LS polls: Pension increase, Vizag as executive capital in YSRCP manifesto

YSRCP chief Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday released its manifesto for the upcoming elections and promised to gradually hike welfare pensions from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per month and govern the state from Visakhapatnam.

The chief minister noted that welfare pensions, which are currently at Rs 3,000 per month, will be raised to Rs 3,250 from January 2028 and subsequently to Rs 3,500 from January 2029.

"Immediately after YSRCP forms the government in 2024, Visakhapatnam will be made the executive capital and the seat of the government. It will be developed as the growth engine of the state," said Reddy, addressing a press conference.

Further, he vowed that Amaravati will be developed as the legislative capital and Kurnool as the judicial capital.

Creation of special panchayats for Dalits who account for 50 percent population of a village or 500 households is a new scheme introduced in the manifesto today.

Over the next five years, the ruling party chief promised to supply pure uncontaminated drinking water to every household, repair and develop road infrastructure, and develop industrial parks in every district under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

In Godavari districts, he promised to solve the issue of aquaculture ponds' water contaminating other regular water bodies.

Other initiatives include the allocation of Rs 2,000 crore in the first phase to develop district headquarters as smart cities by laying roads, building parks, drainage and other necessary amenities.

MSMEs, which received two incentives in the past five years, will receive them on an annual basis, said Reddy, promising a life insurance of Rs 5 lakh to gig workers in organisations such as Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon and others under YSR Jeevan Bhima scheme.

Further, Reddy promised to complete the Bhogapuram international airport in the next 18 months and assured to finish building the Polavaram Project over the next five years, along with completing the comprehensive resurvey of land, among others.

Similar to the past five years, Reddy laid special emphasis on welfare, health, education, agriculture and women's empowerment.

He assured that the construction of 17 medical colleges, four ports, 10 fishing harbours, six fish landing centres, aqua university, law university, Dr Abdul Haq University, tribal engineering college and tribal university will be completed in the next five years.

Further, Reddy promised to continue the Nadu-Nedu school renovation programme, along with welfare hostels and degree colleges.

Likewise, he said steps would be taken to fill 3,295 teaching posts in 18 universities, overcoming the court cases.

Continuing almost all the schemes introduced in the past five years, Reddy has also raised the financial outlay for some schemes such as Amma Vodi, which has been hiked from Rs 15,000 per annum to Rs 17,000.

Amma Vodi is a financial aid scheme for mothers who send their children to school.

YSR Rythu Bharosa scheme, which benefits farmers has been hiked from Rs 13,500 to Rs 16,000 per annum, guaranteeing a financial assistance of Rs 80,000 over the next five years.

Similarly, zero interest loans for small traders under Jagananna Thodu scheme will be increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per annum, including raising it up to Rs 20,000 for those traders who promptly repay the loans.

Likewise, all the direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes such as YSR Cheyutha, YSR Kapu Nestham, YSR EBC Nestham, YSR Asara, YSR Kalyanamasthu- Shaadi Thofa, Vahana Mitra, YSR Law Nestham and others will be continued, including housing for the poor.

Delving on jobs, YSRCP chief noted that Group - I, Group -II and other government recruitment examinations will be conducted without fail.

The YSRCP chief insisted that a political party's manifesto assumed its real meaning only in his government, which treated it as a holy book like the Bible, Quran and Bhagavad Gita.

Meanwhile, he observed that the YSRCP government has incurred an annual expenditure of around Rs 70,000 crore per annum to fulfil its DBT and non-DBT schemes.

Comparing this quantum to the schemes being promised by TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu under his super six schemes and others, Reddy said it will cost an exorbitant Rs 1.21 lakh crore per annum to fulfil the opposition NDA alliance's promises.

Further, Reddy confidently asserted that nobody can stop some of the schemes he has introduced.

Elections for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13 and the counting of votes will be held on June 4.