry that was reportedly under intense pressure from chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, held a series of key meetings for finding a solution to AP’s financial issues.
The Centre reportedly stated that special status for AP is not possible because of similar demands from Odisha, Bihar, Goa, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Hence AP has reportedly been persuaded to agree for a Central government-sponsored special incentive package.
The package envisages accelerating industrialization in AP, especially across the backward districts of Rayalaseema and north coastal AP and also includes Rs 1,000 crore as seed capital for big business groups to invest. More details are expected to be announced soon.
