Andhra targets 17.1% growth for 2025-26

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has set an ambitious target of a 17.1% growth rate for the financial year 2025-26. The directive came during a GSDP review meeting where officials reported a robust 10.50% growth in the first quarter of the current financial year, a figure notably higher than the national average of 8.8%.

Expressing his happiness with the double-digit growth, the Chief Minister stated that the state has the potential to achieve an even higher growth rate of 25%, leveraging its long coastline and abundant natural resources.

The planning officials provided a detailed breakdown of the growth across key sectors, highlighting the areas of exceptional performance in the first quarter.

• Industrial sector: This sector led the growth with a rate of 11.91%. Mining and quarrying experienced a significant increase of 43.54%, netting a revenue of ₹10,686 crore. The manufacturing sector grew by 9.93% (₹40,515 crore), and construction saw a rise of 9.57% (₹31,550 crore).

• Services sector: Recording a growth of 10.70%, the services sector saw strong performances in several areas. Trade, hotels, and restaurants registered the highest growth at 17.92% (₹25,702 crore), while real estate and professional services grew by 11.70% (₹34,324 crore). The tourism sector saw a 17.08% growth, with the number of tourists increasing to 8.07 crore from 6.89 crore. Air passenger traffic also rose by 21.1%, from 13.09 lakh to 15.85 lakh.

• Agricultural sector: The agricultural sector recorded a growth of 9.60%. Within this, the livestock sub-sector grew by 6.65%, while fish and aquaculture registered a remarkable 14.52% growth, contributing a total of ₹32,110 crore. The state's meat production increased to 3.41 lakh metric tonnes (8% growth), and egg production rose to 67,450 lakh from 62,157 lakh.