Cash-strapped AP may have to resort to RBI overdraft facility

The Andhra Pradesh government may have to avail of an overdraft facility from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) due to its difficult financial position, AP Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said here today.
He also appealed to the Centre to come to its rescue as well as deliver on promises made during Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation last year.
In his reply to the debate on the annual AP state budget for 2015-16, Ramakrishnudu said that the government would have to avail of an overdraft soon and appealed to the Centre for help.
"Through this House, we urge the Centre again (for help)," he said.

He said that AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has been pursuing the matter with with the Prime Minister and the Union Finance Minister to deliver on promises made to Andhra Pradesh during bifurcation, adding that he hoped for a positive outcome since there is time till March 31 (end of this fiscal) for the Centre to render help.
Noting that the AP state government had many expectations from the Union Budget, he said that budget allocations to the state were not upto expectations since the 14th Finance Commission too did not consider special problems faced by the state due to bifurcation.

The AP state government is adjusting its expenditure on different programmes with available resources, the minister said.
In his budget speech last week, Ramakrishnudu had pointed out that the successor state of Andhra Pradesh faces severe resource constraints due to the bifurcation.
"Our own tax and non-tax revenues are barely sufficient to meet our salaries, pensions and non-salary expenditure commitments. Our non-tax resource base is very low," he had said.